The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that its 75th Anniversary Team, comprised of the 75 greatest players in league history, will be unveiled during special editions of TNT’s NBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax and ESPN’s NBA Today from Tuesday, Oct. 19 through Thursday, Oct. 21.
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Twenty-five members of the team, representing a cross section of positions and eras from throughout the NBA’s rich history, will be announced on each of the three days. The team is being selected by a blue-ribbon panel of media and current and former players, coaches, general managers and team executives.
As part of “NBA 75,” the league’s celebration of its landmark 75th Anniversary Season, the NBA selected Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler, Magic Johnson, Bob Pettit and Oscar Robertson, as well as 14-time NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, to serve as ambassadors for the 2021-22 season. Representing different eras of the league’s history, the ambassadors will make appearances throughout the 75th Anniversary Season and have a significant presence at NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland.
To promote the NBA’s 75th anniversary, the NBA made a short film called NBA Lane, which is a metaphorical neighborhood fitted with the league’s personalities and top moments to help the fans reminisce about the league’s history. Throughout the trip down NBA Lane, you will encounter some of the greats of the past, current superstars and future stars. During filming at Leimert Park, such current NBA players as Carmelo Anthony, LaMelo Ball, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Jayson Tatum took part. Former NBA greats Gary Payton, Isiah Thomas and Jerry West also were involved in the three-day shoot last month.
“Just reflecting on 75 years and all the teams and players, it is an honor to be a part of 75 years. It has always been a dream of mine to be in the NBA. I was honored when they asked. It’s a big deal,” Tatum told The Undefeated. This season the NBA will also announce its Top 75 players in league history as picked by a select panel. Anthony, who will enter his 19th NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers next month, was very proud to be a part of the filming.
Speaking on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast Club Shay Shay, ex-Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson was adamant in his belief that Luka Doncic has a legitimate case to be part of the NBA’s Top 75 Greatest Players list. Here’s what he had to say about the Mavs phenom. “The one guy that you named to me, I think, could well very be on the top 75 player list that comes out pretty soon. And people say will there be a sleeper that’s young, but Luka Doncic is the real deal. When you look at what he’s been able to do early on in his career, he has got it. If it was me voting, he’s on the list.”
The NBA has announced that a "blue-ribbon panel of media, current and former players, coaches, general managers, and team executives" will select the 75th anniversary team. "Ah man, it would mean a lot," said the 36-year-old Paul, who is entering his 17th NBA season. "It would mean a lot." The 75th anniversary team will be announced later this month.
"Look at the winning he's been able to do and be a part of and affect over the course of his career," Monty Williams said. "And the talent, the longevity. Sure, somebody looks at me and says, he's biased. They'd be right, but I've also watched it from afar when I wasn't with him and competing against him, he was a pain in the butt."
Ballots for the NBA's 75th anniversary team were due back to the league office today. The league previously announced that the official list of its 75 greatest players, as selected by "a blue-ribbon panel of media, current and former players, coaches, general managers and team executives," will be revealed in October. The voters will also be revealed — not their full individual ballots but the names of those who made the selections.
The selection process for the NBA's 75th anniversary team, which will be unveiled in October as an official compilation of the top 75 players in league history, is underway. The NBA is assembling what it calls “a blue-ribbon panel” of current and former players, coaches, general managers and team executives, in addition to selected media members, to choose the team. (The list, we repeat, will not be a 1-to-75 ranking.)
