The NBA is going all out to celebrate its 75th anniversary season, with a special logo, ad campaigns, photo shoots, and, maybe most interesting for fans, a new list of the 75 Greatest Players of All-Time. The league did this for the 50th anniversary, with a special presentation at All-Star Weekend, having players past and present come together to show the strength of the league then and now.
What will be interesting is to see if any players from the NBA at 50 end up being left off the 75th anniversary list, or if it will simply be the addition of 25 new names. Over the first three nights of the season, the league will unveil the 75 Greatest Players list, which began with Tuesday’s TNT broadcast and will continue on ESPN Wednesday and then again on TNT on Thursday to finish off the reveal.
The list is just that, a list, without any rankings, which is probably smart coming from the league (and is how the NBA at 50 list was done), but you can rest assured folks will end up ranking them anyways. The names seem to be in no particular order, alphabetical or otherwise. Here are the first 25 names unveiled on Tuesday night.
Bill Russell
Hal Greer
Dirk Nowitzki
Bob Pettit
Oscar Robertson
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Kevin Durant
Elvin Hayes
Jerry Lucas
Willis Reed
Nate Archibald
Bob Cousy
Dave Cowens
James Harden
Hakeem Olajuwon
Kevin McHale
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
George Mikan
John Stockton
Steve Nash
Charles Barkley
Moses Malone
Julius Erving
George Gervin
David Robinson