This is a team game, but this is a list of individual players. No player was awarded a higher or lower ranking because they got to play with better or nastier teammates. Defense is half the game, and if you are going to score, you better do it efficiently.
So, here we are, finally. The 10 best players of the last decade. Read on.
10) Oscar Robertson - Cincinnati Royals, Milwaukee Bucks - 1960 - 1974
No. 14, 1
Point guard
Oscar Robertson, the "Big O," is the player against whom all others labeled "all-around" are judged, and he may remain the standard forever. Statistically, one need look no further than the numbers Robertson put up in 1961-62, just his second year in the league: 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game-an average of a triple-double for an entire season. Not even Magic Johnson or Larry Bird could match those numbers. During his 14-year NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks, Robertson amassed 26,710 points.
9) Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs - 1997 - present
Timothy Theodore "Tim" Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 6-foot 11-inch (2.11 m), 255-pound (116 kg)power forward/center is a four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and NBA Rookie of the Year. The Spurs team captain, he is a 13 time NBA All-Star and the only player in NBA history to be selected both All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams during each of his first 13 seasons
8) Kobe Bryant- Los Angeles Lakers - 1996 - present
Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He decided to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.
7) Shaquille O'Neal- Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics - 1992 - 2011
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (born March 6, 1972), nicknamed "Shaq"), is a former American professional basketball player and current analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. Standing 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall and weighing 325 pounds (147 kg), he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA. Throughout his 19-year career, O'Neal used his size and strength to overpower opponents for points and rebounds.
6) Wilt Chamberlain - Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers - 1959 - 1973
Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain (August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA. The 7 foot 1 inch Chamberlain weighed 250 pounds as a rookie before bulking up to 275 pounds with the Lakers. He played the center position and is considered by his contemporaries as one of the greatest and most dominant players in NBA history.
5) Larry Bird - Boston Celtics - 1979 - 1992
Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale. Due to chronic back problems, he retired as a player in 1992. Bird was voted to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. He served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. In 2003, he assumed the role of president of basketball operations for the Pacers, which he currently holds.
4) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers - 1969 - 1989
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., April 16, 1947) is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season MVP Awards. In college at UCLA, he played on three consecutive national championship teams, and his high school team won 71 consecutive games. At the time of his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA's all-time leader in points scored, games played, minutes played, field goals made, field goal attempts, blocked shots, defensive rebounds, and personal fouls. Abdul-Jabbar also has been an actor, basketball coach and an author. In 2012 he was selected as a US cultural ambassador.
3) Bill Russell - Boston Celtics - 1956-1969
William Felton "Bill" Russell (born February 12, 1934) is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A five-time winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and a twelve-time All-Star, Russell was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA Championships during Russell's thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships (1955, 1956). He also won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U.S. national basketball team.
2) Magic Johnson - Los Angeles Lakers - 1979 - 1991, 1996
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 37, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.
1) Obviously, Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards - 1984 - 1993, 1995 - 1998, 2001 - 2003
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
Career accomplishments: - basketball Hall of Fame
- member of six NBA championship teams
- fourth all-time in field goals made in NBA history
- fourth all-time in free throws made in NBA history
- eighth all-time in free throws attempted in NBA history
- second all-time in steals in NBA history
- third all-time in points in NBA history
- first all-time in points per game in NBA history
- third all-time in steals per game in NBA history
- 14-time NBA All-Star
- Rookie of the Year
- Defensive Player of the Year
- five-time NBA MVP
- six-time NBA Finals MVP
- All-Rookie Team
- 11-time All-NBA selection
- nine-time All-Defensive Team selection
“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan
"I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed."- Michael Jordan
