The NBA will celebrate its 75th anniversary this upcoming 2021-22 season. In commemoration of this landmark moment, the league plans to unveil a historic list of the 75 best players to ever step foot on an NBA court. According to NBA.com, a select panel consisting of media, current and former players, coaches, general managers, and team executives will vote on the new list of 75.
Making a “top list” of anything is extremely difficult, considering that snubs are bound to happen. With that, we'll attempt to do something easier: which current NBA players should be in the NBA's Top 75 list. Snubs will still arise, and we'll still see comments such as “what about this guy” or “this guy should be in instead of this.” Nonetheless, the discussions and debates that ensue afterwards make these lists all the more interesting. With that, here are the eight active players that should make the cut of the NBA's Top 75.
4-time NBA champion. 4-time NBA MVP. 4-time Finals MVP. 17-time All-Star. 17-time All-NBA. 6-time All-Defensive Team. 2003-04 Rookie of the Year. Constantly in the GOAT conversation with Michael Jordan. Add the fact that at year 19 and at age 36, he is still in the conversation for best player in the league. Likewise, his squad, the Los Angeles Lakers, is among the top contenders for this year's NBA championship with him leading the way. LeBron James was dubbed as The Chosen One even when he was in high school and he managed to shatter every expectation around him during that time. Yeah, this is an absolute no-brainer.
Kevin Durant
Like LeBron James, Kevin Durant is a no-brainer. The 2013-14 NBA MVP, Durant won two titles and two Finals MVP's with the Golden State Warriors. With his career accomplishments that include 11 All-Star appearances and 9 All-NBA nods, there is no need to question Durant's legacy at this point.
Nonetheless, the 33-year old is still looking to enhance his legacy further as he continues embarking on this chapter of his career with the Brooklyn Nets. Led by Durant, the Nets are among the favorites to win this year's NBA championship. More titles and FMVP's, however, won't do much to solidify his case of being an all-timer. Kevin Durant is simply that great.
Stephen Curry
We're still in no-brainer territory here with Stephen Curry. There is no questioning that Curry is already the greatest 3-point shooter of all time. The Golden State Warriors superstar has already broken numerous 3-point records and is well on his way to becoming the all-time record holder for most triples in NBA history.
His career accomplishments obviously speak for themselves: 2-time MVP, 3-time NBA champion, 7-time All-NBA, and 7-time All-Star. But individual and team success aside, Curry is much more than just the greatest marksman the game has ever seen. He is simply one of the greatest offensive forces in the history of the game.
Many acknowledge Curry as the man responsible for changing the game of basketball as we see it today. His impact on the way the game is played can be seen not just in the NBA, but across the globe and across all levels of hoops. There's no need to question Curry's legacy at this point. He's done a lot in his career and for the game of basketball. But as the 2-time MVP said last year, he still has “a lot to accomplish, but nothing to prove.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo is just about to turn 27 years old in about two months, so he still has a lot more basketball left in him before he hangs up his sneakers. But in just a short amount of time, The Greek Freak has already accomplished so much in his NBA career. Capped by an NBA championship to go along with an all-time NBA Finals MVP run this past season, Antetokounmpo had one of the best 3-year runs in NBA history. He bagged two MVP trophies, a Defensive Player of the Year, a title, and the FMVP all within this span.
After the 2021 Finals, Giannis joined Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in NBA history to win MVP, FMVP, and DPOY. His career accomplishments at age 26 mirror that of Olajuwon and Tim Duncan, two of the greatest big men in NBA history.
With this historic run, he essentially barged into the no-brainer category with the three all-timers listed above. To make it sweeter and more impressive, he did it with the team that drafted him after going through years of mediocrity and playoff disappointment.
Kawhi Leonard doesn't own the individual regular season accolades that some of the players on this list do, but he undoubtedly deserves to be in this list due to his incredible success in the postseason. As a result of his infamous load management tactics, the 30-year old hasn't gotten much accomplishments in the regular season. Nonetheless, he still boasts an outstanding resume that includes two Defensive Player of the Year awards, seven All-Defensive nods, five All-NBA nods and, five All-Star appearances.
The Klaw has won two NBA championships, the first with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 and the second with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. After leading the Raptors to their historic title run, Leonard became the first player ever to win Finals MVP in both conferences.
There's no questioning that as far as playoff success goes, the two-way superstar is among the best in NBA history. In his last four postseasons, which consists of 60 games, Leonard has turned in averages of 29.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals, while shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three. He is as big time as they come when the lights shine brightest.
Beginning with Chris Paul is where we list down those players who haven't enjoyed as much team success as those listed above. Despite that, CP3 definitely deserves a place among the 75 greatest players of all time. Paul is a 10-time All-NBA member, 11-time All-Star, 9-time All-Defensive, the 2005-06 Rookie of the Year, and is simply one of the best leaders and floor generals this league has ever seen.
As far as career accolades go, the 6-foot point guard's are certainly up there. The only thing missing from Paul's resume is that elusive NBA championship. CP3 had his best shot of finally winning it all last year with the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately, despite going up 2-0 in the first two games of the Finals, the Suns lost four straight to the Bucks, preventing Paul from getting his first ring.
As far as his legacy goes, Paul is undoubtedly an all-time great point guard already. But obviously, the lack of an NBA championship would always be that one major asterisk in his Hall of Fame career.
James Harden
James Harden may not be everyone's cup of tea, but he has definitely already cemented himself as an all-time great. After having one of the craziest scoring runs in league history from 2018 to 2020, Harden is undoubtedly up there when it comes to putting points on the board.
Over that span, where he became scoring champ three straight times, The Beard set a bunch of scoring records that only the late great Wilt Chamberlain accomplished. That alone should be enough to convince his naysayers that the lefty shooting guard deserves to be on this list. His career accolades are also top-notch. Aside from three scoring titles, he won league MVP in 2017-18, has been named to the All-NBA team seven times, made the All-Star team nine times.
However, the knock on Harden's career is that he is just a regular season player and more often than not, fizzles out in the postseason. Sure, the 32-year old has had playoff disappointments in the past, but he still has time to enhance his and add an NBA championship to his resume with the Brooklyn Nets.
Russell Westbrook
Like James Harden, Russell Westbrook is also the kind of player that has turned some people away. Not everybody is a fan of how he plays, especially with his alleged padding of stats. That's why some may scoff at his inclusion on this list. Still, looking at Westbrook's career accomplishments, which includes an MVP, two scoring titles, nine All-NBA nods, and nine All-Star appearances, there should be no debate that Westbrook is one of the 75 best players to ever step foot on an NBA floor.
When Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double in the 1961-62 season, many believed no one in the NBA would be able to touch that feat ever again. That's why when Westbrook did it in the 2016-17 season, where he also won MVP honors, it was really a historic milestone in the NBA. Lo and behold, five years later, Westbrook went on to average a triple-double three more times, including in last season with the Washington Wizards.
Some are arguing that Westbrook racking up these trip-dubs left and right is hurting his squad and it shows with the track record of his team success. Still, there's no doubting that what the 9-time All-Star has done in four of the last five years is no easy feat and incredibly impressive.
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