NBA 25th Anniversary Team

The NBA 25th Anniversary Team was chosen on December 11, 1971, to honor the 25th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. It was the first anniversary team in the NBA.^[1] This team was meant to be an All-NBA Team for that period. Up until that time, All-NBA Teams only consisted of 2 teams (First and Second), so this Team also only consists of 2 teams/10 players (4 forwards, 2 centers, and 4 guards). The selections were restricted to retired players.^[2][3]

Selections

List of 25th Anniversary Team players, sorted by position and vote received.

• F Bob Pettit
• F Dolph Schayes
• F Paul Arizin
• F Joe Fulks
• C Bill Russell
• C George Mikan
• G Bob Cousy
• G Bill Sharman
• G Bob Davies
• G Sam Jones
• Coach Red Auerbach

Russell was the only unanimous selection to the team. Furthermore, all nominees of the 25th Anniversary Team besides Feerick and Zaslofky have also been inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 1980, only four players of the 25th Anniversary Team were selected into NBA 35th Anniversary Team (Pettit, Cousy, Russell, and Mikan). However, along with them, four other players of this team (Arizin, Jones, Schayes, Sharman) were selected into NBA 50 Greatest Players of All-Time in 1996 and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Selection process

A panel selected 25 nominees from all eligible players, made up from 10 Forwards, 10 Guards, and 5 Centers. Then every NBA player that had been named All NBA 1st Team up to that time gave his vote. The four top voted forwards, two top voted centers, and four top voted guards made the team.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible as a nominee, a player must (by 1971):

1. have completed his career, and
2. have been named All-NBA Team at least once.

Selection panels

Red Auerbach, Ned Irish, Eddie Gottlieb, Haskell Cohen, Danny Biasone, Lester Harrison, Fred Zollner, Ben Kerner, Fred Schaus, and Bob Feerick.

Nominees

List of nominees, sorted by position, last name (players denoted with an asterisk had been inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame), and career years.

Forwards

• Paul Arizin*, 1950–1962
• Joe Fulks*, 1946–1954
• Harry Gallatin*, 1948–1958
• Tom Gola*, 1955–1966
• Vern Mikkelsen*, 1949–1959
• Bob Pettit*, 1954–1965
• Jim Pollard*, 1947–1955
• Tom Heinsohn*, 1956–1965
• Dolph Schayes*, 1948–1964
• George Yardley*, 1953–1960

Centers

• Neil Johnston*, 1951–1959
• Ed Macauley*, 1949–1959
• George Mikan*, 1946–1954, 1955–1956
• Bill Russell*, 1956–1969
• Maurice Stokes*, 1955–1958

Guards

• Richie Guerin*, 1956–1970
• Bob Cousy*, 1950–1963, 1969–1970
• Bob Davies*, 1946–1955
• Bob Feerick, 1945–1950
• Sam Jones*, 1957–1969
• Slater Martin*, 1949–1960
• Dick McGuire*, 1949–1960
• Bill Sharman*, 1950–1961
• Bobby Wanzer*, 1947–1957
• Max Zaslofsky, 1946–1956

See also

• The W25, the 25th anniversary team of the NBA's sister league, the WNBA

References

General

• NBA.com – This Date in History – December 11, 1971
• APBR.org – NBA Silver Anniversary Team (1971)

Specific

1. Irving, Kyle (August 26, 2021). "NBA 75: Which active players could join the list of all-time greats?". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
2. "Everything you need to know about the NBA's 75th Anniversary Season". NBA.com. October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
3. "Bill Russell Is Unmanimous Pick On Silver Anniversary Squad". The Evening Standard. January 11, 1971. p. 17. Retrieved October 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.