Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 46 – George Mikan

On NBA 50 at 50 List

Career: 1948 – 1956

Achievements: Five-time champion; All-NBA (6x); All-Star (4x); three-time points leader

We now go way back, nearly to the first of our 75 years of NBA history, to when George Mikan became the league’s first star. He debuted for the Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) that would change its name the following season after merging with the National Basketball League (NBL).

Mikan was completely a product of his era, a lanky guy in goggles who forced the fledgling league to think through its rules. In essence, his impact on the game of basketball was in helping them to determine how to keep games fair and competitive. His size and scoring ability near the basket forced rule changes like widening the lane and making it illegal to stand under the hoop for too long.

Mikan played just 439 games across seven years, but he was an All-NBA player all six years that was a possibility. He led the league in scoring three times, rebounding twice, and won five rings in his first six seasons. The defenses of the time had no answer to stop him. He was not very athletic and not very creative in his offensive attack, and of course, suffers when compared to the players who came after, but his role in defining the league and in winning so many of its early titles secures him his place on the list.