Top 100 NBA Players: #64

Sam Jones

(Kalb: #42, Simmons: #33, BBR: #111)

Of all the players who have even taken the court in the NBA, only one has won more championships than the 10 that Sam Jones took home, and that player was his teammate, Bill Russell. Russell won one title before Jones arrived in town, but Jones was a big part of the reason that the Celtics continued to win titles throughout the 1960's.

Jones was the second-best player on the Celtics through a large chunk of their unmatched playoff run, but he was well-known for being their best player in the clutch. He was always good during the regular season, better during the playoffs, then unstoppable during a game 7. Below are his stats for the 1960-68 seasons, during which the Celtics won 7 titles.

Jones (Regular Season) - 20.6 pts, 5.1 reb, 2.9 ast, .812 FT%
Jones (Playoffs) - 22.6 pts, 5.1 reb, 2.7 ast, .814 FT%

Jones' numbers remained virtually unchanged during the playoffs, with one exception, he was scoring an extra 2 points in each game. Even more impressive was his scoring average in game 7 over that same time period, which was 30.5, an additional 10 points per game more than he normally scored in the regular season.

Jones started his career playing behind Bill Sharman, so it took four seasons before he was finally able to become a starter and play much of a role in the Celtics' titles, but once he was in the starting lineup, he was always a force. He was the #2 player on four straight championship teams, then he was the third best on the next. In all, he was a top 3 player on 5 of the 10 championship teams he was a member of.

Jones was never the star of his team, like Finley was for three seasons, but Finley was never as successful as Jones was at his peak. Finley definitely rose to stardom a lot faster than Jones, but Jones remained a star for longer and peaked at a much older age, 31, than Finley's 26. Overall, they come out pretty even as far as the regular season is concerned, with a slight edge to Finley, but the contributions to all those title teams puts Jones ahead of Finley as an all-time great.

Top 100 NBA Players: #65

Michael Finley

(BBR: #146)

Michael Finley may seem like an odd choice to be included among the greatest players of all time, since most people have already forgotten how good he was early in his career. He started his career in Phoenix, but after he was traded to Dallas as the main piece in the Jason Kidd trade, his career really took off. Over the next six seasons, he was one of the top players in the entire league.

For the next three seasons, he was the top player in Dallas and was one of the top 10 players overall for two of those seasons, but Dallas failed to make the playoffs with him leading the way. That all changed in 2001, when Dirk Nowitzki came into his own and became the Mavericks' star, with Finley as his star sidekick. Over the next three seasons they made two trips to the second round followed by an appearance in the Conference Finals. Here are his numbers over those seasons:

Finley as star (1997-2000) - 21.6 pts, 5.7 reb, 5.0 ast, 1.4 stl
Finley as sidekick (2000-2003) - 20.5 pts, 5.4 reb, 3.6 ast, 1.2 stl
Finley in playoffs (2000-2003) - 20.0 pts, 5.7 reb, 3.2 ast, 1.3 stl

As you can see, there wasn't a huge dropoff in Finley's production when Dirk took over in Dallas, which explains why they were suddenly so much more successful. Most championship teams have at least two of the top 100 players on their roster, but unfortunately Dirk and Steve Nash had not yet reached their peak when Finley was at his, but with a couple more years together, Dallas could have won their first title a few years earlier.

Within two years of that trip to the Conference Finals, both Nash and Finley had left town, Nash to Phoenix and Finley to San Antonio. The next year Dallas made the Finals without them (in fact, they beat both of them on their way there), but they sure could have used them against Miami. Finley did get his championship in 2007, but by that time he was just a backup and wasn't a significant part of the title team.

Looking at this chart, you can see that Finley was just slightly better than Carmelo through the early part of their respective careers, and each helped guide one team to the Western Conference Finals during their peak seasons. The edge goes to Finley for now, because he spent two years as one of the league's ten best, while Carmelo has yet to reach that plateau. Anthony should easily pass him with one more year under his belt, but through eight seasons Finley was slightly better.

Top 100 NBA Players: #66

Carmelo Anthony

(BBR: #53)

Carmelo Anthony has been a star in the NBA since day one, and with eight seasons under his belt, it's only right that he get some recognition as one of the best players in NBA history. He has scored at least 20 points per game in all eight seasons of his career, making him one of just 14 players to accomplish that in his career.

For the past six seasons, he hasn't just been reaching the 20-point plateau, he's been well above it, and he's ended each of those seasons ranked among the top 8 scorers in the league. He's also spent nearly his entire career as the best player on his team, only playing second fiddle during Iverson's full season in Denver and for the last half of this season to Amare, although that may change in the coming season.

Not only has Carmelo scored a lot in his career, he has taken his team to the playoffs in each and every season he has been in the league, although he has only seen his team pass through the first round once, in 2009, when he led the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals.

Carmelo has missed at least five games in six of his eight seasons, for reasons ranging from deaths in the family to suspensions to minor injuries, but he has never spent more than 17 games in street clothes in a single season. His best season was not the one where he scored the most, but the one where he played the most games during his peak years, which came clear back in 2006. He bested that years scoring average twice since then, but both times did it while missing more than 10 games.

Carmelo also owns an NBA record that is quite impressive. In 2008, he scored 33 points in one quarter against Minnesota, tying George Gervin's record that had stood untouched for just over 30 years. That equates to nearly 3 points per minute during that quarter, and his total for the quarter was more than his season average for points per game.

Moncrief may have been a much better player than Anthony at his peak, but his peak lasted only six years, and Anthony has been a star player for all eight years of his career so far, and it's not even certain that he has reached his peak yet. The two are exactly even in playoff success, with each leading just one trip to the Conference Finals. I still get the feeling that Anthony can do more than he has so far, but maybe he's that rare player who found his peak early and was able to maintain it for a long time.

Top 100 NBA Players: #67

Sidney Moncrief

(Simmons: #73, BBR: #88)

Sidney Moncrief was one of the top all-around guard of the 1980's, but he played before there were effective surgeries to repair major knee damage, and as a result his career was not as long as it should have been, and he wasn't able to enjoy the success he may have otherwise.

