NBA 25th Anniversary Team

Last updated

The NBA 25th Anniversary Team was chosen on December 11, 1971, to honor the 25th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. It was the first anniversary team in the NBA. [1] This team was meant to be an All-NBA Team for that period. Up until that time, All-NBA Teams only consisted of 2 teams (First and Second), so this Team also only consists of 2 teams/10 players (4 forwards, 2 centers, and 4 guards). The selections were restricted to retired players. [2] [3]

Contents

Selections

List of 25th Anniversary Team players, sorted by position and vote received.

Russell was the only unanimous selection to the team. Furthermore, all nominees of the 25th Anniversary Team besides Feerick and Zaslofky have also been inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 1980, only four players of the 25th Anniversary Team were selected into NBA 35th Anniversary Team (Pettit, Cousy, Russell, and Mikan). However, along with them, four other players of this team (Arizin, Jones, Schayes, Sharman) were selected into NBA 50 Greatest Players of All-Time in 1996 and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Selection process

A panel selected 25 nominees from all eligible players, made up from 10 Forwards, 10 Guards, and 5 Centers. Then every NBA player that had been named All NBA 1st Team up to that time gave his vote. The four top voted forwards, two top voted centers, and four top voted guards made the team.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible as a nominee, a player must (by 1971):

  1. have completed his career, and
  2. have been named All-NBA Team at least once.

Selection panels

Red Auerbach, Ned Irish, Eddie Gottlieb, Haskell Cohen, Danny Biasone, Lester Harrison, Fred Zollner, Ben Kerner, Fred Schaus, and Bob Feerick.

Nominees

List of nominees, sorted by position, last name (players denoted with an asterisk had been inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame), and career years.

Forwards

Centers

Guards

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Arizin</span> American basketball player (1928–2006)

Paul Joseph Arizin, nicknamed "'Pitchin Paul", was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He retired with the third highest career point total (16,266) in NBA history, and was named to the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams. He was a high-scoring forward at Villanova University before being drafted by the Warriors of the fledgling NBA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolph Schayes</span> American basketball player and coach (1928–2015)

Adolph Schayes was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA selection. Schayes won an NBA championship with the Syracuse Nationals in 1955. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and was also named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973.

The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team in the league. Fifty players were selected through a vote by a panel of media members, former players and coaches, and current and former general managers. In addition, the top ten head coaches and top ten single-season teams in NBA history were selected by media members as part of the celebration. The 50 players had to have played at least a portion of their careers in the NBA and were selected irrespective of position played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Sharman</span> American basketball player and coach (1926–2013)

William Walton Sharman was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then considered the greatest backcourt duo of all time. As a coach, Sharman won titles in the ABL, ABA, and NBA, and is credited with introducing the now-ubiquitous morning shootaround.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Pettit</span> American former basketball player and coach (born 1932)

Robert Lee Pettit Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award and he won the award again in 1959. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times. As of the end of 2023-2024 regular season, Pettit is still the only regular season MVP in the history of the Hawks. Pettit is the leader for most career rebounds (12,849), and most rebounds per game with 16.2 in Hawks franchise history.

The 1959–60 NBA season was the 14th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 2nd straight NBA title, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

The 1958–59 NBA Season was the 13th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Minneapolis Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1957–58 NBA season</span> 12th NBA season

The 1957–58 NBA season was the 12th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the St. Louis Hawks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.

The 1956–57 NBA season was the 11th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

The 1955–56 NBA season was the 10th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Philadelphia Warriors winning the NBA Championship, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

The 1954–55 NBA season was the ninth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Syracuse Nationals winning the NBA Championship, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

The 1952–53 NBA season was the seventh season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

The 1951–52 NBA season was the sixth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

The 1951 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on March 2, 1951, at Boston Garden in Boston, home of the Boston Celtics. The game was the first edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was played during the 1950–51 NBA season. The idea of holding an All-Star Game was conceived during a meeting between NBA President Maurice Podoloff, NBA publicity director Haskell Cohen and Boston Celtics owner Walter A. Brown. At that time, the basketball world had just been stunned by the college basketball point-shaving scandal. In order to regain public attention to the league, Cohen suggested the league to host an exhibition game featuring the league's best players, similar to the Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. Although most people, including Podoloff, were pessimistic about the idea, Brown remained confident that it would be a success. He even offered to host the game and to cover all the expenses or potential losses incurred from the game. The Eastern All-Stars team defeated the Western All-Stars team 111–94. Boston Celtics' Ed Macauley was named as the first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award. The game became a success, drawing an attendance of 10,094, much higher than that season's average attendance of 3,500.

The NBA 35th Anniversary Team were chosen on October 30, 1980, to honor the 35th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. It was the second anniversary team in the NBA. Unlike its predecessor, the NBA 25th Anniversary Team, that followed the concept of an All-NBA Team, this team was more like an NBA All-Star team that contains the eleven best players in the NBA's 35 years existence regardless of their position, and also had a coach. In addition, this team did not require a player to have completed his career to be eligible for this Team.

NBA Live Legend All-Stars Teams is a video game feature on the NBA Live video games series. It gathers five teams, each representing a decade, starting from the 1950s. Each team consists of great players from that era. Most of the players had been inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame or named NBA 50 Greatest Players.

The NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player(s) voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each year's game. The league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively. The winner is voted upon by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. The fan voting accounts for 25% of the voting. The player(s) with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award. In February 2020, Commissioner Adam Silver renamed the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in honor of four-time winner Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash a few weeks earlier.

Ben Kerner was an American professional basketball owner. He was the co-founder and owner of the St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association, the present-day Atlanta Hawks. In 1946, Kerner co–founded with Leo Ferris a professional team in Buffalo, New York. The team then moved to become the Tri-Cities Blackhawks after a few games. Kerner moved the franchise from Moline, Illinois, to Milwaukee in 1951 and to St. Louis in 1955. His 1958 St. Louis Hawks won the NBA Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBA 75th Anniversary Team</span> Top 75 NBA players in the history of the NBA

The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. Similar to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History named in 1996, a panel of reporters, current and former players, coaches, general managers, and team executives selected the greatest players in league history. Tasked with compiling a list of 75 players, the committee named an additional 76th member due to a tie in voting. It was built as part of the league's anniversary celebration during the 2021–22 NBA season. Forty-five of the seventy-six players were later assembled in Cleveland, during the halftime ceremony of the 2022 All-Star Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBA anniversary teams</span> Honorary teams to commemorate the NBAs anniversaries

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has named four teams throughout its history that commemorate a milestone league anniversary by honoring its greatest all-time players. The NBA considers 1946 to be its founding year. The league was formed in 1949 with the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The NBL began play in 1937, while the BAA started in 1946.

References

General
Specific
  1. Irving, Kyle (August 26, 2021). "NBA 75: Which active players could join the list of all-time greats?". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  2. "Everything you need to know about the NBA's 75th Anniversary Season". NBA.com. October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. "Bill Russell Is Unmanimous Pick On Silver Anniversary Squad". The Evening Standard. January 11, 1971. p. 17. Retrieved October 26, 2021 via Newspapers.com.