The 50 Greatest Players in PBA History is a list of players chosen in 2000, 2015, and 2025 to honor the 25th, 40th, and 50th anniversaries of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), respectively, with the list expanding for each milestone.
The first set, known as the 25 Greatest Players, was awarded when the league celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2000. During its silver anniversary, a TV special was held at the Araneta Coliseum on April 9. In 2015, 15 players were added to the list to commemorate the league's 40th anniversary. The awarding was held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at Resorts World Manila on April 8. The award was rechristened as FAB @ 40 (40th Greatest Players).
In 2025, the league added an additional 10 players to the list for the 50th anniversary, with the list renamed as the 50 Greatest Players. Similar to the previous two sets, there will be a pair of celebrations honoring the Greatest Players. The first was held on April 11 at Solaire Resort North to honor the ten new additions. The second will be held on October 5 for the opening ceremony of the 2025–26 PBA season, which will feature a reunion of all living Greatest Players.
Criteria The following criteria were used by a committee in selecting players for the first 25 players in the list: The player must have played at least four full seasons with the league. The player must be a recipient of a major award (either an MVP or Rookie of the Year awardee or a member of the mythical selection, or all-defensive teams) The player must have done a major impact with the sport and the league. The player must have contributed towards the positive development of basketball in the country.
Players ItalicsDenotes player who was active in the PBA at the time of induction*Elected to the PBA Hall of FameAll-StarDenotes number of All-Star appearancesYearDenotes year of PBA Hall of Fame induction
25 Greatest Players (2000) Name School Teams played for (years) MVP won All-Star Year Ref FEU Alaska (1993–2001) Pop Cola (2001–2002) Coca-Cola (2002–2006) Barangay Ginebra (2006–2009, 2010) 1 (1996) 7 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001) * UST Crispa (1975–1979) U/Tex (1979–1982) Great Taste (1982–1984) Shell (1985–1986) Hills Bros/Alaska (1987) 3 (1975, 1976, 1981) n/a 2005 Lyceum San Miguel (1989–1996) Sunkist/Pop Cola (1996–1997) Sta Lucia (1999–2000) Red Bull (2000–2001) 1 (1992) 6 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996) * Ateneo Toyota (1975–1983) Gilbey's Gin/Ginebra (1984–1986) none n/a 2005 * Pepperdine, DLSU Great Taste (1983–1987) San Miguel (1987–1989) 1 (1985) n/a 2009 * UE Great Taste/Presto (1987–1992) San Miguel (1993–1998) Barangay Ginebra (1999) 1 (1990) 8 (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998) 2009 * Adamson San Miguel (1986–1994) none 3 (1989, 1990, 1993) 2009 * JRU Crispa (–) Shell (–) Great Taste/Presto (–) Ginebra (–) 1 (1980) 2 (1989, 1990) 2005 * Mapúa Crispa (–) Manila Beer (–) Great Taste/Presto (–) 1 (1979) n/a 2005 UE Purefoods (–) Mobiline/Talk 'N Text (–) FedEx (–) none 11 (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) Adamson Sunkist/Pop Cola (–) Alaska (–) Sta. Lucia (–) Coca-Cola () 1 (1998) 9 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004) USJ-R Crispa (–) Shell (–) Presto (–) Purefoods () Diet Sarsi/Swift () none n/a * San Carlos Toyota (–) Beer Hausen/Manila Beer (–) Tanduay (–) Purefoods () San Miguel (–) 4 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988) 5 (1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994) 2005 * UST U/Tex (–) 7-Up () Toyota (–) Galerie Dominique () none n/a 2007 * USJ-R Crispa (–) Tanduay () Manila Beer () San Miguel (–) Purefoods () Alaska () Pepsi/7-Up (–) Shell (–) 2 (1983, 1987) 3 (1992, 1993, 1994) 2007 * Mapúa Crispa (–) Tanduay (–) Purefoods () Shell (–) Añejo (–) 1 (1977) n/a 2011 * UE Toyota (–) Gilbey's Gin/Añejo/Ginebra (–) 1 (1978) 4 (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992) 2005 Ateneo, USJ-R Purefoods (–) Alaska (–, –) Pop Cola (–) none 8 (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998) * DLSU Carrier () U/Tex (–) San Miguel () Crispa () Shel Azodrin () Manila Beer () none n/a 2013 * Letran San Miguel (–) none 5 (1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996) 2009 * UP Shell (–) Sta Lucia (–) Purefoods () none 7 (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) 2013 JRU Presto () Sta. Lucia () Swift/Sunkist/Pop Cola (–) Ginebra (–) FedEx (–) Red Bull (–) Talk 'N Text () 1 (1995) 10 (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004) * UV Royal Tru-Orange (–) Great Taste (–) CDCP () Royal/San Miguel/Magnolia (–) none n/a 2007 * Mapúa Purefoods (–) 4 (1991, 1993, 1994, 1997) 12 (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) 2011 * UP Shell (–) San Miguel () 2 (1989, 1999) 9 (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000) 2013
