by Isaiah Montoya

Created on: April 16, 2008

When determining the greatest NBA players of all-time one must take into consideration much more than scoring or popularity. This list has been compiled taking into consideration championship titles, big-game performance and individual performance during the regular season. For suspense, the list goes from 50th greatest NBA player ever to number one.

George Gervin, 50th place, never won a title but is the second greatest scorer per minute in NBA history, after Michael Jordan. Gervin averaged 26.2 ppg in 10 NBA seasons.

At 49 is Allen Iverson, who would be ranked higher if he's ever won a championship. He has averaged 27.7 ppg in 12 seasons, so far.

Wes Unseld only averaged 10.8 ppg and 14.0 rebounds per game, in 13 seasons, but held down the fort for the late 70's championship Bullet team. He knew how to win and nabs the 48th spot.

Maurice Lucas, 47th, was the enforcer on the Blazers' 1977 championship team, and put up 14.4 ppg and 8.8 rpg in a 12 season NBA career.

Chauncey Billups, 46th, was named Finals MVP in 2004, and still leads the Pistons to another championship dream. He has averaged 14.8 points and 5.5 assists in an 11 year career.

Dwayne Wade is ranked number 45 because of his use of his body to score and defend, and for leading the Heat to a 2006 NBA championship. He has averaged 23.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 6.5 apg and 1.7 spg in only five NBA seasons.

Karl Malone,44, never won an NBA championship but is undeniably one of the greatest players ever. He played 19 seasons and averaged 25.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg and 3.6 apg over that time.

Patrick Ewing,43, went to the Finals twice but did not win. He averaged 21.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game over a 17 year career.

Charles Barkley is one of the most productive players ever, but did not win a championship over a 16 year career. He did average 22.1 ppg, 11.7 rpg and 3.9 apg. He is ranked 42 all time.

Gary Payton, 41st, did win a championship in 2006, although he was not the star of the series. The championship capped off a nice 17 year career. Payton averaged 16.3 points and 6.7 assists for his career.

Walt Frazier, 40th, played for 13 seasons and averaged 18.9 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game. He won two NBA titles with the Knicks too.

Bill Laimbeer, 39th, won two championships with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990. He averaged 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds and shot 50% from the field for his career in a career where doing the dirty work paid off immensely.

John Stockton, 38th, was only 6'1"

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