Goat Tracker

The GOAT Tracker delivers up to date, data driven rankings of the greatest NBA players of all time.

Forget hot takes. This is where arguments meet evidence.

About the Tracker

This table aims to track all the major awards relevant to the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) conversation, won by every player since the NBA-ABA merger, starting with the 1976–1977 season.

In 1976, the league expanded from 17 to 22 teams, making the competition significantly more intense. I chose this starting point because it marks the beginning of a unified, modern NBA, where all the best teams and players competed in the same league. Prior to the merger, the value of awards is harder to assess due to the fragmented nature of professional basketball and the smaller pool of teams.

For players who won awards before and after he 1976-77 season in the NBA, the table presents the entirety of their career. (doesn’t apply to ABA players) 

I assigned point values to each pertinent award in order to create a system that accounts for them all. The goal is to provide a way to rank players based on objective criteria — namely, accolades.

Of course, this is not the only way to rank players. Many important factors aren't reflected here (influence, impact, injuries, legacy, context, history, rule changes, award changes, etc.). I’m not claiming this is a definitive answer to the GOAT debate — the table is simply meant to offer a structured perspective.

**All information has been provided by https://www.basketball-reference.com/  

Full table links

Microsoft Excel: GOAT tracker - July 1, 2025.xlsx

Apple Numbers: https://www.icloud.com/numbers/099G0xP8ZFOENcO-ma_WoHldA#NBA_GOAT_tracker 

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