Durant, Antetokounmpo make NBA's list of 75 greatest players originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The NBA's 75th season tipped off with a matchup between two of the league's top 75 players of all time.
It was announced Tuesday ahead of the season opener between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks that Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named to the NBA's list of the greatest 75 players in league history as part of the celebration for the anniversary season.
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Here are the first 25 players from the list that were unveiled Tuesday, listed in alphabetical order:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Nate Archibald
Charles Barkley
Bob Cousy
Dave Cowens
Kevin Durant
Julius Erving
George Gervin
Hal Greer
James Harden
Elvin Hayes
Jerry Lucas
Moses Malone
Kevin McHale
George Mikan
Steve Nash
Dirk Nowitzki
Hakeem Olajuwon
Bob Pettit
Willis Reed
Oscar Robertson
David Robinson
Bill Russell
John Stockton
The next 25 players will be announced Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN, and the final 25 on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on TNT.
The NBA last did a greatest players list during the 1996-1997 season, as the top 50 were honored at halftime of the NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland for the league's 50th anniversary.
Durant, in an interview on TNT, recalled that ceremony while discussing the honor of being selected for the latest list.
"It means a lot," Durant said. "It means everything, to be honest. You wanna leave your mark on this league, on the game of basketball itself. To be among the greatest that this game has ever seen, just to be in that same company is pretty sweet. As a kid I saw the 50th anniversary and always dreamed of having one of those jackets on, being amongst that group. So, it feels good to be part of it now."
