50 Greatest Players in NBA History: Difference between revisions

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The 50 Greatest Players in National Basketball Association History (commonly referred to as the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team) were a chosen in 1996 on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to comprise the fifty best and most influential players of the first half-century of the NBA, with respect only to performance at the professional level but in consideration of sportsmanship, team leadership, and contributions to the growth of basketball and irrespective of positions played; only players to have played at least a portion of their careers in the NBA were eligible for selection. Selected and announced in conjunction with the 50th anniversary team were a list of the ten best head coaches and ten best single season teams in NBA history.

Players

NBA team

The list was compiled based upon unranked voting completed by fifty selected panelists, of whom sixteen were former players voting in their roles as players, of whom thirteen were members of the print and broadcast news media, and of whom twenty-one were team representatives—contemporary and former general managers, head coaches, and executives—of whom seven were also former players; even as players, whether representing players or teams, were proscribed from voting for themselves, only three voting players—Bill Bradley, John Kerr, and Bob Lanier—were not themselves selected to the team.

The announcement of the team, undertaken by commissioner David Stern in New York City, New York, United States on October 29, 1996, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which occupied the site of the former Commodore Hotel, where the original NBA charter was signed on June 6, 1946, began a season-long celebration of the league's anniversary. The players were assembled in Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1997 All-Star Game Weekend; only Pete Maravich, having died in 1988, aged just 40 years, was absent–Maravich's two sons represented him at the Cleveland ceremony.

At the time of the announcement of the team, ten of the fifty players were active, but only—Shaquille O'Neal—played during the 2005-06 season.

Players selected

A

B

C

H

J

L

Jerry Lucas*

M

O

Hakeem Olajuwon
Shaquille O'Neal

P

R

S

T

U

Wes Unseld*

W

TNT addendum

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the release of the fiftieth anniversary team, fourteen broadcasters employed by the American television network Turner Network Television, a broadcaster of NBA games and the network on which the programs The NBA on TNT and Inside the NBA air, including four former players and two panelists who voted on the initial NBA list, released a list of the Next 10 Greatest Players, considering for selection contemporary players who were unestablished in 1996 and historical players whom voters originally omitted. Released on February 18, 2006, the ranked list was presented in conjunction with the NBA's 2006 All-Star Weekend.

Players selected

Coaches

Concomitant to the selection of the NBA's fifty greatest players was the unranked selection, undertaken exclusively by members of the print and broadcast media, of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History, of whom four—Phil Jackson, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, and Lenny Wilkens—were active at the time of the list's announcement; only two—Jackson and Riley—coached teams during the 2005-06 season. Wilkens was also the only member of the coaches list to have been a member of the players list.

