Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to thank you for taking the time out to observe my list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history. This is a project that I am very proud of, and very passionate about. As you can see, I put my time, effort, research and very hard work into this. However, this is not a very easy project at all. In fact, it is very unenviable. You can create a whirlwind of debates with a topic like this. There are two different teams in this topic. One team is about the rings. The other team is about the stats. When you set a criteria that puts things in perspective, this will help both sides find common ground. If you only focus on rings, then Sam Jones, John Havlicek, and Robert Horry should all be ahead of Michael Jordan for that matter. Rings are great, but we need to look at them for what they are, team accomplishments. However, if you go off of stats alone, then Karl Malone should be ahead of Wilt Chamberlain and Tim Duncan because he has more career points. Dominique Wilkins should be ahead of Larry Bird, and Elvin Hayes should be ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon. However, when you weigh accolades and impact, total points should not be the final measuring stick for greatness. To put things in perspective, someone needs to be an outstanding individual player, while contributing to a championship team. Being a leader of a championship team, along with amazing achievements is what strengthens a player's legacy. If someone is a great player, but is overshadowed by a megastar in their time, their legacy takes a hit, even if they get 1 or 2 championships at best. If someone was considered the defining player of their era, that is another bonus. This is why the list is called the "50 Greatest". Everything is taken into account. This is not solely based off of pure skill level, and nothing else. Visually, "Player A" may look better than "Player B". However, when you look at their numbers on a night to night basis, there could be a different story. I am a very strong student of the rich history of the game of basketball. It is my personal favorite, by the way. Basketball has created hundreds, and thousands of awesome players throughout the years, and those players have inspired the generations after them to go higher. In order to make the Top 50, players must meet the following criteria (In no particular order):
-Individual dominance
-Achievements
-Team accomplishments (in perspective)
-Impact on the game
-Greatness in Era
-Longevity
Sit back, relax and enjoy.
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