RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesBack in 2021, we put out our ranking of the greatest NBA players ever a couple of weeks before the league released its official list. We've updated it every year since, and if our original list already featured more modern-day players than the NBA's, that's even more true now with the addition of 2020s superstars to the ranking. Kyrie Irving , Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic cracked the list in previous years, and there's now a Canadian guard who shall remain nameless skyrocketing up the charts in this year's edition. You'll have to scroll down a bit to find out who that is.
As in past editions, we held a team vote among HoopsHype's staff members, discarded the highest and lowest ranks for each player and awarded points based on the remaining ranks.
Check out the final results below.
1. LeBron James
Top accolades: Four NBA titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, 13 All-NBA 1st Team selections, 22 All-Stars, five All-Defensive 1st Team selections, one NBA Cup, one NBA Cup MVP, three Olympic gold medals, one Olympic MVP
Regular season ranking: 1st in scoring, 4th in assists, 6th in steals, 23rd in rebounds, 69th in blocks
Playoffs ranking: 1st in scoring and steals, 2nd in assists, 4th in rebounds, 9th in blocks
LeBron James replaced Michael Jordan at No. 1 in our all-time ranking for the first time two years ago , and hasn't looked back since, following that up by adding an Olympic gold medal, an Olympic MVP award, the inaugural NBA Cup (with its MVP), along with the usual All-Star and All-NBA selections since then.
While we still consider MJ to have a higher peak than LeBron , at this point you have to bow down to King James. His advantage in terms of sustained excellence is just too big to ignore, with LeBron at No. 1 and far ahead of His Airness in an increasing number of accolades and statistical categories .
James came into the NBA with unreal expectations and somehow managed to surpass all of them – and then some. James is clutch, he can score at a ridiculous level, rebounds well and is an amazing playmaker, perhaps his most impressive trait. Few players have ever matched James’ absurd basketball IQ, one that he could use to continue to dominate for a few seasons as his career winds down.
The player with the most playoff wins without All-NBA or All-Star teammates , LeBron became the oldest player to lead a playoff series in scoring when his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round. James is also the player with the most playoff series victories in a single career , now 12 ahead of the next player on this list.
All in all, even the biggest backers of the next player on this list in the GOAT debate have to admit, James’ career, and the fact he’s been able to stay this good for this long, has been nothing short of astounding. It’s extremely unlikely we’ll ever see another career like James’, one that saw him earning All-NBA honors even in his 40s.
2. Michael Jordan
Top accolades: Six NBA titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, 10 All-NBA 1st Team selections, 14 All-Stars, one Defensive Player of the Year award, nine All-Defensive 1st Team selections, two Olympic gold medals
Regular season ranking: 4th in steals, 6th in scoring, 53rd in assists, 128th in blocks, 143rd in rebounds
Playoffs ranking: 2nd in scoring, 3rd in steals, 13th in assists, 35th in blocks, 40th in rebounds
Probably the most iconic and famous athlete in all of sports, Jordan was the face of the NBA for a long time, and his star status outside of sports was almost hard to believe, and still sort of is.
Jordan’s mid-range game – face-ups, jab-steps, pull-ups, turnarounds, fadeaway, all of it – was second to none, and he was also a freakish athlete who could finish through contact and over length. And then there was the aspect of his clutchness, as Jordan was so often successful in nailing game-winners in the most high-pressure situations imaginable. Oh, and he was a top-tier defender, too.
Though we finally moved James ahead of him, it’s understandable many people are still in the MJ GOAT camp.
It would be interesting to see how Jordan’s resume - statistical and team accomplishment-wise - would look if not for his first retirement in 1993, fresh off a three-peat, and had he not retired again at merely 35 years old the second time, once again coming off a three-peat. Considering that in his final comeback, Jordan was still able to average 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.5 steals over two seasons with the Washington Wizards, in his age-38 and -39 campaigns, we probably missed out on some more moments of Jordan magic when he was retired for his age-35, -36 and -37 seasons.
Even so, that in his last full six seasons in Chicago, Jordan was able to win six championships, earning Finals MVPs each time, to go with winning four regular-season MVP awards while leading the NBA in scoring all six years, can only be described as legendary, and is a large reason why so many people still believe him to be the NBA’s true GOAT.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Top accolades: Six NBA titles, two Finals MVPs, six MVPs, 10 All-NBA 1st Team selections, 19 All-Stars, five All-Defensive 1st Team selections
Regular season ranking: 2nd in scoring, 3rd in rebounds and blocks, 51st in assists, 113th in steals
Playoffs ranking: 2nd in blocks, 3rd in scoring, 6th in rebounds, 33rd in assists, 36th in steals
The GOAT debate is considered a two-horse race in the NBA, but if there is a strong third candidate, it’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , who dominated for almost two decades thanks to his skyhook shot and overall greatness as a scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker. The longevity argument is strong with Abdul-Jabbar, as the all-time big man won his two Finals MVP awards 14 years apart, first in 1971 and then again in 1985. Most players’ careers don’t last anywhere near that long, yet Kareem was dominating at the highest l...
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