WHO IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME?
For decades, basketball fans have debated who truly deserves the title of NBA's Greatest Of All Time. Is it Michael Jordan with his perfect Finals record? LeBron James with his unprecedented longevity? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with his scoring records? Or someone else entirely?
This interactive analysis cuts through the noise and bias to deliver an objective, data-driven ranking based on comprehensive metrics spanning NBA history.
Adjust the importance of different factors below to see how the rankings change based on what YOU value most in basketball greatness.
RANKING CRITERIA
Drag the sliders to adjust the importance of each category in determining the GOAT ranking:
Total: 100%
THE GOAT RANKINGS
LeBron James
Michael Jordan
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Magic Johnson
Wilt Chamberlain
Michael Jordan
GOAT Score Breakdown
THE DRAFT VALUE METRIC
If you could draft any NBA player in history at their absolute peak to win a championship today, who would be the best pick? This special metric combines peak performance, versatility, adaptability to the modern game, and championship probability impact.
Michael Jordan
The ultimate competitor with unmatched scoring ability, defensive prowess, and clutch performance. Jordan's game translates perfectly to any era.
LeBron James
The complete package of size, strength, basketball IQ, and playmaking. His versatility allows him to excel in any system or alongside any teammates.
Shaquille O'Neal
The most physically dominant force in NBA history. Prime Shaq would be unstoppable in today's spacing-oriented game with less physical defense.
METHODOLOGY
This analysis uses a comprehensive data-driven approach to objectively rank NBA players across history. All statistics are normalized relative to league averages during each player's era to ensure fair comparison across different time periods. Position-specific expectations are considered, and pace-adjusted metrics account for different game speeds.
Data Sources
Player statistics from NBA.com, Basketball-Reference.com, and other authoritative sources. Advanced metrics include PER, Win Shares, VORP, Box Plus/Minus, and True Shooting Percentage.
Era Adjustment
All statistics are normalized relative to league averages during each player's era. Rule changes are factored into statistical comparisons to ensure fair evaluation across different time periods.
Scoring System
Players receive percentile rankings (0-100) within each category. These scores are then weighted according to the criteria sliders to calculate the final GOAT score.