It takes a team to win, but it starts from the top. Some teams have been fortunate to have one star, while some have had two, and even fewer have had the privilege of three.
Teams tend to build through the draft or perhaps with splashy trades. Every now and then, though, diamonds can be found in the rough, in the form of undrafted players.
It takes a lot to be an impactful NBA player. Skill and physical attributes are important, but some of the all-time greats have used a bit of trash talk to give themselves even more of an edge, or they just enjoy that part of the competitive environment.
Stars sell tickets, but it's tough for them to win games without a roster of reliable role players behind them. Over the years, some players have really excelled in these roles, providing consistency for careers that weren't always flashy, but were long and productive nonetheless.
A team needs a star to do well, but if you want to go all the way, it's hard to do it without at least a dynamic duo. Pairs like Jordan and Pippen, Shaq and Kobe, and Stockton and Malone are among the NBA's most iconic players, and their legacies will forever be tied to their counterparts.
All shots inside the 3-point arc are worth two points. Dunks are a whole lot cooler than the other options, though. Here are the best players in NBA history when it comes to throwing it down.
Hakeem The Dream, Clyde The Glide, Magic: The NBA has produced some incredible nicknames over the decades. Some, like Magic and Penny, have even come to largely replace the player's actual name.
The NBA honors its best players with the annual All-Star game. Throughout the decades, though, there has been some elite talent that haven't quite managed to earn that honor.
The draft is a huge key to building a team. Sometimes, picks don't work out the way general managers hope, but sometimes, they can change the fate of your franchise's next decade or two.
Achievements like scoring titles, All-Star appearances, and MVP awards can really cement a player as an all-time great. What really helps put them in that conversation, too, are championships; however, some of the best-ever NBA stars never managed to get over that hump.
Basketball originated as a distinctly American game. It had international roots, though, as the game's inventor, James Naismith, was Canadian. In the years since, the NBA has been flooded with league-defining international talent.
When you think of any NBA franchise, there are some guys who just immediately come to mind. Players come and go, but for some, it took a long while for them to go.
Defense wins championships, sure, but ultimately, you have to outscore your opponent to come out ahead. That's why when you look at lists of the all-time best players, they're usually filled with guys who really knew how to put the ball in the basket.
Scoring is flashy, but a lot of the time, it's assists that enable that offensive production. The league's best passers make their teammates better and keep defenses on their toes.
Scoring is the flashiest way to make an impact on a game, but rebounding gets the ball under your team's control, whether you're regaining possession or even extending your own.
Being tall tends to give you a better chance at success in basketball. Sometimes, though, players are so good that despite being short by NBA standards, they make a significant impact on the league.
It's not easy to get to the NBA mountaintop. The following players were able to do so with more than one franchise.
First impressions mean a lot, but fans usually give NBA rookies more than one game to prove themselves. It's natural to stumble out of the starting block, but sometimes, rookies absolutely go off their first time on an NBA court.
It's generally first-round picks who become stars in the NBA, and that makes sense: Teams draft promising players as soon as possible. Scouting and player evaluation are imperfect processes, though, and sometimes, a gem slips through the cracks, deeply enough to fall to the draft's second round.