







Occupation
BASKETBALL PLAYERS
With 1,757 biographies, Basketball Players are the 12th most common occupation in Pantheon, behind Military Personnels, Film Directors, and Painters.
People
Pantheon has 2,212 people classified as basketball players born between 1905 and 2006. Of these 2,212, 2,016 (91.14%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living basketball players include Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The most famous deceased basketball players include Wilt Chamberlain, Dražen Dalipagić, and Sam Jones. As of April 2024, 324 new basketball players have been added to Pantheon including Zoran Čutura, Chris Welp, and Darryl Middleton.
Living Basketball Players
Go to all RankingsShaquille O'Neal
1972 - Present
HPI: 74.74
Michael Jordan
1963 - Present
HPI: 74.53
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1947 - Present
HPI: 72.57
Scottie Pippen
1965 - Present
HPI: 72.16
Stephen Curry
1988 - Present
HPI: 68.35
David Robinson
1965 - Present
HPI: 67.84
Magic Johnson
1959 - Present
HPI: 67.81
Clyde Drexler
1962 - Present
HPI: 67.41
Vlade Divac
1968 - Present
HPI: 66.97
Kevin McHale
1957 - Present
HPI: 66.51
Dennis Rodman
1961 - Present
HPI: 65.79
Chris Mullin
1963 - Present
HPI: 64.86
Deceased Basketball Players
Go to all RankingsWilt Chamberlain
1936 - 1999
HPI: 71.64
Dražen Dalipagić
1951 - 2025
HPI: 70.53
Sam Jones
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.12
Bill Russell
1934 - 2022
HPI: 68.02
Dikembe Mutombo
1966 - 2024
HPI: 67.96
K. C. Jones
1932 - 2020
HPI: 66.98
Kobe Bryant
1978 - 2020
HPI: 66.56
Krešimir Ćosić
1948 - 1995
HPI: 66.35
Dražen Petrović
1964 - 1993
HPI: 65.79
Radivoj Korać
1938 - 1969
HPI: 65.39
Mirza Delibašić
1954 - 2001
HPI: 65.31
Jerry West
1938 - 2024
HPI: 64.89
Newly Added Basketball Players (2025)
Go to all RankingsZoran Čutura
1962 - Present
HPI: 48.99
Chris Welp
1964 - 2015
HPI: 48.78
Darryl Middleton
1966 - Present
HPI: 47.03
Antonello Riva
1962 - Present
HPI: 46.87
Dragan Labović
1987 - 2025
HPI: 46.77
Shahnez Boushaki
1985 - Present
HPI: 46.66
Wendell Alexis
1964 - Present
HPI: 46.49
Stéphane Risacher
1972 - Present
HPI: 46.17
Milenko Topić
1969 - Present
HPI: 45.73
Gundars Vētra
1967 - Present
HPI: 44.66
Žana Lelas
1970 - 2021
HPI: 44.46
Hugo Sconochini
1971 - Present
HPI: 44.40
Places
Most basketball players were born in United States (1263), Serbia (66), and Spain (58). By city, the most common birth places were Los Angeles (44), Chicago (37), and Philadelphia (29).
Places Over Time
The earliest biographies classified as basketball players in Pantheon are Tex Gibbons, Raúl Fernández, and Rodolfo Choperena. The concentration of basketball players was largest during the Television Era, which lasted from 1950 to 1989. Some birth or death locations for earlier basketball players are unknown, which may account for timeline differences below.
Lifespans
Which Basketball Players were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Basketball Players since 1700.




























