Jul 25, 2024, 08:00 AM ET

When LeBron James entered the NBA as the top pick in the 2003 draft, he did so in the face of seemingly impossible expectations.

James already had graced a Sports Illustrated cover with the headline “The Chosen One.” His high school games had been broadcast on national television for more than a year. He was one of the most anticipated rookies in the history of the sport.

More than 20 years later, James has not only met those expectations; he has exceeded them.

Today, the 39-year-old superstar — in the middle of trying to lead Team USA to a fifth straight Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games — is still among the best players on the planet.

James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He reached eight consecutive NBA Finals and 10 in total. He has hoisted four Larry O’Brien Trophies, including leading the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 to Northeast Ohio’s first pro sports championship in a half-century and the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2020 title inside the Orlando bubble. He has four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and a like number of Finals MVPs.

Add it all up and it makes James an extremely easy choice as the top men’s basketball player of the 2000s.

After King James, though?

Things get a lot more complicated.

Should Kobe Bryant rank ahead of Tim Duncan? Dwyane Wade ahead of Kevin Garnett? Kawhi Leonard ahead of Chris Paul? Do Draymond Green and Klay Thompson both make the list? What about Ray Allen and Paul Pierce?

None of these rankings — other than James at the top — is unassailable. They are, however, fun.

And after a panel of ESPN experts voted on the subject, here’s the list of 25 players who ultimately made the cut.

— Tim Bontemps

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, NBA’s all-time scoring leader, 20-time All-Star, 19-time All-NBA selection, six-time All-Defense, four-time MVP, four-time Finals MVP, four-time NBA champion, three-time All-Star Game MVP

The “48 special” game happened 17 years ago this spring. That’s when James scored 29 of the last 30 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a double-overtime upset Game 5 road win against the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. The 48-point game was a mesmerizing performance that stands as one of the classic games of this century … and it probably doesn’t even rank in the top 10 of James’ playoff performances. It might not be one of his top three conference finals games. This is what James’ greatness rests on: No one has ever been this good for this long. That long-ago night in the Palace of Auburn Hills is merely one of 29 40-point games James has in the playoffs alone.

That win paved the way to his first Finals, starting a run of 10 appearances in 14 years. During that stretch he won four NBA titles, four MVPs and four Finals MVPs with three different teams, as well as two Olympic gold medals. He also won at least one road game in 29 consecutive playoff series. He has scored in double figures in 1,222 consecutive regular-season games — the last time he didn’t, his son Bronny, now his Laker teammate, was 2 years old. Volume isn’t a vogue way to measure achievement in the NBA anymore, and it lends credence to those who want to push James down all-time lists. It’s the only side of the argument to take against James, who has essentially renamed the NBA’s record book for himself. — Brian Windhorst

2. Kobe Bryant

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, Basketball Hall of Famer, five-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, 2007-08 MVP, 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA selection, 12-time All-Defense, four-time All-Star Game MVP

For all of the accomplishments Bryant amassed, the five championships chief among them, and all of the otherworldly scoring feats — nine straight 40-point games in 2003, four straight 50-point games in 2007, the 81-point night against Toronto, the 60-point send-off against Utah — his lasting achievement was inspiration. The Lakers legend’s self-described “Mamba mentality” has transcended basketball, and sports for that matter, a branded way of life that fans and admirers of Bryant aspire to reach. It promises that with enough drive, enough work, enough will and enough focus, you too can shape your existence the way Bryant did.

After a horrific helicopter crash in 2020 killed Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others, Bryant’s impact continues to be felt posthumously. His name is as relevant as ever in the NBA, with countless players paying homage to the shooting guard by wearing Nos. 8 and 24 and the league renaming the All-Star MVP trophy in his honor. “He’s like our generation’s Jordan,” Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas told ESPN last season. “How the other guys liked Jordan, that’s how we are with Kobe.” — Dave McMenamin

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ESPN’s Top 100 Athletes: Kobe Bryant’s top plays

Check out the top 10 career plays from NBA superstar Kobe Bryant as he lands at No. 10 in ESPN’s Top 100 athletes of the 21st century.

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, four-time NBA champion, 2022 Finals MVP, 10-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA, 2022 All-Star Game MVP, two-time scoring leader, career leader in 3-pointers made

Curry had been reluctant to call himself the greatest shooter of all time until he broke the career 3-point scoring record. Once he achieved that milestone in December 2021, he wasn’t so shy about it anymore. Curry has changed the way basketball is played — at every level of the sport. Nowadays you’ll find kids in high school gyms going through the same pregame shooting routine Curry does. And in the NBA, offenses are built around 3-point shooting like never before.

