Top 75 players NBA release on their 75th anniversary

NBA 75 players are not perfect it has some defects and hypocrisy in it, let’s have a look at the snubs and obvious players that should be on the list.

NBA has always been creative with their method of interaction with the fans, the introduction of all-star, introducing 3 point line, dunk contest, 3-pointer contest, etc. With this, they also released a list of top 50 players in 1996 on their 50th anniversary and now following the trend the same is done on NBA 75th anniversary.

Here is the list of top 50 players in 1996-

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NBA at 50: Top 50 Players | NBA.com
Top 50 Players | image courtesy- NBA.com

Here is the latest 75 top players list-

Now let’s take a look at some obvious answers on the list-

# MICHAEL JORDAN

He is regarded as the greatest player of all time by most players, media, and fans. His career is close to perfection and his accolades are out of this world. Air Jordan won the dunk contest twice, he was the rookie of the year, defensive player of the year, 5-times MVP (2nd highest), 6 times NBA champions, 6 times NBA Finals MVP (highest ever), 10 times all NBA first team, 9 times all NBA defence team, 3 times NBA all-star MVP, 14 times all-star, 10 scoring title (most in history) with 7 consecutive scoring titles matching Wilt Chamberlain and lastly retired with highest scoring average ever in history with 30.1 ppg. He also had a legendary game against the Larry Bird’s Celtics with 63 points and was named black Jesus by Larry Bird.

# LEBRON JAMES

With 4 regular-season MVPs, 4 NBA championships, 4 NBA finals MVP (2nd highest), rookie of the year, 17 times all-star, etc. are just a few of the accomplishments of his illustrious career 19 years and still going. If he continues with this pace, he’ll end up as the all-time scoring leader of all time passing Kareem Abdul Jabbar (right now at 3rd), his passing ability has allowed him to stack so many assists that he’ll also end up in the top 5 assists. With this pace, he’ll be the only player ever with 40k points, 10k assists, and rebounds. Even though the legend of the King continues but his legacy is already all-time great.

# KOBE BRYANT

Kobe Bryant was the hardest-working player ever in the NBA. His greatness on the court has inspired so many fans off the court, his willingness to compete at the highest level and play every single game with all his heart and soul has made us fall in love with him. He is at the 4th all-time scoring leader with 33,643 points, he won NBA finals 5 times and was 2 times final MVP, he has one regular-season MVP and his pride on defence led him to 12 all-defensive teams (2nd highest all-time), he was 18 times all-star and 15 times All-NBA team.

# KAREEM ABDUL JABBAR

He has the greatest winning career if counting college, he won three NCAA championships with UCLA and 6 times NBA championships, one of them with Milwaukee Bucks and the other 5 with Showtime Lakers, and won 2 final MVP. H has the most number of MVPs i.e 6 and leads the league in all-time scoring with 38,387 points. He also has 3rd highest number of blocks, but keep in mind that the first 7 years of his career blocks were not listed as stats so if we speculate he just might be the all-time blocks leader. He also has the highest number of selections in all-star with 19 selections, 15 times all NBA team and also 11 times all-defensive team.

Now let’s take a look at the clear snubs from NBA’s 75 greatest players-

1. DWIGHT HOWARD

His resume is that of a Hall of Famer, he is one of the best defensive centres we have ever seen who can also contribute in offence largely, even though he never won a championship in his prime with Magic Orlando with just one final appearance, he won with the Lakers in 2019 as a big-time role player. He is 3 times defensive player of the year only one other player has won it 3 times and 2 other players who won 4 times. 8 all NBA team selection, 5 defensive team selection, rookie of the year winner, and one-time dunk contest winner.

2. TRACY MCGRADY

In Kobe’s words, he was just a bigger stronger Kobe, he had all the moves, midrange, three-pointer, and free throw. He had no weakness in his game, he was clutch but injury derailed his career. McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-star, seven-time- NBA selection, two-time scoring champion, and winner of the MVP in 2001. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2017.

3. KLAY THOMPSON

The ultimate 3 and D player. His shooting ability is out of this world and can get hot at any point of the game. He once scored a staggering 37 points in just one quarter, he is one of the greatest shooters alive with the ability to guard opponents’ best players. He is a 3 times champion with a memorable comeback against KD’s OKC in game 6, draining 11 threes to push to a game 7 to ultimately win the series. He is a 5 times All-Star, a three-time NBA champion with the GSW, and a two-time All-NBA Third Team honoree. He has also been named to the NBA All-defensive team.