OK, we all know that with such a list No.1 is a no brainer. Michael Jordan gets th vote and presto, we move on to the rest. At this point I was having serious problems over who should get the next spot. How can you compare different eras, how can you possibly decide on an order? Here’s what I did: I took all the players I felt belonged on the list (65 in total), graded them in eight different categories (length of career, points, rebounds, shooting, marketability, recognition, assists, championships) and then got an order I was not too happy about...

Anyway, here is my top 10:

10. Bob Cousy
I am all but sure that you can find guys in the NBDL right now who could rival his athleticism, ball handling, shooting and passing, but indirectly they all learned that from the Houdini of the hardwood. Cousy had a full package, and he had the heart of a champion. He was a flashy passer and one of the key cogs in Boston’s winning machine. Anyone who knew him acknowledged that he was probably the most passionate and intense player the game has ever seen. In essence, Cousy made playing basketball the “cool” thing to do.

'The right guy at the right place, at the right time, with the right attitude, with the most talent and with an unprecedented will to win. Jordan was the best of the best'


9. Jerry West
The logo thing gives him a lasting popularity well beyond what his play got him, but that is not to say he does not belong on this list. West was the first guard to truly combine the arts of great shooting, team-oriented passing, suffocating defense and an unparalleled will to win. West could not climb higher than this spot because he only won it all once, despite making nine trips to the finals.

8. Kobe Bryant
I’ll let you in on a secret, I never thought Kobe would get on this list, but you cannot deny his achievements. A three-time champion, a clutch player, a killer defender. Kobe has everything a coach wants from his player and then some more. Whilst he is recognized as the best player of this generation, his marketability is way lower than what you would expect when compared to some of the other guys on this list. Still, there’s one thing you can not deny - Kobe knew how to do everything at 26 that Jordan did through his whole career.

7. Tim Duncan
The big fundamental has earned a spot here. He has been the anchor of three championship teams in three different stages of his career. Hopefully there still is a lot more to come from him. As far as I’m concerned I see Tim as the best power forward ever. He sees the floor like a point guard and he defers to his teammates if that is what they need to notch a win.

6. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Lew Alcindor sure had a great career, didn’t he? When he retired he held five individual records in the NBA (which to this day stands as his sixth individual record). He was such a dominant force, he developed his own shot, the sky hook. His list of accomplishments is the best any player had in NBA history - Rookie of the Year, member of six NBA championship teams, six-time NBA MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP, 19-time All-Star, two-time scoring champ.

5.Shaquille O’Neil
You look at the Shaq of today and still see glimpses of the monster that he was. Once upon a time this guy was so good, so unstoppable that teams would foul him before he got the ball rather than allow him to unleash his Shaq-Fu in the post. He was the center of the Lakers dynasty of the new millennium. This guy dunked with such power in his first two seasons that the league had to arrange for stronger supports for the baskets as he tore off backboards and their suspensions.

4. Larry Bird – Magic Johnson
I can’t and I won’t separate these two. Tragically their careers ended abruptly and at almost the same time. The notion is Magic was flashy, Bird was efficient, but I could make a case for Bird being flashy and Magic being efficient, so scratch that thought. Magic was the player the league had never seen. A point guard who had the size and ability to play center. Bird was the American Dream come true, an everyday Joe from French Lick, Indiana, who took his small-town school to the big dance and then endeared himself to the whole world with his outstanding play. In my heart these two occupy the first spot on this list.

3. Wilt Chamberlain
Averaged over 50 points in a full season… Enough said. OK, OK, I’ve got some more words to write here as well. If you think Shaq in his prime was unstoppable, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Wilt was bigger, stronger, faster and better than anyone in his time. The fact that he did not win all that many championships is proof that basketball truly is a team sport. Wilt faced constant triple teams and still managed to score at will. If you get a chance to see a game in which he played, you’ll understand just how ridiculous the notion of stopping Wilt was…

2. Bill Russell
Bill invented the low post defense as we know it today. Weak-side helps, spot blocks, you name it, he created it. He was the only guy who could slow Chamberlain enough for the Celtics to win the titles. Russell’s personality made him the ultimate fit and cornerstone within a Celtics team that won a record eight consecutive titles.

1. Michael Jordan
Was there ever a question in anybody’s mind about which spot his airness would take? Jordan had the full package that you look for in a sporting megastar. He had the charm, he had the personality, his life had the perfect amount of drama in it. MJ was, simply put, the right guy at the right place, at the right time, with the right attitude, with the most talent, and with an unprecedented will to win. Jordan was the best of the best. To this day we compare the best in the league to his achievements. Simply put, he is the consensus number one.

How does YOUR all-time top ten compare to Greg's? Let us know by leaving a comment or, better still, write an article of your own for Sportingo.