Finals MVP awards, 15 NBA 1st or 2nd Teams, an amazing 19 NBA All-Star inclusions where he averaged 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game.He is also the 3rd all-time in registered blocks (3,189), which is eye popping because this particular stat was not officially counted until the 5th year of his career (1974).On the offensive set, Jabar was all but unstoppable in the low-post. This is amazing because compared to centers such as Wilt Chamberlain, Artis Gilmore, and Shaquille O'Neal, Abdul-Jabar was a very petite player. Yes, he stood 7-2 but he only weighed 225lbs. Most centers weighed in the 240's and 250's if not larger.To make up for his lack of size, he showed finesse, speed, agility and was well-respected for his ambidextrous skyhook shot, which many defenders could not consistently stop. This move contributed to Jabar ending his career with a .559 field goal accuracy, making him the 8th highest accurate scorer of all-time.
In the NBA, Jabar's 20 seasons and 1,560 games played are only outlived by another hall-of-famer, Robert Parish.
#2 Karl Malone: Karl Malone is regarded as one of the greatest power forwards in league
history. With his collection of 2 regular season MVP awards, 11 First NBA Team nominations and being selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team 3 times, it should not be hard to see why. Those are just some of the stats that lead to his greatness.Malone scored 36,928 points (25 ppg), second best all-time, on a stellar .516 shooting. His high percentage was contributed mainly to two factors, most known the pick-and-roll-offense, and secondly his raw power, which aided him in overpowering most of the forwards he went up against in his day. Malone rebounded 10 balls a game (adding to his point total that would be a double-double for his career) and he also stole 1.41 balls per game.
Malone would be the standard-bearer on free throws for 7 separate seasons (an NBA record). Being one of the most durable players of all-time, Malone missed only 5 games in his first 13 seasons. He continued to contribute big numbers late in his career at age 40, as he became the oldest player ever to register a triple-double and start on a team headed toward the NBA Finals.
Malone in a few years also raised his free-throw percentage from 50% to 75% in a span of a few years. This can be seen as an act of extreme dedication, as well as Malone added a mid-range jump shot which made him even harder to stick. He is the 1st all-time in defensive rebounds, as well as 1st in most free throws made and attempted.
#3 Michael Jordan: His Airness is one of the greatest figures in professional basketball history. Jordan's list of accomplishments include 5 MVP awards, 10 First All-NBA First Team
designations, 9 All-Defensive 1st Team Honors, 14 NBA All Star Game appearances and 3 All-Star MVP's, 10 scoring titles, 3 steals titles, 6 NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year Award. He also holds the highest regular season scoring average of 30.1 ppg, in addition to adding 33.4 ppg in the playoffs.Jordan was also a versatile player. He was a SG that who was also able to play the position of small forward. Jordan was known for being the best "closer" in basketball when the game waned down to the final minutes. With his clutch ability, many teams followed a strategy first applied by Chuck Daly (Pistons coach at the time) called, Jordan Rules. Basically this was a defensive strategy where 2 or 3 defenders guarded Jordan whenever he touched the ball, so he would have to pass it out to his teammates.
His 2,514 steals are 2nd highest tall of all-time behind John Stockton, but his steals per game average is 3rd all-time.
In one playoff series against the Boston Celtics Jordan scored 63 points, which is a playoff record. With a little hyperbole from Larry Bird, Jordan and his performance was described as, "God disguised as Michael Jordan."
Jordan led the league in scoring for 10 seasons (NBA record) and strung together 7 consecutive seasons of scoring titles, which equaled Wilt Chamberlain's record.
Retiring with 32,292 points, this placed him 3rd all-time on the scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Karl Malone.
(source from Christian Fann.)
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