ESPN Top 100 NBA Players of All Time

[Revolver]

Second Spurs series is a choke? He was the only person that showed up. Basically was a one man team.

 

[HunterSdVa29]

he put up amazing numbers, on fantastic splits. shit, he shoulda just been bombing away every which angle, he seemed content to just lose. he was also guarding kawhi, and allowed him to shoot some pretty absurd percentages (61% from the field, 58 from 3) and you know, win FMVP

nothing like the first cavs/spurs series tho, good lawd

edit: but yes Revo, choke isn't the right word at all. good call

 

[bosox32]

Lebron's an amazing talent. But he failed on the big stage way too much for me.

Didn't he average like 2 ppg in the 4th quarter of the finals against Dallas.

 

[Madmick]

ya, dr J over moses? or moses being that low period?

other than the curry/bron and a few other random wtfs, it's actually a pretty good list

Huh? I just ignored Lebron since (unlike Kobe) he isn't a lame duck, but I didn't see Curry on the list. Not sure where to put Moses. I think Dr. J was a ridiculously talented scorer, but he often appears overrated due to the wow factor. He secured an MVP and a championship as the top sidekick, but he never absolutely dominated an NBA Finals the way Dirk did, for example.

It is interesting the big man domination on the list. In 15-20 years I wonder how many small guys will climb up higher.

Any sober, informed list will be dominated by big men. It's a big man's game. Jordan is-- as in all things-- an anomaly: the most tremendous of outliers. If you look at the history of dynasties you see a pattern emerge, and that pattern is marquee big men that lead franchises to perennial glory:

1950-1954: Minneapolis Lakers (George Mikan, C, 6'10")
1956-1961: St. Louis Hawks (Bob Pettit, PF/C, 6'9")
1957-1969: Boston Celtics (Bill Russell, C, 6'9")
1962-1973: Los Angeles Lakers (Jerry West, G, 6'2" / Elgin Baylor, SF, 6'5" / Wilt Chamberlain, C, 7'1")
1970-1973: New York Knicks (Walt Frazier, PG, 6'4" & Willis Reed, C, 6'9")
1980-1991: Los Angeles Lakers (Magic Johnson, PG, 6'9" & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, C, 7'2")
1980-1987: Boston Celtics (Larry Bird, PF, 6'9")
1988-1990: Detroit Pistons (Isiah Thomas, PG, 6'1")
1991-1998: Chicago Bulls (Michael Jordan, SG, 6'6")
1999-2004: Los Angeles Lakers (Shaquille O'Neal, C, 7'1")
1999-2016: San Antonio Spurs (Tim Duncan, PF/C, 7'0")
2008-2010: Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe Bryant, SG, 6'5")
2011-2014: Miami Heat (Lebron James, SF, 6'8")
2015-2016: Golden State Warriors (Stephen Curry, SG, 6'3")

And with teams like the Celtics, for instance, even though they had all-time great defenders and All-Star guards in guys like Dennis Johnson, and even though their franchise guy was a power forward who was "only" 6'9", they also had McHale and Parrish who were two of the greatest classic-style bigs to ever grace the hardwood. Meanwhile, the Pistons, though "captained" by Thomas, also had Laimbeers and Rodman on the floor. Then you have guys like Lebron who sits in the middle and is more difficult to define; though he plays with his front-to-the-basket he is nearly as tall as many of the undersized centers (6'9"-6'10") carrying 265 lbs at his heaviest points and far more explosive than these counterparts, obviously, especially in his Miami prime. Bird was the same though in a less muscular period.

But moneyball metrics are on the rise and the 3PT offenses along with it. This is a boon for the smaller players.

 

[therealdope]

Lebron's an amazing talent. But he failed on the big stage way too much for me.

Didn't he average like 2 ppg in the 4th quarter of the finals against Dallas.

This^^^.

I retract my comments about game 7 against the spurs. Going from memory alone one of their titles seemed like Chalmers or Ray Allen stepped up and hit critical shots when you would have expected LeBrun to have the ball.

It's not a matter of whether he is great -- of course he is one of the all-time greats. It's a question of whether he is #3.

 

[RR]

Mad max was waaayyy better than most people remember or are aware. His career was mired by the cocaine issue and then going after the fan in the stands.

When Houston played the Bulls in the early 90s --- shit went down. Those were incredible games, Mad Max vs. Jordan.

Coke got him but that fan talked shit bout his kid. Anyone would have acted the same

 

[therealdope]

Coke got him but that fan talked shit bout his kid. Anyone would have acted the same

I think that was well known. It's horrible but Mad Max a short fuse. Look at Zidane in the world cup. Materazzi talked shit about his sister and got Zidane kicked out of the game, and won the WC for Italy. TBH, Zidane almost headbutted the guy into cardiac arrest.