From 1981 to 1986, there was no doubt that Moncrief was among the league's elite. In each of those seasons he was named to the All-Star team, the All-Defensive Team, and the All-NBA Team. On top of that, he was voted the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year twice, in 1983 and 1984. While he was most known for his defensive prowess, his offensive numbers were just as nice, as you can see below.

Moncrief (1981-1986) - 21.0 pts, 5.8 reb, 4.7 ast, 1.5 stl, .503 FG%, .836 FT%

When you look at those numbers, you wouldn't have assumed that Moncrief was a guard. He rebounded and shot like a forward, but he was also a great passer and free throw shooter, and scored like the star he was. Even more amazing than that is what he did while in college at Arkansas, where he finished his 4-year career with a field goal percentage of .606, which included a .665 mark as a freshman, when he led the entire nation in shooting percentage as a 6-3 guard.

Moncrief never missed the playoffs in his entire career, guiding the Milwaukee Bucks to numerous division titles throughout his decade in the league, but he was never able to get past the 76ers or the Celtics, dropping series to one or the other in five straight seasons. In 1984 they finally got past the 76ers, but Boston stopped them in the Conference Finals. It was the closest he would ever get to a championship.

After his peak years, which I highlighted above, he fell victim to ligament damage in his knees, which caused him to miss 89 games over 3 years and see a 10 minute per game decrease in his playing time. If he had had access to the medical treatments that are available today, it's possible that he could have seen a few more productive years and maybe another deep playoff run, but instead he has to settle for a spot in the middle third of the top 100 players of all time.

Moncrief's early career was very similar to Durant's, but always just a half-step behind his production level. His  peak occurred in year five, which Durant is approaching in a few months, so we'll see if KD is able to match Moncrief again. For now Moncrief is the better player when looking from an all-time perspective, but only because he was able to put together 5 very productive years with one deep playoff run, while Durant still has just 3 productive years and the deep playoff run. There is no doubt in my mind that Durant will eventually pass him, but not this year.

Top 100 NBA Players: #68

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant is by far the youngest player to be ranked among my top 100, and although he is still only 22 years old, he has done some very impressive things in the early stages of his career.

In his first season in the NBA, playing for the Seattle Supersonics, Durant won the Rookie of the Year award by averaging 20.3 points per game while starting every single night. It turns out that his rookie season would start to look weak after what he started doing in year two. At only 20 years old, he was one of the top 10 players in the entire league and ranked #5 in scoring at 25.3 points per game, while also increasing his rebounding average from 4.4 to 6.5.

The next season he became the youngest player ever to lead the league in scoring, averaging 30.1 points per game and supplanting Max Zaslofsky as the youngest scoring leader, breaking a record that had stood for 62 years. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team, came in second in the MVP race, and led the Thunder to the playoffs. He also grabbed 7.6 rebounds per game and shot 90% from the free throw line while leading all players in minutes played.

His fourth season was even better somehow. His stats may have slipped slightly in each major category, but he was still one of the top 5 players in the league and led Oklahoma City to the Western Conference Finals as the best player on a very good Thunder team. He led the league in scoring for the second straight season and matched that feat in the playoffs, where he averaged 28.6 over 17 games.

At this point in his career it's impossible to tell exactly where he'll end up at the end of his career. We could be looking at one of the top 10 players of all time, or he may turn into a Penny Hardaway or Grant Hill, who dominated the league early on the same way but succumbed to injuries. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: we are currently witnessing the rise of one of the most talented players to ever take the court, and even though it's still early, he just can't be overlooked.

Durant has reached such a high level at such a young age that very few can compare to him at this point in his career, and those that can are all in the top 10 players of all time. Elton Brand has been a very good player, even winning a Rookie of the Year award like Durant, but it took him about 8 years to reach the peak level that Durant reached in three, and Durant has already led his team on a deeper playoff run than Brand ever has, which is why I'm placing him here for now. By the end of next season, who knows? I could easily see him making the jump to top 50 of all time if he can match his last two seasons.

Top 100 NBA Players: #69

Elton Brand

(BBR: #102)

Elton Brand was one of the best players of the past decade, but he has been ignored and forgotten by most fans for two main reasons. He spent the majority of two recent seasons on the injured list, and he's almost always played on horrible teams. But there is a good reason to put him on this list.

Over the first eight seasons of his career, during which time he was generally healthy, he put up some of the strongest numbers in the entire league. Here are his overall averages from 1999-2007:

Brand - 20.3 pts, 10.2 reb, 2.7 ast, 2.1 blk, .505 FG%

He stayed pretty close to those averages every year, except in 2006, when he exploded, making the All-NBA Second Team and leading the Clippers to their best season in decades, which lasted into the second round of the playoffs, a huge accomplishment for the franchise. Here are his numbers from that season:

Brand - 24.7 pts, 10.0 reb, 2.6 ast, 2.5 blk, .527 FG%

Just one season later, Brand's career took a nosedive thanks to his first major injury, a ruptured Achilles' tendon that limited him to just 8 games that year. He left the Clippers for the 76ers that summer, then missed most of the following season due to an unrelated injury, a shoulder dislocation. At this point he was pushed to the back of most people's minds, but he did see a nice resurgence in 2011, when he averaged 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds while making just the second playoff appearance of his career. It's unlikely that he will make it back to his previous level, but he was pretty good before injuries took over his career.

Looking at the chart of Brand compared to Johnson, it's easy to see that Johnson was a bit better early on in his career, but that injuries slowed him down much earlier, at the exact same point when Brand hit his peak, which was significantly higher than Johnson's. The lack of playoff success doesn't hurt Brand much in this matchup, because Johnson only had 3 significant playoff runs in his career, and he was only the best player on one of those teams.

Top 100 NBA Players: #70

Kevin Johnson

(Simmons: #93, BBR: #90)

Kevin Johnson may be remembered most for the injury-plagued seasons that filled the latter half of his career, but many may have forgotten that, once upon a time, he was one of the greatest point guards to ever take the court. Don't believe me? Let's look at a few of the things KJ did that few others have ever done.

