The National Basketball Association (NBA) has remained a top sports league from the moment it emerged in 1946. Over the years, they have produced hundreds of superstars and strong contenders. These players have appeared in countless games and in all have brought their A-game. You can place a bet on them to always make it to the finals, just like it’s done in a TrueBlue casino Australia where you bet on the best outcomes to win jackpots. So, out of these NBA stars, who were the best? Let’s have a quick countdown of the best NBA players of all time.
6. LeBron James
NBA Career Timeline: 2003 – present
Playing Position: Small forward or power forward
Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers
Top Career Honors & Awards: 4 NBA Championships, 4 NBA Finals MVPs, 4 NBA MVPs, 17 NBA All-Star appearances, 1 NBA Rookie of the Year, and more.
LeBron James is among the best NBA player of all time. He is an American player with the Los Angeles Lakers and was born December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio.
Due to how talented he was, St. Vincent-St. Mary high school recruited him in 1999. There he scored 2,657 points, 892 rebounds, and 523 assists within the time he spent in school.
During his time in high school, he was picked for the USA Today All-USA team. Later, he earned “PARADE Magazine High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year” and “Gatorade player of the year” awards.
In the 2003-04 season, he was signed by Cleveland Cavaliers. He was the very first player of Cavalier to win the NBA Rookie of the year award at a young age. In the year 2005, he scored over 50 points in a match against the Washington Wizard in his position as a small forward.
LeBron later joined the Miami Heat and won then back-to-back NBA titles in 2012 and 2013. After a sensational return to the Cavs, he helped end their 52-year championship drought with a title in 2016. In 2018, he became a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, and although he took him a couple of years, he helped the win the 2020 NBA championship.
5. Larry Bird
NBA Career Timeline: 1979 -1992
Playing position: Small forward or power forward
Teams: Boston Celtics
Top Career Honors & Awards: 3 NBA Championships, 2 NBA Finals MVPs, 3 NBA MVPs, 12 NBA All-Star appearances, 1 NBA Rookie of the Year, and more.
The reputable basketball player Larry Bird was born in 1956, on December 7. He is an American player from West Baden, Indiana, U.S.
Larry is one of the best basketball players in NBA history. He only played for Boston Celtics and appeared in all NBA playoffs during his career. His jersey number, 33, was retired along with him, cementing his position as a Celtic legend.
Playing as a small/power forward, Bird won the Boston Celtic 3 NBA championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986.
In the 1992 Olympics, Larry Bird played in the Dream team alongside two other influential players, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. They all gave their best shot at the game as expected and helped the United States take home the gold medal.
No doubt, Larry Bird was like free pokies: everyone wanted to have him on their team. Unfortunately, his love for Boston Celtics proved too strong for any attempt to lure him away.
4. Magic Johnson
NBA Career Timeline: 1979 – 1991 and 1996
Playing Position: Point guard
Teams: Los Angeles Laker
Top Career Honors & Awards: 5 NBA Championships, 3 NBA Finals MVPs, 3 NBA MVPs, 12 NBA All-Star appearances, and more.
Magic Johnson was born on August 14, 1959, in Lansing. After playing college basketball at Michigan State University for two years, he was drafted by the LA Lakers in 1979. Together with superstar teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he won 5 championships with the Lakers.
This star player is one of the best basketball point guards in history. His precision and detailed shots rose him to stardom within a short time. Johnson’s talent brought him many victories in his career, but he struggled with personal issues, particularly being diagnosed with HIV in 1991.
After his diagnosis, Magic announced his retirement to the world. Although he made brief comebacks for the USA 1992 Olympic team and the LA Lakers in 1996, his career was never the same again.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
NBA Career Timeline: 1969-1989
Playing position: Center
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers
Top Career Honors & Awards: 6 NBA Championships, 2 NBA Finals MVPs, 6 NBA MVPs, 19 NBA All-Star appearances, 1 NBA Rookie of the Year, and more.
Kareem was born in Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, New York City, on April 16, 1947. His first playing period was at Power Memorial Academy, Alcindor, where he set records in rebounds and scoring.
Kareem was an outstanding NBA player who rarely missed a match throughout the 20 seasons he played. He appeared played 6 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and 14 with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning 1 and 5 NBA titles for them, respectively.
He is one of the greatest centres in history and holds the record for most points scored in the NBA, with 38,387 points overall.
2. Bill Russell
NBA Career Timeline: 1956 – 1969
Playing Position: Center
Teams: Boston Celtics
Top Career Honors & Awards: 11 NBA Championships, 5 NBA MVPs, 12 NBA All-Star appearances, and more.
Bill Russell is perhaps the most successful Hall of Famer in NBA history. He was born on February 12, 1934, in Louisiana. In 1956, he led the U.S Men’s basketball team to the gold medal.
In the same year, Boston Celtic signed Russel after seeing great potential in him. He proved them right by winning them 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons. Besides being a serious attacking threat, Bill Russell was also an excellent defensive player. No doubt, he was the primary reason Boston Celtics dominated the NBA in the 60s.
1. Michael Jordan
NBA Career Timeline: 1984 – 1993, 1995 – 1998, 2001 – 2003
Playing Position: Shooting guard
Teams: Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards
Top Career Honors & Awards: 6 NBA Championships, 6 NBA Finals MVPs, 5 NBA MVPs, 14 NBA All-Star appearances, 1 NBA Rookie of the Year, and more.
No NBA all-time best player list would be complete without MJ. He was a global icon during his career and brought tremendous success to the entire league.
Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York City. He had his break playing college basketball for North Carolina. He also won the U.S basketball team an Olympic gold medal in 1984 in Los Angeles.
In the same year, Jordan was selected by Chicago Bulls to lead the team and was given the title “Rookie of the year.”
MJ won 6 championships for the Bulls. He also got 6 finals MVP awards and defensive player of the year in 1988. Known for being arguably the greatest clutch player in NBA history, Michael has an unending list of golden moments when he beat the shot clock with milliseconds to go and won his team an important game.
He was so good that the Netflix documentary dedicated to his career, Last Dance, is one of the most successful ever made.
Like in any sport, there would always be many arguments about who the best players of all time are. However, without a doubt, everyone can agree that the players above have done enough to deserve a place on our list.