If the way he revolutionized the game isn’t enough to solidify his standing in the NBA — and among great athletes around the world — his résuméis. After winning his first Finals MVP in 2022, to go along with his four titles, 10 All-Star appearances, nine All-NBA teams and two MVPs, Curry asked: “What are they going to say now?” — Kendra Andrews

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, Basketball Hall of Famer, four-time NBA champion, 13-time All-NBA selection, 13-time All-Defense, 14-time All-Star, two-time MVP, two-time Finals MVP

The first 2½ seasons of Duncan’s stellar career came before the turn of the century, but that didn’t stop him from cementing his spot near the top of this list. Even without a Rookie of the Year and his first NBA title, Duncan’s run in the early 2000s banked him both of his MVP awards. He earned the first in 2001-02 with a career-best average of 25.5 points, along with 12.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. The Big Fundamental was also one of the best defenders the league has seen, earning his final All-Defensive team nod in 2015 at 38 years old. — Andrew Lopez

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, Basketball Hall of Famer, four-time champion, three-time Finals MVP, 1999-2000 MVP, nine-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA, two-time All-Defense

When Phil Jackson took a then 27-year-old O’Neal out to dinner during training camp ahead of the 1999-2000 Lakers season, the Zen Master challenged the center with a lofty objective. “I told him that he should make it his goal to be the MVP,” Jackson wrote in 2016. “In fact, I suggested to him that, by the time he retired, they should rename the trophy the Shaq Award!”

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O’Neal went on to win three MVPs during the ensuing campaign: He was named co-MVP of the All-Star Game along with Tim Duncan for posting 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in a win for the West; he was regular-season MVP after averaging 29.7 points, 13.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 blocks; and he was NBA Finals MVP after averaging 38 points on 61.1% shooting, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in a six-game series win over the Indiana Pacers to capture the first of his three titles with the Lakers and four overall. The league never named the trophy after O’Neal, but he did pick up the moniker “Most Dominant Ever,” which isn’t a bad consolation prize. — Dave McMenamin

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, Basketball Hall of Famer, 2008 NBA champion, 2003-04 MVP, 2007-08 Defensive Player of the Year, 13-time All-Star, 12-time All-Defense team, eight-time All-NBA selection, 2003 All-Star Game MVP

Garnett was famously loyal to Minnesota, leading the Timberwolves to their first playoff series victories when he piloted them to the 2004 Western Conference finals. But despite winning his lone MVP award that season, it was in Boston where he would cement himself in history. He and Ray Allen teamed up with Paul Pierce to usher in a new big three era in the NBA and lead the Celtics to the 2008 title, plus another NBA Finals appearance two seasons later. Garnett bellowing “Anything is possible!” in the aftermath of the Celtics’ Game 6 victory over their archrivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, has become an indelible championship moment. — Tim Bontemps

Key accomplishments: 2023 NBA champion, 2023 Finals MVP, three-time MVP, six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, 2023 Western Conference finals MVP.

Before the Clippers would blow a 3-1 lead in the second round against Denver inside the bubble in 2020, Doc Rivers was asked who Jokic reminded him most of. Rivers couldn’t pick just one legendary big man. “He has all the footwork and the moves of an [Hakeem] Olajuwon,” Rivers said. “The lanky and goofy intelligence of Kevin McHale. … He’s the best passing big that I’ve seen, I think, ever. [And] I know [Bill] Walton was one of [the best ever].” Rivers might have actually undersold Jokic. This was before the Nuggets superstar won three MVP awards, a championship and a Finals MVP. At 29, Jokic continues to annually put up numbers the league hasn’t seen from a big man since Wilt Chamberlain, and he’s far from done. — Ohm Youngmisuk

8. Dwyane Wade

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, Basketball Hall of Famer, three-time NBA champion, 2006 Finals MVP, 13-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA selection, three-time All-Defense, 2010 All-Star Game MVP.

Who could forget that four-game Finals run Wade had? He averaged 30 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists on 60% shooting … in the 2011 NBA Finals the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks. The brilliance of Wade’s career was perhaps dimmed a tad because he teamed up with LeBron James and Chris Bosh at the peak of his powers. And the 2011 Finals will always be remembered for James’ stumbles and not Wade’s singular brilliance that was essentially wasted. But his career was spectacular and his 2006 Finals four-game run — 39.3 points and 8.3 rebounds on 50% shooting (and 73 free throws) — to lead the Heat to the first of three titles is legendary.

