NBA

Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo Make NBA's List of 76 Greatest Players

The NBA revealed the full roster of players to celebrate its 75th season

Durant, Antetokounmpo make NBA's list of 75 greatest players originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The NBA's 75th season tipped off with a matchup between two of the league's top 76 players of all time.

It was announced Tuesday ahead of the season opener between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks that Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named to the NBA's list of the greatest 75 players in league history as part of the celebration for the anniversary season. The league announced that 76 players made the list in all due to a tie in voting.

Here are the first 25 players from the list that were unveiled Tuesday, listed in alphabetical order:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Nate Archibald

Charles Barkley

Bob Cousy

Dave Cowens

Kevin Durant

Julius Erving

George Gervin

Hal Greer

James Harden

Elvin Hayes

Jerry Lucas

Moses Malone

Kevin McHale

George Mikan

Steve Nash

Dirk Nowitzki

Hakeem Olajuwon

Bob Pettit

Willis Reed

Oscar Robertson

David Robinson

Bill Russell

John Stockton

The next 25 players were announced Wednesday. Here’s the second batch, in alphabetical order:

Paul Azirin

Rick Barry

Larry Bird

Wilt Chamberlain

Clyde Drexler

Tim Duncan

Patrick Ewing

Walt Frazier

Kevin Garnett

John Havlicek

Allen Iverson

Magic Johnson

Sam Jones

Michael Jordan

Karl Malone

Robert Parish

Chris Paul

Scottie Pippen

Bill Sharman

Isiah Thomas

Nate Thurmond

Wes Unseld

Bill Walton

Jerry West

James Worthy

The final 26 players were unveiled on Thursday. Here they are in alphabetical order:

Ray Allen

Carmelo Anthony

Elgin Baylor

Dave Bing

Kobe Bryant

Billy Cunningham

Stephen Curry

Anthony Davis

Dave DeBusschere

LeBron James

Jason Kidd

Kawhi Leonard

Damian Lillard

Pete Maravich

Bob McAdoo

Reggie Miller

Earl Monroe

Shaquille O'Neal

Gary Payton

Paul Pierce

Dennis Rodman

Dolph Schayes

Dwyane Wade

Russell Westbrook

Lenny Wilkens

Dominique Wilkins

The NBA last did a greatest players list during the 1996-1997 season, as the top 50 were honored at halftime of the NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland for the league's 50th anniversary. All 50 players who were honored back then made the 75th anniversary team as well.

Durant, in an interview on TNT on Tuesday, recalled that ceremony while discussing the honor of being selected for the latest list.

"It means a lot," Durant said. "It means everything, to be honest. You wanna leave your mark on this league, on the game of basketball itself. To be among the greatest that this game has ever seen, just to be in that same company is pretty sweet. As a kid I saw the 50th anniversary and always dreamed of having one of those jackets on, being amongst that group. So, it feels good to be part of it now."

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