THE 50 GREATEST PLAYERS IN NBA HISTORY
One of the most frequently asked questions that I encounter besides “how tall are you?” is either “who is the greatest player you’ve ever played against?” or “who is the toughest player you’ve ever played against?” Depending on who's asking the question and their knowledge of basketball, I typically give a couple of different responses. There's a big difference between “the greatest” and “the toughest.”
The game of basketball has been around for a long time now and it has evolved over the years from when Dr. James Naismith first tied a peach basket to an old barn post and the players were shooting two-hand set shots, to today where the game is played on a global scale with some of the finest athletes in the world. There were great players back in the beginning of the game, just as there are great players now. I don't know if it's ever totally fair to compare players from one era with players of another. Periodically you see sports aficionados coming up with hypothetical computerized scenarios of, say, the great Green Bay Packers of the Sixties versus the New England Patriots of the new millennium. It's impossible to really say who the best players are or which team would come out on top. But it's a fun exercise and it creates a lot of heated conversation among the fanatics and all of us.
I was lucky to play during perhaps the greatest era of NBA basketball. My NBA career spanned two decades essentially, 1980 – 1996. Some of the greatest NBA players ever to play the game played during those years. I remember as a rookie in 1980 marveling at the incredible Dr. J. and I’ve also been able to witness the new era of NBA basketball that was brought to us by Ervin “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.
All in all, I was privileged to play against over thirty of the all-time fifty greatest NBA players. I'm going to go through the whole list and share my thoughts with you in regards to either actually playing against them or watching them while I was still a youngster. They are listed in alphabetical order, and if you want to find the actual numerical order in which they are listed by the NBA, you can check out their website at NBA.com
Clyde Drexler
As a fan of basketball, you have to love Clyde “The Glide” Drexler. He was one of those “silent assassins.” He went about his job on the court with such smoothness and efficiency that sometimes you wouldn't realize how dominating his performance was.
Clyde was one of the pure class gentlemen of the league, yet at the same time a ferocious competitor. The Dallas Mavericks team I played on in the late Eighties versus his Portland Trailblazer team those same years turned in some outstanding performances and games. I’d have my hands full guarding the Portland big guys in the lane, and Clyde would be right in there battling with all of us for rebounds and involved in physical plays in the paint. You don't see that too often from your superstar guys who typically are the most talented players on the court and can get away with not getting their nose bloodied.
Like a lot of great players of this era, Clyde would be talked about as an all-time great in every basketball conversation if it wasn't for the faces of the NBA at the time, à la Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Dr. J, and Michael Jordan.
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Happy Holidays!
James Donaldson
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