Can you name the NBA's 50 greatest players (compiled in 1996, the 50th Anniversary Season)?

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NBA 50 Greatest Quiz

by Ben

Created Dec 18, 2008 in Sports
Featured Dec 18, 2008
Game Plays 230,371

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	Tim_Allen:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 18:01 GMT	1 point
	Ben, your quizzes are great. This is a new favorite of mine. Of course, the list is already a little outdated. I think if they made a list today, Nash, Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Iverson, Duncan, and maybe Nowitzki and Paul would make it.

	brianc:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 18:11 GMT	12 points
	great idea for a quiz, wish I had done better on it though

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	John Lambeth:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 18:29 GMT	31 points
	the omission of Dominique Wilkins is a travesty

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	Johnny_L:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 19:25 GMT	12 points
	Good quiz, I remember the ceremony at the '96 All-Star game. Was still surprised to see Shaq on it though because he was only in his 4th season at the time.

	danmerriman:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 19:29 GMT	6 points
	Real questionable omissions from Nuggets greats that didn't make the list

	Camden:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 19:46 GMT	-1 points
	@Dan: Agreed. Alex English scored more points than anyone in the 1980s. Including Bird, Magic, Kareem, etc. Vandeweghe is another one that should be on here.

	Camden:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 19:47 GMT	2 points
	Does anyone know who (at the time this list was made) was the only guy to ever win an MVP award and NOT make the list?

	Camden:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 19:51 GMT	5 points
	Now you would have to add: Kobe, Duncan, Kidd, Garnett, LeBron, Nash, Iverson. The future might demand we add: Wade, Nowitzki, McGrady, Pierce, Carmello, C Paul, D Howard.

	Camden:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 19:55 GMT	1 point
	Notable omissions from this list: Dumars, Bradley, Gilmore, Dantley, King, McAdoo, Vandeweghe, English, Wilkins, Rice, Mourning, Dennis Johnson... and current Olathe, KS resident... Manute Bol.

	will1:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 19:58 GMT	7 points
	Admit it, who got Lenny Wilkens while trying to get Dominique?

	Tim_Allen:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 19:59 GMT	-1 points
	@Camden and Boston: I don't know how I omitted Garnett and Kidd form my previous list, but yes, they'd be on there. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen...not so much. And Manute Bol might make the 50 worst NBA players list. =P

	Tim_Allen:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 20:00 GMT	9 points
	@Will: Any true basketball fan would know how to spell Dominique's name correctly, and thus, would have avoided getting Lenny Wilkens' name by mistake.

	John Lambeth:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 20:38 GMT	-2 points
	I agree that Alex English and Adrian Dantley are also big snubs. You could make a good argument that Gary Payton belongs on here too, even circa 1996, but definitely now. However I am one who never saw players like Arizin, Bing, Greer, Sharman, so I guess I'm unqualified to make judgments like that.

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	ElDavo:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 22:24 GMT	3 points
	Boston sucks. Bring that negative points.

	metsace128:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 22:29 GMT	9 points
	If this was a list of best announcers, Frazier would def be #1. Percolating this list with his tenacious usage of prodigious, prolific words.

	Vernon Gonsalves:	Dec 18th, 2008 at 23:29 GMT	2 points
	Metsace, I'm a NYK fan, but I think Frazier is the worst announcer. But then, I think it may just be his voice. I always kinda hope it's the away feed on NBA League Pass when NY is playing.

	Lycan_Amyral:	Dec 19th, 2008 at 02:49 GMT	6 points
	TNT added an addendum to the list of 10 more players on the 10th anniversary of the list, including Duncan, Bryant, Garnett, Hawkins, Iverson, McAdoo, Miller, Payton, and Wilkins. For the list itself, I think all those players are well deserved. Some of them were in the shadows of other, more marketable players, but they were all among the cream of the crop.

	tony:	Dec 19th, 2008 at 14:25 GMT	12 points
	English and Dantley and Rice (Glen Rice, really?!?) are right where they belong. Not on the list. This is not top 50 scorers/chuckers/ball vaccuums list.

	SunnyD22222:	Dec 20th, 2008 at 03:40 GMT	5 points
	The biggest omission on the top 50 is without a doubt Bob McAdoo. Wilkins is a close second. If I were making a list of my next ten, I'd have: McAdoo, Iverson, Duncan, Garnett, Dumars, Wilkins, Payton, Bryant, Kidd, and Lebron James. How can you have Pierce or Allen? Both are borderline hall of famers, at best.

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	Goldie:	Dec 20th, 2008 at 23:34 GMT	5 points
	I think McAdoo and Wilkins should have been on the list and Benard King the most underrated player ever.

	Sneuticles:	Dec 22nd, 2008 at 05:40 GMT	4 points
	at the LAST MINUTE i remembered the 1970 Knicks and got those four guys and a 36. Great quiz!

	Camden:	Dec 25th, 2008 at 04:55 GMT	4 points
	@Sneuticles: 4? I don't see 4. There are only three on here from that team. Frazier, Reed, Debusschere.

	GPS:	Jan 19th, 2009 at 19:29 GMT	-2 points
	A lot of people are kicking around names of modern players and honestly most of them will never be counted among the greats. They're simply too short lived to be considered great. Im a huge fan of Nowitzki, Wade and others but they're never going to be considered among the all time greats. Great for their times YES, but all time; NO. The few players who can and will be considered all time greats playing right now are Kobe, Kidd, Garnett and LeBron. Their are several younger players who have potential to make the all time list but time will tell.

	Nuclear_Knuckles:	Jan 30th, 2009 at 18:15 GMT	2 points
	But there are FIVE from the '73 Knicks -- add Lucas and Monroe to Camden's three above.

	Nuclear_Knuckles:	Jan 30th, 2009 at 18:17 GMT	2 points
	GPS, I agree on Nowitzki -- very good player, not an all-time great. Wade may still have a long career ahead of him. If he stays healthy, who knows? I can't see Kidd as one of the all-time elite, with his poor shooting. Yes, he could "dominate without scoring," but the fact remains he did take a lot of shots, and missed most of them.

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	wgert:	Apr 23rd, 2009 at 15:19 GMT	6 points
	I always thought that Alex English should be on the team. The guy averaged close to 30 ppg for most of the 80's.

	mister_pianoman:	Apr 23rd, 2009 at 15:53 GMT	1 point
	@Camden- could be wrong (I hadn't been born yet), but I always though Archibald was on that team, because my Dad told me they started 5 guys who ended up in the Hall of Fame

	BZA:	Apr 28th, 2009 at 21:00 GMT	1 point
	great quiz! thinking back, alex english could've made it...i mean walton missed a LOT of games

	Babomomebeo:	May 17th, 2009 at 18:42 GMT	3 points
	gosh i would get Dave Debushchsher every time if I could spell his freaking name!

	Camden:	May 26th, 2009 at 23:36 GMT	3 points
	@ Robert Sutton: Don't you think that is one of those things you should Google or something before you get on here and make yourself look like an ass? No. His name is Parish. One 'R'.

	G_MoNeY:	Jul 9th, 2009 at 01:15 GMT	1 point
	@Vernon Gonsalves: Frazier is the BEST announcer and the reason why is because of his vocabulary. I think he can create his own dictionary from his vocabulary.