“Michael Jordan.” 

“No, Lebron James.” 

“If we’re just talking about rings, then it has to be Bill Russell.”

“Mt. Rushmore then?”

“So, only four guys?

“How about an all-time starting five?”

If you love basketball, then you’ve no doubt had some version of this conversation. And depending on how you define greatness or who your team is, you might bend the narrative to fit your favorite players. 

So, how do you decide who’s the greatest?

My brother and I came up with a solution that balances out the many differences across the eras of basketball, taking into account the different rules of the game and regulations governing the seasonal awards (don’t get me started on the changes to statistical leaders), all without leaving out players who don’t have YouTube channels dedicated to their highlights. 

Our solution was to group the basketball greats into four tiers based on specific criteria that demonstrate individual excellence and dominance. To be placed in a specific tier, a player must meet all of its criteria. 

All-Time 1st Team: 2 NBA championships, 5 NBA Finals appearances, 1 season MVP, 5 league-wide honors, and 3x All-NBA 1st Team. 

All-Time 2nd Team: 1 NBA championship and either an MVP and 2 league-wide honors, or 3x All-NBA 1st Team and 4 league-wide honors. 

All-Time 3rd Team: Either an MVP and 2 league-wide honors, or 3x All-NBA 1st Team and 2 league-wide honors, or 7 league-wide honors. 

We defined a league-wide honor as one that any player can achieve (excluding honors like Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year). The eligible categories are:

• MVP 
• FMVP (Finals MVP)
• DPOY
• Statistical Category Leader for a season (Scoring, Assists, Rebounds, Steals, Blocks)
• 3 All-NBA 1st Team selections (Every three selections counts as one honor)  

So, why those criteria?

We selected those specific honors and achievements because they demonstrate sustained player excellence and dominance. From there we selected the number of achievements for each tier to account for the difficulty of reaching the Finals, much less winning a championship, as well as the individual challenge of being a seasonal statistical leader or being honored as the best at your position. We also tried to balance the value of more subjective awards like MVP and All-NBA 1st Team with more objective ones like NBA championships and statistical category leaders.

We know this is not a definitive list, but it certainly helped us clarify our thinking as we tried to define greatness and compare the many great players who dedicated their lives to basketball. And we definitely agonized over leaving some players out (Scottie Pippen; he was one accolade short despite being part of the Bulls dynasty). 

(The listed accolades aren’t exhaustive. They are the minimum required for the tier.)

All-Time 1st Team

• Bob Cousy (1950-63, 1969-70) : 6 NBA Championships, 7 NBA Finals Appearances, 1x MVP, 10x All-NBA 1st Team, 8x Assist Leader
• Bill Russell (1956-69): 11 NBA Championships, 12 NBA Finals Appearances, 5x MVP, 3x All-NBA 1st Team, 4x Rebounds Leader
• Wilt Chamberlain (1959-73): 2 NBA Championships, 6 NBA Finals Appearances, 4x MVP, 7x All-NBA 1st Team, 11x Rebounds Leader
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969-89): 6 NBA championships, 10 NBA Finals Appearances, 6x MVP, 10x All-NBA 1st Team
• Larry Bird (1979-92): 3 NBA Championships, 5 NBA Finals Appearances, 3x MVP, 9x All-NBA 1st Team, 2x FMVP
• Magic Johnson (1979-91, 1995-96): 5 NBA Championships, 9 NBA Finals Appearances, 3x MVP, 9x All-NBA 1st Team, 4x Assists Leader
• Michael Jordan (1984-93, 1994-98, 2001-03): 6 NBA Championships, 6 NBA Finals Appearances, 5x MVP, 10x All-NBA 1st Team
• Shaquille O’Neal (1992-2011): 4 NBA Championships, 6 NBA Finals Appearances, 1x MVP, 8x All-NBA 1st Team, 3x FMVP, 2x Scoring Leader
• Kobe Bryant (1996-2016): 5 NBA Championships, 7 NBA Finals Appearances, 1x MVP, 11x All-NBA 1st Team, 2x FMVP, 2x Scoring Leader
• Tim Duncan (1997-2016): 5 NBA Championships, 6 NBA Finals Appearances, 2x MVP, 10x All-NBA 1st Team, 3x FMVP
• LeBron James (2003-25): 4 NBA Championships, 10 NBA Finals Appearances, 4x MVP, 13x All-NBA 1st Team
• Steph Curry (2009-25): 4 NBA Championships, 6 NBA Finals Appearances, 2x MVP, 4x All-NBA 1st Team, 2x Scoring Leader, 1x FMVP, 1x Steals Leader

