By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The NBA celebrates its 75th Anniversary season and the league revealed the full list of the 75+1 greatest players of all time, as voted by the selected panel. A list, whose players’ accomplishments combined results in 158 championships, 730 All-Star Selections and 110 MVP Awards with more than 1.5 billion points scored.
Two-time MVP and reigning champion Giannis Antetokounmpo and 14-time All-Star, 2011 champion & MVP Dirk Nowitzki are the only two Europeans on the list and just two of the total of six non-American players voted on the list. In what ended up being a surprise for many in Europe, neither Tony Parker or Pau Gasol are included in the list.
Per the press release:
As a result of a tie in the voting, the 75th Anniversary Team features 76 players. Team highlights include:
• Eleven active players have been named to the 75th Anniversary Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.
• All 50 members of the NBA 50th Anniversary Team, which was named in 1996, have been selected to the 75th Anniversary Team.
• The 75th Anniversary Team includes four players who played in the first NBA All-Star Game in 1951 (Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, George Mikan and Dolph Schayes), the first winner of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award (Bob Pettit for the 1955-56 season) and the first winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award (Jerry West for the 1969 NBA Finals).
• Bill Russell joins Cousy, Mikan and Pettit as the only four players who have been named to all four NBA Anniversary Teams: the 25th Anniversary Team (10 players named), 35th Anniversary Team (11 players named), 50th Anniversary Team and 75th Anniversary Team. (The 25th Anniversary Team was the only one of the four teams that did not allow for the inclusion of active players at the time.)
• Six international players from six countries and territories have been selected to the 75th Anniversary Team: Antetokounmpo (Greece), Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Patrick Ewing (Jamaica), Steve Nash (Canada), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria).
• The five NBA legends who are serving as ambassadors for the 75th Anniversary Season are part of the 75th Anniversary Team: Clyde Drexler, Magic Johnson, Nowitzki, Pettit and Oscar Robertson. Representing different eras of the league’s history, the ambassadors will make appearances throughout the 2021-22 season and have a significant presence at NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland.
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team is listed below in alphabetical order, followed by the list of voters.
| NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM | |||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Clyde Drexler | Damian Lillard | Scottie Pippen |
| Ray Allen | Tim Duncan | Jerry Lucas | Willis Reed |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | Kevin Durant | Karl Malone | Oscar Robertson |
| Carmelo Anthony | Julius Erving | Moses Malone | David Robinson |
| Nate Archibald | Patrick Ewing | Pete Maravich | Dennis Rodman |
| Paul Arizin | Walt Frazier | Bob McAdoo | Bill Russell |
| Charles Barkley | Kevin Garnett | Kevin McHale | Dolph Schayes |
| Rick Barry | George Gervin | George Mikan | Bill Sharman |
| Elgin Baylor | Hal Greer | Reggie Miller | John Stockton |
| Dave Bing | James Harden | Earl Monroe | Isiah Thomas |
| Larry Bird | John Havlicek | Steve Nash | Nate Thurmond |
| Kobe Bryant | Elvin Hayes | Dirk Nowitzki | Wes Unseld |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Allen Iverson | Hakeem Olajuwon | Dwyane Wade |
| Bob Cousy | LeBron James | Shaquille O’Neal | Bill Walton |
| Dave Cowens | Magic Johnson | Robert Parish | Jerry West |
| Billy Cunningham | Sam Jones | Chris Paul | Russell Westbrook |
| Stephen Curry | Michael Jordan | Gary Payton | Lenny Wilkens |
| Anthony Davis | Jason Kidd | Bob Pettit | Dominique Wilkins |
| Dave DeBusschere | Kawhi Leonard | Paul Pierce | James Worthy |
The voting panel included:
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Tim Duncan | Jack McCallum | David Robinson |
| Marv Albert | David DuPree | Brian McIntyre | Bill Russell |
| David Aldridge | Wayne Embry | Ann Meyers | Bob Ryan |
| Sam Amick | Julius Erving | Yoko Miyaji | Bill Simmons |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | Patrick Ewing | Earl Monroe | Sam Smith |
| Steve Aschburner | Walt Frazier | Steve Nash | Stephen A. Smith |
| Charles Barkley | George Gervin | Rachel Nichols | Marc Spears |
| Rick Barry | Russ Granik | Dirk Nowitzki | Erik Spoelstra |
| Howard Beck | Becky Hammon | Shaquille O’Neal | John Stockton |
| Dave Bing | Elvin Hayes | Robert Parish | Hannah Storm |
| Sue Bird | Ernie Johnson | Candace Parker | Sheryl Swoopes |
| Carol Blazejowski | Magic Johnson | Chris Paul | Isiah Thomas |
| Mike Breen | Sam Jones | Bob Pettit | Rod Thorn |
| Doris Burke | Michael Jordan | Scottie Pippen | Rudy Tomjanovich |
| Jerry Colangelo | Steve Kerr | Gregg Popovich | Peter Vecsey |
| Doug Collins | Bob Lanier | Shaun Powell | Bill Walton |
| Cynthia Cooper | Kara Lawson | Ahmad Rashad | Rick Welts |
| Bob Costas | Lisa Leslie | Willis Reed | Jerry West |
| Dave Cowens | Nancy Lieberman | Tim Reynolds | Michael Wilbon |
| Billy Cunningham | Zach Lowe | Bill Rhoden | Lenny Wilkens |
| Stephen Curry | Jerry Lucas | Pat Riley | James Worthy |
| Clyde Drexler | Jackie MacMullan | Oscar Robertson | Jeff Zillgitt |