Michael Jordan is pretty much universally recognized as the greatest basketball player ever. And rightfully so. During his 15-year NBA career, he averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game while winning six NBA championships. So he is, without a doubt, the best player in Chicago Bulls history. There has never been—and never will be—a better Bulls player than MJ.
Who are the G.O.A.T.s for the NBA's 29 other franchises, though? For some teams—like the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have their prodigal son LeBron James back in the mix—the answer is obvious. But for others, you have to do some digging through the history books in order to make a compelling case for one player over everyone else. With the NBA season now in full swing, we decided to do just that and came up with our list of The Best Franchise Players in NBA History. Scroll down to see the 30 faces of the NBA's 30 franchises.
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Atlanta Hawks: Bob Pettit
Years Played for Team: 1954-65
Career Stats: 26.4 PPG, 16.2 RPG, 3.0 APG (BPG was not an official stat when he played)
Accolades: 2-time NBA MVP, 11-time NBA All-Star, 10-time All-NBA First Team, NBA champion
Runner-Up: Dominique Wilkins
We very easily could have slid 'Nique into this slot, and we doubt that anyone would have argued with us. But it's hard to ignore the impact that Pettit had on the NBA back in the 1950s and 1960s when the Hawks played in Milwaukee and St. Louis. The 6-foot-9 forward/center was the first player to ever win the NBA MVP award. He also made the NBA All-Star team during every single season he played in the league. And he was an integral part of the Hawks' 1958 championship team. He was later elected into the Hall of Fame in 1970 and named to the NBA's "50 Greatest Players in NBA History" team in 1996. So he gets the nod over The Human Highlight Film here.
Boston Celtics: Bill Russell
Years Played for Team: 1956-69
Career Stats: 15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, 4.3 APG (BPG was not an official stat when he played)
Accolades: 5-time NBA MVP, 12-time NBA All-Star, 3-time All-NBA First Team, 11-time NBA champion
Runner-Up: Larry Bird
The Celtics franchise has been filled with great players over the last 60 years or so. From Bird to Bob Cousy to Kevin McHale, there's been no shortage of talent within the organization. But despite that, it's pretty easy to pick Russell as the best of the bunch. He won 11 NBA championships during his career, averaged a ridiculous amount of rebounds, and is one of the few players to ever play the game of basketball who could make a claim to Michael Jordan's "G.O.A.T." title and not sound crazy.
Brooklyn Nets: Jason Kidd
Years Played for Team: 2001-07
Career Stats: 12.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.9 SPG
Accolades: 10-time NBA All-Star, 5-time All-NBA First Team, 5-time NBA assists leader, NBA Champion
Runner-Up: Buck Williams
Julius Erving only played for the Nets during their time in the ABA. So we didn't include him here (not to worry, he'll show up later). But even if he had played for the Nets in the NBA, J-Kidd still probably would have won out. He has the second most assists in NBA history (behind only John Stockton). He ranks third all-time in regular-season triple-doubles with 107. And back in the early 2000s, he led the Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals trips and, even though he didn't ultimately lead them to a title, he did help them dominate the Eastern Conference for quite a few years before getting traded to the Mavericks in 2008. He won a championship later with Dallas, but the best years of his career were spent running point for the Nets in New Jersey.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider