Ranking the 50 Greatest PBA Players of All Time (5-1)

We’ve reached the top 5 — and we’ve picked our no. 1. Here is the final part of our list of who we think are the 50 greatest PBA players of all time.

And we have entered the Top 10!

These rankings are independent of the league’s own top 25, top 40, and top 50 lists, meaning players on these lists did not automatically make our own rankings (i.e., PBA 25 Greatest members Lim Eng Beng and Manny Paner and 40 Greatest members Marlou Aquino, Chito Loyzaga and Kerby Raymundo did not crack our top 50).

So again, these are our own 50 greatest rankings, and they are not meant to undermine the PBA’s selection.

A word on our methodology

Measuring a player’s greatness is always a tricky proposition. Comparing players across different generations is even trickier. How many Best Player of the Conference (BPC) awards would Ramon Fernandez, Bogs Adornado, Atoy Co, Sonny Jaworski, Abet Guidaben, or Ricky Brown have won if the award had been there earlier than 1994? And surely the likes of Guidaben, Abe King, Bernie Fabios, and Freddie Hubalde would have earned more Mythical Team selections if only the Mythical Second Team had already been in place from the start.

In the face of these challenges, we focused on five items that were universal to all players regardless of era: longevity, championships won, impact on the game, statistical achievements, and individual awards like Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team and Mythical Team selections. In comparing players from the same eras or adjacent eras, we factored in Finals MVPs and BPCs.

Also, all player evaluations are based solely on their PBA careers. Their achievements in the MICAA, collegiate level, or in the international arena were not taken into consideration.

READ MORE: 

Ranking the 50 Greatest PBA Players of All Time (50-41)

Ranking the 50 Greatest PBA Players of All Time (40-31).

Ranking the 50 Greatest PBA Players of All Time (30-21).

Ranking the 50 Greatest PBA Players of All Time (20-11).

Ranking the 50 Greatest PBA Players of All Time (10-6).

5-1:

5. Bogs Adornado

One wonders how much higher William “Bogs” Adornado could have climbed on this list had he not suffered a serious knee injury late in his second PBA season. The injury forced Adornado to sit out the entire 1977 season, after he had won the league’s first two MVP awards on the strength of eye-popping scoring averages of 27.0 and 25.7 points per game. When he came back to the Crispa Redmanizers, the scoring load had shifted to fellow MVPs Freddie Hubalde and Atoy Co, prompting Bogs to transfer to the U/Tex Wranglers. He immediately led the Wranglers to the 1980 Open Conference crown, sinking the go-ahead basket in that epic Game 5 against the Toyota Tamaraws.

Adornado also regained his offensive mojo with U/Tex, picking up his third MVP in 1981 — the first player to win three — and averaging 27.1, 26.2, and 27.4 points per game during his three seasons with the franchise. That included a career-high 64 points in a single game set during the 1980 season, which tied Danny Florencio’s record. He then transferred to Great Taste, where he won two more titles in 1984 while again averaging over 20 points per game on a loaded lineup. Adornado was truly a walking bucket for most of his career, averaging over 20 points per season in eight of the twelve seasons he played.

4. Alvin Patrimonio

Alvin Patrimonio is arguably the best power forward the PBA has ever produced. He wasn’t as physically imposing or as rugged as other players in that position, but he certainly had the smoothest moves. Patrimonio was like a maestro in the post, possessing a variety of moves and fancy footwork that befuddled defenders for 17 seasons. Patrimonio also didn’t shy away from big moments, as evidenced in the title-clinching Game 6 of the 1997 All-Filipino Cup Finals, where he dropped 40 points to help Purefoods finish off Gordon’s Gin for the franchise’s fifth championship. That moment was just one of several big games “Cap” dished out in the PBA championship series, and if the Finals MVP and BPC had been introduced much earlier, he surely would have won several more of each.

Patrimonio was also one of the PBA’s true iron men, appearing in a then-record 596 consecutive games. He’s one of only three players to be named MVP at least four times, one of only three to score at least 15,000 career points, and one of just 10 to have played at least 800 career games. But what truly stands out from Patrimonio’s career was his shooting percentages: he shot 53.1% from the field, a remarkable 85.8% from the free throw line, and a respectable 37.5% from 3-point distance.

