March Madness has officially arrived! As we prepare our brackets for the Big Dance, the team at Total Impulse Sport reflects on some of the tournament’s finest performers throughout history. Anticipating who will emerge as legends in this year’s tournament, we’ve compiled a list of the five greatest players ever, evaluated based on their total career achievements, not just their performances in a single tournament.
Bill Russell, overlooked in high school, found his way to the University of San Francisco and led the team to consecutive championships in 1955 and 1956, averaging more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game. His leadership was instrumental in transforming San Francisco into champions.
During his time with the Houston Cougars, Hakeem Olajuwon propelled the team to the Final Four for four consecutive years, making it to the championship games in 1983 and 1984. Although the Cougars faced defeats in those title matches, Olajuwon’s dominance, especially in the 1983 final, was undeniable.
In the 1983 championship game against NC State, Olajuwon posted 20 points and 18 rebounds in a close 54-52 loss. Remarkably, he was named the Most Outstanding Player, the last from a losing team to earn such recognition.
Bill Walton stands as one of the most formidable college basketball players, his prowess particularly shining during March. As part of UCLA, which captured seven national championships from 1967 to 1973, Walton played a key role, earning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player title in both 1972 and 1973—still the last player to achieve back-to-back honors. He notably dominated the 1973 final against Memphis State, hitting nearly every shot with a record 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting.
Christian Laettner might be remembered as one of the most polarizing figures in college basketball, yet his on-court performance was nothing short of spectacular. Over four seasons with the Duke Blue Devils, Laettner led the team to the Final Four each year, winning two national championships. He also holds the NCAA Tournament’s all-time scoring record with 407 points, surpassing the next closest player by 49 points, along with the record for the most games played (23) and most wins (21).
Before becoming an NBA legend as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lew Alcindor had three of the most remarkable NCAA Tournament performances in history. During his three years with the UCLA Bruins, Alcindor led the team to national championships each time, receiving the Most Outstanding Player title all three years. Even with the tournament’s format not yet expanded, Alcindor managed to score 304 points in just 12 games, averaging an impressive 25.3 points per game, ranking seventh all-time.
