# The 27 Best NBA Players Born in the 1950s

> Hall of Fame centers, scoring machines and defensive specialists share one birth decade here, and most of them starred in the late 1970s and 1980s.

*By YPB Team · Published November 4, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-27-best-nba-players-born-in-the-1950s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Magic Johnson** — score 1000/1000
   Lakers point guard born in 1959 who won five NBA titles in the 1980s and MVP awards in 1987, 1989 and 1990.
2. **Larry Bird** — score 852/1000
   Celtics forward born in 1956 who won three straight MVP awards from 1984 to 1986 and three NBA titles.
3. **Bob McAdoo** — score 738/1000
   Buffalo Braves big man born in 1951 who won the 1975 NBA MVP and three straight scoring titles.
4. **Tom Chambers** — score 715/1000
   Forward born in 1959 who was the 1987 All-Star Game MVP and made four All-Star teams.
5. **Moses Malone** — score 639/1000
   Center born in 1955 who won three NBA MVP awards and was Finals MVP for the 1983 champion 76ers.
6. **Julius Erving** — score 624/1000
   Forward born in 1950, known as Dr. J, who won the 1981 NBA MVP and the 1983 title with Philadelphia after an ABA career.
7. **Dennis Johnson** — score 624/1000
   Guard born in 1954 who was 1979 Finals MVP with Seattle and won two more titles with Boston.
8. **World B. Free** — score 571/1000
   Guard born in 1953 as Lloyd Free who averaged over 28 points per game in back-to-back seasons for San Diego.
9. **Michael Cooper** — score 571/1000
   Lakers guard born in 1956 who won five titles and the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year award.
10. **Jack Sikma** — score 571/1000
   Seattle SuperSonics center born in 1955 who won the 1979 title and made seven All-Star teams.
11. **Bobby Jones** — score 571/1000
   Forward born in 1951 who was named to eight NBA All-Defensive First Teams and won the 1983 Sixth Man of the Year.
12. **Sidney Moncrief** — score 511/1000
   Milwaukee Bucks guard born in 1957 who won the first two Defensive Player of the Year awards, in 1983 and 1984.
13. **George Gervin** — score 443/1000
   San Antonio Spurs guard born in 1952, nicknamed the Iceman, who won four NBA scoring titles.
14. **Kevin McHale** — score 443/1000
   Celtics power forward born in 1957, a two-time Sixth Man of the Year and three-time NBA champion.
15. **Maurice Cheeks** — score 443/1000
   Philadelphia 76ers point guard born in 1956 who started on the 1983 championship team and made four All-Star teams.
16. **Alex English** — score 365/1000
   Denver Nuggets forward born in 1954 who scored more points than any NBA player during the 1980s.
17. **Paul Westphal** — score 365/1000
   Phoenix Suns guard born in 1950 who made five All-Star teams and three All-NBA First Teams.
18. **Bill Laimbeer** — score 365/1000
   Detroit Pistons center born in 1957 who won the 1989 and 1990 titles and led the NBA in rebounding in 1986.
19. **Bill Walton** — score 365/1000
   Center born in 1952 who won the 1977 title and Finals MVP with Portland and the 1978 NBA MVP.
20. **Darryl Dawkins** — score 365/1000
   Center born in 1957 who went straight from high school to the 76ers in 1975 and shattered two backboards with dunks in 1979.
21. **Bernard King** — score 365/1000
   New York Knicks forward born in 1956 who won the 1985 scoring title and scored 60 points on Christmas Day 1984.
22. **Jamaal Wilkes** — score 275/1000
   Forward born in 1953 who won one NBA title with Golden State and three with the Lakers.
23. **Rolando Blackman** — score 275/1000
   Dallas Mavericks guard born in 1959 in Panama who made four All-Star teams.
24. **Robert Parish** — score 275/1000
   Center born in 1953 who played 1,611 regular-season games, among the most in NBA history, and won four titles.
25. **Adrian Dantley** — score 275/1000
   Utah Jazz forward born in 1955 who won NBA scoring titles in 1981 and 1984.
26. **David Thompson** — score 170/1000
   Denver Nuggets guard born in 1954 who scored 73 points in a game on the final day of the 1977-78 season.
27. **Andrew Toney** — score 0/1000
   Philadelphia 76ers guard born in 1957, nicknamed the Boston Strangler, who made two All-Star teams.

Tags: basketball, players, nba, 50s, legends