The NBA's 75th Anniversary Players List Has Expected Names, Several Snubs

The new NBA season launched this week and much of the celebration of its return was centered around the league’s 75th anniversary, along with a list of the 75 greatest players of all time. While there are some expected names on the list, there have been several snubs and #NBATwitter definitely had something to say. The league has done similar lists before, most famously its 50 all-time greats list that was released on the league’s 50th anniversary. All of the names from the previous list were grandfathered to the current one, with the additional 25 being a mix of names that should’ve been on the first iteration and plenty of snubs abound this time. The complete list can be viewed below:

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR RAY ALLEN GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO CARMELO ANTHONY NATE ARCHIBALD PAUL ARIZIN CHARLES BARKLEY RICK BARRY ELGIN BAYLOR DAVE BING LARRY BIRD KOBE BRYANT WILT CHAMBERLAIN BOB COUSY DAVE COWENS BILLY CUNNINGHAM STEPHEN CURRY ANTHONY DAVIS DAVE DEBUSSCHERE CLYDE DREXLER TIM DUNCAN KEVIN DURANT JULIUS ERVING PATRICK EWING WALT FRAZIER KEVIN GARNETT GEORGE GERVIN HAL GREER JAMES HARDEN JOHN HAVLICEK ELVIN HAYES ALLEN IVERSON LEBRON JAMES MAGIC JOHNSON SAM JONES MICHAEL JORDAN JASON KIDD KAWHI LEONARD DAMIAN LILLARD JERRY LUCAS KARL MALONE MOSES MALONE PETE MARAVICH BOB MCADOO KEVIN MCHALE GEORGE MIKAN REGGIE MILLER EARL MONROE STEVE NASH DIRK NOWITZKI SHAQUILLE O’NEAL HAKEEM OLAJUWON ROBERT PARISH CHRIS PAUL GARY PAYTON BOB PETTIT PAUL PIERCE SCOTTIE PIPPEN WILLIS REED OSCAR ROBERTSON DAVID ROBINSON DENNIS RODMAN BILL RUSSELL DOLPH SCHAYES BILL SHARMAN JOHN STOCKTON ISIAH THOMAS NATE THURMOND WES UNSELD DWYANE WADE BILL WALTON JERRY WEST RUSSELL WESTBROOK LENNY WILKENS DOMINIQUE WILKINS JAMES WORTHY

Of course, many of these names should be there, notably Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and other league-transforming stars. Bob McAdoo, one of the biggest snubs from the 50th-anniversary list, is included. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA Finals MVP and Milwaukee Bucks superstar is just 26 years of age and made the list, along with Portland Trailblazers sharpshooter Damian Lillard. Dominique Wilkins, another 50th-anniversary snub, has also made the cut. Check out the reactions to the list from NBA Twitter below. — Photo: Getty

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