Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

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Mason
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Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Mason »

Hey everyone!

I've been working on this on-and-off for the last 8-10 months or so. It's an aggregate of the best NBA players ever, using 21 all-time lists compiled from online.

Here is the spreadsheet containing basic information, links to sources, and the full top 150 list.

Here is a spreadsheet containing transcriptions of all the sources I used.

I used Best Ever Albums' rank score formula for the calculations.

The top 20:

1 | Michael Jordan
2 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3 | Magic Johnson
4 | LeBron James
5 | Wilt Chamberlain
6 | Larry Bird
7 | Bill Russell
8 | Tim Duncan
9 | Shaquille O'Neal
10 | Kobe Bryant
11 | Hakeem Olajuwon
12 | Oscar Robertson
13 | Jerry West
14 | Karl Malone
15 | Julius Erving
16 | Charles Barkley
17 | Kevin Garnett
18 | David Robinson
19 | Moses Malone
20 | Kevin Durant

I plan on updating the spreadsheet soon. Any and all questions and feedback, as well as links to any all-time lists not included as a source in the spreadsheet, are gladly appreciated. Thank you!
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andyd1010
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by andyd1010 »

Solid list! Curious how you factor in lists that come out while players are still active. For instance, many of these came out before LeBron added another title this year, which would cause some to rank him higher now.
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Arsalan
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Arsalan »

Hard to argue with this list. I hope Scottie Pippen and John Stockton enter the top 20.
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Mason »

andyd1010 wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 4:01 pm Solid list! Curious how you factor in lists that come out while players are still active. For instance, many of these came out before LeBron added another title this year, which would cause some to rank him higher now.
As of right now, that's not really a factor, since all lists regardless of year currently have equal weighting. I can consider adding more weight to newer lists to account for changes in careers, especially for active players (e.g. LeBron getting a championship this year like you said).
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bootsy
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by bootsy »

Seems about right. Most list I've seen this is the consensus top 20 in some order. Maybe David Robinson a little high and maybe Steph Curry in his place. Maybe Dirk over KG.
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by FrankLotion »

I love this! Most of my favorites pop up in the Top 20 but I’ll second that Dirk and Curry should be up there too. Glad to see Steve Nash get so much recognition, though I’d rank him higher too.

Also I’m surprised Dennis Rodman is so (relatively) low, I always thought people considered him one of the top defenders all-time.
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Mason »

The spreadsheet has been updated. 5 all-time lists and 21 decade lists have been added.

Some notes:
- Honorable mentions are now calculated
- All-Time lists released before 2015 are now given a lower weight. This does not apply for decade lists.
- Several lists added previously have been updated. These have been highlighted with the new “Updated” column in the Sources sheet.

Click here to view the spreadsheet in Google Sheets.

Or click below to download it as an Excel file.
bballrank_0.02.xlsx
I didn't create a spreadsheet with detailed list transcriptions this time, since they're technically already in the main spreadsheet, though if someone wants it, I'll be happy to make one.

Please let me know if you have any questions or spot any errors.

Thank you!
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whuntva
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by whuntva »

Decent list, but I feel total PER should be a factor, as that showed how well a player was able to perform on his best day. Not saying it should be the end all, be all. But it should come into play. Stats and an aggregate do matter.
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Moonbeam »

Very cool! I made a list back in 2014. It's obviously outdated, but I'll share anyway:

