Defining "the best" is hard. Is it the MVP? Often, yes. Is it the best player on the championship team? Sometimes. Is it the player with the most eye-popping stats regardless of team success? Rarely, but it happens.
To determine the best player of every individual year since 1960, we looked at a combination of regular-season dominance, advanced efficiency metrics, and how far they dragged their teams in the postseason.
Part 1: The Year-by-Year Kings (1960–2024)
This isn't just a list of MVPs. It's a list of the guy you would pick first in a pickup game that specific year.
The Era of Giants (The 60s)
It was Wilt’s stats versus Russell’s rings. Wilt often had the better individual year, even if Russell had the better team.
1960: Wilt Chamberlain
1961: Bill Russell
1962: Wilt Chamberlain (The 50 PPG/25 RPG season. Undeniable.)
1963: Bill Russell
1964: Oscar Robertson
1965: Bill Russell
1966: Wilt Chamberlain
1967: Wilt Chamberlain
1968: Wilt Chamberlain
1969: Bill Russell
Transition and the Lew Alcindor Arrival (The 70s)
The league was fragmented (ABA vs. NBA), but Kareem was the undisputed constant force.
1970: Jerry West
1971: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor)
1972: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1973: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1974: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1975: Rick Barry
1976: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1977: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1978: Bill Walton (When healthy, he was perfect basketball)
1979: Moses Malone
The Golden Age Begins (The 80s)
Bird and Magic saved the league, and then a guy from North Carolina took it over.
1980: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1981: Julius Erving (Dr. J)
1982: Moses Malone
1983: Moses Malone
1984: Larry Bird
1985: Larry Bird
1986: Larry Bird (Perhaps the greatest all-around peak season ever)
1987: Magic Johnson
1988: Michael Jordan
1989: Michael Jordan
Total Domination (The 90s)
It was Michael Jordan's world. The two years he stepped away allowed Hakeem Olajuwon to prove his greatness.
1990: Michael Jordan
1991: Michael Jordan
1992: Michael Jordan
1993: Michael Jordan
1994: Hakeem Olajuwon
1995: Hakeem Olajuwon
1996: Michael Jordan
1997: Michael Jordan
1998: Michael Jordan
1999: Karl Malone (Lockout year, Tim Duncan close second)
The Power Shift (The 00s)
The era of the power forward (Duncan/KG) and the dynamic guard (Kobe/AI), bookended by Shaq's brute force and LeBron's arrival.
2000: Shaquille O'Neal ( The most physically dominant peak since Wilt)
2001: Shaquille O'Neal
2002: Tim Duncan
2003: Tim Duncan
2004: Kevin Garnett
2005: Tim Duncan
2006: Kobe Bryant
2007: Dirk Nowitzki
2008: Kobe Bryant
2009: LeBron James
The King and The Shooters (The 10s)
LeBron James' prime was impossibly long. He was eventually challenged by the analytics revolution spearheaded by Steph Curry.
2010: LeBron James
2011: LeBron James
2012: LeBron James
2013: LeBron James (Peak efficiency LeBron)
2014: Kevin Durant
2015: Stephen Curry
2016: Stephen Curry (The unanimous, game-changing season)
2017: LeBron James
2018: LeBron James
2019: Kawhi Leonard (The playoff run was legendary)
The Modern Efficiency Monsters (The 20s)
The global game has taken over, characterized by big men with guard skills and off-the-charts efficiency ratings.
2020: Giannis Antetokounmpo
2021: Giannis Antetokounmpo
2022: Nikola Jokic
2023: Nikola Jokic
2024: Nikola Jokic
Part 2: The Top 25 All-Time Ranking
The Criteria:
This ranking rewards players who combined elite individual production with winning.
Efficiency: High PER, True Shooting percentage, low turnover rates.
Winning %: Did their teams win consistently? (This boosts Bill Russell and Tim Duncan; it slightly hurts players trapped on bad franchises).
Longevity + Peak: Sustained excellence matters, but so does a ridiculously high peak.