Kevin Johnson is one of only three players ever to average over 20 points and 10 assists in three straight seasons. The other two players are guys you've probably heard of: Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas. He is one of only two players to average over 20 points and 12 assists while shooting over 50% from the field in a season. The other is Magic Johnson (no relation).

There are all sorts of variations of these stats that you can come up with that only those four players had ever accomplished, and the only player in the past 20 years to come close to those numbers is Chris Paul. During just his second season in the NBA, he was named the league's Most Improved Player and made the All-NBA Second Team because of these numbers:

Johnson - 20.4 pts, 4.2 reb, 12.2 ast, 1.7 stl, .505 FG%, .882 FT%

You have to remember that KJ was not a big man, only 6-1 and 190 pounds, but he was still grabbing 4 rebounds and shooting over 50% from the field. But if KJ was so great, why is he ranked this low? The problem started in the 1992-93 season, when he missed 33 games with various injuries, mostly to his hamstrings. From then on, he never played more than 70 games in a season, and he only reached the 20-ppg plateau two more times.

Johnson saw his teams make it at least to the Conference Finals three times during his career, including two trips to the Western Conference Finals in his second and third seasons, when he was either the best or second-best Sun. In 1993 the Suns made it to the NBA Finals, and he was probably the #3 player on that team, behind Dan Majerle and Charles Barkley. He did set a Finals record during game 3, when he played 62 minutes (out of 63 possible) in the triple overtime victory over Chicago.

What KJ accomplished early in his career was truly historic, and that alone would be enough for me to put him in this top 100, but it's sad that it didn't continue for longer. If he had just had the durability of Steve Nash, we might be talking about him as one of the top 3 point guards of all time, but instead he has to settle for a spot closer to the bottom of the top 100.

Johnson had almost exactly the same playoff career as Latrell Sprewell, but he had a couple of seasons early in his career that Sprewell could only have dreamed of. KJ's career ended a little bit sooner, but what he did early on was enough to put him ahead of Latrell.

Top 100 NBA Players: #71

Latrell Sprewell

(BBR: #154)

Latrell Sprewell's off-the-court problems often overshadowed his on-the-court success, which is a reason that many wouldn't call him one of the all-time greats, but when he was letting his play on the court do the talking, he was among the elite.

Sprewell started his career in Golden State, and was an immediate impact player for the Warriors. In just his second year he averaged 21.0 points per game while leading the league in minutes played and was named to the All-NBA First Team. What's strange is that it was the only time in his career that he would be voted All-NBA.

After a couple of subpar seasons, Sprewell put up a masterpiece in 1996-97, setting career highs in scoring, assists, and steals, causing the Warriors to feel like he earned the huge contract they had just given him. Although the Warriors failed to make the playoffs, he did get voted to the All-Star Team and started to look like one of the league's new superstars. Let's look at the numbers he put up that year.

Sprewell - 24.2 pts, 4.6 reb, 6.3 ast, 1.7 stl, .449 FG%, .354 3P%, .843 FT%

A lot was expected from Sprewell coming off a season like that, but after a disappointing start to the season, the incident for which he is most famous occurred, and only those who knew him well could have seen it coming. When his coach asked him to "put some mustard" on his passes, Sprewell lost it and choked his coach. After his teammates pulled him off, he left for a few minutes, then returned throwing punches before leaving for good. It turns out that this was not an isolated incident. Teammates reported other violent incidents, including once when he came after Jerome Kersey with a 2x4. He was suspended for the remainder of the season, then traded away as soon as the suspension was over.

He made his comeback with the New York Knicks in 1999, proclaiming himself a changed man, and his play and demeanor seemed to show that. He came off the bench in his first season there, playing an important role on a team that barely made the playoffs, but in the postseason he took over, becoming the best player on a team that surprised everyone and advanced to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

That performance was enough for New York to give him a starting job the next season, and he once again put up quality numbers, and once again led a run deep into the playoffs, this time getting only as far as the Eastern Conference Finals. It appeared that Sprewell had really changed, but few realized that his time as an impact player was nearly over.

After a few more less successful years with the Knicks, he was traded to Minnesota, where he joined Kevin Garnett on a team that was primed for a playoff run. He adjusted well to being the sidekick to that season's MVP, and he once again saw his team advance to the Conference Finals, losing just one step short of the NBA Finals.

After that season, Minnesota offered him a contract extension worth $7 million a year, but having made nearly twice that during the season, he felt that he was being disrespected, despite the fact that his skills had obviously declined. It was at that point that he made one of the most ludicrous statements of all time, stating that he wouldn't accept that offer because he had "a family to feed." When his contract expired the next year, Minnesota let him walk, and with no other team willing to offer him more that $1 million per year, Sprewell never made it back into the league, feeling that taking less money was below him.

While his off-the-court troubles overshadowed a lot of what he did on the court, there is no doubting that he was a great player, especially during those glory years when he joined the Knicks. While he definitely could have been a little higher on this list if he had been able to better control his temper and his pride, he still deserves to be remembered for what he did accomplish.

Other than a couple of peaks and valleys from Sprewell, his career and that of Grant followed pretty similar paths statistically. While Grant may have experienced more playoff success in the form of 4 championships, he was just a good member of those teams, while any time Sprewell's teams made a deep playoff run, he was either the main reason or the #2 guy. Grant was never that guy on a team that went very far, which is why Sprewell gets the jump on him (figuratively, of course).

Top 100 NBA Players: #72

Horace Grant

(BBR: #118)

Horace Grant was never a superstar player, but he was a very solid player for a long time and always seemed to do what was necessary to help his team succeed. In fact, Grant didn't lose a first-round playoff series until he had been in the NBA for 10 years.

Grant was the third-best player for the original Bulls dynasty, which made it to the Eastern Conference Finals twice in a row before breaking through and winning three straight championship. Grant was a major contributor to each of those teams, and a necessary piece of each championship puzzle. Perhaps his most memorable moment in those years was his block of Kevin Johnson that ended Phoenix's chance of beating the Bulls and gave Chicago another title.

Grant was still in his prime when Michael Jordan retired for the first time, and he stepped into the #2 role seamlessly, earning his only trip to the All-Star game that season, before he walked away from Chicago to try for another title in Orlando. In his very first season with the Magic, they advanced all the way to the NBA Finals, with Grant taking up his normal place as the #3 man behind Penny and Shaq.