[1] Michael Jordan
[2] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
[3] Bill Russell
[4] Wilt Chamberlain
[5] Magic Johnson
[6] Shaquille O'Neal
[7] Tim Duncan
[8] LeBron James
[9] Larry Bird
[10] Jerry West
[11] Hakeem Olajuwon
[12] Julius Erving
[13] Oscar Robertson
[14] Kobe Bryant
[15] Kevin Garnett
[16] David Robinson
[17] Dirk Nowitzki
[18] Karl Malone
[19] George Mikan
[20] Moses Malone
[21] Charles Barkley
[22] Walt Frazier
[23] Bob Pettit
[24] Dwyane Wade
[25] Scottie Pippen
[26] John Stockton
[27] Steve Nash
[28] Patrick Ewing
[29] John Havlicek
[30] Clyde Drexler
[31] Elgin Baylor
[32] Artis Gilmore
[33] Gary Payton
[34] Reggie Miller
[35] Rick Barry
[36] Paul Pierce
[37] Ray Allen
[38] Chris Paul
[39] Dwight Howard
[40] Dolph Schayes
[41] Isiah Thomas
[42] Kevin Durant
[43] Kevin McHale
[44] Willis Reed
[45] Adrian Dantley
[46] Robert Parish
[47] George Gervin
[48] Jason Kidd
[49] Alex English
[50] Pau Gasol
[51] Alonzo Mourning
[52] Dave Cowens
[53] Bob Lanier
[54] Dikembe Mutombo
[55] Dominique Wilkins
[56] Kevin Johnson
[57] Chauncey Billups
[58] Tracy McGrady
[59] Sam Jones
[60] Nate Thurmond
[61] Paul Arizin
[62] Manu Ginobili
[63] Bob Cousy
[64] Sidney Moncrief
[65] Elvin Hayes
[66] Allen Iverson
[67] James Worthy
[68] Bob McAdoo
[69] Dennis Rodman
[70] Wes Unseld
[71] Neil Johnston
[72] Vince Carter
[73] Bill Walton
[74] Joe Dumars
[75] Ben Wallace
[76] Grant Hill
[77] Maurice Cheeks
[78] Bernard King
[79] Bill Sharman
[80] Horace Grant
[81] Rasheed Wallace
[82] Cliff Hagan
[83] Tony Parker
[84] Walt Bellamy
[85] Chris Bosh
[86] Chris Webber
[87] Jerry Lucas
[88] Larry Nance
[89] Marques Johnson
[90] Shawn Marion
[91] Terry Porter
[92] Shawn Kemp
[93] Vern Mikkelsen
[94] Tiny Archibald
[95] Detlef Schrempf
[96] Anfernee Hardaway
[97] Jack Sikma
[98] Yao Ming
[99] Bobby Jones
[100] Elton Brand
[101] Carmelo Anthony
[102] Dan Issel
[103] Buck Williams
[104] Gus Williams
[105] Chris Mullin
[106] Dennis Johnson
[107] Mark Price
[108] Marcus Camby
[109] George Yardley
[110] Amar'e Stoudemire
[111] Tyson Chandler
[112] Larry Foust
[113] Chet Walker
[114] Bill Laimbeer
[115] Deron Williams
[116] Peja Stojakovic
[117] Jeff Hornacek
[118] Steve Smith
[119] Tim Hardaway
[120] Mitch Richmond
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Mason »

Moonbeam wrote: Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:27 am Very cool! I made a list back in 2014. It's obviously outdated, but I'll share anyway:

[1] Michael Jordan
[2] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
[3] Bill Russell
[4] Wilt Chamberlain
[5] Magic Johnson
[6] Shaquille O'Neal
[7] Tim Duncan
[8] LeBron James
[9] Larry Bird
[10] Jerry West
[11] Hakeem Olajuwon
[12] Julius Erving
[13] Oscar Robertson
[14] Kobe Bryant
[15] Kevin Garnett
[16] David Robinson
[17] Dirk Nowitzki
[18] Karl Malone
[19] George Mikan
[20] Moses Malone
[21] Charles Barkley
[22] Walt Frazier
[23] Bob Pettit
[24] Dwyane Wade
[25] Scottie Pippen
[26] John Stockton
[27] Steve Nash
[28] Patrick Ewing
[29] John Havlicek
[30] Clyde Drexler
[31] Elgin Baylor
[32] Artis Gilmore
[33] Gary Payton
[34] Reggie Miller
[35] Rick Barry
[36] Paul Pierce
[37] Ray Allen
[38] Chris Paul
[39] Dwight Howard
[40] Dolph Schayes
[41] Isiah Thomas
[42] Kevin Durant
[43] Kevin McHale
[44] Willis Reed
[45] Adrian Dantley
[46] Robert Parish
[47] George Gervin
[48] Jason Kidd
[49] Alex English
[50] Pau Gasol
[51] Alonzo Mourning
[52] Dave Cowens
[53] Bob Lanier
[54] Dikembe Mutombo
[55] Dominique Wilkins
[56] Kevin Johnson
[57] Chauncey Billups
[58] Tracy McGrady
[59] Sam Jones
[60] Nate Thurmond
[61] Paul Arizin
[62] Manu Ginobili
[63] Bob Cousy
[64] Sidney Moncrief
[65] Elvin Hayes
[66] Allen Iverson
[67] James Worthy
[68] Bob McAdoo
[69] Dennis Rodman
[70] Wes Unseld
[71] Neil Johnston
[72] Vince Carter
[73] Bill Walton
[74] Joe Dumars
[75] Ben Wallace
[76] Grant Hill
[77] Maurice Cheeks
[78] Bernard King
[79] Bill Sharman
[80] Horace Grant
[81] Rasheed Wallace
[82] Cliff Hagan
[83] Tony Parker
[84] Walt Bellamy
[85] Chris Bosh
[86] Chris Webber
[87] Jerry Lucas
[88] Larry Nance
[89] Marques Johnson
[90] Shawn Marion
[91] Terry Porter
[92] Shawn Kemp
[93] Vern Mikkelsen
[94] Tiny Archibald
[95] Detlef Schrempf
[96] Anfernee Hardaway
[97] Jack Sikma
[98] Yao Ming
[99] Bobby Jones
[100] Elton Brand
[101] Carmelo Anthony
[102] Dan Issel
[103] Buck Williams
[104] Gus Williams
[105] Chris Mullin
[106] Dennis Johnson
[107] Mark Price
[108] Marcus Camby
[109] George Yardley
[110] Amar'e Stoudemire
[111] Tyson Chandler
[112] Larry Foust
[113] Chet Walker
[114] Bill Laimbeer
[115] Deron Williams
[116] Peja Stojakovic
[117] Jeff Hornacek
[118] Steve Smith
[119] Tim Hardaway
[120] Mitch Richmond
Thanks for sharing! I'm assuming this is an aggregate, but could you please specify? Thank you.
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Moonbeam
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Moonbeam »

Mason wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:25 pm Thanks for sharing! I'm assuming this is an aggregate, but could you please specify? Thank you.
No, that was my personal list which I put together in preparation for RealGM's GOAT project. They're running a current one here if you're interested. I haven't had the time to participate this year, but it's always great for discussion. They run them every 3 years there.
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Help Wanted

Post by Mason »

I need some help relating to spreadsheet formulas/functions.

The way I have the current spreadsheet for this project set up, players who do not appear on a given list will be assigned a value that is one greater than the number of entries on said list. For example, if I have a list of 100 players, any player who does not appear on that list will be assigned a value of 101 in that list's respective column.

To make the spreadsheet easier to read, I want to be able to leave the cells for players not in a given list blank, instead of doing what I described above. This is how Sweepstake Ron's EOY/EOD spreadsheets are formatted.

As of right now, when leaving a cell blank, Google Sheets/Excel will treat that cell as if its value is 0, which is not what I want. Can I modify the spreadsheet's functions so that the formula can ignore blank cells while spitting out the same numerical results as the sheet does now? If so, how can I do that?

Here is an example of the full function I use in the spreadsheet. This snippet is taken from cell D5.

Code: Select all

=((((F$4-(F5-1))/F$4)*100)+(((G$4-(G5-1))/G$4)*100)+(((H$4-(H5-1))/H$4)*100)+(((I$4-(I5-1))/I$4)*100)+(((J$4-(J5-1))/J$4)*100)+(((K$4-(K5-1))/K$4)*100)+(((L$4-(L5-1))/L$4)*100)+(((M$4-(M5-1))/M$4)*100)+(((N$4-(N5-1))/N$4)*100)+(((O$4-(O5-1))/O$4)*100)+(((P$4-(P5-1))/P$4)*100)+(((Q$4-(Q5-1))/Q$4)*100)+(((R$4-(R5-1))/R$4)*100)+(((S$4-(S5-1))/S$4)*100)+(((T$4-(T5-1))/T$4)*100)+(((U$4-(U5-1))/U$4)*100)+(((V$4-(V5-1))/V$4)*100)+(((W$4-(W5-1))/W$4)*100)+(((X$4-(X5-1))/X$4)*100)+(((Y$4-(Y5-1))/Y$4)*100)+(((Z$4-(Z5-1))/Z$4)*100)+(((AA$4-(AA5-1))/AA$4)*100)+(((AB$4-(AB5-1))/AB$4)*100)+(((AC$4-(AC5-1))/AC$4)*100)+(((AD$4-(AD5-1))/AD$4)*100)+(((AE$4-(AE5-1))/AE$4)*100)+(((AF$4-(AF5-1))/AF$4)*100))
Here is a download link to the spreadsheet that I'm referring to.
bballrank_0.02.xlsx
I apologize if my wording isn't concise. I'm still relatively new to this statistical/spreadsheet stuff :?

