Larry Bird.. Absolutely no debate on this one and you forgot guys like John Havlicek and Scottie Pippen in the list. LeBron is not better than either at this point, let's not overrate him right now. You also forgot about Rick Barry the guy who ripped on LeBron and his coach and Barry had the right to as well, since he pretty much did win a title ALL BY HIMSELF.
Yep. The only person right now that can change the list right now is LeBron James. Here would be my Top 5 SF of all-time list 1. Bird 2. Hondo 3. Pipen 4. Erving 5. Baylor/Barry
You really can't put LeBron on this list. It's still too early in his career, and his resume is far too incomplete. I'd want to vote for Bird, but there is no doubt in my mind that LeBron is going to be greater than Bird when all is said and done. In fact, I think he has a very good chance to supplant Jordan as the GOAT.
It's definitely a LeBron reference. I mean, seriously, the numbers he's putting up now as basically a kid are silly. When you start asking the question "can he average a triple double" you're talking about a freak of nature.
LeBron has an MVP now. The only other SFs in league history to win an MVP are Larry Bird and Julius Erving, I believe. He's third all time in career PER, and being so young that won't dip any time soon. I think he deserves to be mentioned amongst the all time greats at his position. He'll be leading championship-caliber teams for many years to come.
Guessing you didn't read my post at all. You are forgetting guys like Rick Barry somebody who won a title all by himself at one point of his career. You also forgot about Pippen possibly the greatest 2nd fiddle of all-time and you forgot about Hondo as well who won 2 rings without Russell at one point. Enough with PER, Rings determine all-time greatness.
I didn't forget anyone. Rick Barry, Scottie Pippen, and John Havlicek can all be part of the discussion (hence "Other" -- people can mention whoever they like). You're focusing more on longevity and career accomplishments, which is fine. Those would probably have to be the next three on my list. I think LeBron James is at a level right now beyond what those players ever played at. The case can be made that Julius Erving dominated like no other forward ever in his ABA days, and that Elgin Baylor was the first truly dominant wing. In terms of sheer ability to dominate an entire basketball game, I put those two, along with Larry Bird and LeBron James a level above the other guys you mentioned.
They put Shaq on the top 50 his 4th yr in the league because he was incredible at a young age. James is incredible at a young age. He's so good that every team would trade their best player and some for him except kobe maybe. That's greatness.
So I guess Russell is the best player EVER right? He has 10 rings, so he must be twice the player Jordan is!
Damn, those picking Lebron right now are insane. In Bird's prime, he had a stretch of like 4-5 years where he was hitting like 50% FG/40% 3P/90% FT, >25 ppg, ~10rpg, ~6.5apg. In that span he won 3 MVPs in a row, and his numbers the following 2 years after he won the 3 MVPs were arguably better than any of those MVP seasons. He lost out on the MVP in those two season to a couple of guys named Magic and Mike.
Larry Bird, its too early to say Lebron he must improve in some aspects of the game. When Bird was peaking he was incredible at everything offensively and quite good on Defense. Bird essentially averaged 24/10/7 and even 2 steals a game (considered slow) his entire career and he was as team player as you can get, he didn't have to take 22+ shots a night. When Michael Jordan was asked who he would give the ball to at the end of a game he said larry bird. Lets get over all of Lebron's crazy athletic plays and look at the resumes, if only Bird was not beset by such injuries, his legacy could have been even more profound. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9cFkDTtQdMw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9cFkDTtQdMw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Bird FTW!, no contest Durvasa! Thats like asking Who is the best small forward of all time? and the choices being somewhat similar to the ones you posted. And the answer being obviously Bird!
