Top 100 NBA Players: #94 - Kevin Johnson

Kevin Johnson

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 players in the past 20 years to come close to those numbers are Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. 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.

Top 100 NBA Players: # 95 - Draymond Green

Draymond Green

Green is the youngest player currently in the top 100, although only by just over 3 weeks. He was a 2nd round draft pick of the Golden State Warriors in 2012, and has shown consistent improvement throughout his 4 seasons.

After coming off the bench during his first two seasons, he became a starter in 2014 when David Lee went down with an injury in the preseason, and his play kept him in the starting lineup even after Lee returned. He averaged 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game that season, finishing 2nd in the Defensive Player of the Year voting as well as the Most Improved Player voting.

He raised his level of play even more in the playoffs, putting up 13.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as Golden State won its first championship in 40 years. Although Klay Thompson was a little more recognizable, it was Green who was the #2 player on the Warriors through the playoffs, behind only regular season MVP Stephen Curry. Green cemented his status as a star by putting up a triple double in the championship-clinching game, becoming only the sixth player in history to achieve that feat, joining only Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, James Worthy, Tim Duncan, and LeBron James.

His upward trajectory continued last season, when he averaged 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, and led the team with 7.4 assists per game, twice his previous high. His performance earned him a well-deserved spot on the All-NBA Second Team, and his team set a new record for wins in the regular season.

He raised his performance again in the playoffs, helping the Warriors to their second straight NBA Finals, and took over as the team's best player while Steph Curry missed multiple games to injury and struggled to regain his form after returning. Klay Thompson took over more of the scoring load for Golden State, but Green filled the gaps everywhere else. Here are their averages for this season's playoffs:

Green - 15.4 pts, 9.9 reb, 6.0 ast, 1.6 stl, 1.8 blk
Thompson - 24.3 pts, 3.7 reb, 2.3 ast, 1.1 stl, 0.4 blk

With the consistent improvement Green has shown throughout his career, there is no telling how far he could rise up these rankings in the future. It's hard to know when he will reach his peak and how high that will be, or whether he has already reached it, but another 5 years at his current level could be enough to make him top 30 material. We'll just have to wait and see.

Top 100 NBA Players: #96 - Cliff Hagan

Cliff Hagan

Many people today are probably not even aware of who Cliff Hagan is. This is probably due to the fact that he retired from the NBA in 1966, long before many of today's fans were around. Hagan's career didn't start until the age of 25, because the served 2 years in the Air Force before finally making his way to the NBA, and before he had even played a single game, he was traded, along with Ed Macauley, from the Boston Celtics to the Saint Louis Hawks for the draft rights to Bill Russell. That was only the start of his connection to Russell.

During his first 5 seasons in the league, Hagan and the Hawks made it to the NBA Finals 4 times, each of those times facing off with the man he was traded for and the team that traded him, Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics. Even though they won only one championship in those 4 tries, the fact remains that they were the only team to defeat Bill Russell in the NBA Finals. Much of the credit for that championship has always been given to Hagan's more famous teammate, Bob Pettit, but I believe that Hagan was the true catalyst behind their title. To prove my point, let's compare the two players' statistics for the 1958 playoffs.

Hagan - 27.7 pts, 10.5 reb, 3.4 ast, .502 FG%, .838 FT%
Pettit - 24.2 pts, 16.5 reb, 1.8 ast, .391 FG%, .729 FT%

These categories, along with personal fouls, were the only statistics recorded back then, and they tell the story very well. Pettit outperformed his teammate in only one category in the playoffs, while Hagan dominated Pettit in most of the others. Pettit may have been a better player for longer, but in the 1958 playoffs, it was Hagan who reigned supreme.

Hagan's career peak came in 1960, his 4th in the NBA, when he averaged 24.8 pts, 10.7 reb, 4.0 ast, .464 FG%, and .803 FT%. While those averages are all very good, they still don't compare to what he did during the Hawks' title run. Today a player with those averages in a single season would be considered a superstar, so there is no reason that Hagan should not also be added to that group.

Hagan's late start contributed to his early peak and quick dropoff, and starting his career at the same time as Bill Russell also prevented him from winning more titles, but the fact remains that he was the best player on the only team to beat Russell in the Finals, and that, along with 4 other All-Star seasons, was enough to make Hagan one of the top 100 players of all time.

Top 100 NBA Players: #97 - Mark Aguirre

Mark Aguirre

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, whom he was traded for several years later. While he is remembered as a great scorer, he was actually a pretty good all-around player. 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. Even as the team became more successful, Aguirre's relationship with most of his teammates grew strained, and halfway through the following season, he was traded to the Detroit Pistons.

In Detroit 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.

From 1982-1988, Aguirre had 6 straight seasons of at least 22.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, but he finally started making deep playoff runs once his scoring dipped below 20.0 per game, so like a couple of the players below him, his own personal success did not coincide with his team's success, and that is why he ended up down at #97 despite a career scoring average of 20.0 per game.