Coaches selected

Coach	Professional team(s) coached	Overall regular season coaching record (winning percentage in parentheses)	League championships won as coach	Coach of the Year Awards won	Year of Hall of Fame induction as coach
Red Auerbach	Washington Capitols (of the Basketball Association of America; 1946-47–1948-49) Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1949-50) Boston Celtics (1950-51–1965-66)	938–479 (.662)	1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966	1964-65	1969
Chuck Daly	Cleveland Cavaliers (1982) Detroit Pistons (1983-84–1991-92 New Jersey Nets (1992-93–1993-94 Orlando Magic (1997-98–1999)	605–420 (.590) [638–437 (.593)]^[3]	1989, 1990	None	1994
Bill Fitch	Cleveland Cavaliers (1970-71–1978-79) Boston Celtics (1978-79–1983-84 Houston Rockets (1983-84–1987-88) New Jersey Nets (1989-90–1991-92 Los Angeles Clippers (1994-95–1997-98)	944–1106 (.460)	1981	1975-76, 1979-80	None
Red Holzman	Milwaukee Hawks (also as St. Louis Hawks; 1954–1956) New York Knicks (1967-68–1981-82)	696–604 (.535)	1970, 1973	1969-70	1986
Phil Jackson	Chicago Bulls (1989-90–1997-98) Los Angeles Lakers (1999-2000–2003-04, 2005-06–present)	545–193 (.738) [877–353 (.713)] ^[3]	1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002	1995-96	None ^[4]
John Kundla	Minnesota Lakers (1948-49 [in Basketball Association of America]), 1949-50–1958-59	423–302 (.583)	1949 (in Basketball Association of America), 1952, 1953, 1954	None	1995
Don Nelson	Milwaukee Bucks (1976-77–1986-87) Golden State Warriors (1988-89–1994) New York Knicks (1995-96) Dallas Mavericks (1997-98–2004-05)	867–679 (.575) [1190–880 (.575)] ^[3]	None	1982-83, 1984-85, 1991-92	None
Jack Ramsay	Philadelphia 76ers (1968-69–1971-72) Buffalo Braves (1972-73–1975-76) Portland Trail Blazers (1976-77–1985-86 Indiana Pacers (1986-87–1988)	864–783 (.525)	1977	None	1992
Pat Riley	Los Angeles Lakers (1981-82–1989-90) New York Knicks (1991-92–1994-95 Miami Heat (1995-96–2002-03, 2005-06–present)	914–387 (.703) [1151-589 (.661)] ^[3]	1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2006	1989-90, 1992-93, 1996-97	None ^[4]
Lenny Wilkens	Seattle Supersonics (1969-70–1971-72, 1977-78–1984-85) Portland Trail Blazers (1974-75–1975-76) Cleveland Cavaliers (1986-87–1992-93) Atlanta Hawks (1993-94–1998-99 Toronto Raptors (2000-01–2002-03) New York Knicks (2004–2004-05)	1120-908 (.526) [1332-1155 (.536)] ^[3]	1979	1993-94	1998

Teams

Concomitant to the selection of the NBA's fifty greatest players was the unranked selection, undertaken exclusively by members of the print and broadcast media, of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History, chosen from amongst all single season individual teams. Each won its league championship, and the teams combined to average 66 wins per season.

Teams selected

Team and season	Regular season record (winning percentage in parentheses)	NBA Playoffs result	Head coach	Most common starting lineup and sixth man	Players inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame ^[5]	Players placed on the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
1964-65 Boston Celtics	62-18 (.775)	Won 1965 championship	Red Auerbach ^[6]	Point guard K.C. Jones, shooting guard Sam Jones, small forward Tom Heinsohn, power forward Tom Sanders, center Bill Russell, small forward John Havlicek	Five (K. Jones, S. Jones, Heinsohn, Russell, Havlicek)	Three (S. Jones, Russell, Havlicek)
1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers	68-13 (.840)	Won 1967 championship	Alex Hannum	point guard Wali Jones, shooting guard Hal Greer, small forward Chet Walker, power forward Luke Jackson, center Wilt Chamberlain, power forward Billy Cunningham	Three (Greer, Chamberlain, Cunningham)	Three (Greer, Chamberlain, Cunningham)
1969-70 New York Knicks	60-22 (.732)	Won 1970 championship	Red Holzman	Point guard Walt Frazier, shooting guard Dick Barnett, small forward Bill Bradley, power forward Dave DeBusschere, center Willis Reed, small forward Cazzie Russell	Four (Frazier, Bradley, DeBusschere, Reed)	Three (Frazier, DeBusschere, Reed)
1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers	69-13 (.841)	Won 1972 championship	Bill Sharman	Point guard Gail Goodrich, shooting guard Jerry West, small forward Jim McMillian, power forward Happy Hairston, center Wilt Chamberlain, shooting guard Flynn Robinson	Four (Goodrich, West, Chamberlain, power forward Elgin Baylor^[7])	Three (West, Chamberlain, Baylor)
1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers	65-17 (.793)	Won 1983 championship	Billy Cunningham	Point guard Maurice Cheeks, shooting guard Andrew Toney, small forward Marc Iavaroni, power forward Julius Erving, center Moses Malone, shooting guard Clint Richardson	Two (Erving, Malone)	Two (Erving, Malone)
1985-86 Boston Celtics	67-15 (.817)	Won 1986 championship	K.C. Jones	Point guard Dennis Johnson, shooting guard Danny Ainge, small forward Kevin McHale, power forward Larry Bird, center Robert Parish, center Bill Walton	Four (McHale, Bird, Parish, Walton)	Four (McHale, Bird, Parish, Walton)
1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers	65-17 (.793)	Won 1987 championship	Pat Riley ^[8]	Point guard Magic Johnson, , shooting guard Byron Scott, small forward James Worthy, power forward A.C. Green, center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, small forward Michael Cooper	Three (Johnson, Worthy, Abdul-Jabbar)	Three (Johnson, Worthy, Abdul-Jabbar)
1988-89 Detroit Pistons	63-19 (.768)	Won 1989 championship	Chuck Daly ^[6]	Point guard Isiah Thomas, shooting guard Joe Dumars, small forward Mark Aguirre, power forward Rick Mahorn, center Bill Laimbeer, shooting guard Vinnie Johnson	Two (Thomas, Dumars)	One (Thomas)
1991-92 Chicago Bulls	67-15 (.817)	Won 1992 championship	Phil Jackson ^[8]	Point guard John Paxson, shooting guard Michael Jordan, small forward Scottie Pippen, power forward Horace Grant, center Bill Cartwright, point guard B.J. Armstrong	Zero ^[9]	Two (Jordan, Pippen)
1995-96 Chicago Bulls	72-10 (.878)	Won 1996 championship	Phil Jackson ^[8]	Point guard Ron Harper, shooting guard Michael Jordan, small forward Scottie Pippen, power forward Dennis Rodman, center Luc Longley, shooting guard Toni Kukoc	Zero ^[10]	Two (Jordan, Pippen)

