I think 15 years ago, I made some sort of vanity project wherein I listed down my 100 Best PBA Careers of All-Time.
I say “careers” because saying the “greatest” has its own pros and cons. One “con” is that I value historical stats and try to give bonus points to the pioneers. Also, we have our own favorite players, so the “greatest” tag is also going to measure a legend’s fandom and while it’s easy to rate the awesomeness of Robert Jaworski, Alvin Patrimonio, James Yap, Hector Calma, and Samboy Lim on top of this category, it might not be the case for a Ginebra hater, a San Miguel troll, and a Purefoods critic.
Or a U/Tex Wrangler?
I lowkey love their jerseys.
Also, I made this list by researching their stats and making 300 players duke it out. When I first made this list in the mid-2000s in the www.hoops.blink.ph website, it had the likes of Jun Papa, Ompong Segura, Bal David, Rey Cuenco, Larry Mumar, Marte Saldana, Rudy Kutch, Andy Seigle, Elmer Cabahug, Boybits Victoria, Willie Pearson, Roger Yap, Dondon Ampalayo, Rene Canent, Wynne Arboleda, Mick Pennisi, Noy Castillo, Vince Hizon, Pido Jarencio, Chris Jackson, and Yoyong Martirez. When I made the current version of this list, I considered a couple of names that are still playing like CJ Perez, Ian Sangalang, Jeff Chan, Solomon Mercado, Poy Erram, and Chris Newsome.
Spoiler alert, these guys never made the list.
Unlike my first Best Careers list, I have gotten hold of the career averages of the PBA legends from 1975 up until the present. I know their best seasons and their worst seasons as well. When I created my list back then, I zeroed in on the players I wanted to make the list. With that said, I had LA Tenorio at number 88 then.
LA Tenorio is going to be a lot higher on this list.
If you remember PBFantasy, the PBA-based fantasy game from the mid-2000s, I created a stat equivalent that is somewhat similar to its grading system. Points are 1.25, rebounds are 1.5, assists are 2, steals are 2.5, and blocks are 2.75. I gave points an additional .25 because an okay PBA season average is more or less, seven points per game. Meanwhile, I gave an additional 0.25 points on blocks because with the exception of an elite few, swatting shots in the PBA is an extremely monumental task.
In terms of other categories, I considered the MVP, Mythical Team selection, BPC, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Star MVP, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, 40 Greatest Players list, scoring titles, championships, and grand slams. I also gave away phantom Mythical points for the players who were Top 15 in my tabulation from 1975 up until 1983 – or the times the league didn’t have the Mythical Second Team selection.
I also considered the milestones and the games played. I never had the need to put extra points other than the phantom pioneer points, but I am going to create a mini-tourney for the top players within a particular range (91 to 100, 81 to 90, etc.) based on the number of individual awards they accumulated. The players with an MVP, BPC, Mythical First Team, Mythical Second Team, and Finals MVP will have an advantage (in that order.) For example, if the number 100 guy and the number 99 guy had two individual awards, the one with the BPC would trump the one with the Finals MVP award (since the BPC covered more conference scope than the Finals MVP.) If there is still a deadlock, then the number of championships they won will come into play.
And oh yeah, I almost forgot. Instead of writing why they are on this list, I am going to write about why they are RANKED THIS LOW on the list. I made this change so the blog wouldn’t get too wordy and you probably know why these legends are in this place in the first place. The most obvious red flags are the pioneer’s curse, injury bugs, low overall stats, limited amounts of awards and championships, journeyman status causing statistical decline, and even off-court antics.
So it’s time to dive headfirst on this list. If you have violent reactions, you can just share it with your friends to say what an utter moron I am. But here’s the thing – this is my list... and you can make yours if you want... and I will respect it.
The game starts now.
60 | MANNY PANER
1975 – 1986 | PIONEER – ROYAL (SAN MIGUEL)
AVERAGES: 12.4PPG – 7.0RPG – 1.9APG – 0.6SPG – 473 GAMES
MILESTONES: 5800 POINTS – 3200 REBOUNDS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1-TIME MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM
1-TIME CHAMPION
40 GREATEST PLAYERS IN PBA HISTORY
Manny Paner not only lived in a time when individual awards were limited. He is also the only pioneer on this list to never play for Crispa or Toyota. I feel this is a double whammy for the greatness level of The Main Man's career because not only did miss out on the championships, but he also lost a lot of individual awards. Paner's lone title happened during his second run with the Beermen, his only Mythical Team selection happened during the league's inaugural year, and Paner spent most of the '80s with decreasing numbers.
With that said, when given the green light to unleash hell on his foes, Manny Paner does his damage in style - averaging around 21 points and 11 rebounds in his first 100 games in the league.
59 | BERNIE FABIOSA
1975 – 1991 | PIONEER – CRISPA
AVERAGES: 8.4PPG – 2.7RPG – 3.6APG – 1.6SPG – 788 GAMES
MILESTONES: 6500 POINTS – 2100 REBOUNDS – 2800 ASSISTS – 1200 STEALS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1-TIME MYTHICAL SECOND TEAM
2-TIME GRAND SLAM MEMBER (CRISPA)
15-TIME CHAMPION
40 GREATEST PLAYERS IN PBA HISTORY
The Crispa Redmanizers were the league's best team and during their run, Bernie Fabiosa was their chief playmaker. Armed with intelligence, craftiness, and a strong defensive presence, he should have been a perennial member of the All-Defensive Team if it existed during his time. The Sultan of Swipe ranks third all-time in most steals and is a seven-time season steals champion.