Top 100 NBA Players: #98 - Robert Horry

Robert Horry

Horry is the only player to make this list on the strength of his playoff performance alone. He was never among the top players in the league in any single season, and never even performed at an All-Star level, but he is the only player in the history on the NBA to win more than 6 championships without playing for the 1960's Celtics.

Of course, being on the winning team is not enough to make a player one of the all-time greats. In fact, Horry was a non-factor during two of his title seasons (2001 and 2007), so those rings did not factor into his appearance in the top 100. However, in the other 5 title seasons, he was a significant contributor, and that is the reason he's here.

Horry was drafted by the Rockets at #11 in 1992, and when Michael Jordan retired after Horry's rookie season, a huge vacuum was created, which was filled by the Houston Rockets. In just his second season, he was the second-best player on the championship team, helping Hakeem Olajuwon win his first title. The next season, Clyde Drexler joined the Rockets in a midseason trade, and that trade boosted the Rockets to a repeat title, with Horry still chipping in as the #3 player on the team.

The next season was his personal best as a pro, with a scoring average of 12.0, and following that "breakout," he was traded to the Phoenix Suns, who soon offloaded him to the Lakers, which was a fortunate move for him. He joined a team that had just acquired both Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, and within a couple years he was back at the pinnacle, although in a much-reduced role. He came off the bench for the 2000 and 2001 title teams, then earned back his starting role in 2002, becoming the third-best player on the team that completed the three-peat.

After failing to 4-peat, Horry left the Lakers to join the Spurs and bring him closer to his family in Houston, and that was another good move for him, as he was a strong contributor to the Spurs' 2005 title, behind only the three long-time Spurs stars. He held on for a few more years, and hit a few big shots along the way, but his final title was a gift from his teammates, with Horry only contributing 4.3 points per game in the playoffs.

The thing that helped Horry the most is that he always performed best in the playoffs, beating his regular season averages in every single one of his title runs. He earned the nickname "Big Shot Rob" for his many important late-game shots in the playoffs, and that ability earned him a spot among the top players of all time.

Top 100 NBA Players: #99 - Kevin Love

Kevin Love

Kevin Love is the first of many active players to find himself among the top 100 players of all time, but he didn't even get onto the list until last week. He shares a lot of similarities with Antoine Walker, the player ranked directly below him, as both are big men who can shoot the three, both played many seasons as stars on bad teams, then were traded to a contender and won a title as the third-best player on the title team.

Injuries have been a major problem for Love so far in his career, with three separate broken hand injuries stealing parts of two seasons with the Timberwolves and a dislocated shoulder costing him most of the 2015 playoffs. His breakout season came in his third season, when he averaged 20.2 points per game and led the league with 15.2 rebounds, which helped earn him the Most Improved Player award.

He continued his improvement the following season, raising his scoring average to 26.0 per game while finishing 2nd at 13.3 rebounds per game, which earned him a spot on the All-NBA Second Team despite not getting close to the playoffs. After missing most of the following season with a broken shooting hand, he came back strong in 2013-14, with 26.1 points per game and 12.5 rebounds, good for another appearance on the 2nd Team. Although his personal stats were great, he never helped his team to the playoffs while in a starring role.

Following his best personal season, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers to join LeBron James in his quest to bring a title to his hometown team, and though there was an expected drop in his stats after giving up his superstar role, he was still a solid player and an important player on the Eastern Conference champions, although he missed the final two rounds after a shoulder injury ended his season in round 2.

This past season, his numbers remained good but not spectacular, as he played an important supporting role behind all-time great LeBron James, but he was able to help guide the Cavaliers to a repeat appearance in the NBA Finals. There was a lot of talk deriding his play during the NBA Finals, during which he was not a huge contributor, but his overall playoff performance was not that far below his regular season performance, and he was still the #3 player on the team that won the championship.

Without the ring he earned a week ago, he would not have even been in the top 100 yet, meaning that the victory in game 7 kicked Tom Chambers out of the final spot in the all-time countdown. And just like Antoine Walker, Love's superstar seasons did not line up with his championship season, but Love is still young and talented, so he still will have plenty of opportunity to move up this list, especially if he is able to contribute to more titles or get another starring role.

Top 100 NBA Players: #100 - Antoine Walker

5 years ago I posted my rankings for the top 100 NBA players of all time. A lot has happened since then, so I have added in the five new seasons of data, as well as adding in a bonus for winning a championship that awards more points than just reaching the Finals. As before,

players are awarded points based on their performance in each season of their career, as long as they are in the top 10 percent of players in that season. The factors that were taken into account were domination, longevity, all-around skill, and playoff success. Missing games for any reason counts against a player, meaning that several players whose careers were cut short by injuries are either ranked lower than you might expect or may have missed the top 100 altogether. Without further ado, here is the player who comes in at #100 in the all-time rankings:

Antoine Walker

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 robberies 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 of some players, 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. Walker also owns a championship ring, and he was actually an important member of that team, not just someone who was along for the ride. His time with the Celtics was the biggest reason he is in the top 100, but he could not have made it without the championship in Miami.