I am Not Re-doing all of my work on Kareem and Wilt - 2021 Top 36 -- Wilt #3, Kareem #4

Wilt, in my opinion, was a better player and had a better career than Kareem.  Nothing has changed in 3 years to change my opinion enough to flip flop them.

 See https://hoopramblings.blogspot.com/2018/05/greatest-nba-players-kareem-is-4-wilt.html

As I have said before, the Top 4 players in NBA history are in some order, Wilt, Kareem, Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

So, on April 28, 2021, I have finally reached the point where I have to reconsider LeBron v. Michael for #1 overall.  Here are the rest of your Top 36 for April 2021:

Will Be Watching Their Backs in April 2024:

36. Steve Nash

35. Gary Payton 

34. Patrick Ewing

33. Dwyane Wade 

(Current guys looking to move up - Kawhi, Giannis, Westbrook, Anthony Davis)

Next Group Up - A Little Safer 

32.  Bob Cousy

31.  Scottie Pippen

30.  John Havlicek

29.  Chris Paul 

Looks Good Through April 2030 at Least

28. John Stockton

27. Rick Barry

26. Elgin Baylor

Top 25?  Now You Are Talking!

25. James Harden

24. Stephen Curry

23. Dirk Nowitzki

22. Kevin Garnett 

21. Kevin Durant

Solid Top 20 Guys

20. Charles Barkley

19. Moses Malone

18. Hakeem Olajuwon

17. Julius Erving

16, Bob Pettit

15, David Robinson

14. George Mikan

13, Karl Malone

12. Oscar Robertson

11. Kobe Bryant

Category "He Is the NBA Logo For a Reason"

10. Jerry West

The Elite - The Top 9

9. Larry Bird

8. Shaquille O'Neal

7. Bill Russell

6. Magic Johnson

5. Tim Duncan

4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

3.  Wilt Chamberlain

Now we have to pick between LeBron and Michael.  At least I have 2 1/3 days to do so.

By Time Period

3 Players primarily from the 1950s - Pettit, Mikan and Cousy

6 Players Primarily From the 1960s - Russell, Wilt, Baylor, Oscar, West, Havlicek,

3 Players Primarily From the 1970s - Kareem, Doc, Barry

3 Players Primarily from the 1980s - Moses, Bird, Magic

9 Players Primarily from the 1990s - Jordan, KMalone, Robinson, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton, Ewing, Pippen, Payton

7 Players Primarily from 2000-09 --  Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, Dirk, Nash, Wade, Garnett

5 Players Primarily from 2010-Present - James, Curry, Harden, Paul, Durant

Forming 3 teams of 5

PG - Magic, 2nd string Oscar, 3rd string Curry

SG - Jordan, West, Kobe

SF - LeBron, Bird, Doc

PF - Duncan, KMalone, Pettit

C - Wilt, Kareem, Russell

Forming Teams 4-7

PG - Stockton, Paul, Cousy, Payton

SG - Harden, Havlicek, Wade, none

SF - Durant, Baylor, Barry, Pippen

PF -Barkley, Garnett, Dirk, none

C - Shaq, Mikan, Robinson, Hakeem

3 leftovers - Moses, Ewing, Nash