All-Time 2nd Team

• George Mikan (1948-56): 5 NBA Championships, 6x All-NBA 1st Team, 3x Scoring Leader
• Bob Pettit (1954-65): 1 NBA Championship, 2x MVP, 2x Scoring Leader
• Jerry West (1960-74): 1 NBA Championship, 10x All-NBA 1st Team, 1 FMVP, 1x Scoring Leader
• Oscar Robertson (1960-74): 1 NBA Championship, 1x MVP, 6x Assist Leader
• Willis Reed (1964-74): 2 NBA Championships, 1x MVP, 2x FMVP
• Wes Unseld (1968-81): 1 NBA Championship, 1x MVP, 1x FMVP, 1x Rebounds Leader
• Bob McAdoo (1972-86): 2 NBA Championships, 1x MVP, 3x Scoring Leader
• Bill Walton (1974-87): 2 NBA Championships, 1x MVP, 1 FMVP, 1x Rebounds Leader
• Julius Erving (1976-87): 1 NBA Championship, 1x MVP, 5x All-NBA 1st Team (3x ABA MVP, 4x All-ABA 1st Team, 2x ABA Scoring Leader)
• Moses Malone (1976-95): 1 NBA Championship, 3x MVP
• Hakeem Olajuwon (1984-2002): 2 NBA Championships, 1x MVP, 2x DPOY
• David Robinson (1989-2003): 2 NBA Championships, 1x MVP, 1x DPOY, 4x All-NBA 1st Team
• Jason Kidd (1994-2013): 1 NBA Championship, 5x All-NBA 1st Team, 5x Assists Leader
• Kevin Garnett (1995-2016): 1 NBA Championship, 1x MVP, 4x Rebounds Leader
• Dirk Nowitzki (1998-2019): 1 NBA Championship, 1x MVP, 1x FMVP, 4x All-NBA 1st Team
• Dwight Howard (2004-22): 1 NBA Championship, 5x All-NBA 1st Team, 5x Rebounds Leader
• Kevin Durant (2007-25): 2 NBA Championships, 1x MVP, 4x Scoring Leader
• Kawhi Leonard (2011-25): 2 NBA Championships, 3x All-NBA 1st Team, 2x FMVP, 2x DPOY
• Giannis Antetokounmpo (2013-25): 1 NBA Championship, 2x MVP, 6x All-NBA 1st Team
• Nikola Jokic (2015-25): 1 NBA Championship, 3x MVP

All-Time 3rd Team

• Dolph Schayes (1949-64): 6x All-NBA 1st Team, 1x Rebounds Leader
• Paul Arizin (1950-62): 3x All-NBA 1st Team, 2x Scoring Leader
• Neil Johnston (1951-59): 4x All-NBA 1st Team, 3x Scoring Leader
• Elgin Baylor (1958-72): 10x All-NBA 1st Team
• Rick Barry (1965-80): 5x All-NBA 1st Team, 1x FMVP, 1x Scoring Leader
• Elvin Hayes (1968-84): 3x All-NBA 1st Team, 1x Scoring Leader, 2x Rebounds Leader
• Nate Archibald (1970-84): 3x All-NBA 1st Team, 1x Scoring Leader, 1x Assists Leader
• George Gervin (1976-86): 5x All-NBA 1st Team, 4x Scoring Leader
• Isiah Thomas (1981-94): 3x All-NBA 1st Team, 1x FMVP, 1x Assists Leader
• Charles Barkley (1984-2000): 1x MVP, 5x All-NBA 1st Team, 1x Rebounds Leader
• John Stockon (1984-2003): 9x Assists Leader
• Karl Malone (1985-2004): 2x MVP, 11x All-NBA 1st Team
• Dennis Rodman (1986-2000): 2x DPOY, 7x Rebounds Leader
• Dikembe Mutombo (1991-2009): 4x DPOY, 2x Rebounds Leader, 3x Blocks Leader
• Allen Iverson (1996-2010): 1x MVP, 3x All-NBA 1st Team, 4x Scoring Leader
• Ben Wallace (1996-2012): 4x DPOY, 2x Rebounds Leader, 1x Blocks Leader
• Steve Nash (1996-2014): 2x MVP, 5x Assists Leader
• Chris Paul (2005-25): 4x All-NBA 1st Team, 5x Assists Leader
• Russell Westbrook (2008-25): 1x MVP, 2x Scoring Leader
• James Harden (2009-25): 1x MVP, 6x All-NBA 1st Team, 3x Scoring Leader
• Anthony Davis (2012-25): 4x All-NBA 1st Team, 3x Blocks Leader
• Joel Embid (2016-25): 1x MVP, 2x Scoring Leader

Note: Several honors were not available to early greats like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. For example, Finals MVP was not awarded until 1969, blocks and steals were not recorded until the 1973-74 season, and the DPOY award did not start until the 1982-83 season.