He averaged over 30 points per game in two seasons, and was a 12-time all-star. Are you ready for Jordan’s run atop this list? Mikan was a trendsetter in that era as he pushed the pace of the game. In the new era, pace is ridiculously high and guys can shoot threes at an insane rate. When steals were recorded, he finished with 2.0 steals per game in his career. #50: Paul Pierce gets a lot of flack from the NBA world, but hard to deny what he has done on the court. We saw peak Bryant in those 2005 and 2006 seasons, where he averaged over 30 points per game. He was an all-star in 12 of his 13 seasons, and All-NBA in ten of them. He was the Finals MVP that year. Bird looked like a midwestern suburban dad but averaged over 20 points in all but two seasons, where he averaged just 19. He spent his entire NBA career with Philly, going down as possibly the greatest 76er of all-time. Hard to find a ten year stretch of this time of dominance. Kareem also brought a title to Milwaukee, which is their lone one in organizational history. LeBron James is a top-three player of all-time and has averaged over 27 points per game in his career. #24: LeBron needed Wade, Kobe needed Shaq, and Jordan needed Pippen. 1 pick — Bill McGill (Chicago Zephyrs) | Full Draft. Best player from every year in NBA history (or why MVP shouldn’t go to the best player) This list is mainly looking from the benefit of hindsight and it starts in 1975 because thats really as far back as my basketball knowledge goes. The overall game changes so frequently; in previous eras, guys were playing 40 minutes a night. Who would you consider the best player in the NBA every year since 2000? Who Is The Best NBA Power Forward Of All Time? #45: Reggie Miller is a Hall of Fame basketball player, and won’t be finding the way into the announcing Hall of Fame. James is now 5th in points all-time, and will not stop there. Robinson cooled off a bit in his later stages of his career, but early on he was an automatic double-double on a nightly basis. It may last a while. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was one of the most dominant players in NBA history. HoopsHype selects the best player from each group in the NBA, from the 19-year-olds through the 40-year-olds. Gaming Quiz / Best NBA 2K Players Each Year Random Gaming or Video Games Quiz Can you name the highest rated NBA 2K players in each of these video game editions? Previously, from 1946-47 through the 1968-69 season, the NBA scoring leader was the player with more total points at the end of each season. Russell Westbrook, PG. McHale was a monster at power forward, leading his way to seven all-star appearances, and was named to six All-Defensive teams. That means every year 50-70 players … Pierce was a long time Celtic, where he won his lone championship with the help of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. He will go down as a Rookie of the Year, and a League MVP. #29: David Robinson is one of the block kings of the NBA, currently ranking 6th on the all-time list. He won four rings during this period and was a league MVP in 2008. $41,358,814. He was a part of the Chicago run in the 90s, and was one of the more consistent players in the game. No surprise here as Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all-time, and he played most of his minutes at shooting guard. He averaged 30.1 points per game. Each year there are ten players selected to one of the two All-NBA Teams . He was also a menace on the defensive side, averaging 2.2 steals per game in his career. #37: Jason Kidd is another recent Hall of Fame inductee, and similar to the man above Kidd was a ten-time all-star, and unlike Nash he was able to lock down a ring with the Mavericks during the 2010-11 season. Bird was another Celtic to stay with Boston for his entire career. May 9, 2019 - … by StewartLittle Plays Quiz not verified by Sporcle . Wade isn’t going to crack the lists of any stats, but averaged over 20 points per game in his career, and was also a hound with steals. Drexler averaged 20.4 points per game in his career, and the peripheral stats also followed with over five assists and six rebounds per game. #19: Elvin Hayes seems to fly under the radar in terms of one of the greats. He was a four-time MVP, two-time NBA champion, and a seven-time scoring champ. Bryant is a two-time scoring champ and will go down as one of the greats in terms of playoff production. He is also over 11,000 rebounds in his career, and is currently inside the top 25 all-time there as well. #22: John Havlicek played his entire career in Boston, and won eight titles during his career. Hayes was in the league still when blocks were not counted, so he had five seasons with no recorded blocks, and still sits within the top 25 of all-time. He was a part of three Boston championships, during those 80s runs. Wilt Chamberlain won two NBA championships and was a four-time league MVP. His scoring stats were pedestrian when you consider most on this list, but he was an excellent rebounder, averaging 22.5 per game. He was a four-time scoring champion, and also a three time steals champ. #17: It is only a matter of time before we see Kevin Durant start to pass up some of the great scorers in the game. #43: Going back to the early days of the