First on my project I will tell you the top 5. I will then explain why I'm saying this and why you should agree with me. 5. Kobe Bryant 4. Magic Johnson 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2. Lebron James 1. Michael Jordan. These are the Best 5 NBA players to ever do it. I’ll start with Kobe then move on through the list. I want to give details on their NBA career as well as their life growing up and making them into the people they are today. When I'm finished I want to publish my work on TeenInk. On TeenInk I can get feedback from kids my age, and see if they agree with my list.

Kobe is 5 in my top 5 list. Kobe Bryant was born August 23, 1978. Sadly died January 26, 2020 due to a helicopter crash. Although Kobe was born in Philly he lived most of his childhood years growing up in Rieti, Italy. Kobe created “Mamba Mentality” in his years playing by never backing down and had a huge impact on the game of basketball. Kobe averaged 25.0 points per game in his 20 year career. He was drafted 13th overall in 1996 to the Charlotte Hornets but was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers less than a week later. Kobe won 5 championships in his career including one 3-peat from 2000-2002. His other 2 were in 2009 and 2010. Kobe dominated the NBA at a young age, and when he had his 3-peat Shaquille O’Neal was on the team helping him lead the team to those wins. Shaq was an amazing player and most believe that he could’ve been better if he really gave it his all. They made a good duo and were able to win multiple championships together.

(image from Los Angeles Times) This image shows Kobe Bryant’s ppg (points per game) and also when he won his championships as well as Finals MVP. There is no doubt that Kobe is a top 5 player of all time. By how he was able to dominate the league for 20 whole years.

Next, number 4 on my top 5 list is Magic Johnson. His real name is Earvin Johnson Jr. Magic was born August 14, 1959 in Lansing Michigan. Magic has 9 siblings in total. Magic only spent two years in college 1977-79. Magic is 6’9 towering over some point guards in the NBA. Magic Johnson also struggled with dyslexia growing up which just fed into his drive to be an amazing basketball player. Magic Johnson averaged 19.5 ppg in his 13 seasons in the NBA. He was drafted in 1979 as the 1st overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers. Magic also has 5 rings. They were in 1980, 82, 85, 87, 88. Magic won all these rings with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and after Kareem retired in 1989 he won no more championships without him.

Image from fadeawayworld.net/nba/magic-johnsons-stats-for-each-season-the-greatest-point-guard-in-nba-history

This shows how dominant Magic was when he played, and why he’s considered by many the greatest point guard of all time.

Next on the list is the 3rd best of all time which is Magic Johnson’s teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem was born in Harlem, NY and grew up there. He was an only child of  Cora and Ferdinand Alcindor. Kareem was actually named Lew Alcindor until 1971 when he started to go by Kareem. He changed his name after he converted to Islamic. Kareem attended UCLA for three seasons before being drafted. Kareem, was a 7-foot-2 center and is currently the leading scorer in the NBA (LeBron passed him on 2/7/23). He is about to be passed by LeBron but we can get to that later. Kareem was born April 16, 1947. He was drafted 1st overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. He would go on to win Rookie of the Year in 1970. He spent his first six seasons there and won one NBA championship while he was there. That was in 1971. After those six seasons he would request to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers or New York. Milwaukee compiled and sent him to LA to play with the Lakers. Kareem would win 5 more championships there. Although there was no defensive player of the year at the time, Kareem had 5 all defensive first team awards. fadeawayworld.net/nba/lakers-magic-johnson-vs-lakers-kareem-abdul-jabbar-career-comparison

Here are some stats from not only Kareem but Magic also. As you can tell they were both dominant players. One of the best duos ever in the NBA. Now we are closing in on the top 2 which without a doubt is the hardest decision to make.

At my number 2 spot I have LeBron James. LeBron James has been a dominant player his whole career. LeBron was born December 30, 1984. He was born in Akron, Ohio and didn’t grow up with very much. His dad left at a young age and just had his mom. He attended St. Vincent-St. Mary high school. LeBron was very famous just coming out of high school already being in many magazines and articles. LeBron played football in high school, and was a “first -team all-state wide receiver at Akron St. Vincent-St Mary, where he caught 103 passes for 2,065 yards and 23 touchdowns.” (per Sports Illustrated) He was considered to be the #1 football prospect out of Ohio. LeBron would obviously pick the basketball route for after his high school career. LeBron was drafted the first overall pick in the 2003 draft. He was drafted straight out of high school which doesn’t happen very often. He was drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers and he would play there till 2010 when his contract expired and he went and played for the Miami Heat. He won 2 championships there, one in 2012 and one in 2013. His contract was over in 2014 and decided he had unfinished business in Cleveland. He returned and just 2 years later he won a championship for Cleveland. LeBron in 2018 would go to the Los Angeles Lakers. He won another championship there in 2020 and is still there now. LeBron is also the all time leading scorer passing Kareem on 2/7/23. Although he only has 4 rings LeBron has been to the finals 10 times. 8 of them were consecutive years in a row.

fadeawayworld.net/nba/lebron-james-vs-michael-jordan-comparing-stats-and-accolades-during-regular-season-and-playoffs

This is an image of a comparison between Micheal Jordan and LeBron James. Although MJ has better stats overall LeBron has been doing it for so many years and is still playing dominant. In my opinion MJ is still the greatest player of all time. At least for right now.

At number one the GOAT Michael Jordan. Michael was born February 17th, 1963 he and his family moved to North Carolina when he was just 5 years old. Michael had two brothers he grew up with and loved to play basketball with. Micheal was shown to be a young talent in high school and eventually received a college scholarship from UNC (University of North Carolina). He would play there for 3 seasons winning a NCAA championship there his freshman year. He asked his coach if he should return for his senior year but he said no. Jordan declared for the NBA draft in 1984. He was drafted 3rd overall to the Chicago Bulls and it started there. Micahel had a quote that said “If you quit once it becomes a habit. Never quit!” This is very inspiring to athletes of all sports.

Michael would show his talents there proving himself to the veterans of the team that he is all in. Michael quickly brought much attention to the city of Chicago and to the Bulls. He was considered the best on the team pretty fast. In 1987 Scottie Pippen was traded to the Bulls and would become a starter in 1988. 3 years later in 1991 the Bulls would win their first championship with MJ and also win the championship the next two years in 92’ and 93’. After the 1993 season Jordan was tired and sadly was faced with his fathers death. In The Last Dance Jordan talks about him and his dad talking if he should quit and go play basketball. When his dad was murdered it was a no brainer for him. Michael retired and went to go play baseball. Michael would play baseball for the Chicago White Sox as he still loved the city of Chicago. Jordan batted over 500 in his first 6 months but soon later he showed a little weakness in baseball. He started going to Bulls practices a couple times a month, then a couple times a week. The biggest story of 1995 was Jordan's return to basketball. The famous fax he sent out was simply “I’m back.” That season he returned was the season of 95-96 and that team was considered the greatest team ever as they won 72 games that season only losing 2 games at home. Jordan put the team on his back and showed he was still the best player by leading them to a championship not only that year but the next three years. After that the team was gonna need too much money with all the amazing players on the team so most of the team was traded and they began a rebuild after the 6th championship. Jordan came out at the end of “The Last Dance” saying he wishes they would have went another one because they could have had 7.

Thank you for reading my Top 5 NBA players of all time. I hope that you can read this and understand my thoughts as well as have your own opinions. I did my best to give credible information and make you believe my thought process. I would really appreciate feedback and any more thoughts you may have after reading my text.