The NBA has existed since 1946, which is around 80 years of players, championships, and record-breaking moments.
In that time, thousands of players have stepped on an NBA court, but it was about who actually did it, who showed up in the biggest moments, who won when it mattered, and who left the game in a different shape than they found it.
In this article, we will talk about 10 such great players who have nearly defined basketball in a different way.
Top 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time
Here are the 10 greatest basketball players in NBA history.
| Rank | Player | NBA Championships |
| 1 | Michael Jordan | 6 |
| 2 | LeBron James | 4 |
| 3 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 6 |
| 4 | Magic Johnson | 5 |
| 5 | Larry Bird | 3 |
| 6 | Kobe Bryant | 5 |
| 7 | Tim Duncan | 5 |
| 8 | Shaquille O’Neal | 4 |
| 9 | Stephen Curry | 4 |
| 10 | Bill Russell | 11 |
1. Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan has played in six NBA Finals and won all six. He was named MVP in all six.
No player in NBA history has won more than six Finals MVPs. Every single time Jordan made it to the championship round, he won it. And every single time he won it, he was named the best player in the series.
He was also the Defensive Player of the Year in 1988, which is remarkable because scoring champions rarely win that award. He made the All-Defensive First Team 9 times.
He is the only player in NBA history to win Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, NBA MVP, All-Star MVP, and Finals MVP.
2. LeBron James
LeBron James has won 4 NBA championships from 10 NBA Finals appearances, including eight consecutive appearances between 2011 and 2018. He has won 4 regular-season MVPs, 4 Finals MVPs, and has been named to 22 All-Star Games.
He is the first player ever to reach 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists; nobody else is even close to it.
He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in February 2023, and as of the 2025–26 season, he sits at 43,440 career regular-season points, and still playing.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA’s all-time leading scorer for 38 years, i.e. 1984-2023.
He won 6 NBA championships, one with the Milwaukee Bucks (1971) and five with the Los Angeles Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988). He won 6 regular-season MVP awards, still the most in NBA history. He was a 19-time All-Star and made the All-Defensive Team 11 times.
His signature move, the Skyhook, was essentially the best of all. He would catch the ball on the block, extend his arm fully above his head, and release it in a high arc that no defender would reasonably contest.
He used it from his rookie year in 1969 through his final season in 1989.
4. Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson was 6-foot-9, 220 pounds and was still the best point guard in the world.
He won 5 NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) and earned 3 Finals MVP awards and 3 regular-season MVP awards.
He made 12 All-Star Games and was named to 9 All-NBA First Teams.
The “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s were built entirely around Magic Johnson’s ability to do things no one had ever seen a player that size do.
5. Larry Bird
Larry Bird grew up in French Lick, Indiana, and went to a small college. He wasn’t fast and couldn’t jump particularly high.
He seemed to be an average NBA player by every physical measure, yet the most terrifying player to guard in NBA history.
Larry Bird won 3 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics (1981, 1984, 1986) and 3 consecutive regular-season MVPs (1984-1986). He made 12 All-Star Games and shot the ball with confidence and then backed it up every single time.
He was the rare player who made everyone around him better simply by being on the floor, whether through passing, shooting, or telling opponents exactly what he was about to do and then doing it anyway.
His rivalry with Magic Johnson in the 1980s is what turned the NBA from a regional American sport into a national phenomenon.
6. Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant entered the NBA straight out of high school in 1996 and spent the next 20 years proving that he belonged among the greatest to ever play.
He won 5 NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, three alongside Shaquille O’Neal (2000-2002) and two as the undisputed franchise leader (2009-2010), earning Finals MVP both times. He won the regular-season MVP in 2008.
In January 2006, he scored 81 points in a single game against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest single-game total in NBA history.
He was an 18-time All-Star, made the All-NBA First Team 11 times, and was selected to the All-Defensive First Team 9 times.
7. Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan won 5 NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) across three different decades, but all with the same franchise, the San Antonio Spurs.
He won 2 regular-season MVPs, was a 15-time All-Star, made the All-NBA First Team 8 times, and picked up 3 Finals MVP awards.
8. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal has averaged 30.4 points and 13.9 rebounds in the playoffs with the Los Angeles Lakers (2000-2002), and won three consecutive NBA championships with three straight Finals MVP awards.
The only weakness anyone could see was his free-throw shooting, but even that didn’t stop him.
He also won a title with the Miami Heat in 2006, giving him four championships total, and won the regular-season MVP in 2000.
9. Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry is the only unanimous MVP in NBA history (2015-16), meaning every single voter agreed he was the best player in the league that year.
He’s the all-time leader in three-pointers made, with over 3,700 in the regular season alone. He won four NBA championships (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) with the Golden State Warriors and captured his first Finals MVP in 2022, averaging 34 points per game across six games against the Celtics.
10. Bill Russell
Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons, a record that has never come close to being matched. He also played in 12 All-Star Games and won 5 regular-season MVP awards.
Bill Russell averaged 22.5 rebounds per game for his entire career. To put that in perspective, today’s rebounding leaders typically average around 12-13. He dominated the defensive end, blocking shots, controlling the paint, protecting the rim, in ways the NBA didn’t even have ever seen before.
Also Read:5 Most Clutch Players In the NBA History