NBA, Bob Pettit was an absolute monster in the front court. Prime Michael Jordan won six championships during the 1990s and was the Finals MVP in all of them. Drexler is also seventh all-time in steals, and found his way on the All-NBA team five times. Thomas had his career cut short, retiring at age 32 after an Achilles injury. Johnson was not your prototypical point guard at 6’9, but his passing ability was unmatched. #22: Dirk Nowitzki is still chugging along in the NBA, but his time is coming to an end soon. We started tracking three-pointers in the 1979 season. #11: One of the great assist men in the game was Oscar Robertson, but his 30 point per game seasons also established himself as a lethal scoring point guard. To separate the 2000s from the 2010s, Kobe Bryant averaged 28 points per game during the 2000s, where he played ten seasons. Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history. He is a two-time NBA champ and counting, recently giving the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship. He is a future Hall of Fame inductee, and one of the best shooting bigs of all-time. He rotated to small forward later in his career but is known for shooting guard. The Lakers were one of the most dominant teams during this era. He is 12th all-time in scoring, and was the 1985-86 scoring champion as well. He averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds per game. Washington Wizards. NBA & ABA Year-by-Year Leaders and Records for Points Per Game. Wilt Chamberlain played in a different era as he averaged over 45 minutes a game in his career. Re: Best player in the NBA every year since 2000. 1987-88: Michael Jordan. #8: Kobe Bryant is currently third on the all-time scoring list, and 15th in steals. He was also Finals MVP. He is 7th all-time in blocked shots, finishing with over 2,800 in his career. He was the Finals MVP, and went on to be a six-time All-NBA player. #1: Michael Jordan is a ten-time scoring champ, six-time NBA champion, and we could go on-and-on about his accolades. Reed was a dominant center during this era, and some career longevity would help his case in the rankings, but still a top tier player. Paul was the Rookie of the Year in 2005-06, and has also been named to nine all-star teams and eight All-NBA teams. #30: Currently 7th on the all-time assists list is Isiah Thomas. He was tremendous on both sides of the ball, and while he will go down as the sidekick, Pippen is a Hall of Famer that was also a seven-time all-star. Olajuwon managed to win two rings before his time was up, but probably should have had more. If Curry can maintain good health, he will up there with some of the greats for scoring and steals. Curry is already a three-time NBA Champion, and this number should go up. Iverson is currently 13th all-time in steals, 25th all-time in points. Wade will go down as one of the best shooting guards over the last few decades and will be remembered as a Miami Heat legend. In 25-50 years, we might be looking at other various changes that make it tough to rank this current era of players. #44: One of the best shooting strokes in the game was Ray Allen. 3. #28: Rick Barry is another ABA and NBA player from that generation, and in the NBA averaged 23.2 points per game. #3: In over 1,000 games played, Wilt Chamberlain averaged some ridiculous numbers. #38: Allen Iverson came into the league during a time where a lot of high scoring players were on their way out. #47: Kawhi Leonard was drafted and later traded by the Indiana Pacers, ending up with San Antonio who sent George Hill their way. Leonard’s overall career numbers look average, but a 26-7-3 line in the 2018-19 season is more of a show for what he can do. Boston sure did know how to draft them back then. All rights reserved. He is a three-time NBA Champion and a two-time Finals MVP. He is 10th in all-time scoring, 4th in rebounds, and 24th in blocks. He was a 15-time all-star and four-time NBA Champion. the official stats partner of the NBA. Is it accolades, championships, all-time points, defensive stats? The five MVPs is also something to note. 2. He is currently 16th all-time in points, although he will be pushed down over years to come. He is a five-time NBA Champion, and something that gets overlooked is the fact he was named to the All-Defensive team 12 times. He was a seven-time all-star and two-time NBA Champion. Shaq also dominated finals with three MVP awards as well. 2 / 20. Frazier shot 49% in his carer, and averaged nearly two steals per game. #12: Hakeem Olajuwon was ferocious on both sides of the ball, and was a three-time block champion. Across all league’s he won seven titles, and the one year he was injured was the one year he did not win a championship. #13: We are going way back for Jerry West, who surprisingly won just one championship with the Lakers during his time in Los Angeles. Cousy stayed in Boston for about 99% of his career, as he retired and later came back at the age of 41 to play with Cincinnati for seven games. Stephen Curry, PG. Where do you start and end when ranking players? Join our linker program. While he fizzled out a little bit later in his career, but his time with Miami brought them a ring. #39: Bob Cousy is just another Boston legend that found his way into the rankings.