Key stats: 755 G, 14.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.5 APG, 42.7 FG%, NBA titles: 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988). Bottom line: LeBron James could be in the Top 30 NBA career games played at the end of the 2019-20 season and likely will break Robert Parrishs career record of 1,611 games if he plays four more seasons, which hes openly said he wants to do. He quickly earned a reputation for being the "protector" of young Bulls star Michael Jordan and was a ferocious rebounder and defender. His size, 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, was more NFL defensive end than power forward but also may have been the cause of back problems that ended his career. He also was durable, ranking in the Top 25 in games played. Bottom line: Michael Jordans toughness was the stuff of legend, and the five-time NBA Most Valuable Player was legendarily hard on teammates. He played the first two seasons of his career in the ABA and was a four-time All-Star in both leagues. Russells mental toughness was on another level. Every referee that has ever been a part of one of Wallaces game would attest that he should be even higher. Stats: 18.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.4 APG in 13 seasons with Cincinnati Royals/KC-Omaha/Kansas City Kings (1970-71 to 1975-76), New York Nets (1976-77), Boston Celtics (1978-79 to 1982-83) and Milwaukee Bucks (1983-84). Kevin Johnson 15 of 50 Career stats: 17.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 9.1 apg, 1.5 stl, 0.2 blk, 84.1 FT %, 49.3 FG % Johnson's contributions aren't readily discussed among the most productive point guards of. Bottom line: Dan Roundfield "Dr. Rounds" could be the next name you drop in a conversation with fellow NBA heads when youre talking about the most underrated, underappreciated players of all time. It certainly doesnt hurt that he thought he was from the planet Lovetron, because he didnt express any love to the opposition when he played. Anyone who watched the Knicks with Oakley saw the team take on a swagger that clubs rarely do anymore. Career Stats: 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 AST, 49.0 FG%, 42.8 FG3%, 90.4 FT% The . This was at a time when the 76ers guard acted in a way that stood out from many of the other, more straight-laced, stars such as Michael Jordan, Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, and Ray Allen. Pettit also was the first NBA Most Valuable Player in 1958 and is tied with Kobe Bryant for most NBA All-Star MVP awards with four. Mark Jackson can make an argument for being one of the toughest. Ringo H.W. Over two decades after his retirement, Abdul-Jabbars 1,797 career games (including the playoffs) is more than anyone in NBA history. Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (1979-89), Atlanta Hawks (1989-91), Key stats: 767 G, 15.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 50.2 FG%. Accomplishments: Eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA, five-time assists champ, two-time MVP. Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (1969-77, 1981), Washington Bullets (1977-81), Key stats: 839 G, 18.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.4 APG, 48.4 FG%. He was at his best on the Nuggets when he partnered with a young Carmelo Anthony, whom he also played with on the Knicks. Accomplishments: Five-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA, four-time All-Defensive team, two-time MVP, 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year, 2016-17 Most Improved Player, 2021 Finals MVP, 2021 NBA champion. Bottom line: Wes Unseld was only 6-foot-7 but dominated on the boards like few players in NBA history, thanks to being 250 pounds. He never backed down from anyone regardless of the situation, and his dunk over both Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen will be one of the most iconic of all time. Teams: Seattle SuperSonics (1979-81), Detroit Pistons (1981-91), San Antonio Spurs (1991-92), Key stats: 984 G, 12.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 46.4 FG%. He ruined his own best chance at playoff success when he punched Oklahoma Citys Steven Adams in the jaw in Game 6 of a 2014 NBA playoff series and was suspended for Game 7, which the Grizzlies lost. Accomplishments: Seven-time All-Star, 1986-87 All-NBA, six-time All-Defensive team, two-time Sixth Man of the Year, three-time NBA champion. Accomplishments: 12-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA, three-time All-Defensive team, three-time MVP, two-time Finals MVP, 1979-80 Rookie of the Year, 1982 All-Star MVP, three-time NBA champion. 1 overall pick coming out of Cincinnati, and he showed that with his abilities on the defensive end. Accomplishments: Eight-time NBA All-Star, six-time All-NBA, 1975 Finals MVP, 1965-66 Rookie of the Year, 1966-67 scoring champ, 1974-75 steals champ, 1975 NBA champion. Toughest NBA Players of All Time | Stadium Talk He is an American basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 2019. Key stats: 525 G, 9.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 58.9 FG%. One of the tough guys in league history, McDaniel certainly never backed down from any challenge anyone was willing to present. In order to play a decade in the NBA like Skiles did, and be that size, it takes some innate toughness. Want to learn how to continue to get better every season while simultaneously carrying the load? Hes certainly not short on that trait, as hes well known for being anything but candid with the officials. Honorary Enforcer Bill Laimbeer. Accomplishments: Five-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA. Defensive Player of the Year. His obvious passion for the game was clear, and he went hard no matter what the scoreboard read. Stemming from his incredible work ethic, which was started at a young age by his father, the dedication to the game of basketball paid off, as Pistol Pete averaged 44.2 ppg during his college career with LSU. For people who want to increase vertical jump fast, you can check this secret tips. The infamous finger wag. Throughout his NBA career, Bill Lambier drilled over 200 Three-pointers. When McHale clotheslined Lakers forward Kurt Rambis during Game 4 of the 1984 NBA Finals, it shocked teammates and opponents alike and arguably turned the tide of the series. Each of the last three seasons, NBA players voting in an anonymous poll have listed Adams as one of the three players they would least like to fight in the entire league. Stats: 17.6 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 3.8 APG in 11 seasons with Boston Celtics (1970-71 to 1979-80) and Milwaukee Bucks (1982-83). Accomplishments: 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA, 2006-07 MVP, 2011 Finals MVP, 2011 NBA champion. Stats: 27.