FWIW, Mad Max was one of my favorite players. Those regular season games against the Bulls were nuts.

 

[RR]

I think that was well known. It's horrible but Mad Max a short fuse. Look at Zidane in the world cup. Materazzi talked shit about his sister and got Zidane kicked out of the game, and won the WC for Italy. TBH, Zidane almost headbutted the guy into cardiac arrest.

FWIW, Mad Max was one of my favorite players. Those regular season games against the Bulls were nuts.

I know very little about soccer

 

[therealdope]

I know very little about soccer

2006 WC final.

 

[HunterSdVa29]

easily the coolest thing i've ever seen in soccer, that cat wasn't playing

 

[Prefect]

TBH, Zidane almost headbutted the guy into cardiac arrest.
.

You can punch someone in the chest a lot harder than you can head butt them. It wouldn't have felt much more than someone pushing you in the chest and you losing your balance and falling over. Go headbutt a big punching bag and see how much you move it around.

 

[echohead]

I am always surprised that John Stockton is so far out on these lists.
He retired leading in two major statistics.

Being ringless should count against someone for sure, but it is a team game.

 

[DrVanNostrand]

He is a freak but we all know something isnt quite right about lebald. Finasteride messes with your testosterone. Your hormones. Your unmentionables

 

[fordman7795]

Lebron way too high
Dirk a little too high
Duncan a couple notches too high
You never hear/see moses highlights and since he wasnt my era i cant comment on where he should be ranked

Here is the top 20

20. Admiral
19. Stockton
18. Barkley
17. Dirk
16. Mailman
15. Moses
14. Dr J
13. West
12. Kobe
11. Oscar
10. Hakeem
9. Shaq
8. Duncan
7. Russell
6. Bird
5. Wilt
4. Magic
3. Lebron
2. Kareem
1. Jordan


Lebron is ranked WAY too high.

I'd personally say

Bird
Wilt
Magic
Kareem
Jordan

 

[Possum Jenkins]

Mad max was waaayyy better than most people remember or are aware. His career was mired by the cocaine issue and then going after the fan in the stands.

When Houston played the Bulls in the early 90s --- shit went down. Those were incredible games, Mad Max vs. Jordan.

No doubt.

He was amazingly streaky as well. Had at least one 50+ game and would occasionally just light up teams from 3. Hakeem was obviously the go-to guy during the entire game but when they needed clutch shots in the last couple of minutes, Maxwell delivered more than anyone.

The shot starting at 2:00 here, is still the most amazing I've ever seen:



Less than 1 second remaining and they were try to inbound it to Hakeem for a tip in. The pass is way too high and strong and it hits the backboard and is about to bounce out of bounds when Max picks it up and just chucks it as he's falling and it goes in.

I went hoarse screaming.

 

[SportsBarGod]

1- Wilt
2- Magic
3- Kareem
4- Kobe
5- West

 

[kuromusha]

2006 WC final.

lol I remember watching that when I was younger. I left to go to bathroom and came in as Zidane was getting the red card. I asked my dad wtf happened and he told me that Zidane headbutted someone. Didn't believe him until I saw it for myself lol.

 

[RR]

No doubt.

He was amazingly streaky as well. Had at least one 50+ game and would occasionally just light up teams from 3. Hakeem was obviously the go-to guy during the entire game but when they needed clutch shots in the last couple of minutes, Maxwell delivered more than anyone.

The shot starting at 2:00 here, is still the most amazing I've ever seen:



Less than 1 second remaining and they were try to inbound it to Hakeem for a tip in. The pass is way too high and strong and it hits the backboard and is about to bounce out of bounds when Max picks it up and just chucks it as he's falling and it goes in.

I went hoarse screaming.

I am probably a bigger fan of Mad Max then anyone but he still quit on his team (I know Hakeem did too) but Vernon did it in the Playoffs. He went club Ced (bonus points to anyone who gets the reference

 

[HunterSdVa29]

cedric ceballos? suns reference?

 

[echohead]

No doubt.

He was amazingly streaky as well. Had at least one 50+ game and would occasionally just light up teams from 3. Hakeem was obviously the go-to guy during the entire game but when they needed clutch shots in the last couple of minutes, Maxwell delivered more than anyone.

The shot starting at 2:00 here, is still the most amazing I've ever seen:



Less than 1 second remaining and they were try to inbound it to Hakeem for a tip in. The pass is way too high and strong and it hits the backboard and is about to bounce out of bounds when Max picks it up and just chucks it as he's falling and it goes in.

I went hoarse screaming.

Ah the feels.
I won't argue that players were better in the past, but the game was much more fun to watch during that era for me.