Atlanta Hawks, 1968-2020: Dominique Wilkins. St. Louis Hawks, 1955-1968: Bob Pettit. Milwaukee Hawks, 1951-1955: Pettit. Tri-Cities Blackhawks, 1946-1951: Deanglo King. Hawks overall, 1946-2020: Pettit. It says something about this franchise that the best player they've had since Pettit retired, 55 years ago, is 'Nique, a one-dimensional player (dunking) who as mocked for being the namesake of a fictional highway where no passing was allowed.
Boston Celtics, 1946-2020: Bill Russell. Sport's ultimate winner. An Olympic Gold Medal, 2 National Championships, and, for the C's, 11 NBA Championships.
Brooklyn Nets, 2012-2020: Brook Lopez. New Jersey Nets, 1977-2012: Jason Kidd. New York Nets, 1967-1977: Julius Erving. Nets overall, 1967-2020: Erving. The Doctor would have given Kidd and Lopez a taste of their own medicine.
Charlotte Hornets, 1988-2002 and 2004-2020: Larry Johnson. Alonzo Mourning was a better all-around player, but wasn't in Charlotte long enough.
Chicago Bulls, 1966-2020: Michael Jordan. I could have said Will Perdue, just to see if you were paying attention.
Cleveland Cavaliers, 1970-2020: LeBron James. Especially the 2nd time around.
Dallas Mavericks, 1980-2020: Dirk Nowitzki. Mark Cuban proved he could run a Dairy Queen, and Dirk proved he could run the floor.
Denver Nuggets, 1967-2020: Dan Issel. David Thompson was better, but was only there for 7 years, Dikembe Mutombo for 5. Issel had 10.
Detroit Pistons, 1957-2020: Isiah Thomas. Fort Wayne Pistons, 1941-1957: Bobby McDermott. Pistons overall, 1941-2020: Thomas. You don't have to like him, especially if you're a Knicks fan, and to a lesser extent a Bulls fan. But, for this team, he's it.
Golden State Warriors, 1971-2020: Steph Curry. San Francisco Warriors, 1962-1971: Wilt Chamberlain. Philadelphia Warriors, 1946-1962: Chamberlain. Warriors overall, 1946-2020: Chamberlain. No, Rick Barry doesn't get this, not since Steph captained a 2nd title. But Wilt still leads everybody.
Houston Rockets, 1971-2020: Hakeem Olajuwon. San Diego Rockets, 1967-1971: Elvin Hayes. Rockets overall, 1967-2020: Olajuwon. Both the Big E and Akeem the Dream (as he was known, and spelled, at the time) played at the University of Houston. And Hayes did play for the Rockets again at the end of his career. But Hakeem is far and away the Rockets' all-time best.
Indiana Pacers, 1967-2020: Reggie Miller. That's included the ABA years.
Los Angeles Clippers, 1984-2020: Chris Paul. San Diego Clippers, 1978-1984: Bill Walton. Buffalo Braves, 1970-1978: Bob McAdoo. Braves/Clippers overall: Paul. This may change over the next few years. Then again, knowing this franchise, that's a layup, but hardly a given.
Los Angeles Lakers, 1960-2020: Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Minneapolis Lakers, 1947-1960: George Mikan. Lakers overall, 1947-2020: Johnson. Magic ahead of Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James -- and, except for Wilt, that would have been true even if all of these guys (as Baylor, West and Worthy did) spent their entire careers with the Lakers.
Memphis Grizzlies, 2001-2020: Mike Conley. Vancouver Grizzlies, 1995-2001: Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Grizzlies overall, 1995-2020: Conley. Ahead of the brothers Pau and Marc Gasol.
Miami Heat, 1988-2020: Dwyane Wade. LeBron was better for a career, but not for the Heat.
Milwaukee Bucks, 1968-2020: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He was better in L.A., and with them longer. But who's going to top him in Milwaukee? Giannis? Not yet.
Minnesota Timberwolves, 1989-2020: Kevin Garnett. There really isn't a 2nd option.
New York Knicks, 1946-2020: Walt Frazier. Don't tell me Patrick Ewing. He predicted titles. Clyde won them.
New Orleans Pelicans, 2002-2020: Anthony Davis. The fact that he forced his way out to go to the Lakers doesn't change that. Nor does the fact that they had the Hornets name until 2013.
Oklahoma City Thunder, 2008-2020: Kevin Durant. Seattle SuperSonics, 1967-2008: Gary Payton. Sonics/Thunder overall, 1967-2020: Payton. If KD had stayed, he'd be ahead, but he didn't, so he's not.
Orlando Magic, 1989-2020: Dwight Howard. Longevity puts him ahead of Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway
Philadelphia 76ers, 1963-2020: Wilt Chamberlain. Syracuse Nationals, 1949-1963: Dolph Schayes. Nats/Sixers overall, 1949-2020: Chamberlain. The greatest player in basketball history. If you have to ask why, you don't know basketball.
Phoenix Suns, 1968-2020: Steve Nash. This was close. I could have given it to Paul Westphal. Had he spent 7 seasons with them instead of 4,, I would have given it to Charles Barkley.
Portland Trail Blazers, 1970-2020: Buck Williams. Bill Walton was more important, but injuries insured that he wouldn't be the choice here.
Sacramento Kings, 1985-2020: Mitch Richmond. Kansas City Kings, 1972-1985: Otis Birdsong. Cincinnati Royals, 1957-1972: Oscar Robertson. Rochester Royals, 1923-1957: Bob Davies. Royals/Kings overall, 1923-2020: Robertson. The NBA's oldest franchise, and the Big O tops everyone they've got -- but that's less a testament to his talent than it is an indictment of what they've done since he left in 1970.
San Antonio Spurs, 1967-2020: Tim Duncan. David Robinson was somebody special. It took somebody special to surpass him.
Toronto Raptors, 1995-2020: Vince Carer. For 1 season, it's Kawhi Leonard. For a career, it's still Vinsanity.
Utah Jazz, 1979-2020: Karl Malone. New Orleans Jazz, 1974-1979: Pete Maravich. Jazz overall, 1974-2020: Malone. The Mailman by a hair over John Stockton.
Washington Wizards, 1997-2020: Gilbert Arenas. Washington Bullets, 1973-1997: Elvin Hayes. Baltimore Bullets, 1963-1973: Earl Monroe. Chicago Zephyrs, 1961-1963: Walt Bellamy. Overall: Monroe. Earl the Pearl.
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