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In the two seasons before James arrived in Miami, Wade won the scoring title and twice finished in the top five of the MVP voting. He willingly took a step back for James, an act that undoubtedly helped the Heat jell and win back-to-back titles even if it meant the end of his time at the top of those lists. It was a team-first act he paired with a willingness to come off the bench in the 2008 Olympics for the Redeem Team. He still stands as one of the greatest shooting guards of all time, the best shot-blocking guard in NBA history and a flag-carrying member of the iconic 2003 draft class. — Brian Windhorst

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, 14-time All-Star, two-time All-Star Game MVP, 2013-14 MVP, 10-time All-NBA, four-time scoring leader, 2007-08 Rookie of the Year.

“I’m Kevin Durant. You know who I am. Y’all know who I am.” That was Durant’s conclusion to a lengthy answer about pesky Patrick Beverley‘s defense against him (with a whole lot of help, as Durant noted) early in a 2019 playoff series. Durant’s point: He had proved himself as one of the best scorers to ever play the game, a four-time scoring champion who had won the previous two NBA Finals MVPs, a blend of size and skill that had never been seen before. Then he averaged 41.5 points the rest of that series as the Warriors finished off the Clippers. As he has bounced from team to team, there has been one constant about KD’s identity: When he’s healthy, he has always been impossible to guard. — Tim MacMahon

10. Dirk Nowitzki

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th anniversary team, Basketball Hall of Famer, 2011 NBA champion, 2011 Finals MVP, 2006-07 MVP, 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA selection.

Nowitzki revolutionized the way the NBA game is played, a pioneer as a sweet-shooting 7-footer who thrived as a perimeter threat. But the big German is best remembered for an iconic post move he developed midway through his career. It was his most lethal weapon when Nowitzki shattered “soft Euro” stereotypes by leading the Dallas Mavericks to their lone title. His one-legged fadeaway is captured on the statue that stands outside the American Airlines Center and has the inscription “Loyalty never fades away” — a nod to Nowitzki’s record-setting 21-year run with one franchise. “The Dirk fade,” as it’s commonly called, is recreated by stars throughout the league on a regular basis. — Tim MacMahon

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th anniversary team, 2021 NBA champion, 2021 Finals MVP, two-time MVP, 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year, eight-time All-Star, 2021 All-Star Game MVP, seven-time All-NBA selection, five-time All-Defense, 2016-17 Most Improved Player.

When the Milwaukee Bucks selected a skinny kid from Greece who had been playing basketball for only two years with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft, it was impossible to predict how his arrival would alter the franchise’s trajectory for the next decade. Antetokounmpo transformed himself from an unknown but promising prospect into one of the most dominant power forwards in history at both ends of the floor — culminating in a 50-point game in the 2021 NBA Finals to clinch the franchise’s first championship in 50 years. The fact that he ordered 50 chicken nuggets the next day to celebrate only endeared him to Milwaukee fans even more. — Jamal Collier

12. Steve Nash

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, Basketball Hall of Famer, two-time MVP, eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA, five-time assists leader.

Before words like “efficiency” and “pace” became as common part of the NBA parlance as “slam dunk” and “pick-and-roll,” there was a diminutive guard from Canada who, as a contemporary of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in the late 1990s through early 2000s, ended up with as many regular-season MVPs as the two of them combined. Under the revolutionary tutelage of coach Mike D’Antoni with the Phoenix Suns, Nash won the award in 2005 and 2006 as the point guard on the heralded “7 Seconds or Less” teams that made it to three Western Conference finals in six years. While Nash never won a ring, he maximized his talents as a 6-foot-3 point guard, shooting 50% overall, 40% from 3 and 90% from the free throw line in four seasons and leading the league in assists five times. — Dave McMenamin

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, 2017-18 MVP, 10-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, three-time scoring leader, two-time assists leader, 2011-12 Sixth Man of the Year.

Harden will go down as one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, but The Beard and his step-back were nearly unstoppable from 2017 to 2020. He started his scoring spree with an MVP season in 2017-18, averaging 30.4 points, 8.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds. And he was even better the following season, averaging 36.1 points in 2018-19 — the eighth-highest average in NBA history. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Michael Jordan have averaged more points in a single season. He then averaged 34.3 points in 2019-20 to win his third consecutive scoring title. His scoring overshadows his other elite skill as a passer. Harden is the only player in NBA history to win three scoring titles and two assist titles. — Ohm Youngmisuk

14. Jason Kidd

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Basketball Hall of Famer, 2011 NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-Defense, five-time All-NBA selection, four-time assists leader.

