The best NBA players of all time is a much more interesting discussion than the greatest NBA players of all time. There are obviously some over laps as you can't be great without being good, but greatness is defined by championships, where as how good you are in an all time ranking is defined as your on court abilities. For example you could make a case, and a very good one at that for Bill Russell being a greater player than Michael Jordan and nobody would make a gripe about it because eleven championships are a hard thing to over look. But if you tried to make a case for Bill Russell being a better basketball player than Michael then people would most likely dismiss such a claim. I am going to preface this list by telling you that it took me a very long time to write, and a lot of research was put into it, so if you do not want a long read then look else where for your information. If however you want to learn something, or spark a conversation with someone, then I suggest that you give my article a chance.
I will do a list of players that are inarguably in the top 10 best players of all time and then later explain why each player is on such a list.
Michael Jordan
Wilt Chamberlain
Larry Bird
Magic Johnson
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Oscar Robertson
Tim Duncan
Shaquille O'Neil
Bill Russell
Kobe Bryant
Each player on that list has amassed amazing statistical averages, and with the exception of Oscar won as the inarguable best player of the team.
Kobe Bryant has averaged 25 (25.1)points per game for his career to go along with 5 (5.3)rebounds, and 5 assists (4.6). In the entire NBA's history and the ABA's history there have only been sixty six cases of a player averaging 25/5/5 for a season, and Bryant is almost there for his career. If not for the slow start of coming of the bencch, and playing very few meaningful minutes for the first two seasons of his career he would easily be in the 25/5/5 club for his career. There are still very few players that for their careers have 25/5/4.5 like Kobe does. Larry Bird doesn't make the cut, not enough points, Elgin Baylor can't make the assists, Rick Barry can't make the assists or points, Havlicek can't hack it either, neither can English and Wilt Chamberlain misses the cut by .1 assists, Julius Erving misses the cut as well. In fact the only players that can claim averaging 25/5/4.5 for their careers are Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West. That is six total NBA players that have ever averaged those numbers for their careers.
Shaquille O'Neal is a player from another planet in quite a few aspects. He has amazing stats, but Shaq is more than that because he dominated the center position like no other players have dominated their respective positions other than Jordan. Shaq has gotten where he is not because of work ethic, but based on his advantages and natural ability. He is the 5th greatest center of all time, won three championships as the best player on the team, and was the best player in the league for a 3-5 year stretch.
Bill Russell when you think of this man, you probably think of the picture of him with his eleven rings on, but when I think of him I think of what he did for the NBA. He changed the way NBA teams played basketball like no other has done. Before this man the defenses the league used were, well porous at best, but playing against this mans Celtics you knew that their defense was going to dominate the game. He revolutionized defense and made it a "fun" thing to do, and without this man I can only imagine the way the league would be now. Every team scoring 120 points a game, and taking 110 shots a game. In addition to this mans insane winning that will most likely never be matched, and his effect on the way we play defense, he also had some very dominating stats. 15 points a game to go with 4 assists and 23 rebounds.
Tim Duncan had the disadvantage of playing in the same era as Shaq. He came into the NBA and won the ROY and the finals MVP in the same year becoming the first player to do such a thing as Magic Johnson did not win the ROY. Tim has some gaudy numbers to say the least, and is a defensive force even until this day. He has a "patented" bank shot, and is great in the post. He has 4 championships as the best player, and three finals MVPs, and has never lost in the finals unlike most players on this list.
Oscar Robertson is the only player in NBA history to ever average a triple double, and is one of only six players like Mr. Bryant to average 25/5/5 for their careers. Oscar never lead a team to a championship, and he never won the finals MVP, but he was the MVP one season meaning that he was the best player in basketball.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar 6 MVP's, 2 finals MVP's, and 5 championships, to go along with the most points scored in NBA history, most minutes played, most feild goals made and attempted, most all star selections, and most all star games played, the second most games ever played, 3rd most blocks in NBA history, 3rd most rebounds,and an average of 24/11 for his career making him one of the few guys to average 20/10 for their careers.
Larry Bird is the only player in NBA history to average 20/10/5 for their careers. He won 3 straight MVP's a feat that is only shared by Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Larry Bird was an above average defender despite his lack of athleticism, and looking at his defensive statistical totals (blocks and steals) of 755 and 1556 you would not think he was the type of defender that we have now, but Bird was still an effective man to man defender because he understood the game so well. His basketball IQ is unrivalled.
Magic Johnson is one of only two rookies to win the Finals MVP, and leads the league in assists per game for his career. Johnson owns the record for most assists in a playoff game, and most assists in the playoffs. Johnson in second all time in triple doubles, and will forever be known for creating the fast paced "showtime" Lakers and making them the most exciting team of all time.
Wilt Chamberlain is the most statistically dominant player of all time, and holds way to many NBA records to list so i won't waste our time listing all of them, but i will list the important ones. Most points in a game as well as rebounds, he also holds the highest scoring average in NBA history for a single season, and the highest rebounding average for a career. Wilt is the only player to lead the league in points, rebounds, and assists at one point in his career. People were afraid to play Wilt because he was so dominant and they dind't want to be embarrassed by him. Simply put he is like no other player. If Bill Russell changed defense, then Wilt the Stilt changed offense. He "only" won two titles, but he has four MVPs and a finals MVP.
Michael Jordan is nicknamed his airness, or the GOAT which means greatest of all time. The reason MJ takes this title is because he combines all aspects of what it takes to be a great player. He won, he dominated statistically, and he changed the game like no other before him. The timing was perfect for MJ to come in and take basketball to heights only dreamed by the NBA's commissioner. The world was at that point becoming globalized, and all the NBA needed was someone to take them over the top, someone marketable, someone who was unlike any player before him, well that someone came in a 6'6" package and dominated the game for more then a decade. MJ holds the NBA record for career scoring average, and is second all time in points scored. He is also one of the 25/5/5 club and the only player in the 30/5/5 club. MJ dominated the MVP's and finals MVPs of the 90's winning 5 MVPs (one in the 80's) and 6 finals MVP's.
Those are the ten best players in NBA history. There are some players that you can make a case for, like LeBron James, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Jerry West, and many more of being better than one or two of the guys on this list, but I will not make that case because it is not what I believe. I hope you enjoy reading this.