Issue No. 2 · September 2026
    iFAMOUSby iFANN

    The monthly record of fame.

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    Issue No. 2 · September 2026

    The Most Famous Basketball Players in the World

    Top 58 of 58 ranked · September 2026 · See today's live standing →

    Everyone, living or dead, on one scale: 55 of the 58 listed are living.

    First issue under methodology v5.70. Movement begins with the next issue frozen under the same version.

    The Most Famous Basketball Players in the World is the September 2026 edition of the ranking, frozen and published by iFAMOUS, the monthly journal of the iFANN Global Fame Rankings.

    RankNameScore
    1
    LeBron James
    UScelebrityAlive
    25.3
    2
    Michael Jordan
    UScelebrityAlive
    24.0
    3
    Victor Wembanyama
    FRcelebrityAlive
    21.6
    4
    Stephen Curry
    UScelebrityAlive
    20.7
    5
    Shaquille O'Neal
    USinternet personalityAlive
    16.4
    6
    Giannis Antetokounmpo
    GRcelebrityAlive
    15.2
    7
    Caitlin Clark
    UScelebrityAlive
    14.2
    813.2
    9
    Nikola Jokić
    RScelebrityAlive
    13.0
    10
    Carmelo Anthony
    celebrityAlive
    13.0
    11
    James Harden
    UScelebrityAlive
    12.8
    12
    Magic Johnson
    USpublic figureAlive
    12.6
    13
    Russell Westbrook
    UScelebrityAlive
    12.4
    14
    Jalen Brunson
    JEcelebrityAlive
    12.2
    15
    Dennis Rodman
    UScelebrityAlive
    12.1
    16
    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
    celebrityAlive
    12.1
    17
    Kyrie Irving
    AUcelebrityAlive
    11.9
    18
    Kawhi Leonard
    celebrityAlive
    11.6
    19
    Dirk Nowitzki
    DEcelebrityAlive
    11.3
    20
    Sophie Cunningham
    UScelebrityAlive
    11.2
    21
    Paul George
    UScelebrityAlive
    10.9
    22
    Scottie Pippen
    UScelebrityAlive
    10.8
    23
    Larry Bird
    UScelebrityAlive
    10.5
    24
    Steve Ballmer
    UScelebrityAlive
    10.4
    25
    Klay Thompson
    UScelebrityAlive
    10.4
    26
    Joel Embiid
    CMcelebrityAlive
    10.3
    27
    Devin Booker
    UScelebrityAlive
    10.3
    28
    Karl-Anthony Towns
    UScelebrityAlive
    10.2
    29
    Tony Parker
    FRcelebrityAlive
    9.9
    30
    Charles Barkley
    UScelebrityAlive
    9.7
    31
    Patrick Ewing
    JMcelebrityAlive
    9.7
    32
    Bill Russell
    celebrity
    9.7
    33
    Hakeem Olajuwon
    NGcelebrityAlive
    9.7
    34
    Mark Cuban
    USpublic figureAlive
    9.7
    35
    Tim Duncan
    UScelebrityAlive
    9.4
    36
    Steve Kerr
    UScelebrityAlive
    9.3
    37
    Dennis Schröder
    DEcelebrityAlive
    9.3
    38
    Angel Reese
    UScelebrityAlive
    9.2
    39
    Damian Lillard
    UScelebrityAlive
    9.1
    40
    De'Aaron Fox
    celebrityAlive
    9.1
    41
    LaMelo Ball
    celebrityAlive
    9.1
    42
    Bronny James
    UScelebrityAlive
    9.0
    43
    Pau Gasol
    EScelebrityAlive
    9.0
    44
    Jeremy Lin
    TWcelebrityAlive
    9.0
    45
    DeMar DeRozan
    UScelebrityAlive
    8.9
    46
    Tyrese Haliburton
    UScelebrityAlive
    8.8
    47
    Luka Dončić
    SIcelebrityAlive
    8.7
    48
    Steve Nash
    ZAcelebrityAlive
    8.7
    49
    Vince Carter
    UScelebrityAlive
    8.6
    50
    Blake Griffin
    UScelebrityAlive
    8.6
    51
    Dwight Howard
    UScelebrityAlive
    8.6
    52
    Brittney Griner
    UScelebrityAlive
    8.5
    53
    Ben Simmons
    AUcelebrityAlive
    8.5
    54
    Karl Malone
    UScelebrityAlive
    8.5
    558.3
    56
    Jerry West
    UScelebrity
    8.2
    57
    Gary Payton
    UScelebrityAlive
    8.0
    58
    Enes Kanter Freedom
    TRcelebrityAlive
    8.0

    About this list

    This list ranks the most famous basketball players in the world as of September 2026, by overall global fame rather than one month's attention. It is the top 58 of 58 names the rankings measured in this sector, frozen as the permanent record of that edition. This is the standard reading: everyone, living or dead, on one scale. 55 of the 58 listed are living; the Alive reading restricts the same ranking to living people.

    LeBron James is No. 1 on this list for September 2026. Behind LeBron James come Michael Jordan and Victor Wembanyama.

    What famous means here

    Fame, in iFAMOUS, is how widely the world knows a name: how recognisable a person's name, face or work is, and how well people know who they are. It is assessed from extensive historical and current public data, some of it reaching back more than twenty years, and it is not merit, talent, importance or popularity on iFANN. The rankings model real-world global fame, not internet fame; the data is the instrument, not the subject. Activity on iFANN itself is excluded.

    The month in the title is the date of this edition, not the period measured. The list is a snapshot of overall fame as it stood when the issue was frozen: a name does not lose its place because one month was quiet, and a trending moment alone does not put a name here. Trending attention is published separately on ifann.net.

    How the list was ranked

    The iFANN Global Fame Rankings combine worldwide Wikipedia readership across languages, worldwide news coverage and search interest anchored against stable reference names, with search history reaching back to 2004. A twelve-month baseline sits behind the current reading and short-lived surges are capped, so the list reflects durable recognition rather than one week of headlines. Rankings are computed daily on ifann.net and frozen on the second day of the following month as that month's issue; a published issue never changes.

    About Basketball

    Basketball is one of the sectors the journal ranks every month, alongside every country, origin and region list in this issue. Sector lists use the same rankings and the same scale as The 100, so a name can be compared across sectors and against the world. Basketball: NBA, WNBA, international leagues and college hoops.

    Powered by iFANN

    iFAMOUS is published by iFANN and powered by the iFANN Global Fame Rankings v5.70. Today's live standing for this list is on ifann.net; the journal freezes it once a month so it can be cited permanently.

    Related searches: most famous basketball players in the world 2026, top basketball players September 2026, basketball players fame ranking, most famous basketball players alive.

    Cite as
    "LeBron James, No. 1 on The Most Famous Basketball Players in the World", iFAMOUS No. 2 (September 2026), ifamous.org

    This scope in the journal

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