Despite his impressive skills, The Fabulous One is at the bottom in terms of Crispa starters. In a time filled with MVPs, somebody has to sacrifice their game to make his teammates look good. Again, had the Mythical Second Team existed at the peak of Crispa's height, Fabiosa would have been a constant in that selection.
58 | JUN LIMPOT
1993 – 2007 | 1993 PBA DRAFT – STA. LUCIA – 1ST OVERALL
AVERAGES: 16.2PPG – 6.0RPG – 1.8APG – 0.8BPG – 558 GAMES
MILESTONES: 9000 POINTS – 3300 REBOUNDS – 1000 ASSISTS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
2-TIME MYTHICAL SECOND TEAM
1-TIME SEASON SCORING CHAMPION
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
1-TIME CHAMPION
As the top pick in the 1993 PBA Draft selected by the Sta. Lucia Realtors, Zandro Limpot was immediately heralded as the team's savior. A certified marquee star, The Big Deal averaged 19.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks during his seven seasons with the squad. He averaged in double figures in 12 of his 14 seasons and finally got a championship during his retirement year.
This is the problem with Jun Limpot's career. As with most Sta. Lucia players on this list, it's hard for them to score the top awards if the team can't even play in the finals. While the third-place finish was still a thing during his time (Sta. Lucia won a total of five), Limpot only had two Mythical Second Team selections. When the Realtors finally won a title, he was already traded to Ginebra for Marlou Aquino. Lucky for Limpot, he got a title with Purefoods.
57 | RUDY HATFIELD
2000 – 2011 | DIRECT HIRE – TANDUAY
AVERAGES: 10.9PPG – 9.7RPG – 2.5APG – 1.2SPG – 358 GAMES
MILESTONES: 3900 POINTS – 3400 REBOUNDS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1-TIME BEST PLAYER OF THE CONFERENCE
1-TIME MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM
2-TIME MYTHICAL SECOND TEAM
1-TIME FINALS MVP
1-TIME DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
3-TIME CHAMPION
Rudy Hatfield is undeniably one of the best rebounders the league has ever witnessed. Despite his relatively smaller stature as compared to his Fil-Am contemporaries, The H-Bomb consistently outperformed his larger opponents when it came to securing the rebounds. Hatfield played his best brand of ball as a member of the Coca-Cola Tigers where he got most of his individual and team awards.
Unfortunately, off-court problems, most notably his citizenship issues, forced him to temporarily leave the league. When he made his return, he already had a wide range of interests and aspirations (like spending time with his family in the U.S., as well as dreams of becoming a WWE wrestler) and he was in and out of the league. If only his cards were dealt right, Hatfield would have been a perennial Mythical Team member and Coca-Cola would have had more championships.
56 | KERBY RAYMUNDO
2000 – 2013 | ELEVATED – RED BULL
AVERAGES: 12.2PPG – 7.2RPG – 2.3APG – 0.6BPG – 480 GAMES
MILESTONES: 5800 POINTS – 3400 REBOUNDS – 1100 ASSISTS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1-TIME MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM
2-TIME MYTHICAL SECOND TEAM
1-TIME FINALS MVP
3-TIME CHAMPION
40 GREATEST PLAYERS IN PBA HISTORY
Kerby Raymundo's PBA career didn't have the best of starts as he was slapped with a year-long suspension after the league discovered that he falsified his documents. Nonetheless, he rose to fame in Ryan Gregorio's Purefoods - becoming the heir apparent of Alvin Patrimonio.
When Kerby Raymundo shouted "Ako ang MVP" in defiance of his BPC defeat in the 2006 PBA Fiesta Conference, in some ways, he had every reason to be upset as Raymundo would have had more accolades if he won the award. When Gregorio left Purefoods to join Meralco and Tim Cone took over the coaching reins, it was the beginning of the end of his superstar status. Raymundo would play for Ginebra and was on the verge of joining Meralco when he decided to retire at the very young age of 32 years old.
55 | GARY DAVID
2004 – 2017 | 2004 PBA DRAFT – COCA-COLA – 10TH OVERALL
AVERAGES: 15.9PPG – 3.0RPG – 1.6APG – 0.5SPG – 465 GAMES
MILESTONES: 7300 POINTS – 1300 REBOUNDS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1-TIME BEST PLAYER OF THE CONFERENCE
2-TIME MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM
4-TIME SEASON SCORING CHAMPION
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
1-TIME ALL-STAR MVP
0-TIME CHAMPION
"El Granada" Gary David is one of the top 3-and-D players in league history. Coming from the insanely awesome draft class of 2004, Mr. Pure Energy averaged 15 points and up per season eight times. There was even a time when he almost won the season MVP award after leading the Powerade Tigers to the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup.
