GOAT Rank · 34

Greatest Basketball Players who debuted in the 1970s

This ranking is led by Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Nikos Galis. GOAT Rank currently ranks 34 eligible Basketball players who debuted in the 1970s using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Magic Johnson ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 91.9.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

Magic Johnson

91.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1979–1996
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 94.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 93.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Magic Johnson

Larry Bird

91.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1979–1992
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 93.0
Statistics: 93.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Larry Bird

Nikos Galis

90.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1979–1994
Country: 🇬🇷 Greece

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Nikos Galis

Dražen Dalipagić

90.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1971–1991
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Dražen Dalipagić

Moses Malone

88.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1974–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Moses Malone

George Gervin

88.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1972–1986
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: George Gervin

Nate Archibald

88.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1970–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 98.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Nate Archibald

Julius Erving

88.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1971–1987
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 91.0
Dominance: 87.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Julius Erving

Artis Gilmore

88.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1971–1988
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Artis Gilmore

Alex English

87.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1976–1991
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Alex English

Adrian Dantley

87.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1976–1991
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Adrian Dantley

Dan Issel

86.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1970–1985
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Dan Issel

Dennis Johnson

85.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1976–1990
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Dennis Johnson

Bob McAdoo

85.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1972–1986
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Bob McAdoo

Anne Donovan

85.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1979–1989
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Anne Donovan

Dave Cowens

84.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1970–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Dave Cowens

Maurice Cheeks

84.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1978–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Maurice Cheeks

101

Robert Parish

84.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1976–1997
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Robert Parish

103

Denise Curry

84.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1977–1990
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Denise Curry

142

George McGinnis

83.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1971–1982
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: George McGinnis

143

Bob Lanier

83.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1970–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Bob Lanier

145

Calvin Murphy

82.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1970–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Calvin Murphy

153

Nancy Lieberman

82.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1976–1997
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Nancy Lieberman

160

Bernard King

82.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1977–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Bernard King

168

Ann Meyers

81.8

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1974–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Ann Meyers

178

Pete Maravich

81.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1970–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 68.0

Athlete: Pete Maravich

181

Lusia Harris

81.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1974–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 60.0

Athlete: Lusia Harris

189

Sidney Moncrief

81.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1979–1991
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Sidney Moncrief

209

Carol Blazejowski

80.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1974–1982
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 64.0

Athlete: Carol Blazejowski

213

Dražen Petrović

80.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1979–1993
Country: 🇭🇷 Croatia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Dražen Petrović

214

World B. Free

79.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1975–1988
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: World B. Free

220

Ann Meyers Drysdale

79.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1974–1982
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Ann Meyers Drysdale

227

David Thompson

78.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1975–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 60.0

Athlete: David Thompson

236

Marques Johnson

78.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1977–1989
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Marques Johnson

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
8	Magic Johnson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1979–1996	91.9
10	Larry Bird	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1979–1992	91.2
19	Nikos Galis	Basketball	🇬🇷 Greece	1979–1994	90.2
20	Dražen Dalipagić	Basketball	🇷🇸 Serbia	1971–1991	90.2
32	Moses Malone	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1995	88.5
33	George Gervin	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1972–1986	88.5
40	Nate Archibald	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1984	88.2
44	Julius Erving	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1987	88.0
46	Artis Gilmore	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1988	88.0
48	Alex English	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1991	87.5
52	Adrian Dantley	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1991	87.1
63	Dan Issel	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1985	86.2
73	Dennis Johnson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1990	85.6
75	Bob McAdoo	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1972–1986	85.6
79	Anne Donovan	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1979–1989	85.4
98	Dave Cowens	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1983	84.6
99	Maurice Cheeks	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1978–1993	84.6
101	Robert Parish	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1997	84.5
103	Denise Curry	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1990	84.5
142	George McGinnis	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1982	83.0
143	Bob Lanier	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1984	83.0
145	Calvin Murphy	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1983	82.9
153	Nancy Lieberman	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1997	82.5
160	Bernard King	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1993	82.2
168	Ann Meyers	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1980	81.8
178	Pete Maravich	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1970–1980	81.5
181	Lusia Harris	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1980	81.4
189	Sidney Moncrief	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1979–1991	81.2
209	Carol Blazejowski	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1982	80.3
213	Dražen Petrović	Basketball	🇭🇷 Croatia	1979–1993	80.1
214	World B. Free	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1975–1988	79.9
220	Ann Meyers Drysdale	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1974–1982	79.4
227	David Thompson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1975–1984	78.9
236	Marques Johnson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1989	78.1

Compare the leaders

Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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