The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders
Contents
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: By Position
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: By Franchise
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: By Decade
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: Active Players
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: Recent Retirees
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: International Players
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: Comparative Statistics
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: What do the Numbers Mean?
- The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: Honorable Mentions
The NBA’s all-time win shares leaders are a who’s who of the greatest players to ever play the game From Lebron James to Michael Jordan these are the players who have made the biggest impact on the court.
The NBA’s all-time win shares leaders are a who’s who of the greatest players in the game’s history. At the top of the list is none other than Michael Jordan who is far and away the leader in this metric with 129.4 win shares. Other legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lebron James and Kobe Bryant round out the top five, while current stars like Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry sit just outside of the top ten
Interestingly, two active players – Russell Westbrook and James Harden – sit atop the list of players with the most win shares over the past five seasons. This just goes to show that, while win shares may not be the be-all-end-all metric, it is still a good way to measure a player’s value to their team over time.
Throughout the history of the NBA, there have been some truly Great players But who are the best of the best? Here is a list of the NBA’s all-time leaders in win shares, by position.
Point Guard:
1. Magic Johnson – 118.7
2. John Stockton – 107.4
3. Chris Paul – 101.8
4. Jason Kidd – 91.3
5. Steve Nash – 90.4
Shooting Guard:
1. Kobe Bryant – 103.6
2. Michael Jordan – 97.2
3. Jerry West – 86
4. Dwyane Wade – 85
5. Clyde Drexler – 84
Small Forward:
1 Lebron James – 109
2 Karl Malone – 96
3 Julius Erving – 86 4 Larry Bird – 84 5 Elgin Baylor – 78 6 Rick Barry- 77 7 Scottie Pippen 74 8 Paul Arizin- 70 9 John Havlicek- 64 10 Kevin Durant 63 11 Bernard King- 62 12 Jimmy Butler 60 and counting…
Power Forward 1 Tim Duncan 111 2 Shawn Kemp 98 3 Charles Barkley 89 4 Karl Malone 82 5 artis Gilmore 74 6 Dirk Nowitzki 73 7 Blake Griffin 72 and counting…
Center: 1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 138 2 Wilt Chamberlain 134 3 Hakeem Olajuwon120 4 shaquille O’Neal 104 5 Bill Russell 99 6 David Robinson 98 7 Bob Pettit 93 8 Moses Malone 91 9 Patrick Ewing 88 10 Willis Reed 87 11 Dwight Howard 86 12 Elvin Hayes 85 13 Walt Bellamy 82 14 Wes Unseld 81 15 Artis Gilmore 80 16 Alvan Adams 79 17 Shaquille O’Neal 79 18 George Mikan 78 19 Sam Lacy 74 20 Demarcus Cousins 73 and counting…
The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: By Franchise provides a comprehensive list of the all-time leaders in win shares for every NBA Franchise This list includes data for all players who have played for each franchise, dating back to the league’s inaugural season in 1946.
The data is sorted by franchise, and then by the player’s total win shares. In cases where two or more players are tied for the franchise lead in win shares, those players are listed in order of their per-minute win shares.
This list includes data for all current NBA franchises, as well as for the now-defunct Seattle SuperSonics and Vancouver Grizzlies franchises.
In basketball, a win share is an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player. Win shares were originally developed by University of Denver professor Jim Filiation, and popularized by ESPN analyst John Hollinger.
The NBA’s all-time win shares leaders by decade are:
2010s:
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Chris Paul
4. Dwight Howard
5. Kobe Bryant
2000s:
1. Kobe Bryant
2. Shaquille O’Neal
3. Tim Duncan
4. Kevin Garnett
5. LeBron James
Win shares is a measure of a player’s merit. It’s one way to look at how much a player contributes to his team’s success. The higher the number, the more impactful the player is.
The NBA’s all-time win shares leaders are:
1. LeBron James
2. Michael Jordan
3. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
4. Karl Malone
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Tim Duncan
7. Wilt Chamberlain
8. Magic Johnson
9. Shaquille O’Neal
10. Kevin Garnett
When it comes to the NBA’s all-time win shares leaders, there are a few recent retirees who stand out. Kobe Bryant Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are all near the top of the list, and each of them had remarkable careers.
Bryant is first on the list, with a career total of 164.6 win shares. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and was a five-Ime Nba champion. Duncan is second on the list, with 163.8 win shares. He spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs, and was a five-time NBA Champion Garnett is third on the list, with 156.4 win shares. He played for 21 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets and won an NBA Championship with the Celtics in 2008.
These three players are among the greatest of all time, and their retirement leaves a big hole in the NBA.
Leading the pack among International Players is Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks Nowitzki, who is from Germany, has accumulated 211.3 win shares over the course of his decorated 21-year NBA Career second on the list is Hakeem Olajuwon a Nigerian-born player who played for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors during his 18 seasons in the league. He racked up 184.6 win shares during his time in the NBA.
In third place is France’s Tony Parker who played 17 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs before retiring in 2019. Parker ranks fourth on the Spurs’ all-time scoring list and was named an NBA All-Star six times during his career. He totaled 154 win shares during his time in the league.
Rounding out the top five is Argentinean player Manu Ginobili, who spent his entire 16-year career with the Spurs. Ginobili was a key member of four Spurs championship teams and was named an NBA All-Star twice during his career. He accumulated 139 win shares over the course of his time in the league.
The NBA’s All-Time Win Shares Leaders: Comparative Statistics
Since the 1973-74 NBA season 74 players have amassed at least 100 win shares. Of those 74 players, only 28 have played since the 1993-94 season. The following lists the 20 players with the most win shares since the 1993-94 season, as well as their career win shares total and their per-season average.
Players with at least 100 win shares since the 1993-94 season:
1. Michael Jordan* – 201.5 (30.2)
2. Karl Malone* – 144.6 (21.7)
3. Tim Duncan* – 140.5 (20.1)
4. Kevin Garnett* – 135.1 (19.3)
5.Dirk Nowitzki* – 127.0 (18.1)
6. Shaquille O’Neal* – 125.9 (18%)
7 Kobe Bryant* – 118.7 (17%)
8 LeBron James* – 113 (16 2/3)
9 David Robinson* – 112 2/3 (.93) //(15 6/7)
10 Hakeem Olajuwon* – 110 (.92) //(14 7/8) //(14 3/4) //(14 6/7)}
In basketball, a win share is an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player.
The all-time win shares leaders in the NBA are a who’s who of the greatest players in the history of the game. Topping the list is Michael Jordan who is widely considered to be the greatest player of all time. Other players near the top of the list include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone Lebron James and Kobe Bryant
What do these numbers mean?
First, it’s important to understand that win shares are only estimates. They are based on a variety of factors, including a player’s offensive and defensive statistics. As such, they should be taken with a grain of salt.
Second, win shares only tell part of the story. A player who contributes 10 win shares to his team might be more valuable than a player who contributes 20 win shares if the first player’s team is significantly worse than the second player’s team.
Finally, it’s worth noting thatwin shares do not necessarily reflect a player’s individual talent. A superstar might contribute fewer win shares than a role player if he plays on a team with other superstars. Likewise, a role player might contribute more win shares than a superstar if he plays on a team with inferior players.
The all-time win shares leaders list is a good starting point for discussions about some of the greatest players in NBA history But it’s important to remember that the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
The NBA’s Win Shares leaders are a who’s who of some of the greatest players in the history of the game. But there are always a few names that just miss the cut. Here are a few honorable mentions:
--Rajon Rondo 178 Win Shares
--Dwyane Wade 175 Win Shares
--Isiah Thomas 171 Win Shares
