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 as the Basketball Association of America in 1946. It was the first anniversary team in the NBA. 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, so this Team also only consists of 2 teams/10 players. The selections were restricted to retired players.

Selections

List of 25th Anniversary Team players, sorted by position and vote received.
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 to the NBA 35th Anniversary Team. However, along with them, four other players of this team were selected as part of the 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 :
  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, and career years.

Forwards

Centers

Guards