NBA 75 at 75: Who Belongs And Who Doesn’t

NBA.com notes how the NBA 75th Anniversary Team (NBA 75 at 75) was selected by a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers and team and league executives, WNBA legends and sportswriters and broadcasters. Voters were asked to select the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History without regard to position. Panelists did not rank their selections. Current and former players were not allowed to vote for themselves.

NBA 75 at 75

As a result of a tie in the voting, the 75th Anniversary Team features 76 players totaling 158 NBA championships and 730 NBA All-Star selections. There is a combined 110 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Awards. More than 1.5 million points scored. Team highlights include:

• 11 active players
• All 50 members of the NBA 50th Anniversary Team named in 1996
• Four players who played in the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951, the first winner of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award, and the first winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award
• the only four players who have been named to all four NBA Anniversary Teams: the 25th Anniversary Team (10 players named), 35th Anniversary Team (11 players named), 50th Anniversary Team and 75th Anniversary Team. (The 25th Anniversary Team was the only one of the four teams that did not allow for the inclusion of active players at the time.)
• Six international players from six countries and territories
• The five NBA legends who are serving as ambassadors for the 75th Anniversary Season are part of the 75th Anniversary Team. They represent different eras of the league’s history, the ambassadors will make appearances throughout the 2021-22 season and have a significant presence at NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland.

My Analysis

It’s actually not mine, but the one I subscribed to the most for it provides some semblance of consistency and continuity. For the top 75 NBA player list, Ben Rohrbach at Yahoo Sports did an excellent job of breaking down possible requirements for the list of the top 75 using the 50 Greatest Players from 1996. It included:

• Every MVP but Bob McAdoo
• Every nine-time All-Star but Dominique Wilkins
• Every six-time All-NBA selection but Wilkins
• Every three-time top-five MVP finisher but McAdoo and Wilkins
• Every face of a championship team (post-BAA/NBL merger) but Bob Davies and Dennis Johnson
• All but four Finals MVPs (Johnson, Jo Jo White, Cedric Maxwell, Joe Dumars)
• All but four top-40 all-time scorers (Wilkins, Alex English, Adrian Dantley, Walt Bellamy)
• Everyone with at least 100 win shares and 11 playoff win shares but Maurice Cheeks
• Everyone who averaged 34 combined points, rebounds and assists in the playoffs for a championship team but Neil Johnston and Tommy Heinsohn
• All but five players with a Player Efficiency Rating greater than 20 and a playoff PER greater than 19 (George Yardley, Bob Lanier, Marques Johnson, Kevin Johnson and Dan Issel)

74 players now meet at least two of those 10 criteria. 11 meet all 10 criteria:

1. Bob Pettit
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Larry Bird
5. Michael Jordan
6. Hakeem Olajuwon
7. Shaquille O’Neal
8. Tim Duncan
9. Kobe Bryant
10. Dirk Nowitzki
11. LeBron James

Five meet nine criteria:

1. Jerry West
2. Moses Malone
3. Magic Johnson
4. Kevin Garnett
5. Kevin Durant

Four meet eight criteria:

1. George Mikan
2. Dolph Schayes
3. Bill Russell
4. Dwyane Wade

Seven meet seven criteria:

1. John Havlicek
2. Oscar Robertson
3. Julius Erving
4. Karl Malone
5. Charles Barkley
6. Stephen Curry
7. James Harden

Nine meet six criteria:

1. Paul Arizin
2. Elgin Baylor
3. Rick Barry
4. Elvin Hayes
5. Patrick Ewing
6. David Robinson
7. Allen Iverson
8. Russell Westbrook
9. Giannis Antetokounmpo

Four meet five criteria:

1. Bob Cousy
2. Willis Reed
3. Chris Paul
4. Kawhi Leonard

16 meet four criteria:

1. Hal Greer
2. Walt Frazier
3. Dave Cowens
4. George Gervin
5. Wes Unseld
6. Bill Walton
7. Isiah Thomas
8. Dominique Wilkins
9. Clyde Drexler
10. Scottie Pippen
11. John Stockton
12. Gary Payton
13. Steve Nash
14. Paul Pierce
15. Pau Gasol
16. Dwight Howard

Six meet three criteria:

1. Robert Parish
2. Kevin McHale
3. Ray Allen
4. Jason Kidd
5. Chauncey Billups
6. Carmelo Anthony

Twelve meet two criteria:

1. Neil Johnston
2. Bob McAdoo
3. Adrian Dantley
4. Dennis Johnson
5. James Worthy
6. Reggie Miller
7. Tony Parker
8. Manu Ginobili
9. Tracy McGrady
10. Damian Lillard
11. Nikola Jokic
12. Anthony Davis

Who Belongs and Who Doesn’t

In combination with Rohrbach’s analysis and my own used to determine that “Kobe Bryant as the 11th best player in NBA History”, I have highlighted 10 players who should have made the 75th anniversary team along with those they should have replaced. Though those on the list of 75 were chosen without regard to position, I tried to keep the positions in order (as best I could) to preserve the integrity of the list.

1. Pau Gasol should replace Jerry Lucas
2. Dwight Howard should replace Dennis Rodman
3. Chauncey Billups should replace Dave Bing
4. Neil Johnston should replace Bill Sharman
5. Adrian Dantley should replace Billy Cunningham
6. Dennis Johnson should replace Nate “Tiny” Archibald
7. Tony Parker should replace Earl Monroe
8. Manu Ginobili should replace Sam Jones
9. Tracy McGrady should replace Pete Maravich
10. Nikola Jokic should replace Dave DeBusschere

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