“Let the debates begin,” concludes Charles Barkley in his foreword to this prodigious book celebrating the 100 greatest players in NBA history.

David Aldridge, John Hollinger and the staff of The Athletic have added a third leg to a sports journalism triple crown, joining Joe Posnanski’s THE BASEBALL 100 and THE FOOTBALL 100 (also authored by The Athletic) as extraordinary compilations that have as their ostensible goal to rank the top athletes in each sport. Like the previous two volumes, THE BASKETBALL 100 is an authoritative and fitting tribute to the game and its iconic players.

"Rich in detail, human interest anecdotes and game accounts, THE BASKETBALL 100 will serve as a classic reference book for generations of basketball fans."

This review is not a comparison of the three books, but one difference must be noted. Posnanski is the only author listed for THE BASEBALL 100. His style is unique, and there is occasional repetition of some of the wonderful baseball anecdotes and motifs. I think even Posnanski would agree that his work might have benefited from a final edit. For THE FOOTBALL 100 and THE BASKETBALL 100, The Athletic uses multiple authors whose writing styles and historical perspectives create different views of players, their contributions and the various eras in which they played. Readers must make their own judgment on the end results, but I enjoyed all three treatments.

The format here is the traditional countdown from 100 to 1, but it really is of little significance where your favorites fall on the list. There are vivid player profiles created by some of the best sportswriters in America. Each profile runs five or six pages and concludes with that player’s career statistics and accomplishments. Eighty-two of the 100 are former players, while 18 are still active. The authors also discuss the players who came closest to appearing on the list but ultimately were excluded. Of course, every reader will have an opinion on who should have made the cut. Regardless of what your favorite sport is, debating numbers, achievements and stature is the most enjoyable part of the game.

The first meaningful change for basketball was the appearance of the “big man,” George Mikan. While Mikan places 36th on the list, the authors acknowledge that he probably would merit a top 10 appearance based solely on impact. Before Mikan, basketball was still a developing sport. Jump shots were rare, and the game was dominated by small and fast guards. Mikan was tall at 6’7” but was cut from his high school team because, in addition to being slow and clumsy, he wore glasses. In college he was developed by DePaul University coach Ray Meyer into a dominant player through hard work and drills, some of which continue to be used in basketball today.

The second groundbreaking event was the impact of Black players during the civil rights era in America, and their representation in THE BASKETBALL 100 is dominant. Nine African Americans appear in the top 10, and many have career stories that include racial snubs and affronts. The accomplishments of such players as Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Sam Jones are made more significant because of the racism and bigotry they were forced to confront. One of the interesting side notes about Robertson’s career is that his high school team, the Crispus Attucks, lost the Indiana High School championship to Milan, which would be portrayed decades later in the film Hoosiers.

The final element of this history is the growth of basketball as a global sport and the entry into the NBA of such players as Hakeem Olajuwon, Nikola Jokić and Pau Gasol. Each of their stories is part of the book and adds to the glorious portrait of the sport that is vividly recounted here.

Rich in detail, human interest anecdotes and game accounts, THE BASKETBALL 100 will serve as a classic reference book for generations of basketball fans.