K SUMP ON SPORTS

15. Kevin Garnett – Basketball Hall of Fame 2020, 1x NBA Champion, 0x Finals MVP, 2x Conference Champion, 1x MVP, 10x All-NBA: 4x First Team 2x Second Team 4x Third Team, 0x All-Star MVP, 10x All Star, 1x Defensive POY, 8x All-Defense, All-Rookie, 4x Rebounding Champion, 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #18 All-Time Scoring Leader – 26,071 points

NBA #9 All-Time Rebounding Leader – 14,662 rebounds

NBA #18 All-Time Steals Leader – 1,859 steals

NBA #18 All-Time Blocks Leader – 2,037 blocks

Minnesota Timberwolves 1995-2007, Boston Celtics 2007-2013, Brooklyn Nets 2013-2015, Minnesota Timberwolves 2015-2016.

14. David Robinson – Basketball Hall of Fame 2009, 2x NBA Champion, 0x Finals MVP, 2x Conference Champion, 1x MVP, 9x All-NBA: 4x First Team 3x Second Team 2x Third Team, 1x All-Star MVP, 15x All Star, 1x Defensive POY, 12x All-Defense, ROY, All-Rookie, 1x Scoring Champion, 1x Rebounding Champion, 1x Blocks Champion, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, 1988 Olympic Bronze Medalist.

NBA #6 All-Time Blocks Leader – 2,954 blocks

San Antonio Spurs 1989-2003.

13. Kevin Durant – 2x NBA Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 4x Conference Champion, 1x MVP, 9x All-NBA: 6x First Team 3x Second Team, 2x All-Star MVP, 10x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 0x All-Defense, ROY, All-Rookie, 4x Scoring Champion, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #26 All-Time Scoring Leader – 24,368 points

Seattle Supersonics 2007-2008, Oklahoma City Thunder 2008-2016. Golden State Warriors 2016-2019, Brooklyn Nets 2019-Present.

12. Dirk Nowitzki – 1x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 2x Conference Champion, 1x MVP, 12x All-NBA: 4x First Team 5x Second Team 3x Third Team, 0x All-Star MVP, 14x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 0x All-Defense.

NBA #6 All-Time Scoring Leader – 31,560 points

NBA #26 All-Time Rebounding Leader – 11,489 rebounds

Dallas Mavericks 1998-2019.

11. Isiah Thomas – Basketball Hall of Fame 2000, 2x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 3x Conference Champion, 0x MVP, 5x All-NBA: 3x First Team 2x Second Team, 2x All-Star MVP, 12x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 0x All-Defense, All-Rookie, 1x Assist Champion.

NBA #9 All-Time Assist Leader – 9,061 assists

NBA #17 All-Time Steals Leader – 1,861 steals

Detroit Pistons 1981-1994.

10. Scottie Pippen – Basketball Hall of Fame 2010, 6x NBA Champion, 0x Finals MVP, 6x Conference Champion, 0x MVP, 7x All-NBA: 3x First Team 2x Second Team 2x Third Team, 1x All-Star MVP, 7x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 10x All-Defense, 1x Steals Champion, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #6 All-Time Steals Leader – 2,307 steals

Chicago Bulls 1987-1998, Houston Rockets 1998-1999, Portland Trailblazers 1999-2003, Chicago Bulls 2003-2004.

9. Hakeem Olajuwon – Basketball Hall of Fame 2008, 2x NBA Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 3x Conference Champion, 1x MVP, 12x All-NBA: 6x First Team 3x Second Team 3x Third Team, 0x All-Star MVP, 12x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 9x All-Defense, All-Rookie, 2x Rebounding Champion, 3x Blocks Champion, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #11 All-Time Scoring Leader – 26,946 points

NBA #13 All-Time Rebounding Leader – 13,748 rebounds

NBA #9 All-Time Steals Leader – 2,162 steals

NBA #1 All-Time Blocks Leader – 3,830 blocks

Houston Rockets 1984-2001, Toronto Raptors 2001-2002

8. Larry Bird – Basketball Hall of Fame 1998, 3x NBA Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 5x Conference Champion, 3x MVP, 10x All-NBA: 9x First Team 1x Second Team 3, 1x All-Star MVP, 12x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 3x All-Defense, ROY, All-Rookie, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist.

Boston Celtics 1979-1992.

7. Tim Duncan – Basketball Hall of Fame 2020, 5x NBA Champion, 3x Finals MVP, 6x Conference Champion, 2x MVP, 15x All-NBA: 10x First Team 3x Second Team 2x Third Team, 1x All-Star MVP, 15x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 15x All-Defense, ROY, All-Rookie, 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist.

NBA #14 All-Time Scoring Leader – 26,496 points

NBA #6 All-Time Rebounding Leader – 15,091 rebounds

NBA #5 All-Time Blocks Leader – 3,020 blocks

San Antonio Spurs 1997-2016.

