Over 4300 players have played in the 77-year-old history of the NBA. I have been blessed to have seen every one of them in my lifetime. I believe there have only been four generational players. (Five, if I include George Mikan and his very short eight-year career. He, also, played in what many would refer to as “pre-NBA”, meaning before the end of the 1950’s.) So, when I hear exuberant basketball fans say that Cooper Flagg, the incredibly talented 18-year-old freshman at Duke is a generational player, I must take pause. (He is technically 17, we share the same birthday Dec. 21st.) He has the “potential” to be an outstanding NBA player, perhaps even all-NBA. I believe Flagg is a very gifted basketball player. I like his attitude, composure, and his competitive nature. He impressed the NBA players during the Olympic trials and has been one of the most “hyped” players to enter the league since the LAST generational player. A bit of hyperbole. I am not trying to demean or deflect Cooper Flagg in any way, but I am trying to define the level of play that a generational player plays at. It is hard not to get caught up in the latest “shiny” new object. What is a generational player?

As a former college coach, I have coached players that played in the NBA and have coached against players that played in the NBA. I have some understanding of what makes a great basketball player. In my book “The G.O.A.T.: The Quest to Find the Best”, I have devoted an entire chapter of 10 criteria that I developed in my 22 years of coaching that define greatness. My #1 criteria is dominance. NOT just a great player BUT the best. The player that is the MOST dominating player on the court every time they step on it. Generational players do not JUST make all-star teams or even all-NBA teams, it goes beyond that. They define the league and the period in which they played in it. Here are my four players in chronological order.

My first player’s career began in the decade of the 50’s and extended into the 70’s. Wilt Chamberlain, who many of us “old” timers that saw him play, consider to be the GOAT. I am not going into all the statistics on Wilt or any of these players, I get criticized for lengthy post as it is. He was 4xNBA MVP’s and should have had two others when he was picked to the All-NBA First Team but finished behind Russell in the MVP voting. The league changed the rules because of him. He still holds 72 NBA records.

From 1969 to the mid 1980’s no player dominated the NBA as much as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. His first year in the NBA he averaged 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds. He was 6xNBA MVP. He played for 20 years in the league, and even in his final season he made the NBA All-Star team. He played in over 80 games every year except three. Mr. “Skyhook”.

Magic Johnson told Larry Bird and the rest of the basketball world in 1988 that there was a new “sheriff” in town (NBA). The new “king” of the NBA was Michael Jordan. MJ began his phenomenal 15-year career in 1984. He led the league in scoring 10 times and finished his career with an average of 30.12 points per game, a half point better than Chamberlain. He was 11x All-NBA and won league MVP 5 times. Twenty-two years after his retirement “Air Jordan” is considered the GOAT by many fans and basketball gurus.

The LeBron James era began in 2003 as a 19-year-old when he averaged over 20 points a game as THE most hyped rookie player to ever enter the league. In LeBron James’s 22nd year in the league he averaged 23.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.1 assists. LeBron has 19 All-NBA selections to go with 4 NBA MVP awards. Like Chamberlain, he is putting up career numbers that will never be broken.

The four best players in the 77-year history of the NBA. They are icons. The best of the best.

As a sports fan, short for fanatic, be careful with the superlatives that are thrown around to define a player. It is not fair to the player who is striving to become the best he can become AND it’s certainly not fair to those very elite who have set the bar. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and all the hyperbole. There have been other great basketball players, such as Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant but they did not reach the level to be considered generational, in my opinion. Are there any players that are playing now that in 10 or 20 years could be considered generational? Perhaps Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, or Victor Wembanyama will leave that kind of mark on the game.