External links

Notes

^ ^a ^b Starred players have, as of the close of the 2005-06 season been inducted as players into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
^ ^a ^b Italicized players were active upon the announcement of the team and thus played at least as recently as the 1996-97 season.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Bracketed record and winning percentage reflect all games played through the 2005-06 NBA season; the preceding record is that of the coach at the time of his selection.
^ ^a ^b To be considered for induction, a head coach must have been retired for at least five calendar years or must have been a coach at the professional, collegiate, or secondary level for no fewer than 25 years; coach is ineligible for induction.
^ Italicized players were inducted subsequent to the announcement of the ten best teams.
^ ^a ^b Inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame as coach.
^ Having been injured during the ninth game of the season, Baylor did not play for the team after November 11, 1971, and retired from professional basketball soon after the completion of the season.
^ ^a ^b ^c Having neither been fully retired for five years nor an active head coach for at least 25 years, coach is as yet ineligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame as coach.
^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for five calendar years; of the six, Jordan, Pippen, and Grant are, as of the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, ineligible for induction.
^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for five calendar years; of the six, only Rodman, having retired after the 1999-2000 season is, as of the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, eligible for induction.

[star-1] Starred players have, as of the close of the 2005-06 season been inducted as players into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

[italics-2] Italicized players were active upon the announcement of the team and thus played at least as recently as the 1996-97 season.

[bracket-3] Bracketed record and winning percentage reflect all games played through the 2005-06 NBA season; the preceding record is that of the coach at the time of his selection.

[ineligible-4] To be considered for induction, a head coach must have been retired for at least five calendar years or must have been a coach at the professional, collegiate, or secondary level for no fewer than 25 years; coach is ineligible for induction.

[5] Italicized players were inducted subsequent to the announcement of the ten best teams.

[hofc-6] Inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame as coach.

[7] Having been injured during the ninth game of the season, Baylor did not play for the team after November 11, 1971, and retired from professional basketball soon after the completion of the season.

[hofci-8] Having neither been fully retired for five years nor an active head coach for at least 25 years, coach is as yet ineligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame as coach.

[9] A player is not eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for five calendar years; of the six, Jordan, Pippen, and Grant are, as of the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, ineligible for induction.

[10] A player is not eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for five calendar years; of the six, only Rodman, having retired after the 1999-2000 season is, as of the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, eligible for induction.

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