Rankings of the greatest, most successful and talented individuals always contain an element of subjectivity. Basketball is no exception in this regard. Over the more than 125-year history of the sport, hundreds of legendary players have taken to the court. We present our list of the greatest retired basketball players, which takes into account not only their records on the court, but also their achievements in public life, the film industry and the fight for human rights.
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Oscar Schmidt
Oscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt is a Brazilian basketball player who holds the world record for the number of points scored. During his career at club level and with the Brazilian national team, he scored 49,703 points, while NBA record holder Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has 38,387 points.
Schmidt also became the first and only player to score more than 1,000 points at the Olympic Games. He participated in five consecutive Olympics but was unable to lead his team to a medal, achieving a best result of 5th place. For his outstanding shooting skills, Oscar was nicknamed “The Holy Hand”. In 1984, he was selected in the draft by the New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets), but did not play in the NBA because he did not want to lose his amateur status and wished to continue representing Brazil on the international stage.
Sergei Belov
Sergei Belov is a legend of Soviet and European basketball with an impressive list of achievements: he is an Olympic champion, two-time world champion, four-time European champion, Universiade champion and two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now known as the Euroleague).
In 1991, the International Basketball Federation named Sergei Alexandrovich the best player among all basketball players representing their countries (excluding the NBA). Later, his achievements were recognised by the National Basketball Association, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Belov became the first non-American to receive this high honour.
Jerry West
In his 14 years in the NBA, Jerry West only managed to become a champion once. He has no MVP titles or Rookie of the Year awards. Nevertheless, West remains an iconic figure for the NBA. The Association’s current logo, depicting a player dribbling a ball, was introduced in late 1969. Forty years later, the creator of the image, Alan Siegel, admitted that he based the logo on a photograph of West taken during a Lakers game.
Jerry West became the first recipient of the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award. Interestingly, he is the only player in history to receive this award while playing for the losing team. In addition, he is a member of the “27+” club, which includes only West, Jordan, Baylor and Chamberlain — basketball players who ended their careers averaging 27 or more points per game.
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant won five championship rings, an NBA MVP title, two Olympic gold medals, and participated in 18 All-Star Games. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest offensive guards in NBA history and is close to the legendary Michael Jordan.
In addition to his many awards, Kobe has strived for unmatched records throughout his career. He currently ranks third on the list of the NBA’s all-time leading scorers with 33,643 points. He also set the second-highest single-game scoring record — in 2006, Bryant scored 81 points in a game against Toronto.
After retiring, Kobe continued to collect awards in the field of basketball. In 2018, his film Dear Basketball won an Oscar in the Best Animated Short Film category, for which he served as producer and screenwriter.
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson, known as Mr. Triple-Double, holds the NBA record for the most triple-doubles with 181. Russell Westbrook is aiming to break this record, but in the new season he was traded from Oklahoma City to Houston, where he will have to share the ball with James Harden. This could significantly reduce Westbrook’s chances of setting a new record, as he currently has 138 triple-doubles to his name.
Robertson not only boasts impressive statistics (averaging 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists over his career), but also has numerous awards and even inventions to his name. He is considered the creator of such technical moves as the “fake swing” and “backward throw,” which continue to be used by basketball players around the world.
