1. Larry Bird
Career Stats: 3-Time NBA Champion, 3-Time NBA MVP, 12-Time NBA All Star, Points: 21,791 (24.3 PPG), Rebounds: 8,974 (10.0 RPG) , Assists: 5,695 (6.3 APG)
So yep, he squeaked into the list after all.
Even when the metrics are spectacular, they don’t always capture the genuine legend. Larry Bird was a three-time MVP, three-time NBA Champion, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist, and the only man ever to earn the MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year Awards. Larry Bird’s journey to the Finals of the NCAA Tournament with Indiana State served to transform how we watch the modern-day spectacle of the Final Four. Bird’s rivalry with Magic Johnson was not only the stuff of folklore, but the rivalry is now now a Broadway show. Larry Bird helped to develop the NBA as it is today. This is the one and only available place for “Larry Legend.”
2. Jerry West
Image result for Jerry West
Career Stats : NBA Champion , 14-Time NBA All Star, Points: 25,192 (27.0 PPG), Rebounds: 5,366 (5.8 RPG), Assists: 6,238 (6.7 APG)
Sometimes, numbers and titles do not convey the complete tale. In West’s peak, if you needed a player to help secure a victory, then you wanted him playing for you. There was never a more suitable moniker than “Mr. Clutch” for a basketball player. These days, many know Jerry West by another nickname: “Logo.” When you look at the silhouette of the NBA’s contemporary logo, you are looking at Jerry West.
For nearly a decade, West came up against the overpowering buzz saw that was the Boston Celtics dynasty. Finally, in 1972, West and the Lakers broke through to become champions. West would go on to be coach of the Los Angeles Lakers (never missing the playoffs in his three years,) as well as being the architect of multiple NBA Champions, becoming General Manager of the team from 1983-2002.
3. John Havlicek
Image result for John Havlicek
Career Stats: 8-Time NBA Champion, 13-Time NBA All Star, Points: 26,395 (20.8 PPG), Rebounds: 8,007 (6.3 RPG), Assists: 6,114 (4.8 APG)
Lovingly dubbed after the John Wayne classic “Hondo,” John Havlicek initially made an impact as a member of the 1960 Ohio State squad that won the NCAA Championship. Havlicek was one of the first to switch between the shooting guard and small forward positions. As a team captain, Havlicek was a thirteen time All-Star, in addition to be being the Finals MVP in 1974. Playing for the Boston Celtics, Hondo won eight NBA Championships but, more crucially for his own reputation, he won two of them after Bill Russell retired.
Perhaps the biggest revolution that “Hondo” wrought, though, was the fact that he began his Hall of Fame career by coming off of the bench. Havlicek was one of the first to illustrate the fundamental relevance of the “Sixth Man.”
4. George Mikan
Image result for George Mikan
Career Stats: 7-Time BAA/NBA/NBL Champion, NBL MVP, Points: 10,156 (23.1 PPG), Rebounds : 4,167 (13.4 RPG), Assists: 1,245 (2.8 APG)
When people rank the best NBA, or even greatest Laker, centers of all time, it’s a pity that George Mikan may pass anyone’s mind. To recap, George Mikan guided DePaul University to the 1945 NIT Championship. During that period, the NIT was the significant tournament, the one that helped choose a National Champion. Mikan was the MVP of the National Basketball League, before the merger that created it the NBA. Mikan eventually became a five-time NBA Champion with the then-Minneapolis Lakers. In 1950, an AP poll ranked George Mikan as the unanimous “best basketball player of the half-century. Mikan got this accolade while still an active player with the Lakers.