Michael Jordan is one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
Most of the other 24 players announced today for the league’s (unranked) 75th anniversary team won’t generate much more debate than that statement. Like the first 25 names announced, these 25 are seemingly a random assortment of the selected legends.
Today’s installment can best be broke into two groups:
Players who were on the 50 Greatest list in 1996:
- Paul Arizin
- Rick Barry
- Larry Bird
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Clyde Drexler
- Patrick Ewing
- Walt Frazier
- John Havlicek
- Magic Johnson
- Sam Jones
- Michael Jordan
- Karl Malone
- Robert Parish
- Scottie Pippen
- Bill Sharman
- Isiah Thomas
- Nate Thurmond
- Wes Unseld
- Bill Walton
- Jerry West
- James Worthy
More-modern players:
- Tim Duncan
- Kevin Garnett
- Allen Iverson
- Chris Paul
Members of the 50 Greatest list weren’t automatically included in the top 75. A few – including Nate Thurmond and Paul Arizin – looked like they’d be borderline. But those two made it.
The real outrage will come tomorrow, when the rest of the list is revealed. At that point, we can identify who was snubbed.
So far, there have been no egregious inclusions. But there are more than 25 remaining unannounced players who look like at least reasonable candidates, too.
