The 80-Year Correction: Moving Beyond the Brand Management of the Top 75
AI-generated image · US National Wire
As the NBA reaches its 80th season, the opportunity to expand its greatest players list exposes the flaws of the 2021 exercise and the necessity of quantifying era-adjusted impact.
The NBA's effort to commemorate its 75th anniversary before the 2021-22 season was less a clinical study of basketball excellence and more an exercise in brand management, as first reported by CBS Sports. The resulting list was so imprecise that a voting tie expanded the group to 76 players, creating an immediate imbalance that the league now has the opportunity to rectify as it hits the 80-season mark.
According to reporting from CBS Sports, the 2021 list functioned as a 'who's who of Hall of Famers,' yet it left glaring omissions that highlighted a lack of consistent criteria. The discrepancy was stark: players like Lenny Wilkens and Nate Thurmond made the original Top 50 list from the 1996-97 season despite never making an All-NBA team. Conversely, modern stars like Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard were excluded despite each earning seven All-NBA Team selections.
**Opinion:** This inconsistency suggests the 75th anniversary list was rushed, prioritizing legacy names over a quantified, era-adjusted analysis of impact. If the league is to use the 80th anniversary to truly honor the pioneers and the powerhouses of the game, it must move beyond the 'brand' and toward a rigorous set of parameters.
CBS Sports suggests that the primary metrics for entry should be winning and MVP awards. The 2021 list already skewed heavily toward these markers; of the 76 players selected, 58 had won championships. Furthermore, the difficulty of entry without a trophy was immense. Only six players on that list—Dominique Wilkins, Pete Maravich, George Gervin, Carmelo Anthony, Dave Bing, and Damian Lillard—had neither a championship nor a trip to the NBA Finals.
As we look to add four new players to reach a Top 80, the 'no-brainers' are driven by the very accolades the previous list prioritized. Nikola Jokić is an obvious addition, having added two more MVP trophies and a championship ring to his resume since 2021. Similarly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder has secured two MVPs and a championship, making him an easy pick despite not being an All-Star by the time the 75th list was published.
However, the struggle to fill the final two slots reveals the tension between raw stats and peak impact. CBS Sports notes that while Derrick Rose won an MVP, his career was cut short by an ACL tear, leaving him without a Finals appearance or a spot among the 250 highest scorers in league history. In contrast, Joel Embiid presents a more compelling case; while he has only scored roughly 1,000 more total points than Rose, Embiid has five All-NBA and three All-Defensive Team selections, with a career Box Plus-Minus of 6.7 that rivals Rose's peak MVP season (6.8).
Then there is the 'best player on a championship team' category. Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brunson have entered this conversation. CBS Sports reports that Tatum holds the edge in total points (over 3,000 more than Brunson), All-Star selections, and defensive metrics, though Brunson holds the distinction of a Finals MVP award.
By refining these criteria—MVP wins, multiple championships, or leading a team to the Finals—the NBA can transform the 80th anniversary from a marketing event into a legitimate historical record.