If not for Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan and the Lakers and Spurs dynasties of the early 2000s, Kidd might’ve had another championship and an MVP on his illustrious résumé. During his first two seasons in New Jersey, Kidd was at the peak of a career that saw him finish as one of the game’s most elite passers and versatile triple-double threats. Kidd made teammates better everywhere he went, which was never more evident than during his first season in New Jersey in 2001-02, when he turned the Nets around from 26 wins the season before to 52 wins, leading to the franchise’s first Finals appearance.

Kidd, though, finished second in MVP voting to Duncan before being swept in the Finals by O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The following season, Kidd got the Nets back to the Finals only to lose in six games to Duncan and the Spurs. He would finally get a championship ring playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas in 2011. — Ohm Youngmisuk

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-Defense, 2013 All-Star Game MVP, 2005-06 Rookie of the Year, six-time steals leader, five-time assists leader.

Paul has run thousands of pick-and-rolls to perfection and dished the ball out for nearly 12,000 assists, but his greatest accomplishment might have been transforming the LA Clippers from annual punching bags to perennial playoff contenders while orchestrating the unforgettable Lob City teams. Before Paul’s arrival in Los Angeles, the franchise had made the postseason just seven times in its history.

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Paul’s Clippers made the playoffs six consecutive times as he delivered some of the most scintillating alley-oops in NBA history to Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Clippers fans won’t forget Paul’s Game 7-winning running bank shot that capped off a 27-point performance against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round in 2015. — Ohm Youngmisuk

Key accomplishments: Two-time Finals MVP, two-time NBA champion, six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Not even an LA Clippers tenure marred by injuries can diminish a legacy that only a handful of players in history can match or top. Leonard is one of 12 players to ever win two NBA Finals MVP trophies. None of them, however, led a Canadian team to the country’s first NBA championship. In leading Toronto to the title in 2019, Leonard cemented himself as one of the game’s most clutch players when healthy in the playoffs. He delivered one of the most legendary buzzer-beaters in playoff history when his twisting corner jumper softly bounced on the rim four times and in to eliminate Philadelphia in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals that season.

Even during his five-year Clippers tenure, Leonard has shown signs of dominance when healthy. He just has to finish a postseason healthy again, something he hasn’t done since the 2020 bubble. — Ohm Youngmisuk

17. Manu Ginobili

Key accomplishments: Basketball Hall of Famer, NBA 75th Anniversary team, four-time NBA champion, two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, 2007-08 Sixth Man of the Year

A starter early in his career for San Antonio, Ginobili later embraced a sixth man role for the Spurs and thrived. He finished in the top eight in Sixth Man of the Year voting nine times in his career. “He didn’t love it in the beginning and probably to this day he’ll tell you he didn’t love it totally because he’s a competitor,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in December about Ginobili. “He wants to start. It’s just a typical human reaction. But he did the right thing because of his character.” Ginobili also gets a nod for his international accolades: He was the EuroLeague Finals MVP in 2001 and led Argentina to a gold medal — along with MVP honors — during the 2004 Olympic Games. — Andrew Lopez

18. Allen Iverson

Key accomplishments: Basketball Hall of Famer, NBA 75th Anniversary Team, 2000-01 MVP, 11-time All-Star, three-time scoring champ, six-time All-NBA, two-time All-Star MVP

In a sport dominated by giants, Iverson’s ability to consistently be one of the league’s elite scorers – while playing through injuries virtually every night – made him an iconic figure for a generation of players to follow. LeBron James, among others, has cited his importance to them as a basketball role model. And while he and the Philadelphia 76ers lost the NBA Finals in five games in 2001, Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue in Philadelphia’s Game 1 victory became the signature moment of the four-time scoring champion’s career – and was the only time that legendary Lakers team lost en route to that year’s championship. — Tim Bontemps

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, one-time NBA champion, nine-time All-Star, 2017 All-Star MVP, four-time All-NBA, four-time All-Defense, three-time blocks leader

