Occupation
BASKETBALL PLAYERS
With 1,757 biographies, Basketball Players are the 12th most common occupation in Pantheon, behind Military Personnels, Film Directors, and Painters.
People
Pantheon has 1,887 people classified as basketball players born between 1905 and 2004. Of these 1,887, 1,708 (90.51%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living basketball players include Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The most famous deceased basketball players include Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Kobe Bryant. As of April 2024, 404 new basketball players have been added to Pantheon including Cēzars Ozers, Sergio Scariolo, and Dragan Šakota.
Living Basketball Players
Go to all RankingsMichael Jordan
1963 - Present
HPI: 70.75
Shaquille O'Neal
1972 - Present
HPI: 69.12
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1947 - Present
HPI: 68.11
Magic Johnson
1959 - Present
HPI: 63.40
Dennis Rodman
1961 - Present
HPI: 61.63
Clyde Drexler
1962 - Present
HPI: 61.60
Larry Bird
1956 - Present
HPI: 60.21
Svetislav Pešić
1949 - Present
HPI: 59.85
LeBron James
1984 - Present
HPI: 59.33
Pat Riley
1945 - Present
HPI: 58.34
Arvydas Sabonis
1964 - Present
HPI: 57.85
Julius Erving
1950 - Present
HPI: 57.64
Deceased Basketball Players
Go to all RankingsWilt Chamberlain
1936 - 1999
HPI: 67.59
Bill Russell
1934 - 2022
HPI: 64.06
Kobe Bryant
1978 - 2020
HPI: 63.04
Jerry West
1938 - 2024
HPI: 61.62
Dražen Petrović
1964 - 1993
HPI: 60.46
Radivoj Korać
1938 - 1969
HPI: 58.26
Krešimir Ćosić
1948 - 1995
HPI: 58.20
Sergei Belov
1944 - 2013
HPI: 57.71
Mirza Delibašić
1954 - 2001
HPI: 57.32
Elgin Baylor
1934 - 2021
HPI: 55.63
John Havlicek
1940 - 2019
HPI: 55.60
George Mikan
1924 - 2005
HPI: 55.23
Newly Added Basketball Players (2024)
Go to all RankingsCēzars Ozers
1937 - 2023
HPI: 53.02
Sergio Scariolo
1961 - Present
HPI: 50.35
Dragan Šakota
1952 - Present
HPI: 48.65
Borislav Stanković
1925 - 2020
HPI: 47.63
Damir Šolman
1948 - 2023
HPI: 46.71
Carlos Blixen
1936 - 2022
HPI: 46.50
Valdis Muižnieks
1935 - 2013
HPI: 44.54
Joe Fulks
1921 - 1976
HPI: 44.36
Viktor Zubkov
1937 - 2016
HPI: 43.98
George McGinnis
1950 - 2023
HPI: 43.23
Andy Phillip
1922 - 2001
HPI: 42.58
Gianmarco Pozzecco
1972 - Present
HPI: 42.15
Places
Most basketball players were born in United States (1082), Serbia (55), and Spain (50). By city, the most common birth places were Los Angeles (42), Chicago (35), and Philadelphia (25).The most common death places of basketball players were United States (127), Russia (6), and Serbia (4). By city, these were Los Angeles (9), Moscow (4), and Houston (4).
Places Over Time
The earliest biographies classified as basketball players in Pantheon are Tex Gibbons, Raúl Fernández, and Rodolfo Choperena. The concentration of basketball players was largest during the Television Era, which lasted from 1950 to 1989. Some birth or death locations for earlier basketball players are unknown, which may account for timeline differences below.
Lifespans
Which Basketball Players were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Basketball Players since 1700.