I was simulating a rebuild on basketball-gm and was looking to see who the GOAT was at some point in the future. The game has a feature called GOAT Lab where you can define your own standards for the greatest players in league history. I believe that there are four main criteria that should be included on the list: MVP and Finals MVP Trophies, All-Star selections, and championships. I excluded Defensive Player of the Year trophies because if a great defender isn’t a complete offensive black hole, he will make an All-Star appearance. Thus, I devised the following formula:

2 (mvp + finalsMvp + 0.2 champ + 0.1 allStar)

In simple English, this means that a player is awarded one point for an MVP, one for a Finals MVP, 0.2 for winning a championship, and 0.2 for an All-Star selection. Each player’s score is multiplied by two because the numbers look a bit better. The formula places value on both longevity and success. According to the formula, the top 25 players as of the end of the 2024 season are:

1. Michael Jordan (27.2)

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22.2)

3. LeBron James (21.6)

4. Bill Russell (16.8)

5. Magic Johnson (16.4)

6. Tim Duncan (15)

7. Larry Bird (13.6)

8. Wilt Chamberlain (13.4)

9. Shaquille O’Neal (12.6)

10. Kobe Bryant (11.6)

11. Moses Malone (10.8)

12. Nikola Jokic (9.6)

13. Kevin Durant (9.6)

14. Stephen Curry (9.6)

15. Hakeem Olajuwon (9.2)

16. Willis Reed (8.2)

17. Giannis Antetokounmpo (8)

18. John Havlicek (7.8)

19. Dirk Nowitzki (7.2)

20. Bob Cousy (7)

21. Karl Malone (6.8)

22. Bob Pettit (6.6)

23. Kawhi Leonard (6)

24. Dwyane Wade (5.8)

25. Steve Nash (5.6)

NOTE: Ranked 12-14 are Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. They are all tied with 9.6 points. I’m not sure what BBGM’s logic is on the order of these players, but feel free to re-order them however you like.

This list feels approximately correct for the top 25. I would make a few adjustments (Magic Johnson down a few spots, swap LeBron and Kareem, etc.) but I wouldn’t fault someone with this list. As one goes down the list, there are a few noticeable shortcomings of this formula. KC Jones never made an All-Star game but he’s ranked 56th because of his championships with the 1960s Celtics. This leaves him 18 spots above Chris Paul who, despite being an easy Hall of Fame level player, has never won an MVP or Finals MVP and is thus penalized. However, comparing players in the same era is generally relatively accurate with this formula. For example, the ten highest active players in KGF are as follows:

1. LeBron James T-2: Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo

3. Kawhi Leonard

4. James Harden

5. Russell Westbrook

6. Joel Embiid

7. Jaylen Brown

Again, this list is quite accurate. This is a great list of the most accomplished players of our generation. Jaylen Brown feels like a weird inclusion because he’s so young, but he just won Finals MVP and could win multiple more.

One noticeable way to improve the formula would be to determine who “deserved” the MVP trophy in a given season. For example, Kobe Bryant deserved more MVP awards in certain years, as did LeBron James. One could make some type of formula to determine who the best player in a given season was, and use it as a substitute for MVP awards in an Adjusted Kawntent Goat Formula. However, the current Formula works quite well for most purposes in comparing greatness.