Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks correspondent, hoopsworld4.wordpress.com, and Helium.com.
Happy 60th birthday to the NBA. Although the NBA as we know it was formed in 1946 under the name Basketball Association of America(BAA), the official name National Basketball Association(NBA) wasn’t adopted until 1949 after merging with it’s rival National Basketball League(NBL). In 1996, when the organization itself turned 50, the NBA put out a list naming it’s 50 Greatest Players. In honor of the official NBA name tag turning 60, I thought it would be interesting to try to figure out which 10 players that the NBA would add to the 50 Greatest list, if the list would ever be expanded to 60. My list includes a few that I think they originally missed as well as some current players with monster stats. Remember, Shaq was chosen for the original 50 after only his 5th season. Which 10 would you select?
No Brainers
1) Dominique Wilkins – 24.8 Career Scoring avg(12th all time), 9x All Star, 7x All NBA Selection, 1x Scoring Champ, 10th all time points, 10th FG made, 16th FT made, 1 of 6 players in NBA history to average 25+ pts for 10 consecutive seasons.
2) Allen Iverson – 27.1 Career Scoring avg(5th all time), 10x All Star, 7x All NBA Selection, 4x Scoring Champ, 1x MVP, 2x All Star MVP, 3x Steals Champ, 16th all time points, 23rd FG made, 10th FT made, 12th steals, 36th assists, 1 of 6 players in NBA history to avg 25+ pts for 10 cons. yrs.
3) Tim Duncan – 21.4 pts and 11.7 reb career averages, 11x All Star, 12x All NBA Selection, 12x All NBA Defense, 2x MVP, 4x NBA Champion, 3x Finals MVP, 12th all time blocks, 28th rebounding, 40th points.
4) Kobe Bryant – 25.1 Career Scoring avg(10th all time), 11x All Star, 11x All NBA Selection, 9x All NBA Defense, 1x MVP, 2x Scoring Champ, 4x NBA Champion, 3x All Star MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 17th all time points, 24th FG made, 13th FT made, 32nd 3PT made.
5) Kevin Garnett – 20.2 pts and 11.1 reb career averages, 12x All Star, 9x All NBA Selection, 10x All NBA Defense, 1x MVP, 1x NBA Champion, 1x Defensive Player of Year, 26th all time points, 22nd rebounds, 21st blocks
Debateable
6) Gary Payton – 16.3 pts, 6.7 assists, 1.8 steals career avgs, 9x All Star, 9x All NBA Selection, 9x All NBA Defense, 1x NBA Champion, 1x Defensive Player of Year, 1x Steals Champion, 2x Olympic Gold Medalist, 23rd all time pts, 8th games played, 7th minutes, 16th FG made, 7th assists, 3rd steals.
7) Jason Kidd – 13.8 pts, 9.2 assists, 2.0 steals career avgs, 9x All Star, 6x All NBA Selection, 9x All NBA Defense, 5x Assist Champ, 1x Steals Champ, 15th all time minutes, 3rd assists, 7th steals.
8 ) Dikembe Motumbo – 9.8 pts, 10.3 reb, 2.8 blk career averages, 8x All Star, 3x All NBA Selection, 6x All Defense, 4x Defensive Player of Year, 3x Block Champ, 2x Rebound Champ, 17th all time rebounds, 2nd blocks.
9) Alex English – 21.5 Career Scoring avg, 8x All Star, 3x All NBA Selection, 1x Scoring Champ, 12th all time points, 8th FG made, 8th FG made, 25th games played.
10) Reggie Miller – 18.2 Career Scoring avg, 5x All Star, 3x All NBA Selection, 2x 3PT Made Champ, 5x FT% Champ, 13th all time points, 6th minutes played, 1st 3pt made and att, 25th FG made, 11th FT made, 9th FT%, 33rd steals.
Longshots
11) Ray Allen – 20.9 Career Scoring avg, 9x All Star, 2x All NBA Selection, 1x NBA Champion, 3x 3PT Made Champ, 34th all time points, 2nd 3PT made and att, 5th FT%.
12) Vince Carter – 23.5 Career Scoring avg, 8x All Star, 2x All NBA Selection, 57th all time points, 19th scoring avg, 33rd 3pt made.
13) Alonzo Mourning – 17.1 pts, 8.5 reb, 2.8 blk Career avg, 7x All Star, 2x All NBA Selection, 2x Defensive Player of Year, 2x NBA All Defense, 2x Blocks Champ, 10th all time blocks, 6th blk/gm.
Time Will Tell
14) Lebron James – 27.5 Career Scoring avg(3rd All Time), 5x All Star, 5x All NBA Selection, 1x Scoring Champ, 1x MVP, 1x All NBA Defense, 2x All Star MVP, 158th points.
15) Dwight Howard – 17.3 pts, 12.5 reb, 2 blk Career avg, 3x All Star, 3x All NBA Selection, 3x All NBA Defense, 1x Defensive Player of Year, 2x Rebound Champ, 1x Block Champ, 3rd all time FG%, 13th rebounds per gm.
