TheNBA 35th Anniversary Team were chosen on October 30, 1980, to honor the35th anniversary of the founding of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) as theBasketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946.[1][2][3] It was the secondanniversary team in the NBA.[4] Unlike its predecessor, theNBA 25th Anniversary Team, that followed the concept of anAll-NBA Team, this team was more like anNBA All-Star team that contains the eleven best players in the NBA's 35 years existence regardless of their position, and also had a coach.[3] In addition, this team did not require a player to have completed his career to be eligible for this Team.
Sorted by last name; players in italics were still active in 1980.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| C | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar |
| F | Elgin Baylor |
| C | Wilt Chamberlain |
| G | Bob Cousy |
| F | Julius Erving |
| G/F | John Havlicek |
| C | George Mikan |
| F | Bob Pettit |
| G | Oscar Robertson |
| C | Bill Russell |
| G | Jerry West |
All players on this team have been inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as players, and Red Auerbach has been inducted as a coach. Two team members were later inducted into the Hall in other roles. Russell was inducted as a coach, and West was inducted two more times, first as part of the1960 U.S. Olympic team that was inducted as a unit and then as a contributor for his career as an NBA team executive. Cousy, Mikan, Pettit, and Russell had been previously selected into theNBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971.[5] All players on this team were included among the50 Greatest Players in NBA History from 1996 and theNBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[6]
Only made up of 11 players, this team excludes 25th Anniversary Team playersPaul Arizin,Bob Davies,Joe Fulks,Sam Jones,Dolph Schayes, andBill Sharman.
The list was made through voting compiled by thePro Basketball Writers Association.[3][7]