Legend Tier (Can’t Be Ranked): Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain

1. Michael Jordan

2. Lebron James

3. Kobe Bryant

4. Magic Johnson / KAJ

5. Kareem Abdul Jabbar / Magic

6. Larry Bird

7. Shaquille O’Neal/ Timmy

8. Tim Duncan / Shaq

9. Hakeem Olajuwon

10. Steph Curry

Reasoning:

1 MJ 6 rings, 6 FMVP, 5MVP, 10x scoring champion, 9x All Defensive 1st Team (tied with Kobe for most all time in history), 3x All Star Game MVP (back then when games were competitive), 3x steals leader, 3peat retired then came back and did it again, averaged 30/6/5 in his career and that’s including his Wizards days. Such an impressive resume in such a short period. It will be hard to pass Michael, even if you didn’t watch Michael you know from his resume he was godlike, and if you watched him you agree with me that no one like Michael will come in a million years

2 Lebron 4 rings, 4 FMVP, 4MVP, 3x All Star MVP (2 which were done in competitive era), 1x scoring champion, 1x assist leader, 5x All Defensive 1st team, 13x All NBA 1st team, 19x all star, most points all time. Lebron’s impressiveness comes from his longevity. Managing 4 rings, being the top dog for all, and getting 4 regular season MVP is impressive. He has played two decades with elite stats and it seems there’s no stopping him, no matter how old he gets he is still a threat in the NBA.

3 Kobe Bryant. Find me a resume other than MJ/Lebron/Kareem more impressive than this. 5 rings, 2FMVP, 1MVP, 18x all star (19x tied with Lebron and Kareem if 1999 lockout didn’t happen), 11x All NBA 1st team, 9x All Defensive 1st Team (tied for most in history with MJ), 2x scoring champion, 4th all time in points, 4x All Star MVP (back when it was competitive, also highest in history), beat the most 50-win teams in history, won a back2back without a top 75 nba player almost 3 peating. If I didn’t include names when listing every player’s accolades, you would think Kobe is Top 3 all time. This subreddit knocks Kobe for having only 1 MVP, but we know the real reason he didn’t get MVP in the years following '03. I read people saying Kobe was robin in the 3peat with Shaq, but if you watched the 3 peat you know it’s not true, perhaps for '00 but not for 01 and 02. By the way, Kobe wins Western Conference Finals MVP for 01 and 02 if it existed back then. It was clear that Kobe and Shaq were 1a/1b, not even MJ or Lebron could get finals MVP over Shaq in the 3 peat.

4/5 Kareem. 6 rings, 2 FMVP, 6MVP, 19x all star (tied with Lebron for most in history), 10x All NBA 1st team, 5x All Defensive 1st team, 2x scoring champion, 1x rebounding leader, 4x block leader. Some knock Kareem’s championships for playing with Magic and a stacked Lakers team, but those are the same people knocking Kobe for playing with Shaq and a bunch of role players. Kareem’s resume is impressive, and his longevity has been surpassed by no one other than Lebron. While 6MVPs are impressive, we need to take into consideration competition. If you look at the voting in the 70s and look up Kareem’s competition for MVP, I find Lebron’s/MJ’s/Magic’s/Bird’s MVPs much more impressive even though they are less than Kareem. Kareem won 4 championships in high school, 3 in college, and 6 in the NBA. It is clear that he is a winner.

4/5 Magic Johnson. 5 rings, 3FMVP, 3MVP, 9x All NBA 1st Team, 4x assist leader, 2x steal leader. Magic’s 5 rings and these accolades in such a short career (due to HIV) is impressive. Makes you wonder how much more he could boost his legacy if he continued to play healthy, would he have a chance at being top 3? Magic’s resume is knocked for not having any All-Defensive nominations, let alone any 1st team nominations (MJ and Kobe have 9, Lebron and Kareem have 5).

6 Larry Bird. 3 rings, 2FMVP, 3 MVP, 9x All NBA 1st Team, 2x 50/40/90 Club. While his resume isn’t the most impressive because of his lack of defense, his MVP 3 years in a row in a competitive era is legendary. Larry’s precision was also legendary, considering he got 50/40/90 twice, and he accomplished this resume in such a short period due to back injuries. Many knock Bird for having a stacked Celtics team, but Magic, Kareem, Kobe, and Lebron also had great teammates. MJ as well, considering Rodman’s defensive and rebounding and Scottie Pippen as robin.

7/8 Shaq. 4 rings, 3FMVP, 1 MVP, 3x All Star MVP (back when it was competitive), 8x All NBA 1st team, 2x scoring champion. Shaq’s resume is the weakest of the 7, but he deserves this spot for his dominance during his peak and early years. Shaq was an unstoppable force until 2004ish. After 2005 I saw him decline and become a role player in the late 2000s.

7/8 Tim Duncan. 5 rings, 3FMVP, 2MVP, 10x All NBA 1st Team, 8x All Defensive 1st Team. Of these 8 players, I can say that only Tim, Lebron, Kareem, MJ, and Kobe played incredible defense. It shows, because of their high Defensive Team nominations. Tim played both offense and defense. While Tim never won scoring/rebound/block champion, he was a team player and played to win, not to pad his stats. He is knocked for averaging 19 points in his career, but he makes up for it with his rebounding and blocks. 5 rings in a 20 year career is impressive. If one argued Tim over Shaq, I wouldn’t be upset, I agree with you. Duncan benefited playing with Pop and having Manu and Tony as teammates, Shaq benefited playing with Phil and Kobe. If you put Duncan in a Lakers jersey and Shaq in a Spurs jersey, I think they would find the same or similar success.

9 Hakeem. 2 rings, 2FMVP, 1MVP, 6x All NBA 1st Team, 2x DPOY, 5x All Defensive 1st Team, 2x rebounding leader, 3x block leader. Quite an impressive resume, and for now he deserves the 9th spot. Where he lacks in longevity and offense, he makes up for with a legendary defense bag. His skills and footwork were also top tier and untouched.

10 Steph at 10. 4 rings, 1 FMVP, 1MVP, 2MVP, 4x All NBA 1st Team, 2x scoring champion, 50/40/90 club. Steph has the weakest resume of the 10. He is lacking in longevity and has 0x All Defensive nominations. He is knocked for playing on a stacked Warriors superteam, including 2 rings with Kevin Durant. Still I think he shouldn’t be knocked for that, he deserved all 4 rings. Steph’s Warriors blocked Lebron from achieving legendary status, it is an incredible feat.