Even though he failed to win his 4th title that season, he did eventually earn another, when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2001 season as a sixth man. While that title did nothing to add to his legacy, it was a fitting way for a great winner to come to the end of his career. He played for a couple more seasons in a very limited role, but his most memorable years were still those early years in Chicago with Jordan and Pippen.

It seems odd that Grant is ranked ahead of his former teammate in these rankings, since Penny was obviously the bigger star and better overall player, but what gives Grant an edge is the fact that he was consistently successful in the postseason. While Penny only played in one NBA Finals series, Grant made it there 5 times, winning four titles, the only loss coming when the two were teammates. Slow and steady wins this race.

Top 100 NBA Players: #73

Anfernee Hardaway

(BBR: #78)

Nicknamed "Penny," Hardaway burst onto the scene just before Grant Hill, and was another of the young players expected to replace Michael Jordan as the league's new superstar, but unfortunately his career followed the path of Hill's more closely, with major injuries to his left knee shortening his career and prematurely knocking him from stardom.

As a rookie he was a pretty good player, putting up 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game while pairing with Shaquille O'Neal to lead the Orlando Magic to the first playoff berth in their history. The very next year he improved immensely, making the All-NBA First Team and helping guide the Magic to the NBA Finals for the first time, along the way knocking out Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, in what would be his final playoff series defeat.

He made a repeat appearance on the All-NBA First Team in his third season, somehow finding a way to improve his game again. He and Shaq put up some huge numbers together in those two seasons, both of which saw them make it to at least the Conference Finals. The averages from those two seasons are included below:

Shaq - 28.2 pts, 11.3 reb, 2.8 ast, 2.3 blk
Penny - 21.3 pts, 4.3 reb, 7.1 ast, 1.9 stl

Sadly, the pair only lasted three years together before Shaq left for Los Angeles, leaving Penny as the lone star in Orlando. The injuries started immediately, costing him 86 games over the next two seasons. He did have one more healthy season before leaving Orlando for Phoenix, but once again got hurt and missed 100 games over two seasons. He did manage to regain his star status for a couple years after his initial injury, but after the second major set of injuries he was never able to play at a star level again.

Penny's career graph doesn't look as impressive as Walker's, but his two-year peak early in his career with Orlando was at the same level Walker only reached for a single season, and his playoff success was much more impressive than Walker's, who was the #2 player on an Eastern Conference Final loser and 3rd-best player on a champion, while Penny was the #2 player on a Finals loser and on an Eastern Conference Final loser, both times with Shaq as the better player. Penny was also a First Team level player for two years, while Walker never made it that high. Once again, if Hardaway hadn't spent so much time injured, he could have been one of the top 20 players of all time, a discussion Walker would never have been in.

Top 100 NBA Players: #74

Antoine Walker

(BBR: #219)

It's easy to write off Antoine Walker when you see what happened to his promising career, as he allowed weight problems, financial difficulties, and indifference to hijack his career and cause an early exit from the NBA, but when he put everything out on the floor, he was one of the top players there was.

In 1997-98, just his second season in the league, he had already established himself as one of the top 10 players in the NBA. Despite missing the playoffs with Boston, he racked up some huge numbers, averaging 22.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. While the averages were always impressive, his shooting percentages rarely were. His career averages of .414 FG% and .633 FT% would be considered below average for players at any position, let alone a big man.

He missed half of the following season, and after one year to get back in the groove, he had his two best seasons as a pro in 2001 and 2002. It was around this time that Paul Pierce came into his own and became recognized as the best Celtic, but the two of them formed a very potent 1-2 punch and led the Celtics all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002. Here are their stats from those two seasons:

Walker - 22.8 pts, 8.9 reb, 5.3 ast, 1.6 stl
Pierce - 25.7 pts, 6.7 reb, 3.2 ast, 1.8 stl

Those two players represented more than half of the points scored by the Celtics over those two seasons, and it was the most successful time enjoyed in Boston in nearly a decade, but it didn't last. Walker played one more good season in Boston before being shipped off to Dallas, where he was unhappy with his reduced role, which is where a lot of the bad opinions of him may have started.

Two years and three trades later, he landed in Miami, where, despite coming off the bench for the first time in his career, he was finally able to reach the ultimate goal and win an NBA Championship. Even though he was not a starter, he ended up ranking as the #3 player on that championship team, behind only Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, guaranteed Hall of Famers.

After that his stock dropped quickly, and he was out of the league within two years, after which stories of gambling debts and holdups started to put his name back in the news. It turns out that he was a horrible manager of money, and despite earning over $100 million during his career, he was completely broke less than two years after retirement.

Walker may not have ever achieved the popularity that Hill did, but he did manage to maintain a high level of performance for 8 seasons at the beginning of his career, which included a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, a place that Hill never reached until his star had fallen. Walker also owns a championship ring, something Hill is still dreaming of, and he was actually an important member of that team, not just someone who was along for the ride. Even though many, including me, have a higher opinion of Hill, there are many signs that point to Walker as having been the better player overall in his career.

Top 100 NBA Players: #75

Grant Hill

(BBR: #52)

It's easy to forget what a great player Grant Hill once was when he has spent so many seasons as a role player or on injured reserve, but he was once one of the league's top players and the heir apparent to Michael Jordan before injuries derailed his career.

In his rookie season, Hill firmly established himself as a rising star, averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while leading all players in All-Star voting and winning the Rookie of the Year Award. He was the first rookie in any major American sports league to lead all players in fan voting for the All-Star Game, and he was already the best player on the Detroit Pistons.

Over the next 5 seasons, he was one of the top 10 players in the league every year, and in 1997 he put up some historic numbers. That year, he became just the fifth player in history to average at least 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists per game, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek, and Larry Bird in that select club. No player has accomplished that since.

What followed was nothing short of tragic. Hill injured his ankle late in the 2000 season, then was traded to Orlando in the offseason, where he missed a total of 364 games over his seven seasons with the Magic, an average of 52 games missed per season. He had numerous ankle surgeries during that time, and nearly died once when he contracted a major infection after one operation.

