The top 25 NBA players of the past 25 years: 25-21

We’ve now had a full 25 years on NBA action this century and within it, many distinct eras of basketball. Remember when throwing the ball to your big man, camped on the low block, was the norm? When the mid-range ruled? When point guards averaging 30 points a game was heresy?

It’s those stylistic shifts that make selecting a best 25 of the past 25 years such an unwieldly task, but we'll give it a go anyway.

You’ll surely notice the emergence of some tropes in this list compared to, say, a corresponding list for 1975-2000, such as the emergence of the high scoring guard against the retreat of the low post technician; the three-ball versus the middy pull-up, the scoring ball-handler instead of the distributor.

A quick housekeeping matter before we begin: this list only accounts for a players post 2000 season career. So, while Michael Jordan is the GOAT, his Wizards swansong isn’t going to cut it for the purposes of this ranking. It also makes a player like Shaquille O’Neal tough to gauge, with eight of his 19 seasons ineligible for consideration. 

Let’s get to it, with players 25 through 21.

25. Dwight Howard

Career stats:  15.7 ppg; 11.8 ppg; 0.9 spg; 1.8 bpg; career 58.7% FG%.

Accolades: Hall of Fame; NBA Champion; 8x All-NBA; 8x All-Star; 3x DPOY; 5x All-Defense; 5x Rebounding Champion; 2x Block Champion.

Let’s kick things off with one of the most polarizing players of the past quarter century. The first overall pick in 2004, Howard lived a genuine career-of-two-halves, his body and game deteriorating rapidly once he departed Orlando in 2012.

As a Magic-man, Howard was the centerpiece of a team that blitzed their conference in reaching the 2009 Finals, giving us a sneak-peak into the looming three-point-heavy spacing era. While the Lakers did a decent job in curbing Howard’s scoring in that final’s series, he still posted 15.4 points, 15.2 boards, 2.2 assists, 1.6 steals and an even four blocks per game.

As his body broke down, his somewhat grating personality led to a meandering back half of his career. He did maintain his playoff performances as a game-changing bench big.

24. Ray Allen

Career stats: 18.9 ppg; 4.1 rpg; 3.4 apg; 1.1 spg; 45/40/89 shooting; 2,973 made threes. 

Accolades: Hall of Fame; 2x NBA Champion; 10x All-Star; 2x All-NBA.

One of the greatest shooters to ever grace the hardwood, it’s fascinating to think of Allen’s career had he been drafted in 2011 rather than 1996. His near picture-perfect form, in this age of basketball, would have seen him launching nearer to 10 treys per game, instead of the 5.7 that he averaged.

Whilst Allen’s jump shot rightly hogs the headlines, the younger version of "Jesus Shuttleworth" was a supreme athlete, partial to administering the odd baptism.