The Best Passers of All Time (since the merger)
In my evaluation (which I've arrived at through decades of religious film watching), here are the top 10 passers since the NBA/ABA merger. I will attempt to rank down to the spot, but as a general rule spots are flexible (i.e. each player can be reasonably moved up/down 1-2 spots depending on what type of playmaking you value most) so it's best to interpret these rankings in ranges.
This is a list of passing PEAKS - it measures how impactful a player's passing was in his best 2-3 year stretch.
- Magic Johnson
- Nikola Jokic
- Steve Nash
- Larry Bird
- Jason Kidd
- LeBron James
- Luka Doncic
- Chris Paul
- John Stockton
- Isiah Thomas
I think Magic/Jokic/Nash are the true GOAT candidates - the inner circle in which each of the three can be argued as the best passer ever.
Thoughts?