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]
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 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.
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.
To be eligible as a nominee, a player must (by 1971):
Red Auerbach, Ned Irish, Eddie Gottlieb, Haskell Cohen, Danny Biasone, Lester Harrison, Fred Zollner, Ben Kerner, Fred Schaus, and Bob Feerick.
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.