Rather than retiring, Hill signed with Phoenix as a free agent, where he has been a starter and a captain for the past few years, but he is not the star player he was at his peak. Hill's star power never led to playoff success, as he was on the winning side in a playoff series for the first time in 2010, making him the oldest first-time playoff series winner in history.

It may look like Greer had a better and longer career than Grant Hill, and in many respects that is absolutely true. So why is Grant Hill ranked ahead of Greer in my all-time rankings? The only reason that I can see is that Hill was the best player on his team for 6 straight years, and he was one of the league's top 10 for five of those seasons, while Greer was always playing second fiddle to more talented teammates. No disrespect to Greer, but if Hill had been able to maintain his level of play through his prime, he would have been one of the top 20 players of all time, and there would be no discussion over which of these two was the best player.

Top 100 NBA Players: #76

Hal Greer

(Simmons: #46, BBR: #69)

Hal Greer was a great player during the entire decade of the 60's, but he was never quite as successful being the alpha dog as he was being the second banana. The best years his team enjoyed during his tenure were the years where either Dolph Schayes or Wilt Chamberlain had taken over as the star of the team. The presence of another star didn't diminish Greer's stats, it just added to his playoff success.

From 1960 to 1970, Greer's scoring average was always between 19.5 and 24.1, his rebound average between 4.7 and 7.4, and his assist average between 3.4 and 5.1. He was known as a player you could always count on to be there and to do his job, but he never fully stood out as a superstar, he was always just a very good All-Star.

Greer's most productive years came alongside Wilt Chamberlain with the Philadelphia 76ers, where they made it at least to the Eastern Conference Finals 3 times in 4 years, winning the championship in 1967, which broke Boston's 8-season championship streak. It's obvious that Wilt was the star of those teams, but Greer was his #2, the guy with the outside shot who could hit his free throws.

Greer's best playoff run came during that championship season, when he averaged 27.7 points to lead the team, while Wilt averaged 21.7 points, 29.1 rebounds, and 9.0 assists. His next two best playoff scoring averages came during the two years that they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals, which shows that the team made it farther in the playoffs when Greer was on top of his game.

You can see from the chart that White had a slightly higher career plateau than Greer, but Greer maintained his longer. White has one more title than Greer, but Greer was the undisputed #2 player on his title team, while White was probably just third best. Greer sets himself apart because of the length of time that he was able to maintain such a high level of play.

Top 100 NBA Players: #77

Jo Jo White

(Simmons: #95, BBR: #117)

Jo Jo White was one of the players who bridged the gap for the Celtics from the Bill Russell dynasty to the years of Larry Bird, and although he's not as famous as those who came before and after him, he had some pretty good days starring in Boston.

Jo Jo was not the best player on the Celtics during his time there, but playing alongside big men John Havlicek and Dave Cowens, he was able to keep the Celtics in contention through a big chunk of the 70's. From 1971 to 1977, he was one of the most consistent player in the league, and an All-Star in each of those seasons. His overall stats from that period are listed below.

White - 19.6 pts, 4.5 reb, 5.6 ast, 1.4 stl

It's also notable that during those six seasons White missed a total of 3 games, and played a total of 80 playoff games during those postseasons, which means he crammed 7 years worth of games into 6 years. Included in those 6 playoff runs were two championships, and White was one of Boston's top 3 players each time.

White had a major part in one of the most memorable Finals games of all time, the triple overtime thriller in 1976 against Phoenix. White played 60 minutes in that game and hit the technical free throw that gave Boston a 2-point lead with a second left in the second overtime, which prevented them from losing on Gar Heard's miracle shot. He then hit the two free throws that iced the game in the third overtime.

Jo Jo's career peak was nowhere near Bellamy's, but Bellamy's peak occurred early, and he was never able to duplicate that success. White reached his peak level in year 3 and stayed steady for 6 seasons before injuries knocked him off the top. With just the regular season stats, there's no way that White is put ahead of Bellamy, but when you include those 2 championships and his contributions to those teams, he's definitely worthy of passing Walt in the all-time rankings.

Top 100 NBA Players: #78

Walt Bellamy

(BBR: #83)

If you want to see a player whose career is filled with oddities, look no further than Walt Bellamy. To begin with, his best season was his first, in which he averaged 31.6 points and 19.0 rebounds while leading the league with a .519 field goal percentage. The scoring average was second to Wilt Chamberlain and the rebound average third to Wilt and Bill Russell. That season he won the only official award of his entire career, the Rookie of the Year.

Part of the reason that his stats were so strong early in his career was that nobody was playing defense back in the 1960's. In 1962, his rookie season, Bellamy's amazing season was barely even noticed, because it happened to be the same season that Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double, and it was also the year that Wilt Chamberlain averaged over 50 points per game, including the record-setting 100-point game. It wasn't just Bellamy putting up crazy numbers that year, it was everybody.

Bellamy averaged at least 22 points and 14 rebounds per game in each of his first five seasons, yet was never named to an All-NBA Team. This is because he had the misfortune of playing at the same time as the two all-time greats I mentioned before, Russell and Wilt, so there was never room for the third-best center in the league.

Bellamy also holds the record for most games played in a season, with 88 games played in 1968-69. That was made possible by a midseason trade from New York to Detroit, who had a lot more games remaining on the schedule. With today's more balanced schedule, that record is unlikely to be broken. And it wasn't just that one season in which he was an iron man. Bellamy never missed more than one game in any of his first 11 seasons.

Bellamy also never made an appearance in the NBA Finals, at a time when the dominant centers seemed to be there every year. Walt Bellamy was a great player, but he was not the superstar that many expected, and he was never classified as a winner. For these reasons, Bellamy is the 30-point scorer most likely to be forgotten by the casual fan.

Bellamy was obviously a better player than Fulks, but Fulks had the winner's mentality and the mantle of league superstar. But what Bellamy lacked in winning, he made up for in durability and longevity. In the chart, you'll notice a second peak in the 11th year of his career. He is the only player I have profiled so far who was still effective enough to make a difference that late in his career, and that's why he deserves his place here at #78.

