Our Top 5 Players In Basketball History
I asked our Ultimate Hoops teammies across the board to submit their Top 5 Players in Basketball History. That was all the direction I gave. But I did warn them their rankings would be made public.
(Some chose to stay behind the curtain and keep their Top 5 lists contained to our office debates. That's cool.)
As expected, many of our voters went strictly with NBA players, including myself. Jazz Williams went the other direction, exclusively using UH players. A couple blended the NBA and UH.
To determine our rankings, we used the following scale: If a player was ranked #1 they received 10 points. #2 seven points, #3 five points #4 three points #5 one point.
Here it is...the definitive Ultimate Hoops Top 5 Players in Basketball History.
5 - Shaquille O'Neal
Total Points: 21
4 (tie) - LeBron James
Total Points: 23
4 (tie) - Kobe Bryant
Total Points: 23
3 - Magic Johnson
Total Points: 32
2 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Total Points: 38
1 - Michael Jordan
Total Points: 138
Artwork by Seung Eun Kim
Others receiving votes
Oscar Robertson 18, Larry Bird 16, Bill Russell 14, Tim Duncan 11, Kevin Garnett 11, Anthony Byrd 10, Vince Carter 8, Charles Barkley 7, Marco Clark 7, Hakeem Olajuwon 6, Jerry West 6, John Stockton 5, Paris Kyles 5, Wilt Chamberlin 5, Dirk Nowitzki 3, Karl Malone 3, Kenny Ziegler 3, Neal Anderson 2, Moses Malone 1
How Our Panelists Voted
James Mooney- Regional Coordinator- East Region
1- Michael Jordan
2- Shaquille O'Neal
3- Wilt Chamberlin
4- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5- Kobe Bryant
Cedric Crawford- Trainer- Houston
1- Michael Jordan
2- Magic Johnson
3- Larry Bird
4- Jerry West
5- Bill Russell
Donald Dangmuk- Regional Coordinator- West Region
1- Kobe Bryant
2- Michael Jordan
3- LeBron James
4- Magic Johnson
5- Hakeem Olajuwon
Chad VanderPoel- Regional Coordinator- Chicago
1- Michael Jordan
2- LeBron James
3- Tim Duncan
4- Larry Bird
5- Bill Russell
Reid Nelson- National Manager of League Operations
1- Michael Jordan
2- Charles Barkley
3- John Stockton
4- Karl Malone
5- Kevin Garnett
Corin Chesterson- League Coordinator- Westchester, NY
1- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2- Michael Jordan
3- Oscar Robertson
4- Shaquille O'Neal
5- Tim Duncan
Jason McKrieth- Regional Coordinator- Houston
1- Michael Jordan
2- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3- Bill Russell
4- Magic Johnson
5- Kobe Bryant
Chaun Davis- UH Trainer- Tulsa, Oklahoma
1- Michael Jordan
2- Magic Johnson
3- Larry Bird
4- Oscar Robertson
5- LeBron James
Nathan Peterson- League Coordinator- Laguna Niguel, CA
1- Kevin Garnett
2- Michael Jordan
3- Vince Carter
4- Tracy McGrady
5- Neal Anderson
Jazz Williams- League Coordinator- Colorado Springs
1- Anthony Byrd
2- Marco Clark
3- Paris Kyles
4- Kenny Ziegler
5- Neal Anderson
Aaron Wimsett- Regional Coordinator- Minnesota
1- Michael Jordan
2- Bill Russell
3- Magic Johnson
4- Larry Bird
5- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kevin Minich- Regional Coordinator- Central & West Texas
1- Michael Jordan
2- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3- Hakeem Olajuwon
4- Dirk Nowitzki
5- Tim Duncan
Jovan Zamorano- League Coordinator- Laguna Niguel, CA
1- Michael Jordan
2- Kobe Bryant
3- LeBron James
4- Tim Duncan
5- Shaquille O'Neal
Antione Johnson- UH Trainer- Westcheste NY
1- Michael Jordan
2- Magic Johnson
3- Shaquille O'Neal
4- Oscar Robertson
5- Kobe Bryant
Rich Melzer- UH Trainer- Bloomington South, MN
1- Kobe Bryant
2- Michael Jordan
3- LeBron James
4- Magic Johnson
5- Hakeem Olajuwon