The Top 40 players since the ABA/NBA merger

With this past year marking the 40th anniversary of the ABA/NBA merger, The Washington Post’s Tim Bontemps ranks the 40 best players in the NBA over the past 40 years – a task that is far harder than it sounds.

The key detail to consider in these rankings is that only time spent in the NBA since the merger counts. For example, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had a stellar run up until the 1976-77 season (winning four MVP awards and a title) and Julius Erving (who was the face of the ABA) were only credited for their play in the NBA, after the merger, when determining their place on this list.

With that in mind, here are the rankings: