The Top 25 NBA Players in their Prime

James is a law student from Tacoma, Washington. He is a lifelong Seattle SuperSonics fan, but is still able to enjoy the NBA, perhaps more objectively, without his favorite team. Check out his great work at Shut  Up and Jam.

The Best NBA Players Primes

The Peak Year Article over at Basketball Reference gave me an idea for a post – a different way to look at the best players ever. I ranked the top 25 players by Wins Produced in their prime. Their “prime” is their best 6 seasons. Unlike at Basketball-Reference I didn’t ensure their best 6 years were continuous, just the top years in their career. This is to make sure that a player isn’t hurt by sticking around too long (e.g. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) or having an off season or two due to injury. Here’s what I came up with:

Table 1: Top 25 NBA Players based on their best 6 Seasons (1974-Present) 

Rank	Player	Prime Years	Prime MP	Average WP	Prime WP48
1	Magic Johnson	82′, 83′, 87′, 89′-91′	17558	27.8	0.456
2	Charles Barkley	86′-90′, 93′	17862	27.6	0.445
3	Michael Jordan	88′-92′, 96′	18989	27.5	0.417
4	Kevin Garnett	02′-07′	18798	26.5	0.406
5	Larry Bird	83′-88′	18219	26.0	0.411
6	David Robinson	90′-92′, 94′-96′	18018	24.9	0.398
7	Dennis Rodman	90′-94′, 98′	16642	24.5	0.424
8	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*	74′,76-80′	18509	24.1	0.375
9	LeBron James	05′, 06′, 08′-11′	18875	23.2	0.354
10	Jason Kidd**	99′, 03′, 06′-09′	18090	22.1	0.352
11	John Stockton	88′, 89′, 91′, 92′, 94′, 95′	17980	22.1	0.354
12	Shaquille O’Neal**	93′-95′, 99′-01′	18094	21.9	0.348
13	Hakeem Olajuwon	87′-90′, 93′, 94′	18245	21.9	0.345
14	Ben Wallace	01′-06′	17154	21.8	0.366
15	Dwight Howard	06′-11′	17742	21.5	0.349
16	Karl Malone	90′, 91′, 93′, 96′-98′	18646	21.3	0.329
17	Tim Duncan	98′, 02′-04′, 07′, 08′	17614	21.1	0.345
18	Moses Malone	79′-83′, 89′	19017	20.8	0.315
19	Dikembe Mutombo**	93′-95′, 99′-01′	17583	20.3	0.333
20	Shawn Marion	01′-03′, 05′-07′	18738	20.3	0.312
21	Chris Paul	06′-11′	15775	19.5	0.356
22	Clyde Drexler	87′-89′, 91′, 92′, 95′	17550	19.5	0.320
23	Fat Lever	85′-90′	16837	19.0	0.325
24	Scottie Pippen	91′-95′, 97′	18144	18.9	0.300
25	Dirk Nowitzki	01′-03′, 05′-07′	18063	18.0	0.288

* Numbers for 1974-1978 use turnovers in the team defense aspect of Wins Produced

** Numbers in 1999 readjusted for an 82 game season from a 50 game season.

(Editor Dre here! You know I’m not happy without a list or some images so James kindly let me fill in the commentary. Here goes!)

The Old Guard

9 MVPs and 3 Finals MVPs. Yeah they were good.

Both Moses and Kareem had long and fruitful careers. It turns out they were really good in their primes too. Let’s give it up for the only players on our list from the 70s.

The Dream Team

What the heck are Chris Mullin and Christian Laettner doing here?

It still amazes me that this collection of talent got together in their primes. The only two shooting guards on our list (Michael and Clyde) make their appearance here. I’m more than happy to label this team the greatest ever assembled.

The Redeem Team

Melo, Tayshaun? Sheesh

Four great players in their prime (Kidd,Paul,LeBron and Howard) easily anchored this team. Dwyane Wade is the only other active player close to cracking the top 25, which he might do if he can stay healthy. Excluding Kidd these players are still young and have a chance to climb the list. 

Shaq vs. Hakeem

Superman!

These are two of the most dominant centers of the turnover era. Both had amazing primes that included MVPs and back to back titles. While they are neck and neck according to the numbers, I’d say Hakeem won the tie-breaker.

The Best Power Forwards of all Time

What a difference a team makes.

These two are an example of the rings vs. numbers argument. Both make a good case for being one of the greatest power forwards ever. I’ll say use San Antonio as an example of what to do with a great power forward and use Minnesota as an example of what not to do.

Underrated Pistons

Fear the Fro!

The Bad Boy Pistons of the 80s and the “no-star” Pistons of the 00s are great places to find some of the most underrated players of all time. Rodman and Wallace are the only two players on our top 25 list not selected in the first round of the draft. I’ll just let their combined 6 Defensive Player of the Year awards and 6 titles speak for themselves.

Underrated Nuggets

Best Nuggets Center of all Time.

Fat Lever helped the run and gun Nuggets of the 80s to a few 50 win seasons and limited playoff success. Dikembe helped the otherwise bleak 90s have one bright spot for Nuggets fans. I don’t think many Nuggets fan realized they were watching some of the greatest individual seasons of all time, which is a pity.

The Mavericks

Two people are out of place in this image. Can you spot them?

This year’s Mavericks had the greatest collection of talent without a title. In their primes Dirk, Marion and Kidd were impressively good, but this season they played support to an underrated Chandler to win it all. Dirk does end up on an all-time greats list, which was true without the title.

-James  w/ help from Dre

Tagged: 1992 Dream Team, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Redeem Team. Dallas Mavericks

Posted in: Basketball Stories, James Brocato