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Getting into the NBA is itself the ultimate success for anyone with hopes of a career in pro basketball. To shine on the brightest stage with all the lights on you is one hell of a task, and to do so in the playoffs is even more of a tough ask.
But the team success that a player is wont to find in the NBA is largely dependent on the team that drafts him. Even the likes of Oscar Robertson, Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain, among others, had to move to different franchises in order to find it.
This leaves precious few all-time greats to choose from, when we pick our NBA ranking of the top 10 players to find success with the franchise that drafted them. The ranking of a couple of them might be a shocker for some, but I assure you that my NBA ranking is grounded on solid basketball facts:
NBA Ranking: Top 10 players to win with their draft franchise
#10 Dwyane Wade
Few basketball fans will dispute the notion that Dwyane Wade is the resident GOAT of the Miami Heat franchise. Barring a season-and-a-half spent with the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wade was essentially a Heat lifer. His performances in the 2006 NBA Finals merit mention as some of the biggest carry jobs ever.
In total, Wade won 3 NBA championships with the Heat, including the 2006 trophy for which he was the Finals MVP. The 13-time All Star has one of the most accolade-filled careers of all time. At his peak, he was a two-way monster who would dunk on people with reckless abandon and lock them up on the other end with aplomb.
#9 Isiah Thomas
The era of the Bad Boy Pistons was during a time when basketball was much more physical than today. Players would use their elbows, commit hard fouls and sometimes even engage in on-court brawls with little to no repercussions.
But that team would be nowhere close to title contention without its resident wizard: Isiah Thomas. Often ignored altogether or placed too low on many people's all-time NBA ranking, the 6'1" point guard was the offensive powerhouse of a team that was famous for its defensive prowess.
Thomas brought everything together on the offensive end for the Pistons. And he was the vocal leader and beating heart of the team. No one can forget his 24-point blitz in a single quarter of the NBA Finals against reigning champions LA Lakers after an ankle injury.
#8 Stephen Curry
Probably the most polarizing player on this list, Stephen Curry has changed the modern game in a way that no other player in our NBA ranking has done. Bombing a 3-pointer from 30 feet out would have meant a definite benching and telling-off from the head coach in days past, but for Steph, that shot is as easy as a layup at times.
When he's feeling himself, there is literally not a single player more entertaining to watch than the 6'3" point guard drafted by the Warriors in 2009. While he may not have won an NBA Finals MVP trophy, he has undoubtedly been the heart and soul of 3 championship teams, and is the only player in NBA history to have won the MVP award unanimously.
#7 Magic Johnson
Surprised to find the greatest point guard of all time so low on our NBA ranking? Bear with me.
Magic Johnson is the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP trophy. He did it on the back of a game in which he started at the center position in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's absence and dropped 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. He won the MVP trophy thrice.
Magic was part of a Lakers generation that won 5 trophies in 9 seasons. He made it to 9 NBA Finals. He leads the all-time charts for assists per game at 11.14 APG. He has 9 All-NBA First Team appearances and 12 All Star appearances.
The only shortcomings on his basketball CV are:
(a) He was so-so as a defender, and unlike the players above him in this NBA ranking, never made it to an All-Defensive team;
(b) His shooting range, for a guard, wasn't all that great;
Apart from these, there are no criticisms that anyone could possibly make of the guy so aptly nicknamed 'Magic'.
#6 Tim Duncan
You cannot have a conversation about the San Antonio Spurs without mentioning their franchise demigod. Drafted by the franchise after a 4-year career with Wake Forest, Tim Duncan is the last rookie to be named to the All-NBA First Team, or to finish 5th in MVP voting.
By the end of his tenth season in the league, Duncan had 4 NBA championships and 3 Finals MVP trophies. Many people consider him to be the greatest defender to never win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. While knee injuries lowered his production in the second half of his career, his per-36 splits remained eerily similar for 19 straight seasons, which included 5 NBA titles.
In an all-time draft of players to pick when building your franchise from scratch, you could scarcely go wrong if you picked Tim Duncan. No fuss, no muss.
#5 Hakeem Olajuwon
The dominance of Hakeem Olajuwon has faded slightly in the sands of time, for many people erroneously omit him from their all-time NBA ranking. That's probably because in the modern NBA, post play has almost died out, and therefore the greatest proponent of this dying art form is being sidelined in public view.
Peak Hakeem Olajuwon was impossible to contain on either end of the floor. For a 6-year spell from 1985-1991, the Dream averaged a staggering 3.6 blocks AND 2.1 steals per game as a center. He is the only player to win the NBA's MVP trophy, Defensive Player of the Year and the Finals MVP trophy in the same season.
He played for the Rockets for 17 straight seasons before a final, eminently forgettable season with the Raptors.
#4 Larry Bird
The Hick from French Lick is one of the most revered NBA players of all time. Few people have been as dominant at their peak as Larry Legend, who won 3 straight MVP trophies and finished in the top 6 of the voting in each of his first 10 seasons in the league. Unlike Magic, he was also a top defensive player with 3 All-Defensive team selections.
Probably the best pure passer ever seen at the small forward position, Bird was a 6'10" shooter with mad skills. The guy once played a game shooting with his left hand for fun, and finished with 36 points. His tales of trash talking are the stuff of absolute urban legends - including the occasion when he told his opponent the exact spot from where he'd make a game-winning shot and went on to make it.
As a player, Larry Bird was complete. If only he didn't hurt his back preparing his mom's driveway, he'd unanimously be on everyone's basketball Mount Rushmore.
#3 Kobe Bryant
As two-way players go, Kobe Bryant is as good as they come. In a decade of changing trends in the NBA, the Black Mamba was an old-school player, possibly the most skilled player to ever grace the NBA. His 11-year run from 1999 till 2010 is comparable to that of any all-time great - 5 championships, 2 scoring titles, an MVP, two Finals MVPs, All-Defensive Team and All-NBA Team selections every season.
Kobe might be low on a few people's NBA ranking, but as players' contributions for a single franchise go, there are few who compare. 20 years of service to the most storied franchise in the league serve to place him 3rd on our list. It's a pity he isn't alive to see the Lakers' bid for a 17th championship.
#2 Bill Russell
The man after whom the Finals MVP trophy itself has been named, there are few figures across sport who have a track record of team success like Bill Russell had. The figurehead of the most dominant dynasty in NBA history, for many former players, Bill Russell is #1 on their NBA ranking.
The greatest defender of all time won 11 championships in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics. Bill Russell was the guy who invented the concept of help defense. So good was he at protecting the paint that often he would block shots exactly into his teammates' hands in order to start off fast breaks.
Sports icons like Bill Russell are born once in a lifetime. And in pure winning terms, there is no champion across sports like him.
#1 Michael Jordan
There are many players who have dominated the NBA with their athleticism. There are a fair few who dominated in the league with their skillset. There are a couple of them who had a pretty good combination of both. And then there's Michael Jordan, who was the best athlete as well as the most fundamentally sound player in the NBA for over a decade.
The highest scorer in NBA history by points per game, Michael Jordan's dual 3-peat career is beyond even the stuff of fairytales. Hollywood couldn't script a career like his despite their best efforts. To be like Mike was every child's dream, and still is. Even today, Michael Jordan is recognized in places around the globe where basketball barely gets a mention.
It's safe to say that the basketball GOAT will be #23 from the Chicago Bulls for the foreseeable future.
Guess the Lakers players!
