NBA 75th Anniversary Team announced
- NBA 75: Complete coverage
NEW YORK — A total of 158 NBA championships and 730 NBA All-Star selections. A combined 110 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Awards. More than 1.5 million points scored.
Those are just some of the collective accomplishments of the players who comprise the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, which was announced across TNT and ESPN from Oct. 19-21 as the league tipped off its landmark 75th Anniversary Season.
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team was selected by a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers and team and league executives, WNBA legends and sportswriters and broadcasters. Voters were asked to select the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History without regard to position. Panelists did not rank their selections. Current and former players were not allowed to vote for themselves.
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. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. For player profiles on each member of the 75th Anniversary Team, click here and visit NBA.com/75.
The complete NBA 75th Anniversary Team ⬇️ #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/v8Tz5ixaab
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 21, 2021
NBA 75TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM
Alphabetically by Last Name
A
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Ray Allen
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Carmelo Anthony
• Nate Archibald
• Paul Arizin
B
• Charles Barkley
• Rick Barry
• Elgin Baylor
• Dave Bing
• Larry Bird
• Kobe Bryant
C
• Wilt Chamberlain
• Bob Cousy
• Dave Cowens
• Billy Cunningham
• Stephen Curry
D
• Anthony Davis
• Dave DeBusschere
• Clyde Drexler
• Tim Duncan
• Kevin Durant
E
• Julius Erving
• Patrick Ewing
F
• Walt Frazier
G
• Kevin Garnett
• George Gervin
• Hal Greer
H
• James Harden
• John Havlicek
• Elvin Hayes
J
• LeBron James
• Magic Johnson
• Sam Jones
• Michael Jordan
K
• Jason Kidd
I
• Allen Iverson
L
• Kawhi Leonard
• Damian Lillard
• Jerry Lucas
M
• Karl Malone
• Moses Malone
• Pete Maravich
• Bob McAdoo
• Kevin McHale
• George Mikan
• Reggie Miller
• Earl Monroe
N
• Steve Nash
• Dirk Nowitzki
O
• Shaquille O’Neal
• Hakeem Olajuwon
P
• Robert Parish
• Chris Paul
• Gary Payton
• Bob Pettit
• Paul Pierce
• Scottie Pippen
R
• Willis Reed
• Oscar Robertson
• David Robinson
• Dennis Rodman
• Bill Russell
S
• Dolph Schayes
• Bill Sharman
• John Stockton
T
• Isiah Thomas
• Nate Thurmond
U
• Wes Unseld
W
• Dwyane Wade
• Bill Walton
• Jerry West
• Russell Westbrook
• Lenny Wilkens
• Dominique Wilkins
• James Worthy
NBA 75th Anniversary Team Voting Panel
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Marv Albert | David Aldridge | Sam Amick | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Steve Aschburner | Charles Barkley | Rick Barry | Howard Beck | Sue Bird | Dave Bing | Carol Blazejowski | Mike Breen | Doris Burke | Jerry Colangelo | Doug Collins | Cynthia Cooper | Bob Costas | Dave Cowens | Billy Cunningham | Stephen Curry | Tim Duncan | David DuPree | Clyde Drexler | Wayne Embry | Julius Erving | Patrick Ewing | Walt Frazier | George Gervin | Russ Granik | Becky Hammon | Elvin Hayes | Ernie Johnson | Magic Johnson | Sam Jones | Michael Jordan | Steve Kerr | Bob Lanier | Kara Lawson | Lisa Leslie | Nancy Lieberman | Zach Lowe | Jerry Lucas | Jack McCallum | Brian McIntyre | Ann Meyers | Yoko Miyaji | Earl Monroe | Jackie MacMullan | Steve Nash | Rachel Nichols | Dirk Nowitzki | Shaquille O’Neal | Robert Parish | Candace Parker | Chris Paul | Bob Pettit | Scottie Pippen | Gregg Popovich | Shaun Powell | Ahmad Rashad | Willis Reed | Tim Reynolds | Bill Rhoden | Pat Riley | Oscar Robertson | David Robinson | Bill Russell | Bob Ryan | Bill Simmons | Sam Smith | Stephen A. Smith | Marc Spears | Erik Spoelstra | John Stockton | Hannah Storm | Sheryl Swoopes | Isiah Thomas | Rod Thorn | Rudy Tomjanovich | Peter Vecsey | Bill Walton | Rick Welts | Jerry West | Michael Wilbon | Lenny Wilkens | James Worthy | Jeff Zillgitt