Top 100 NBA Players: #79

Joe Fulks

Joe Fulks is another early star who is rarely recognized as one of the best in history. He earned his nickname, Jumpin' Joe, because he was the first to popularize the jump shot, and he was the first high-scoring big man in the league. During the BAA's first year of existence, he led the league in field goals and free throws made and attempted, as well as scoring, in which he dominated all other players by more than 6 points per game.

Fulks and the Warriors entered the first playoffs with the 4th-best record in the league, yet managed to pull upsets all the way to the title, with Fulks once again leading all players in field goals and free throws made and attempted and scoring, with 22.2 points per game. The MVP and Finals MVP awards did not yet exist, but if they had, there would be no doubt that Fulks would have won both in a landslide.

The next year was more of the same, except that Fulks was no longer the unquestioned best player in the league. That year he was edged out by Max Zaslofsky, who scored slightly less but did so more efficiently. The Warriors entered the playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference (they played in Philadelphia back then), and Fulks led them all the way back to the Finals, but they were unable to repeat as champions.

Fulks was a force again in year three, improving in every category, but the Warriors barely made it to the playoffs and were swept in the first round. That year also featured the debut of George Mikan, who was obviously the best player in the league from day one. Mikan set a league scoring record that year with 48 in a single game, so Fulks went and broke it weeks later, pouring in 63 points, a record which stood for 10 years. Sadly, the years of Fulks as a star had come to an end, and the reason for his being left off lists similar to this was born. He was only a great player for three years, but those three years were pretty amazing.

Fulks may not compare favorably to Lanier when comparing them statistically, but when you compare dominance, Lanier was nowhere near the player Fulks was. Fulks was one of the two best players for three straight years, which Lanier never approached. Fulks also led two teams to the Finals as the star player, winning a championship in the process. Lanier never even reached the Finals as a role player. Fulks' career, short as it was, still contained enough accomplishment to earn him a spot among the all-time greats.

Top 100 NBA Players: #80

Bob Lanier

(Simmons: #92, BBR: #57)

During the 1970's, Bob Lanier was one of the premier players in the entire league, yet he was never voted to an All-NBA Team. He was the #1 pick in the draft, yet he never won a championship. He put together 8 of the most solid seasons in history, but he was traded away for almost nothing. Lanier's career was a string of almosts, but he still ended up making the Hall of Fame.

From 1971 to 1979, Lanier starred for the Detroit Pistons, but was never able to move them past the second round of the playoffs. He finished in the top 10 in scoring six times and rebounding four times in that decade. His overall numbers for those eight seasons are very impressive:

Lanier - 23.9 pts, 12.5 reb, 3.5 ast, 2.0 blk, .512 FG%, .780 FT%

Despite those incredibly regular season numbers, his Piston teams regularly lost early in the playoffs. In fact, the only time in his entire career that he made it as far as the Conference Finals was 1984, his final season as a player, and a season in which he was not anything more than a role player for the Milwaukee Bucks. It's impossible to make a list like this without including him somewhere, but it's also impossible to move him any higher when he was so playoff-challenged.

Lanier gets the nod over Aguirre thanks to his long, steady peak in the early years of his career, which coincides perfectly with a valley in Aguirre's best years. Both moved on to better teams later in their careers, and although Aguirre was able to win some championships late in his career, he wasn't a major player on those teams, so it wasn't quite enough to push him past Lanier on the list of great players who couldn't quite get it done in the playoffs during their peak years.

Top 100 NBA Players: #81

Mark Aguirre

(BBR: #158)

Mark Aguirre was one of the top scorers of the 1980's, finishing in the top 8 five times and taking second place in 1984, behind only Adrian Dantley, who he was traded for several years later. While he is remembered as a great scorer, he was actually pretty good all-around. In that 1984 season, he was not even voted to an All-NBA Team, despite having stats that compared favorably with the two stars of that season, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

Bird - 24.2 pts, 10.1 reb, 6.6 ast, .492 FG%, .888 FT%
Aguirre - 29.5 pts, 5.9 reb, 4.5 ast, .524 FG%, .749 FT%
Johnson - 17.6 pts, 7.3 reb, 13.1 ast, .565 FG%, .810 FT%

It's tough to argue that he was better than either of the stars, but his huge advantage in scoring over Magic has to at least put him in the conversation. He didn't rebound or pass as well as either of them, but he wasn't any slouch. In fact, that year he led the Mavericks to the first playoff appearance in franchise history.

Aguirre worked throughout the 80's to make the Mavericks a championship team, guiding them into the playoffs five times, culminating in an appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 1988. Halfway through the following season, he was traded to the Detroit Pistons, where he became a role player on a team that won two straight championships. While he made a contribution to those titles, he wasn't nearly the player that he had been, and he definitely wasn't the star of the team. Still, he made it at least to the Conference Finals in 4 straight seasons, and he was a decent contributor in three of those years.

Aguirre and Mullin had very similar career paths, peaking early then dropping off after about 7 seasons. The biggest differences are that Aguirre had a higher peak than Mullin and contributed to two championships, something Mullin never got that close to doing. Still, for some unknown reason, probably for the exposure of being on the Dream Team, Mullin has been elected to the Hall of Fame, while Aguirre is still waiting for his selection.

Top 100 NBA Players: #82

Chris Mullin

(Simmons: #82, BBR: #60)

Chris Mullin might not be remembered too well by younger NBA fans, but those of us who have been watching the league for a while definitely remember his days with the Golden State Warriors in the late 80's and early 90's. Back then he was one third of the trio known as "Run TMC," along with Mitch Richmond and Tim Hardaway, a team that was remembered for their fast-paced style.

Mullin was the best player on those teams, averaging over 25 points per game for 5 straight seasons, a feat only one other Warrior in history has accomplished, a player you may have heard of named Wilt Chamberlain. During the last three seasons of that run he also averaged over 40 minutes per game, twice leading the league in that category, but all the extra minutes wore down his body, and he spent the next four seasons in and out of the lineup, missing 140 games over those four years.

Mullin was not only a great scorer, he also had a great shooting touch. He shot nearly 51% for his career from the field and 86.5% from the free throw line, which included a league-leading 93.9% in 1998. His three-point shooting improved throughout his career, and he hit over 40% from long distance 5 times.