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

EDIT: I've found a solution! It's a bit tedious, but it gets the job done.
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Last edited by Mason on Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hymie
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Hymie »

Have you included any of the Basketball Reference rankings?

Like this one?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/le ... areer.html
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Markovsky »

I generally agree with the list. Generally, because I have one tiny complaint. I would put Scotty Pippen in the top ten. Not top twenty, but top ten. And not having him in the top twenty is kinda offending but I will gladly hear your arguments.
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by andyd1010 »

Markovsky wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 10:29 am I generally agree with the list. Generally, because I have one tiny complaint. I would put Scotty Pippen in the top ten. Not top twenty, but top ten. And not having him in the top twenty is kinda offending but I will gladly hear your arguments.
Top 20 is certainly arguable, but top 10 is a high bar. None of the lists Mason compiled put Pippen in the top 10. Who would you have him replace and why?

When he was the star of the Bulls with Jordan out, he still finished behind Olajuwon and Robinson in MVP voting both years, and they're both outside the top 10. Every player in the top 10 has both a league MVP and a Finals MVP (at least one of each), and he has neither. The only exception is Russell not having a Finals MVP, because the award didn't exist yet, and the award is now named after him.
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by bootsy »

Markovsky wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 10:29 am I generally agree with the list. Generally, because I have one tiny complaint. I would put Scotty Pippen in the top ten. Not top twenty, but top ten. And not having him in the top twenty is kinda offending but I will gladly hear your arguments.
There is no argument. Scottie Pipper is not a top ten player of all time. There's no way you anyone in their right mind would put him over:
Jabbar
Jordan
Bird
Magic
Lebron
Kobe
Shaq
Duncan
Moses
Wilt
Russell
Hakeem
Oscar
West

and this is not including many other players that were better than him. If you are think he is you need to seek help. Scottie was never an alpha like these players. The guy pouted because Toni Kukoc was the player Phil Jackson wanted to take the final shot in a playoff game and not him.
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Mason »

Hymie wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 5:05 am Have you included any of the Basketball Reference rankings?

Like this one?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/le ... areer.html
Since the NBA season is still ongoing, I'm waiting until after this year's playoffs to add any statistical-related rankings (PER, VORP, WS, etc.). They'll be added sometime in June.
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by andyd1010 »

Mason wrote: Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:07 pm
Hymie wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 5:05 am Have you included any of the Basketball Reference rankings?

Like this one?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/le ... areer.html
Since the NBA season is still ongoing, I'm waiting until after this year's playoffs to add any statistical-related rankings (PER, VORP, WS, etc.). They'll be added sometime in June.
I like a lot of those stats, but it would be nice if they all weighted them to value players' best seasons more. Players who have been good for a long time are overvalued compared to players who were dominant for a shorter time.

I remember seeing one of the reference sites calculate it with 100% of the value for the player's best season, 95% for his second-best season, etc. I like that idea, and I might even make the percentage dropoff more severe. Not sure if someone has implemented that kind of reweighting on these stats for the NBA. I grew up in Boston in the 90s and 2000s, and Paul Pierce was my favorite player, but he definitely wasn't better than Larry Bird. If it were reweighted properly, Bird would be ahead of him (although Bird would probably still be undervalued).
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Re: Aggregating the Top 150 NBA Players of All Time

Post by Mason »

A while ago I realized that I had completely forgotten about adding the weighting for older lists into the formula used. Sorry about that, and I'm sorry for not saying anything about it sooner.

The Google spreadsheet is up to date. Here's the correct excel file.
bballrank_0.02-fixed.xlsx
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