The room was packed. Half of the 2022 All-Star weekend in Cleveland felt like a giant high school reunion, but for gods. You had LeBron James leaning over to joke with Michael Jordan while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stood nearby, looking like a literal monument. This was the unveiling ceremony for the nba top 75 list, and honestly, it was chaos. Not the bad kind, but the kind of chaos that happens when you try to cram 75 years of ego, sweat, and basketball geometry into a single definitive ranking.
People forget that the list actually has 76 names.
Yeah, 76. There was a tie in the voting, and instead of a tie-breaker, the league just shrugged and added an extra chair to the stage. It’s kinda funny when you think about it. The NBA is obsessed with precision—tracking every "gravity" stat and shooting percentage to the fourth decimal—yet they couldn't decide between two legends.
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The Unspoken Rule of the 50th Anniversary
Here is the first thing everyone gets wrong about the nba top 75 list. Most people assume the voters sat down and ranked every player from 1 to 75. They didn't. The "blue-ribbon" panel—a mix of media, players, and execs—was basically given a blank sheet of paper. But there was a massive, unwritten elephant in the room: What do you do with the guys who made the 50th Anniversary Team back in 1996?
Technically, voters could have kicked off George Mikan or Paul Arizin. They could have said, "Look, the game has evolved, and these guys wouldn't last five minutes against Giannis." But they didn't.
Every single one of the original 50 made the 75 list.
This is huge. It means the "new" list was really only a battle for 25 (or 26) spots. Voters like Steve Aschburner have openly admitted that "disenshrining" a legend felt wrong. It would be like taking a name off a war memorial because you found a more modern soldier. Because of that loyalty, the list became a historical document rather than a "who would win today" power ranking. It's why Bob Pettit is still there, and it's why the debate became so much more cutthroat for the modern era.
The Snubs That Still Sting
You can't talk about the nba top 75 list without talking about Dwight Howard. It’s the elephant in the room that’s wearing three Defensive Player of the Year trophies.
Honestly, leaving Dwight off was a choice.
At the time the list dropped, Dwight had more All-NBA First Team selections than Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard combined. He dragged a Magic team to the Finals past LeBron. He was the best defender on the planet for a five-year stretch. But he didn't make it. Why? Many insiders think it was a "popularity" thing. Dwight’s late-career odyssey through different teams soured some voters, whereas "Dame Time" was at its peak cultural relevance in 2021.
Then there’s Kyrie Irving. On talent? He’s top 20. On resume? It’s complicated. His exclusion felt less like a basketball decision and more like a reaction to the controversy surrounding him at the time. Compare that to someone like Reggie Miller, who made the list without ever winning a ring or an MVP. Reggie had "gravity" and iconic moments, which apparently carried more weight with the panel than pure statistical dominance.
The Active 11
When the list was announced during the 2021-22 season, 11 active players made the cut.
- LeBron James
- Kevin Durant
- Stephen Curry
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Kawhi Leonard
- James Harden
- Anthony Davis
- Russell Westbrook
- Carmelo Anthony
- Damian Lillard
- Chris Paul
Seeing these names alongside Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain was a "passing the torch" moment, but it also highlighted how top-heavy the modern era is. Look at the Lakers that year. They had four guys on the list: LeBron, AD, Russ, and Melo. On paper, they should have been unbeatable. In reality? They missed the playoffs. It goes to show that the nba top 75 list is a celebration of a career's sum total, not a guarantee of what's happening right now.
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Fixing the 1996 Mistakes
One cool thing the 75 list did was fix two major "oops" moments from 1996. Dominique Wilkins and Bob McAdoo were the most famous snubs from the 50th team. "Nique" was a scoring machine and a cultural icon, and McAdoo was an MVP and three-time scoring champ. Both were finally given their flowers in the 75 ceremony. Seeing Dominique finally get that jacket was probably the most "human" moment of the whole event. It proved that these lists actually matter to the players. They care. A lot.
Why the International Gap Matters
The NBA loves to say the game is global. And it is! But the nba top 75 list feels very American-centric.
Think about Pau Gasol. Two rings, incredibly skilled, the backbone of those Lakers titles. He didn't make it. Tony Parker? Four rings, Finals MVP. Nope. Manu Ginobili? The guy who basically invented the Euro-step for the modern NBA. Left off.
The panel included international legends like Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), and Giannis (Greece), but the "middle tier" of international greats got squeezed out. It’s sort of the "Dwight Howard Problem"—if you aren't a Tier 1 superstar, the voters favored the older American legends from the 60s and 70s because of that "respect the past" mandate.
How to View the List Today
If you’re looking at the nba top 75 list to find out who the 75 best basketball players are right now, you’re doing it wrong. This isn't a 2K rating. It's a family tree.
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The list is designed to tell the story of the league. You need George Mikan because he was the first big man. You need Bob Cousy because he was the first showman. Even if you think Luka Doncic or Nikola Jokic (who both missed the 2021 list but would be locks today) could play circles around them, the list is about who built the house, not just who’s living in the penthouse right now.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
- Don't treat it as a ranking. The NBA released the names in groups, not 1 through 75. Anyone telling you "Player X is 42nd" is just making that up.
- Look for the 100th. The next big one is the 100th anniversary in 2046. By then, half of this list might actually be replaced if the league changes its "keep the old guys" policy.
- Watch the tapes. If you see a name like Dave Cowens or Nate Thurmond and don't know why they're there, go to YouTube. The 75 list is the best syllabus for a "Basketball History 101" course you'll ever find.
- Value the snubs. Use the list as a starting point for debate. The fact that Alex English (most points in the 1980s!) isn't on there tells you more about how we value "fame" versus "production" than any essay could.
The list is a snapshot of 2021's collective memory. It’s flawed, it’s biased toward the 90s, and it’s a little too nostalgic for its own good. But it’s the best map we have for the first three-quarters of a century of professional hoops.
Keep an eye on the guys like Jokic and Luka. They are the reason the "100" list will be the hardest one to make yet.