Mullin's major downfall, like that of many others, is that he was not successful in playoff basketball. While with Golden State, he never advanced past the second round of the playoffs, and by the time he reached the Conference Finals and NBA Finals with the Indiana Pacers, he was no longer a major factor in their success. He did score some major points in 1989 with 29.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, but that playoff run only lasted 8 games.

Mullin, like Johnston before him, was a superstar for the Warriors who didn't enjoy much playoff success. Both players' peaks lasted about the same amount of time, but Mullin's peak was much higher than Johnston's, which allows him to trump the championship that Johnston brought to the franchise. The longer tail at the end of Mullin's career did nothing for him historically, so Johnston would not have gained anything by holding on for another 8 years like Mullin did.

Top 100 NBA Players: #83

Neil Johnston

(BBR: #241)

Neil Johnston is another of the forgotten greats from the early days of the NBA, overlooked because of the era in which he played and the shortness of his career. While he definitely doesn't have the longevity needed to be remembered as one of the very best players of all time, the peak period of his career was very impressive.

From 1952-1957, he enjoyed one of the most steady and productive periods of any player ever. During that time, his scoring average was always between 22 and 25 points per game, including 3 seasons in which he led the league. He also averaged between 11.1 and 15.1 rebounds per game, and also led the league in that category once. His shooting percentage was between .440 and .460 in each season, and he also led the league 3 times in shooting. The only category in which he experienced a major change was free throw shooting, which he improved each season, from .700 in 1953 to .826 in 1957.

While he was one of the best players during the regular season during that 5-year period, ranking among the top five players in the league in each of those seasons, his success did not translate over to the postseason. Only once did he experience any measure of playoff success, and that was 1956, when he, along with Paul Arizin and Tom Gola, led the Philadelphia Warriors to the NBA title. During the regular season, he had been the best player on the team, but Arizin was more impressive in the playoffs.

You can see from this chart that Johnston was a better overall player than Rondo, but his peak was relatively short and his playoff success was pretty scarce, while Rondo has already accomplished more in the playoffs in just 5 seasons than Johnston did in his eight years. Even without the playoff numbers, Johnston has to be ranked ahead of Rondo at this point in his career.

Top 100 NBA Players: #84

Rajon Rondo

(BBR: #147)

Rondo is easily the youngest player to appear on this list so far, and you may wonder if he has done enough in his short career to merit his placement among the all-time greats. He may not have a huge list of career accomplishments, but what he has done so far has been pretty impressive.

First of all, he has already won a championship as a starting point guard in 2008. During that season he may have been overshadowed by the "Big Three" of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, but he wasn't far behind them in playoff production. He had more steals and assists than any other player to appear in the playoffs that year, and it quickly became clear that the Celtics were more than just 3 players.

The following season, despite only making it to the second round, he once again had the most playoff assists of any player. That season he was the best player on the Celtics in the postseason, boosting his averages to 16.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 9.8 assists, and 2.5 steals. In 2010, he was the best playoff player for the Celtics once again, and he led them all the way back to the NBA Finals. Look at the playoff numbers for the four Celtics stars that year.

Rondo - 15.8 pts, 5.6 reb, 9.3 ast, 1.9 stl
Garnett - 15.0 pts, 7.4 reb, 2.5 ast, 1.1 stl
Pierce - 18.8 pts, 6.0 reb, 3.4 ast, 1.0 stl
Allen - 16.1 pts, 3.3 reb, 2.6 ast, 0.9 stl

Rondo was scoring and rebounding just as much as his bigger teammates, had more steals than any of them, and had more assists than all three of them combined. During the regular season he was named to the All-Defensive First Team and should have been named to the All-NBA Second Team. He has very quickly become one of the best all-around players in the league, putting up big numbers in every category.

I've included Zaslofsky's adjusted value again here, but you can see that Rondo's peak was much more impressive than Zaslofsky's, and he has been a major contributor for four straight playoff teams, winning a title (which Max didn't), leading a team to the Finals, and putting up some very strong numbers on two other teams that lost in the second round. With just five seasons under his belt, there is a very good chance we haven't even seen his peak yet. He has the potential to end up being remembered as a better player than any of his current teammates.

Top 100 NBA Players: #85

Max Zaslofsky

You may have noticed that I didn't include Max's standing in other ranking systems above this paragraph. There is a good reason for this: He wasn't included in any of them. Many people tend to ignore the very early years of the NBA (or BAA as it was called for 3 years), but there were some pretty good players back then, and Zaslofsky was probably the league's first star player, even before George Mikan came along.

In 1946-47, the very first year of the BAA, Zaslofsky was named to the All-BAA First Team at only 21 years old, and he remained the youngest player named to the First Team for nearly 50 years, when LeBron James took that honor away from him. With all of the great young players who have come through since then, wouldn't you have thought one of them would have made the First Team? As it stands, he is still the second-youngest ever given that honor.

In 1947-48, he led the league in scoring and would have been named the MVP if the award existed back then. His 21.0 points per game doesn't look so impressive today, which may be another reason that he is overlooked, but the average team only scored 72.7 per game back then, because there was no shot clock to increase the speed of the game. If you adjusted his scoring average for today's faster-paced league, his average would be 28.8, which is considered a pretty good average.

Another reason people don't remember him is that his best years were spent with a team that no longer exists. He was named to the All-BAA or All-NBA First Team in each of his first four seasons with the Chicago Stags, but when they went out of business in 1950, his rights were given to the New York Knicks in the dispersal draft. The fact that there is no team around to celebrate his accomplishments makes him more likely to be forgotten.

Zaslofsky never won a title as a player, but he did play in the NBA Finals 4 times, twice as the best player on his team, and once as its second option. The fourth appearance was after his prime, but the fact remains that he was largely responsible for 3 teams appearing in the NBA Finals, a huge accomplishment in any era.

From the chart, it does not appear that he belongs in the same league as Chris Bosh, who I featured yesterday, but when you take the era into account, you realize that they were not that far apart, as the following pace-adjusted chart shows.

