Presenting Volume VI of Basketball, Listed: Totally ’80s, our dedication to the decade where the NBA and NCAA exploded in popularity, claiming basketball’s rightful place alongside football and baseball amongst the essential American sports. Chapters will be published throughout the ’23-’24 NBA league season.
All previous volumes can be found on our Basketball, Listed Reader, while chapters across all volumes are collected in our full archive.
You’re the best around: 80 greatest NBA players of the 1980s
We conclude our Totally ’80s series by ranking the 80 greatest players of the decade, based solely on statistics, accolades, and awards compiled between the ’80-’81 and ’88-’89 seasons.
500 greatest players in NBA/ABA history, 2024 edition
It’s our annual list of the 500 greatest players in NBA and ABA history, updated to reflect stats, awards, and accomplishments in the ’23-’24 NBA season.
Leveling Up: Eight players who have won an NCAA title, Olympic gold medal, and NBA title
Only eight players in history have reached the ultimate goal at the international, amateur, and professional levels of basketball, and we detail them here.
Smells like teen spirit: Ranking the 42 players who were drafted into the NBA straight from high school
With the days seemingly numbered for the current NBA draft age limit, we take a look back at the careers of the 42 players who were drafted by an NBA team straight from high school before that practice was eliminated in 2006.
Damaged imported goods: 25 most disappointing international NBA draftees in the lottery era
Ever since NBA teams started scouting and drafting international talent, for every major success story like Tony Parker, Nikola Jokic, or Dirk Nowitzki, there’s been a handful of disappointments. These are the 25 international players who provided the least amount of value based on their draft position.
Who’s going to Disney World?: Seven controversial NBA Finals MVP choices
Starting with the first time it was awarded, the Finals MVP award has been an occasional source of controversy. Here are seven such cases, some of which forever altered the individual legacy of the players involved.
Nothing to show for it: 20 notable players who were teammates with Magic Johnson or Larry Bird but didn’t win a title
We’ve previously ranked the players who earned a championship playing on Magic Johnson’s Lakers and Larry Bird’s Celtics, respectively. But what about the ballers that joined one of those warring dynasties expecting an all-but-guaranteed ring but instead walked away with nothing? Here are 20 notable ones.
Foregone conclusion: 10 playoff series that were considered “virtual” NBA Finals
It’s the NBA Finals that technically decides the league’s champion from year to year but here are 10 times that series seemed like a foregone conclusion and the “true” Finals took place earlier in the postseason.
Native sons: 14 legendary international players who never reached the NBA
While the NBA is the bellwether for basketball greatness, these 14 legends eschewed the American league, some by choice and some not, to instead forge their fabled pro careers in other nations.
Slamming the door shut: 19 winner-take-all NBA playoff game blowouts
As the old adage goes, anything can happen in a winner-take-all playoff game, and what transpired in these 19 examples were absolute decimations, leaving the losing team not just eliminated but usually questioning themselves heading into the offseason.
Itttttttt’s Showtime!: Ranking the 30 players who won a title as Magic Johnson’s Lakers teammate
In his first nine NBA seasons, Magic Johnson led the Lakers to seven NBA Finals appearances and five titles. Today, we rank the 30 players who were part of those championship runs with Johnson, based on their overall career (not just their time with the Lakers).
Saving the best for last: 21 most exciting NCAA Tournament National Finals
Which men’s NCAA Tournament games had the most excitement, star power, incredible play, and historical significance? Here, we rank the top 21
Extra sweet 16: 23 significant NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal upsets
The second week of the NCAA Tournament is typically where the best Cinderella runs end, but for these 23 teams, it was an extension if not just the beginning
Video killed the radio star: Seven notable VHS releases from NBA Entertainment
As part of our Totally ’80s series, we go full nostalgia, recalling some of the most indelible home video releases of the decade from NBA Entertainment
Immaculate Grid All-Stars: 10 notable NBA players who have played for 10 or more teams
Looking for help in finishing your daily Immaculate Grid? Consider these 10 players a Rosetta Stone, especially to some of the more difficult team combinations.
Spreading it around: 17 great play makers who were not point guards
From point forwards to pass-happy centers to combo guards to whatever Boris Diaw was, the following is a compendium of the most significant non-point guard play makers in NBA history.
Unexcused absence: Nine players who missed the All-Star Game for reasons other than injury
Joel Embiid and Julius Randle are joining a long list of players who have sat out the All-Star Game due to injury but here are the more rare examples where other life events and factors got in the way.
Strictly commercials: 19 memorable television advertisements starring NBA players
One the eve of another Super Bowl, we take a look back at 19 classic, disastrous, and otherwise memorable national television commercials which featured NBA superstars.
Brief time in the sun: 17 retrospectively surprising NBA Player of the Week award winners
While the Player of the Week award list of winners is typically a reliable indication of who the biggest stars were in any given season, these 17 lesser players managed to break through and win it for a variety of reasons.
Don’t you forget about me: 80 basketball moments from the ’80s that changed the sport forever
As part of our Totally ’80s series, we explore the 80 most monumental, controversial, influential, unforgettable, and indescribable basketball moments from the 1980s.
In memoriam: 21 prominent basketball people who passed away in 2023
An ABA superstar, a controversial NCAA coaching titan, a Knicks folk hero, a Suns franchise legend, and the oldest living NBA player are amongst those we lost in 2023
Other league of legends: 13 greatest ABA players who never made it to the NBA
Several of the top ABA players, like Julius Erving and Moses Malone, continued on to NBA stardom while others, like Mel Daniels and Louie Dampier, had short, unspectacular stints after the merger. These are the top ABA players who, for various reasons, never got a chance in the NBA.
Bird is the word: Ranking the 21 players who won a championship as Larry Bird’s Celtics teammate
As part of our Totally ’80s series, we rank the 21 players who won a championship in 1981, 1984, and/or 1986 as a teammate of Larry Bird on the Celtics.
That was my night to shine: Eight lesser known single game NBA records
We all know about Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game but these eight other single game record holders don’t receive nearly as much renown.
Early adopters: 12 legendary women’s basketball players who pre-dated the WNBA
Long before the WNBA started play in 1997, women’s basketball was generating legends at every level available to the pioneers who deigned to break into the boys’ club.
Air Apparent: Seven players who were once labeled as the next Michael Jordan
The shadow of Michael Jordan loomed large over the NBA for years, and young stars with similar styles were often compared to the legend, either fairly or unfairly.
We built this city for pick and roll: 10 cities that have been rumored NBA franchise destinations
Commissioner Adam Silver has once again floated the idea of league expansion in the near future, so we take a world tour of the cities that have traditionally landed on the NBA franchise radar.
All the commissioner’s men: Nine enduring NBA conspiracy theories
Like JFK or the Beatles, Michael Jordan is so ingrained in the consciousness of American culture that he was bound to be initiated with at least one conspiracy. But he’s not the only NBA figure or team that’s inspired (relatively) crackpot theories.
Avengers disassembled: 10 NBA “super teams” that fell short of expectations
Three or more superstars teaming up together as a “super team” has produced some of the greatest results in NBA history, but there have been some spectacular failures as well, especially in the last few years.
When the game was theirs: Eight crucial games that defined the Bird vs. Magic rivalry
Their rivalry is still the pinnacle of the NBA for many, and their subsequent friendship still inspires. As we approach the 30th anniversary of their final NBA match-up, we take a look back at the eight most unforgettable games involving two of the game’s all-time greatest, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Basketball, Listed 