Stars in Basketball

The 50 Greatest Players in National Basketball Association History (also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team or NBA's Top 50) were chosen in 1996 to honor the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association(NBA). These fifty players were selected through a vote by a panel of media members, former players and coaches, and current and former general managers. In addition, the top ten head coaches and top ten single-season teams in NBA history were selected by media members as part of the celebration. The fifty players had to have played at least a portion of their careers in the NBA and were selected irrespective of position played.
The list was announced by NBA commissioner David Stern on October 29, 1996, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, the former site of the Commodore Hotel, where the original NBA charter was signed on June 6, 1946. The announcement marked the beginning of a season-long celebration of the league's anniversary.Forty-seven of the fifty players were later assembled inCleveland, Ohio, during the halftime ceremony of the 1997 All-Star Game. Three players were absent:Pete Maravich, who had died in 1988, at forty; Shaquille O'Neal, who was recovering from a knee injury; and Jerry West, who was scheduled to have surgery for an ear infection and could not fly. At the time of the announcement, eleven players were active. O'Neal was the last to be active in the NBA, retiring at the end of the 2010–11 season.

Name	Voter category
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*	Player
Marv Albert	Media member
Al Attles	Team
Red Auerbach	Team
Elgin Baylor*	Team
Dave Bing*	Player
Larry Bird*	Team
Marty Blake	Team
Fran Blinebury	Media member
Bill Bradley	Player
Hubie Brown	Team
Wilt Chamberlain*	Player
Mitch Chortkoff	Media member
Bob Cousy*	Player
Billy Cunningham*	Team
Chuck Daly	Team
David DuPree	Media member
Wayne Embry	Team
Julius Erving*	Player
Joe Gilmartin	Media member
Sam Goldaper	Media member
Alex Hannum	Team
Lester Harrison	Team
John Havlicek*	Player
Chick Hearn	Media member
Red Holzman	Team
Phil Jasner	Media member
Magic Johnson*	Player
Johnny Kerr	Player
Leonard Koppett	Media member
Bob Lanier	Player
Frank Layden	Team
Leonard Lewin	Media member
Jack McCallum	Media member
Dick McGuire	Team
George Mikan*	Player
Bob Pettit*	Player
Harvey Pollack	Team
Jack Ramsay	Team
Willis Reed*	Team
Oscar Robertson*	Player
Bill Russell*	Player
Bob Ryan	Media member
Dolph Schayes*	Player
Bill Sharman*	Player
Gene Shue	Team
Isiah Thomas*	Team
Wes Unseld*	Team
Peter Vecsey	Media member
Jerry West*	Team

By Reason