When it comes to the glorious history of the NBA, there is no end to it. The most representative of the history of the NBA is the NBA's official selection of the 75 biggest stars in history, each of these stars carries the glory and honor of their time, which is worthy of in-depth excavation and understanding by future generations.
Today, let's take a brief look at the performance of the top 10 stars in their twilight years, and see if they can continue their glory even in the season when they are about to die.
1. "God of Basketball" Michael Jordan
As Michael Jordan, the basketball god who led the Bulls to build a dynasty twice, he is one of the top 10 superstars of all time. Three retirements, two comebacks, and no matter what stage of the retirement season it is, the performance is epic.
Jordan's first retirement came in the '92-93 season, when he helped the Bulls build their first three-game winning streak and build a dynasty, averaging 32.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Although he had no previous thoughts of retiring, it was unpredictable that his father was murdered some time before the start of training camp for the new season. To that end, Jordan announced his retirement to prepare for a baseball career that his father had always wanted him to do.
Jordan's second retirement was in the '97-98 season, when Jordan was still able to record 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists to help the team win its sixth championship, which was the first person in the league at the time. Jordan's third retirement was in the 02-03 season, when Jordan's return with the Wizards was entirely for the commercial value of the team, so he was not as good as he was when he retired the first two times. Therefore, Jordan, who retired for the third time, did not lead the team to the playoffs, but he still averaged 20 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, which is more dazzling than the average All-Star.
2. "Zhang Twenty Thousand" Wilson Chamberlain
Before Michael Jordan was born, the NBA's historical records were full of traces of this man, not only able to cut a super record of 100 in a single game that was beyond the reach of many league scorers, but also the regular season MVP for three consecutive years, Wilson Chamberlain is also one of the top ten superstars.
But there is still an old day for such a terrifying scoring machine, and Wilson Chamberlain's last season was in the '72-73 season, averaging only 13.2 points per game. Of course, even if the scoring power is not enough, Wilson Chamberlain can still grab an average of 18.6 rebounds per game to help the team enter the playoffs. Yes, you read that right, averaging 18.6 rebounds per game, and from the beginning to the end of his career, the super-interior monster would never allow himself to average less than 15 rebounds per game.
3. "The Lord of the Rings" Bill Russell
Since Wilson Chamberlain was mentioned above, Bill Russell, the Lord of the Rings, is naturally indispensable. With 11 championships in his career, he has won the championship with Chamberlain for eight consecutive years, and he is simply the big devil of their time.
In the 68-69 season, Bill Russell averaged 9.9 points, 19.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, not only helping the team reach the Finals, but also helping the team defeat the rival Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
4. "Sky Hook" Karim Abdul Jabbar
In addition to the above two inside monsters, there is also a special inside monster among the top ten superstars, that is, Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Just by his nickname, his hook shot is amazing, not only averaging 24.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game throughout the season, but also averaging 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in his retirement season.
That's right, averaging 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in the retirement season, Abdul-Jabbar had played 20 NBA seasons at that time, but he could still get such magical data to help the team reach the Finals, which is a miracle. Although Abdul-Jabbar did not win the championship in the end that season, it has to be said that there is no regret in retiring with regrets.
5. "Big Shark" Shaquille O'Neal
Another inside monster, but unlike the above ones, Shaquille O'Neal is a bulldozer completely, and he only has an incomparably powerful dominance under the basket. He averaged 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game in his career, which can be called an interior giant.
However, relying on the body to eat often means that he is unable to do it when he is old, and the last season of the Big Sharks did not play well, and he was full of injuries as a backup center for the Celtics, averaging 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and even entering the playoffs can only play two games. Compared with the previous ones, O'Neill's last dance is really emotional.
6. "Stone Buddha" Tim Duncan
As the only power forward among the top ten superstars, Tim Duncan is a well-deserved representative of one man and one city, and his 19-year NBA career has been dedicated to the Spurs, not only helping the team win five championships, but also averaging 19 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game throughout his career.
In the retirement season, Tim Duncan is no longer the team's No. 1 scorer due to physical reasons, and he scored 8.6 points and 7.3 rebounds while averaging 25.2 minutes per game.
7. "Black Mamba" Kobe Bryant
is also a representative figure of one man and one city, since the Lakers selected him to the Lakers with the Hornets' No. 13 pick in 96, he also dedicated 20 years of youth to the Lakers, bringing five championship trophies to the Lakers. He averaged 25 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in his career.
Kobe Bryant's last season was the 15-16 season, and the whole league knew that he was retiring at the end of the season, so every team gave him the highest respect and did their best to play against him. In the end, Kobe Bryant scored 17.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the final season, although he did not lead the team to the playoffs, but he successfully completed his career in the NBA.
8. "Big Bird" Larry Bird
Although the NBA career is only 13 seasons, in these seasons, Larry Bird has completed a record that many people can't complete, leading the team to win three championship trophies, not to mention the three consecutive regular season MVPs, which only Chamberlain can do.
He was only able to play 45 games in his final season due to a back injury, but he himself did not seem to be affected by injuries, still averaging 20.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.
9. "Little Emperor" LeBron James
Yes, there is still one of the top 10 superstars of NBA history in active service. LeBron James has never averaged less than 20 points per game in his career since entering the league in 2003, and even in his twentieth year, he can still cut 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists to lead the team to the play-offs.
On April 15, 2024, the Lakers challenged the Pelicans away, and James officially achieved a career achievement of 40,000 points + 11,000 rebounds + 11,000 assists, which is a miracle. I hope he can continue to play for a few more years and create a super miracle in the NBA.
10. "Moe God" Stephen Curry
Like James, the all-time three-point champion is also one of the top 10 superstars in the service, not only did he change the situation of modern basketball with his inexplicable three-point shot, making the three-point shot the mainstream offensive method, but also led the team to four championships in his 15-year NBA career.
I hope he can continue to fight like James, just like the never-ending battle of horsemanship, the story of the two protagonists must never end.