He may not have lasted nearly as long as Bosh or other players do today, but with the 3 seasons of leading teams to the finals as a top-2 player, which Bosh has never done, he has to be placed above him on the list of all-time greats. If he were transported into today's NBA, he would probably get destroyed, but the fact still remains that he had a big impact on the league when it was still forming, and that counts for something, in this case recognition as the 85th-best player of all time.

Top 100 NBA Players: #86

Chris Bosh

(BBR: #106)

Bosh may seem like an unlikely candidate to make this list, especially ahead of contemporaries Ginobili and Parker, who have a much better track record at winning, but even though many were disappointed with his performance during his first season in Miami, it actually wasn't that bad, and the last five years he spent in Toronto were very good. Take a look:

2005-2010 - 22.8 pts, 9.9 reb, 2.5 ast, .500 FG%, .811 FT%

Those would be pretty good averages for a single season, but those were the numbers he posted over the course of five seasons on average. Only 3 men have ever matched those numbers in a single season, and all 3 are players whose all-time ranking hasn't been revealed yet: Bob Lanier, Kevin McHale, and Larry Bird. It's pretty rare to find a big man who can also score and make his free throws, but that's what Bosh brings to the table.

During his first season in Miami, all of those numbers dropped off slightly, most notably his scoring, which was 4 points lower than the average above. Many would say that it was a bad career move for him, but when you look at the bigger picture, he enjoyed more success in one year than in the rest of his career combined, reaching the NBA Finals with the Heat, which was much better than his previous best, which was losing in the first round.

While he was in Toronto, he was the best player on the Raptors for years, but they realized that they couldn't win a title with him as their best player, so he moved to Miami to become a third option, and he adjusted pretty well. In fact, I'm not sure how long it's been since a team's third-best player averaged over 18 points per game.

While Parker has definitely enjoyed much more playoff success than Chris Bosh, there's no denying that Bosh has always been the better player overall, even with the playoffs added in, as they are above. Add to that the fact that Bosh is just hitting his peak in the 8th year of his career, and you may be seeing him make a much bigger move in years to come.

Top 100 NBA Players: #87

Tony Parker

(BBR: #367)

Tony Parker enters the list just two spots ahead of his teammate Manu Ginobili, and you may assume that his Finals MVP trophy was the difference between the two, but you'd be wrong. Parker may have been awarded that trophy, but that doesn't change the fact that Tim Duncan was still the best player on the 2007 Spurs championship team. Here are their numbers during that season's playoff run:

Parker - 20.8 pts, 3.4 reb, 5.8 ast, .480 FG%, .679 FT%
Duncan - 22.2 pts, 11.5 reb, 3.3 ast, .521 FG%, .644 FT%

Their scoring averages and shooting percentages are reasonably close, but there is a much bigger gap between their rebounding numbers than there is between their assist numbers. It was Parker's best playoff run to date, but he still wasn't on the level of Tim Duncan.

It is much more appropriate to compare him to Ginobili. Each has been a member of 3 championship teams in San Antonio. Manu was the 4th, 2nd, and 3rd-best player on those teams, while Parker was the 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd-best on those teams. Parker played an average of 74.6 games per season in his career, while Manu has averaged only 70.3. Here are how their other career stats stack up.

Parker - 16.7 pts, 3.1 reb, 5.7 ast, 1.0 stl, .493 FG%, .315 3P%, .732 FT%
Ginobili - 15.3 pts, 4.0 reb, 3.9 ast, 1.5 stl, .449 FG%, .371 3P%, .834 FT%

Once again, it is hard to say from these numbers which one was a better player. Parker had the better overall shooting percentage, but Manu was better from longer distances. Parker is a slightly better scorer, and Manu is a better defender. The biggest difference is that Parker has been able to remain healthier than Ginobili as a whole, which can be seen on the chart below. (Parker is in blue, Ginobili is in green.)

I've also included Jerry Lucas on this chart, since he was sandwiched between them on this all-time ranking. Contributing to 3 title teams as a top-3 player while remaining healthy for the majority of his career gave him an edge over Lucas, who was never a top-5 player on a championship team. Lucas' stats looked more impressive, but Parker knew what it took to help his team win, which is why he has passed Lucas in the all-time listing of stars.

Top 100 NBA Players: #88

Jerry Lucas

(Simmons: #64, BBR: #82)

Jerry Lucas was a statistical giant during his prime, twice recording seasons in which he averaged at least 20 points and 20 rebounds a game. Today, it's a huge headline when a player does it once. But the problem with Lucas is that he was almost always a good player on a bad team, or a bad player on a good team.

Lucas was very well-known during his career for racing down the court at the end of the quarter to grab the rebound when a player heaved it up from beyond halfcourt, which enabled him to pad his rebounding stats in a way that did not benefit his team in any way. While some of his stats were amazing, you have to wonder how much of that was focused on himself.

His two best seasons, 1965-66 and 1967-68, both came very early in his career, but his team was not very successful in either. In 1966 they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and in 1968 they didn't even reach the playoffs. Even with the lack of team success, his stats in those two seasons were definitely notable.

1966 - 21.5 pts, 21.1 reb, 2.7 ast, .453 FG%, .787 FT%
1968 - 21.5 pts, 19.0 reb, 3.1 ast, .519 FG%, .778 FT%

No player since 1969 has averaged 21 points and 19 rebounds per game, so those numbers may have been partly a result of the style of play back then, but there's no doubt he was a talented player. He toiled away on bad teams in Cincinnati during his prime years, and finally made his way to New York late in his career, where he made the only two Finals appearances of his career.

In 1972, he was the second-best player, behind only Walt Frazier, on the Finals runner-up Knicks, when he averaged 18.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 46.1 minutes per game, but the following season, when the Knicks broke through and won the title, he was no longer a star, averaging only 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in the playoffs.

From this chart, it seems obvious that Lucas was a better player than Manu Ginobili (and that they had eerily similar career trajectories), but the reason that the two are ranked so close together in the overall rankings comes solely from their playoff successes. Lucas was only a major playoff player once in his career, while Ginobili has made a splash in the playoffs four different times, three of which were championship seasons. For Lucas, it always seemed to be more about himself rather than his team, and that is why he's only #88 in the all-time rankings.