6. Shaquille O’Neal – Basketball Hall of Fame 2016, 4x NBA Champion, 3x Finals MVP, 6x Conference Champion, 1x MVP, 14x All-NBA: 8x First Team 2x Second Team 4x Third Team, 3x All-Star MVP, 15x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 3x All-Defense, ROY, All-Rookie, 2x Scoring Champion, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #8 All-Time Scoring Leader – 28,956 points

NBA #15 All-Time Rebounding Leader – 13,099 rebounds

NBA #8 All-Time Blocks Leader – 2,732 blocks

Orlando Magic 1992-1996, Los Angeles Lakers 1996-2004. Miami Heat 2004-2008, Phoenix Suns, 2008-2009, Cleveland Cavaliers 2009-2010, Boston Celtics 2010-1011

5. LeBron James – 4x NBA Champion, 4x Finals MVP, 10x Conference Champion, 4x MVP, 16x All-NBA: 13x First Team 2x Second Team 1x Third Team, 3x All-Star MVP, 16x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 6x All-Defense, ROY, All-Rookie, 1x Scoring Champion, 1x Assist Champion, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist.

NBA #3 All-Time Scoring Leader – 35,367 points

NBA #8 All-Time Assist Leader – 9,696 assists

NBA #13 All-Time Steals Leader – 2,063 steals

Cleveland Cavaliers 2003-2010, Miami Heat 2010-2014, Cleveland Cavaliers 2014-2018, Los Angeles Lakers 2018-Present.

4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Basketball Hall of Fame 1885, 6x NBA Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 10x Conference Champion, 6x MVP, 15x All-NBA: 10x First Team 5x Second Team, 0x All-Star MVP, 19x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 11x All-Defense, ROY, All-Rookie, 2x Scoring Champion, 1x Rebounding Champion, 4x Blocks Champion.

NBA #1 All-Time Scoring Leader – 38,387 points

NBA #3 All-Time Rebounding Leader – 17,440 rebounds

NBA #3 All-Time Blocks Leader – 3,289 blocks

Milwaukee Bucks 1969-1975, Los Angeles Lakers 1975-1989.

3. Magic Johnson – Basketball Hall of Fame 2002, 5x NBA Champion, 3x Finals MVP, 9x Conference Champion, 3x MVP, 10x All-NBA: 9x First Team 1x Second Team, 2x All-Star MVP, 12x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 3x All-Defense, All-Rookie, 4x Assist Champion, 2x Assist Champion, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #5 All-Time Assist Leader – 10,141 assists

NBA #21 All-Time Steals Leader – 1,724 steals

Los Angeles Lakers 1979-1991,1996.

2. Kobe Bryant – Basketball Hall of Fame 2020, 5x NBA Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 7x Conference Champion, 1x MVP, 15x All-NBA: 11x First Team 2x Second Team 2x Third Team, 4x All-Star MVP, 18x All Star, 0x Defensive POY, 12x All-Defense, All-Rookie, 2x Scoring Champion, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #4 All-Time Scoring Leader – 33,643 points

NBA #31 All-Time Assist Leader – 6,206 assists

NBA #16 All-Time Steals Leader – 1,944 steals

Los Angeles Lakers 1996-2016.

1. Michael Jordan – Basketball Hall of Fame 2009, 6x NBA Champion, 6x Finals MVP, 6x Conference Champion, 5x MVP, 11x All-NBA: 10x First Team 1x Second Team, 3x All-Star MVP, 13x All Star, 1x Defensive POY, 9x All-Defense, ROY, All-Rookie, 10x Scoring Champion, 3x Steals Champion, 1984 and 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist.

NBA #5 All-Time Scoring Leader – 32,292 points

NBA #3 All-Time Steals Leader – 2,514 steals

Chicago Bulls 1984-1993, 1996-1998, Washington Wizards 2001-2003

Explanation: The baseline for being on my list is that the player is either in the Basketball Hall of Fame or will be when they are eligible, which is a given. What also has to be another baseline for inclusion is individual awards that denote achievement as well as team leadership, which all of the players listed have in abundance; the fact that some have more in some categories, others have more in other categories can come awfully close to splitting hairs, so putting in context true greatness and the rightful order of said greatness in my humble opinion comes down to the great delineator: CHAMPIONSHIPS!

It is the reason why the games are played, and it is the thing that matters most to every basketball player talented enough and blessed enough to ever to play in the Association. In the anticipation of the chorus of the smart-asses who ask where is Robert Horry and his 7 Rings on this list, I ask two simple questions: Is he in the Basketball Hall of Fame despite being eligible since 2013, five years after his retirement? No he is not. Has he ever played in the All-Star Game or been named All-NBA? No he has not. No disrespect to Big-Shot Rob, for he is one of my favorite Lakers of all time and he is an indisputably a very important piece of the three-peat 2000, 2001 and 2002 NBA Championships, but even HE will tell you that #6 O’Neal and #2 Bryant were the co-pilots that led them to the Throne Rooms, and leadership is the most important distinction of All Time greatness. So, all things including stats and awards being essentially equal, CHAMPIONSHIPS are the ultimate decider.

To delineate even more, it is tough to win it all once, even tougher to win it again back-to-back and even tougher still to win it a third time in a row, so special consideration must be given for those that were able to pull off that feat, and I most certainly give it, without apology. Finally, of course there are multiple players from the same teams on the list, for it follows that teams having the most All-Time players usually win CHAMPIONSHIPS. No further explanation necessary.

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