3. Robert Jaworski

Longtime PBA import and coach Norman Black once said that Robert “Sonny” Jaworski may not be the best PBA player ever, but he was certainly the most important. Ardent fans of Jaworski, though, would argue that he IS the PBA’s G.O.A.T., and they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. He influenced so many generations of fans that his nickname evolved from “The Big J” to the more regal “The Living Legend.” For the majority of his followers, though, he was and still is simply “Jawo.” The man’s impact on the PBA is immeasurable. No other player’s name has been chanted more often and more loudly than “Ja-wor-ski!”, and the league saw it fit to pattern its 1993 logo after his silhouette.

But Jaworski’s charisma, the level of which has never been equaled by any other player in league history, was matched by his skills and exploits on the court. He’s the only player in league history to have averaged at least 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists for his entire career. He was a 13-time champion, with four of those coming as a playing coach, and is the all-time leader in career assists. At six-one, he’s the shortest player in the top 10 of the all-time rebounding list.

During his MVP year of 1978, Jaworski recorded one of the most impressive statistical seasons when he averaged 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 8.2 assists while leading the Toyota Tamaraws to two titles. And we haven’t even discussed his longevity and durability. In 1986, at age 40, Jaworski became the oldest player to be named to the Mythical Five. That same year, he played all 58 minutes of a double-overtime finals game. Two years later, at 42, “Jawo” scored 28 points in a title-clinching Game 4 win by Añejo Rum over Purefoods in the All-Filipino Conference. If the PBA ever decides to build a statue of its most important figures, Jaworski should be first in line.

2. June Mar Fajardo

Pound for pound, June Mar Fajardo is perhaps the dominant player the PBA has ever seen. If one were to start a fantasy team with all former and current PBA players in the pool, he would be picked first nine times out of ten. There have been several players as tall as or even taller than Fajardo’s six-ten frame, but none of them were as athletic and as skilled in the low post. The Kraken is, without a doubt and by a wide margin, the best PBA player of the past 25 years. His eight MVPs — a number that might still grow — will likely never be matched, along with his 11 BPCs. If he hadn’t suffered a broken leg in early 2020, he could have easily won more. His 10 championships with the San Miguel Beermen are tied for the most one player has won while playing for just one franchise for his career, while his 12.3 rebounds per game average is the highest ever.

Fajardo has also been a picture of consistency throughout his career, averaging double digits in scoring and rebounding for 10 of the 11 seasons he has played. If he continues at this pace for the next four or five years, he could retire as the all-time leading rebounder (he’s about to inch up to no. 4) while adding a couple more MVPs. But until then, in our opinion, he will have to settle for second place in our list.

1. Ramon Fernandez

He may have only half of June Mar Fajardo’s MVP total, but in our book, Ramon Fernandez — a.k.a. Don Ramon, El Presidente, The Money Man, and The Franchise — remains the greatest PBA player of all time.

Fajardo may be the most dominant, but Fernandez was simply the best overall. Wherever he went — he played for five different teams — he led his team to at least one finals appearance. His four MVPs were won with four different teams, proving that, regardless of who was around him, Fernandez was a winner. To that point, it is worth noting that no other player has won more championships than Don Ramon, and no other player has been named to the Mythical Five more often. The PBA’s record books are filled with his accomplishments, as he is the all-time leader in the six categories listed above and in the top two in three others (games played, assists, and steals). In 1984, the year he won his second MVP, he came tantalizingly close to becoming the first local player to average a triple-double in one season, falling just six assists short.

Still, his 1984 averages of 27.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game represent perhaps the most impressive statistical season in league history. There’s also the matter of his longevity. As late as his 18th season — in 1992, when he was already 39 — Fernandez was still being named to the Mythical Five. The league may never again see such an optimal combination of height, length, basketball IQ, passing and dribbling skills, and durability.

Banner art courtesy of Cas Aseoche.