The Pantheon (Tier 1)
The undisputed three. Their blend of stats, championships, and game-changing impact is untouchable.
1. Michael Jordan
The ultimate blend of efficiency, two-way dominance, and a psychopathic will to win. He never lost in the Finals and owns the highest career PPG and PER in history.
2. LeBron James
The greatest accumulation of stats we will ever see, combined with 20+ years of winning basketball. His efficiency in his latter years is unprecedented.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Six MVPs, six rings, and the most unstoppable shot in history (the skyhook). He dominated the 70s on stats and the 80s on winning.
The Mount Rushmore Contenders (Tier 2)
Giants of the game whose winning percentages and efficiency define their legacies.
4. Bill Russell
If winning is a stat, Russell is the GOAT. 11 championships in 13 seasons. His defensive efficiency and impact on team winning percentage is unrivalled, even if his offensive stats weren't gaudy.
5. Magic Johnson
The greatest floor general ever. His efficiency came from creating easy shots for teammates. Nine Finals appearances in 12 years speaks for itself.
6. Wilt Chamberlain
The statistical god. He owns records that will never be broken. He falls slightly because his massive stats didn't always translate to winning until later in his career when he focused on defense and passing.
7. Tim Duncan
The epitome of the criteria. Incredible efficiency, elite defense, and perhaps the most stable 19-year stretch of winning in modern sports history with the Spurs.
8. Larry Bird
Three straight MVPs in the golden era. An incredibly efficient shooter and passer whose career was unfortunately shortened by back injuries.
9. Shaquille O'Neal
At his peak (2000-2002), perhaps the most efficient scoring force ever because he simply couldn't be stopped without fouling. Four rings define his winning legacy.
10. Hakeem Olajuwon
The most skilled center ever and perhaps the greatest defender. The only player in the top 10 all-time in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals.
The Elite Innovators (Tier 3)
11. Kobe Bryant: Five rings and unmatched scoring skill. His efficiency was sometimes lower due to shot difficulty, but his will to win was Jordan-esque.
12. Stephen Curry: Changed how basketball is played globally. His true-shooting efficiency on high volume is alien. Four rings define the Warriors dynasty.
13. Kevin Durant: Arguably the most efficient pure scorer in history at his height. A walking 50/40/90 season.
14. Oscar Robertson: The original triple-double king. His efficiency in an era without the three-point line was staggering.
15. Jerry West: "The Logo." An incredibly efficient guard before his time, who unfortunately kept running into the Celtics dynasty.
The Modern Titans & Historical Giants (Tier 4)
16. Nikola Jokic: He is rapidly climbing this list. His advanced efficiency metrics (PER, BPM) are currently unmatched in NBA history. If he wins more rings, he hits the top 10.
17. Giannis Antetokounmpo: A two-way force with Shaq-like efficiency at the rim and a DPOY pedigree.
18. Moses Malone: A three-time MVP and arguably the greatest offensive rebounder ever. A relentless winner in the late 70s/early 80s.
19. Julius Erving (Dr. J): Revolutionized the game above the rim between the ABA and NBA. A winner and an icon.
20. Kevin Garnett: An efficiency darling and defensive genius whose peak was wasted on bad Minnesota teams, but proved his winning impact in Boston.
Rounding Out The Greats (Tier 5)
21. Dirk Nowitzki: Revolutionized the stretch-four position with incredible shooting efficiency for a 7-footer. Led one of the greatest title runs ever in 2011.
22. Karl Malone: Second all-time leading scorer with incredible longevity and consistency, only lacking the ring.
23. David Robinson: A statistical marvel in the regular season and an elite defender who anchored the Spurs before Duncan arrived.
24. Charles Barkley: Despite being undersized, he was incredibly efficient offensively (one of the highest 2-point percentages ever) and a rebounding force.
25. Jerry Lucas: A deep cut for the modern fan, but Lucas was a statistical anomaly in the 60s—a 20/20 machine with incredible shooting touch for a big man, winning a title with the Knicks.