Despite his accolades, he is the highest-rated player on this list to never win a championship. David had potentially 33 chances of winning a championship but he played for teams that weren't known as contenders. He even played for San Miguel to no avail. This is the biggest red flag of Gary David's career and I guess at least he was part of the 2013 Gilas Pilipinas that won over Korea and qualified for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
54 | STANLEY PRINGLE
2014 – 2023 | 2014 PBA DRAFT – GLOBALPORT – 1ST OVERALL
AVERAGES: 15.9PPG – 5.1RPG – 3.7APG – 1.1SPG – 270 GAMES
MILESTONES: 4200 POINTS – 1300 REBOUNDS – 1000 ASSISTS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1-TIME BEST PLAYER OF THE CONFERENCE
3-TIME MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM
1-TIME MYTHICAL SECOND TEAM
1-TIME SEASON SCORING CHAMPION
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
4-TIME CHAMPION
Before Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle was the oldest top pick in league history. Before moving to Asia, he played as an import in Europe. I am not saying this is a bad move but in the PBA, starting old means fewer opportunities.
I really, really, REALLY need to say this. How can the league penalize a player for a shortened season? Stan the Man should have an MVP! We have seen a lot of bonafide Hall of Famers like Nelson Asaytono, Danny Seigle, Bong Hawkins, and Yoyoy Villamin miss out on the 40 Greatest Players list because they were a couple of votes short of winning the MVP award. If a season has only one conference, then that season needs to have an MVP. It's not like Pringle should be blamed for the world shutting down.
53 | CHRIS ROSS
2009 – 2023 | 2009 PBA DRAFT – BURGER KING – 3RD OVERALL
AVERAGES: 6.9PPG – 4.0RPG – 5.0APG – 1.8SPG – 541 GAMES
MILESTONES: 3700 POINTS – 2100 REBOUNDS – 2700 ASSISTS – 900 STEALS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1-TIME BEST PLAYER OF THE CONFERENCE
1-TIME MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM
2-TIME FINALS MVP
2-TIME DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
9-TIME CHAMPION
Usually, it's hard for defensive specialists to enter a Top 100 list because pissing off your opponents via pesky defense and diving for loose balls are NOT official statistical categories. However, Chris Ross is an exception. He may not be a noted scorer but he almost defeated June Mar Fajardo during the 2016-17 PBA MVP race. In that year, Ross was able to annex a Best Player of the Conference award, as well as a Finals MVP, a Mythical First Team selection, and a Defensive Player of the Year award.
But like most defensive specialists, Ross reverted back to his old defense-first ways which made his stat production inconsistent. And while he is a member of San Miguel's Death Five, the opportunities became fewer and fewer when the team began to stockpile their talents.
52 | SONNY THOSS
2004 – 2019 | 2004 PBA DRAFT – ALASKA – 5TH OVERALL
AVERAGES: 8.5PPG – 6.0RPG – 1.4APG – 0.7BPG – 710 GAMES
MILESTONES: 6000 POINTS – 4200 REBOUNDS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
2-TIME MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM
4-TIME MYTHICAL SECOND TEAM
1-TIME FINALS MVP
3-TIME CHAMPION
There was a time when Sonny Thoss was regarded as the league's top center. Thoss had a deep understanding of his role, and he didn't demand the spotlight. Spending his entire career with the Alaska Aces, Thoss was a reliable fourth or fifth option for the team. He's probably the 21st-century version of Poch Juinio, but with six Mythical Team selections to show.
While The Boss is almost a double-double machine, he was never a scoring machine. He also played at a time when his minutes were sporadic. And while I compared him to Juinio, Poch easily trumps him in terms of championship hauls. Sonny Thoss had six Mythical Team selections and had three championships. Can you imagine if how that number would rise if Alaska would have had more chances to win more titles?
51 | PAUL LEE
2011 – 2023 | 2011 PBA DRAFT – RAIN OR SHINE – 2ND OVERALL
AVERAGES: 13.9PPG – 3.7RPG – 3.2APG – 0.7SPG – 485 GAMES
MILESTONES: 6700 POINTS – 1700 REBOUNDS – 1500 ASSISTS
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1-TIME BEST PLAYER OF THE CONFERENCE
2-TIME MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM
2-TIME MYTHICAL SECOND TEAM
1-TIME FINALS MVP
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
1-TIME ALL-STAR MVP
3-TIME CHAMPION
From "Lee-thal Weapon," his nickname was replaced with a more fitting moniker, "Angas ng Tondo." Paul Lee found his identity while playing for Rain or Shine as a scoring machine. When he was under Yeng Guiao's coaching, there was an automatic offensive onslaught whenever he stepped on the court. However, he was also affected by Guiao's no-superstar policy. Don't get me wrong, it resulted in two championships, but his averages might have been even better without playing time restrictions.
Furthermore, since Rain or Shine is a small market team, they relied heavily on Coach Yeng's coaching skills and less on having a competitive roster. When Lee was traded to Magnolia for James Yap, his situation went on a 180 as because of their abundance of weapons, Lee had fewer opportunities to improve his numbers compared to his Rain or Shine days.
At least the Hotshots are perennial championship contenders.