40 Greatest Players (2015) The fifteen selected players were added on top of the original 25 players.
Name School Teams played for (years) MVP won All-Star Ref* Cal. State Talk 'N Text Meralco 1 11 * Adamson Ginebra/Gordon's Gin/Barangay Ginebra Sta. Lucia Meralco none 6 (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003) Glendale CC Barangay Ginebra 1 13 PCU Talk 'N Text/TNT none 7 * NU San Miguel/Petron Blaze Meralco 2 8 * Kentucky State Barangay Ginebra 1 6 * San Beda YCO-Tanduay Toyota Great Taste Ginebra none 4 (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993) * Lake Superior State Tanduay Barangay Ginebra GlobalPort Alaska 1 10 * Letran Batang Red Bull Talk 'N Text Alaska Ginebra Barako Bull GlobalPort Barako Bull Talk 'N Text 2 9 FEU, PSBA FedEx Express Purefoods Magnolia/San Miguel Purefoods/B-Meg/San Mig Coffee/Star none 14 * Letran Red Bull Purefoods/B-Meg Barangay Ginebra Meralco none 10 FEU Air21 San Miguel NorthPort 1 11 BYU Talk 'N Text Coca-Cola Tigers Meralco Air21 NLEX 1 17 Oakland Sta. Lucia Realtors Talk 'N Text/TNT 1 5 UE Purefoods/B-Meg/San Mig Coffee/Star Rain or Shine 2 16
50 Greatest Players (2025) The ten selected players were added on top of the 40 previously selected players.
On February 3, 2025, league commissioner Willie Marcial announced that a selection panel was formed to select the next ten players to join the Greatest Players list for the league's 50th anniversary that year. The panel included previous selections Allan Caidic, Atoy Co, and Ramon Fernandez, former coach Dante Silverio, former commissioner Sonny Barrios, former sports editors Ding Marcelo of the Manila Bulletin and Al Mendoza of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Philippine Sportswriters Association president and current The Philippine Star sports editor Nelson Beltran, and veteran broadcasters Joaquin Henson and Andy Jao.
Name School Teams played for (years) MVP won All-Star Ref UM Purefoods Swift/Sunkist San Miguel Pop Cola Red Bull none 10 (1989–1993, 1995–1999) Sonoma State Alaska Mobiline Tanduay Coca-Cola Alaska none 10 (1995–1997, 1999–2001, 2003–2005) UC Petron/San Miguel 8 9 (2013–2019, 2023, 2024) Perpetual Presto Sta. Lucia Alaska Tanduay Coca-Cola Alaska none 3 (1994–1996) San Beda Toyota Gold Eagle Great Taste Purefoods none n/a Wagner San Miguel/Magnolia Air21/Barako Bull TNT none 8 (1999–2001, 2004–2007, 2011) Perpetual Barangay Ginebra 1 6 (2016–2019, 2023, 2024) UV Toyota Great Taste Ginebra Alaska Great Taste Shell Presto none n/a JRU Great Taste Shell Presto Pepsi/7-Up Ginebra Purefoods Sunkist none 5 FEU Crispa Manila Beer Alaska Sunkist Pepsi San Miguel none 3 (1989–1991)
Criticism The additional 15 players that were added in 2015 caused criticism because some were still young and active (Williams - 33, Pingris - 34) and still at the peak of their career. Though the selection is valid, some from the 25 original greatest players questioned why some of the retired PBA legends were not included in the list like Nelson Asaytono, Danny Seigle, Abe King, Yoyoy Villamin, Olsen Racela, and Jeffrey Cariaso. Many have said that such players like Kerby Raymundo, Marlou Aquino, and Marc Pingris should have not been included on the list.
There were also controversial picks such as Chito Loyzaga who played for popular teams like Ginebra San Miguel and were selected over some of the aforementioned players. This is despite the fact that Loyzaga was only a one time member of the Mythical Second Team and played a supporting role to stars such as Robert Jaworski during his tenure with the team. Even Loyzaga himself quoted that he was being pranked when he heard the news of his selection.
When selecting the next ten players in 2025, Marcial suggested the panel to review any potential nominees in batches by year in order to avoid similar criticism to the 2015 selections.
Grand Slam coaches
Before handing out the awards to the original 25 Greatest Players, the four head coaches that accomplished the elusive Grand Slam up to the 2000 season were also recognized. ^ Denotes coach who is still active* Elected to the PBA Hall of Fame*^ Active coach who has been elected to the PBA Hall of Fame HOF year Denotes year of PBA Hall of Fame induction Name Team Grandslam year HOF yearBaby Dalupan* Crispa Redmanizers 1976 2005Tommy Manotoc* Crispa Redmanizers 1983 2011Norman Black*^ San Miguel Beermen 1989 2007Tim Cone^ Alaska Milkmen 1996
See also Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player award Philippine Basketball Association Best Player of the Conference Award PBA Hall of Fame
References
External links The 25 all-time greatest players at PBA.ph