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.7 APG in 14 seasons with Los Angeles Lakers (1960-61 to 1973-74). Former 76ers general manager Pat Williams probably described Jones the best: "He gives you two hours of his blood, showers and goes home.". Despite being too short and overweight most of the time (by NBA standards), Barkley dominated almost the entirety of his career and is the shortest player in history to lead the league in rebounds. Before turning his focus to basketball, the two-time Most Valuable Player grew up in Canada playing hockey, and his family lived in the same neighborhood as future NHL stars Russ and Geoff Courtnall. Accomplishments: 10-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, two-time NBA champion. But as his skills declined, he extended his career by turning into a tough-minded enforcer for the teams he played on. When a player is seen as an enforcer on one of the most physical teams in league history, you know hes got to be intense. He had a very riled up rivalry against Bill Laimbeer, and neither sought to back down from the other, which only heightened the distaste between them. Teams: Baltimore Bullets (1965-66), Chicago Bulls (1966-76). Trash talking, stealing the rock, facilitating the flow of the offense, it was all just part of Paytons routine on a game-by-game basis. Accomplishments: 10-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA, eight-time All-Defensive team, 1994-95 MVP, 1991-92 Defensive Player of the Year, 1989-90 Rookie of the Year, 1993-94 scoring champ, 1990-91 rebounding champ, 1991-92 blocks champ, two-time NBA champion. Two of the top teams in the Western Conference will go head-to-head in a rematch from last Saturday as an epic matchup . Teams: Washington Bullets/Wizards (1996-99), Orlando Magic (1999-2000), Detroit Pistons (2000-06, 2009-12), Chicago Bulls (2006-08), Cleveland Cavaliers (2008-09), Key stats: 1,088 G, 5.7 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 47.4 FG%. NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on the Bulls in the 1990s. The stories of Z-Bos toughness are legendary in NBA circles and the fact that he played at least 70 games in 12 of 18 seasons cannot be overlooked. Cooper made the All-NBA Defensive Team eight times and was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. Cooper won five NBA titles with the Lakers and was just as good as a coach, winning back-to-back WNBA titles with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002. The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. Speaking of which, Garnett played at an elite level for a decade after coming straight to the NBA from high school, which might require a little intestinal fortitude. 50 Most Intense NBA Players of All Time - Bleacher Report He won the 2016-17 Most Improved Player award and the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year award. | Getty Images Teams: Philadelphia 76ers (1996-2006, 2009-10), Denver Nuggets (2006-08), Detroit Pistons (2008-09), Memphis Grizzlies (2009), Key stats: 914 G, 26.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.2 APG, 47.5 FG%. Robertsons specialty was defense, making the All-NBA Defensive Team six times in his career and was NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1986. To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. The 10 Most Dirtiest NBA Players of all Time - Sportlister David Robinson's net worth is estimated at $200 million. Accomplishments: 11-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA, 1980-81 MVP, two-time NBA All-Star MVP, 1983 NBA champion. Accomplishments: Seven-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA, 1969-70 All-Defensive team, 1969-70 NBA MVP, 1964-65 Rookie of the Year, 1970 All-Star MVP, two-time Finals MVP, two-time NBA champion. Bottom line: Patrick Beverley is truly a case study in determination. Accomplishments: Seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA, 10-time All-Defensive team, 1994 All-Star MVP, 1994-95 steals champ, six-time NBA champion. Accomplishments: 13-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA, eight-time assists champ, 1956-57 MVP, two-time All-Star MVP, six-time NBA champion. Luka Doncic, James Harden, Jimmy Butler to name a few. Stats: 15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, 4.3 APG in 13 seasons with Boston Celtics (1956-57 to 1968-69). Jordan, coming off a gold medal performance at the 1984 Olympics, prospered in the pro game with a fabulous first season, earning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Accomplishments: 14-time All-Star, 14-time All-NBA, four-time All-Defensive team, two-time MVP, two-time All-Star MVP. He became tough growing up in Dallas and playing basketball on the playgrounds. Stats: 19.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.5 APG in 19 seasons with Boston Celtics (1998-99 to 2012-13), Brooklyn Nets (2013-14), Washington Wizards (2014-15) and LA Clippers (2015-16 to 2016-17). Will the Warriors be able to reboot and make another run at a title? Mazzulla, in addition to saying his team "let its foot off the gas," also pointed out how the Nets dominated every statistical category -- from taking and making more 3s and free throws to getting . Rookie of the Year. Stats: 19.