I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men’s pro basketball league in North America, and is considered to be the premier men’s pro league in the world. The NBA has 30 franchise member clubs (29 in U.S. & 1 in Canada) and was founded on June 6, 1946 in New York City as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the current name, National Basketball Association (NBA) on August 3, 1949, after merging with it rival National Basketball League (NBL). The NBA is one of the four major North American pro sport leagues. NBA players are the world’s best paid sportsmen, by average annual salary per player. Michael Jordan, one of the NBA best players had 6 championships, 5 MVP awards, All-star appearances in every full season he played, and the status as possibly the best defender ever. In addition, his 30.1 points per game is the NBA’s highest career scoring average. Finally, the NBA had many great positions at all positions as this article will attempt to summarize.
Best All-time NBA Players by Position:
- Point Guards (PG) = Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Bob Cousy, Gary Payton, Walt Frazier, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Kevin Johnson, Steve Nash, Maurice Cheeks, Nate Archibald, Jo Jo White, Dennis Johnson, Mark Jackson, Kenny Smith, KC Jones, Joe Dumars, Tim Hardaway, Derek Fisher, Steph Curry
- Shooting Guards (SG) = Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Pete Maravich, Dwayne Wade, Jerry West, Clyde Drexler, George Gervin, Allen Iverson, Sam Jones, Ray Allen, Earl Monroe, Dale Ellis, Ron Harper, Michael Cooper, Reggie Miller, Jeff Hornacek, Rolando Blackman, Reggie Theus, Darrell Griffith, Gail Goodrich, Sidney Moncrief, George Gervin, World B. Free, Danny Ainge, Chris Mullin, Vince Carter
- Small Forwards (SF) = Larry Bird, LeBron James, Julius Erving, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Durant, Elgin Baylor, John Havlicek, Rick Barry, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, Adrian Dantley, Paul Pierce, Bernard King, Adrian Dantley, Bill Bradley, Bob Love, Robert Horry, David Thompson
- Power Forwards (PF) = Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Elvin Hayes, Charles Barkley, Bob Pettit, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin McHale, Chris Webber, Dolph Schayes, Dennis Rodman, Pau Gasol, Billy Cunningham, Tom Chambers, Shawn Kemp
- Centers (C) = Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neil, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, George Mikan, Bob Lanier, Bill Walton, Nate Thurmond, Artis Gilmore, Willis Reed, Alonzo Mourning, Yao Ming, Marc Gasol
- Coaches = Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Greg Popovich, Pat Riley, Chuck Daly, Larry Brown, Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan, Red Holzman, John Kundla, Bill Fitch, Jack Ramsay, Rudy Tomjanovich, Doc Rivers, George Karl, Rick Carlisle, Steve Kerr, Hubie Brown, Stan Van Gundy, Tom Tibodeau
- GM’s = Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, Jerry Coangelo, Jerry West, Bill Sharman, R.C. Buford, Sam Presti, Larry Bird, Bob Myers, Danny Ainge, Neil Olshey, David Griffin, Donnie Nelson, Kevin O’Connor, Masa Ujiri, Daryl Morey, Bill Russell, Joe Dumars, Otis Smith, Mitch Kupchak, Kevin Pritchard
- NBA Announcers = Marty Glickman, Marv Albert, Chick Hearn, Jeff Van Gundy, Hubie Brown, Jack Ramsay, Walt Frazier, Bill Walton, Bill Raftery, Steve Kerr, Doug Collins, Steve Jones, Mark Jackson, Mike Fratello, Mike Breen, Dan Shulman, Kevin Harlan, Ian Eagle, Mike Tirico, Doc Rivers, Dick Stockton, Chris Webber, Kevin Loughrey, Dick Enberg, Doris Burke, Gary Bender, Quinn Buckner, David Aldridge, Craig Sager, Matt Guokas, Hot Rod Hundley, John Red Kerr, Charles Barkely
My Best All-time NBA Players by Position:
- Point Guards (PG) = Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Steve Nash, Steph Curry
- Shooting Guards (SG) = Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Jerry West, Allen Iverson, Reggie Miller
- Small Forwards (SF) = Larry Bird, LeBron James, Julius Erving, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Durant
- Power Forwards (PF) = Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Elvin Hayes, Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp
- Centers (C) = Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neil, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning
- Coaches = Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Greg Popovich, Pat Riley, Chuck Daly, Larry Brown, Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan
- GM’s = Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, Jerry Coangelo, Jerry West, R.C. Buford
- NBA Announcers = Marty Glickman, Marv Albert, Chick Hearn, Jeff Van Gundy, Hubie Brown, Hot Rod Hundley, Charles Barkely
- My Favorite/Best NBA Player = Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, Pete Maravich
- My Favorite/Best NBA Team = St. Louis Hawks – – Ed Macauley, Bob Pettit, Chicago Bulls, Spirits of St. Louis (ABA) – Movin’ Marvin Barnes & Bob Costas
My Best All-time NBA Players by Position:
Team 1
- PG = Magic Johnson
- SG = Michael Jordan
- SF = Larry Bird
- PF = Tim Duncan
- C = Bill Russell
Coach T1 = Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach
Team 2
- PG = Oscar Robertson
- SG = Kobe Bryant
- SF = Julius Erving
- PF = Elvin Hayes
- C = Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Coach T2 = Greg Popovich, Chuck Daly
Team 3
- PG = John Stockton / Steve Nash / Steph Curry
- SG = Pete Maravich / Jerry West
- SF = LeBron James
- PF = Karl Malone / Charles Barkley
- C = Wilt Chamberlain
Coach T3 = Pat Riley, Larry Brown, Jerry Sloan
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Thank you to all the people who gave their input and helped make this article better! Please post your best or favorite all-time NBA players by position or any of your comments.
Dr. Michael Fredrick PhD is Associate Professor, Chair of Sport Studies at USSA.
April 21, 2016