Once known for his unibrow more than for his unicorn skill set, Davis blossomed from a defensive lynchpin in his early days in New Orleans to one of the most polished two-way threats in the league after five seasons spent in L.A. So far, nothing he’s done has topped his first season with the Lakers when he teamed with James to deliver the purple and gold their first title in 10 years under the most trying of circumstances as the franchise was reeling from Bryant’s death and the league was put on hiatus because of a global pandemic. His signature shot from L.A.’s bubble run — a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3 to go up 2-0 in the Western Conference finals — has cemented him in Laker lore. The fact that he yelled, “Kobe!” right after making it while wearing the Lakers’ special “Black Mamba” uniform in the game only made it more epic. — Dave McMenamin

20. Ray Allen

Key accomplishments: Basketball Hall of Famer, NBA 75th Anniversary team, two-time NBA champion, 10-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA

Before the modern NBA’s 3-point revolution saw teams launching from deep more than ever before in league history, Allen held the mantle as the game’s greatest outside shooter. Hear it from Stephen Curry, who in 2021 broke Allen’s record for most 3-pointers made in a career, when Curry was asked during an appearance on The Today Show to name the best shooters in NBA history not including himself. “I’d say Ray Allen. His form. His dedication to his craft. He hit big shots in his career.” — Jamal Collier

21. Tony Parker

Key accomplishments: Basketball Hall of Famer, four-time NBA champion, 2007 Finals MVP, six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA

A 19-year-old Parker, the No. 28 overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, was inserted into the starting lineup in his fifth career game with San Antonio and never looked back. By the time he was 25, Parker had three rings and a Finals MVP – becoming the first European to do so – to his name as the floor general for the Spurs. At his jersey retirement ceremony with the Spurs in 2019, fellow Frenchman Boris Diaw said, “You can’t talk about French basketball without Tony coming up.” — Andrew Lopez

Key accomplishments: Four-time NBA Champion, four-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year, eight-time All-Defense.

For a moment — an extended moment — Green’s future both with the Warriors and in the NBA were in question. And for good reason. But everything he has done off of the court doesn’t negate the impact he’s made on the Warriors and the league. For as long as Curry has been the engine in Golden State, Green has been his second-in-command. The defensive anchor, his impact on the game is almost more noticeable when Green is off of the court and has propelled him to be a future hall-of-famer. — Kendra Andrews

Key accomplishments: NBA 75th Anniversary team, 2016-17 MVP, nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA, three-time assists leader, two-time points leader, all-time leader in triple-doubles.

Even as he came off the bench in limited minutes this past season for the Clippers, Russell Westbrook expressed supreme confidence in his ability, telling ESPN this past season: “Ain’t nobody better than me coming off the bench… Just because I know what I’m able to bring to the game. Nobody’s able to do what I can do since I’ve been in this league.” Westbrook may be a polarizing figure for his aggressive style of play which is beloved by his fans but also criticized by others. But there’s no denying that no one has accomplished what the fiery point guard did during the span of 2016 to 2021.

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He became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double in a season when he averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists during his MVP season in 2016-17. He then would go on to accomplish that feat four times in five seasons. With 199 triple-doubles, Westbrook remains the triple-double king, leading the next active player on the all-time list, fourth-place Nikola Jokic, by 69 triple-doubles. — Ohm Youngmisuk

24. Pau Gasol

Key accomplishments: Basketball Hall of Famer, two-time NBA champion, six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, 2001-02 Rookie of the Year.

The year was 2008, Gasol was a runner up — twice — and Bryant wouldn’t let him forget about it. As if the Lakers losing the deciding Game 6 of the Finals to the Boston Celtics by 39 points in June wasn’t enough, Gasol and Spain lost to Bryant and the U.S. two months later in the gold medal game in the Beijing Olympics. When L.A. opened up training camp not long after, Gasol reported to his locker at the practice facility to find Bryant’s gold medal hanging inside of it, almost mocking the big man for coming up short. He made sure to change the course of his career from there, teaming with Bryant to win two straight titles and turning in a performance for the ages in Game 7 of the 2010 Finals against those same Celtics. Gasol put up 19 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks to outduel Kevin Garnett with the title on the line. — Dave McMenamin

Key accomplishments: Five-time All-Star, one-time scoring champ, four-time All-NBA, 2018-19 Rookie of the Year.

After Doncic danced and drilled the go-ahead 3 with seconds remaining in Game 2 of the 2024 Western Conference finals, he roared at Rudy Gobert: “You can’t f—ing guard me!” Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, has plenty of company in that misery. The 25-year-old Doncic just had one of the most prolific statistical seasons in NBA history, averaging a league-high 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game, a combination never before accomplished. And only Michael Jordan has a higher career playoff scoring average than Doncic’s 30.9. — Tim MacMahon