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.0 APG in 15 seasons with Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1958-59 to 1972-73). Exercise is best method to increase vertical jump. Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-10, 2014-18), Miami Heat (2010-14), Los Angeles Lakers (2018-present), Key stats: 1,217 G, 27.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 7.3 APG, 50.4 FG%. That makes the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 15-time All-NBA pick one of the toughest and most durable players of all time. Unseld wasted little time putting the league on notice, and joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to win Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season. His intensity was on obvious display every time he dribbled the ball up the floor and with every single move he made. Iverson grew up in abject poverty and was sentenced to five years in prison as a senior in high school for a bowling alley assault, serving four months before he was granted clemency by the governor of Virginia. NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. After he went undrafted in 2002 following a standout career at the University of Florida, Haslem found his only pro opportunity was playing in France, and he showed up weighing almost 300 pounds. Mason was known for the wild designs he would have shaved into his head, sure, but he was more known for a bruising, physical style of play that used every square inch of his 6-foot-7, 250-pound frame. Seriously, 11 championships in 13 seasons is arguably the most intense thing to ever be accomplished in league history. Thats because Johnson, a second-degree black belt in karate, has been a professional MMA fighter and kickboxer since he was 18 years old and has a 7-0 record in MMA matches and 20-0 record in kickboxing. Accomplishments: 11-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA, 2013-14 MVP, 2007-08 Rookie of the Year, two-time All-Star MVP, two-time Finals MVP, four-time scoring champ, two-time NBA champion. Chamberlain didnt just find success when he played; he enjoyed sheer and utter dominance. Bottom line: Xavier McDaniel set a baseline for what it meant to be tough when he was still playing for Wichita State University and became the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in points and rebounds in 1984-85. Double check. Accomplishments: Seven-time All-Star, five-time All-Defensive team. Perhaps one of the most searched for athletes on YouTube thanks in large part due to the fights he found himself in, Johnson didnt do anything to eschew his reputation of being a tough guy around the league. "Pistol" Pete Maravich. Accomplishments: 12-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA, two-time All-Star MVP, 1990 Finals MVP, 1984-85 assists champ, two-time NBA champion. Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (1986-87), Indiana Pacers (1987-89), Orlando Magic (1989-94), Washington Bullets (1994-95), Philadelphia 76ers (1995-96), Key stats: 600 G, 11.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 6.5 APG, 43.5 FG%. Mainly because he wasnt a bully. The most important thing to remember about Dumars as far as gauging his toughness is that Michael Jordan called him the best defender he ever faced and the "Jordan Rules" established by Pistons coach Chuck Daly in the 1990s centered around Dumars unique defensive ability. Stats: 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG in 15 seasons with Chicago Bulls (1984-85 to 1992-93; 1994-95 to 1997-98) and Washington Wizards (2001-02 to 2002-03); NBA's career leader in points per game. Hes also one of just five players, along with LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Scottie Pippen and Giannis Antetoukompo, to lead an NBA team in all five top statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) in the same season. Martins innate toughness came from a pretty awful place. Key stats: 650 G, 18.7 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 47.6 FG%. Sixth Man of the Year. After his career nearly ended with a one-year suspension for his role in "The Malice at the Palace," he redeemed himself and won an NBA title with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in 2010. instead of being the 2001 NBA Most Valuable Player and an 11-time All-Star. When he played, there werent a lot of players who wanted to challenge him, because it was a battle that they were likely to lose. Live stream: Grizzlies 97, Nuggets 113 | HoopsHype in Game 2, swinging an elbow at Dawkins head and changing the tone of the series as the Blazers rallied for the championship. Get used to that, because Adams could play for another 10 years. Although his legacy is defined largely by the infamous malice at the palace, World Peaces placement on this list is about more than just that. The moment Thomas toughness was no longer in doubt was at the end of his tenure with the Celtics, when he was on the verge of getting close to a max contract in free agency in the offseason. Teams: Minnesota Timberwolves (1995-2007, 2015-16), Boston Celtics (2007-13), Brooklyn Nets (2013-15), Key stats: 1,462 G, 17.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 49.7 FG%. These guys are big, strong, athletic - they look a lot different than Trae Young. English's nightly offensive assaults made him an exciting player to watch. How do you function when everyone is against you? Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Free trial Game Time: 10:0 Bottom line: Opponents underestimated John Stocktons toughness at their own peril throughout his 18 seasons, including 11 in which he was selected first-, second- or third-team All-NBA. 16 retired by both of the teams he played for the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks. Bottom line: In 12 NBA seasons, Bobby Jones earned a reputation as one of the classiest players of all time. Hes got the alpha male mentality and continues to improve his attack, and the idea that people still undervalue him is scary.