[sportige.com] The Top Five Prep-to-Pro Players in NBA History (2 rox players)

Kinda bothers me that Moses is never mentioned in the same line as the all time greats. I know people acknowledge that he was great and all but they never put him in the same sentences as Magic, Bird, etc.

I don't like how great players are now being glossed over. Another one is Dominique Wilkins. Despite never having won a ring, he was still a great player.

 

yeah moses was a beast. its good to see him get some recognition.

 

Yes, Moses.

Moses was an iron man and had 9 seasons where he played in 80 or more games. Kobe has 5.

Moses led the league in minutes played twice, Kobe None.

Moses led the NBA in rebounding 6 times, Kobe led the NBA in scoring 2 times.

During his prime 7 seasons, Moses averaged 26 ppg, Kobe 29.

During that same time span, Moses averaged 14.7 rpg, Kobe 5.8.

(What would you rather have... a 3-pointer each game or 9 rebounds per game?)

Over his career, there were 13 seasons where Moses averaged more DRB's than Kobe's highest ever seasonal total rebounding mark. Moses had three seasons where he grabbed more ORBs than Kobe best ever TRB number.

Moses had 2 of his 3 MVPs playing for Houston, which was even more isolated by the media than it is now. Kobe, playing in LA and being on TV every week, has 1.

Moses is second in NBA history in Free Throws Attempted, leading the league 5 times. Kobe led the league once, but his total that year would be Malone's 8th best year.

Kobe does not show up as a leader in blocks. Moses is #22 in NBA history.

In FG%, the career number for Moses is higher than Kobe's best year.

There are some categories that favor Kobe, like steals... but the point of this post is to show that regardless of the Sportscenter-bred infatuation with Kobe, Moses at the very least was his equal and a strong argument could be made that Moses was the better. Moses was a force and more importantly, played on the block... and he played at a time when the lane was full of men. (I think the previous poster who mentioned that basketball people would almost always go with the post player as being more valuable is correct.)

It's interesting to me that Kobe would probably be considered the 2nd-4th best 2 guard of all time, but Moses has settled in as 6th of all-time centers... just shows how many great centers there have been and proves that when you have a great center, the game warps to fit him.

 

^Excellent post. Kobe is great, but a franchise center is always more important than a dominant guard. They effect the game in so many ways both offensively and defensively.

 

Let me chime in a little more for Moses, for the benefit of those younger posters.

Moses took a team of mostly low-end role players to the NBA finals. To give you an idea how bad his supporting cast was, here it is:

The PG position was by committee with Mike Dunleavy, Allen Leavell, and Tom Henderson. The aging Rudy T and Calvin Murphy were playing substantial minutes.

Moses and this bunch took the mighty Celtics to 6 games in the Finals.

 

Well actually, I would include Olajuwon, Hayes, and Drexler on the original list since they all went directly from Cougar High to the NBA

Okay, sorry UH fans I'm just bitter over UH's recent beat-down over Rice in football And by the way, its a crime that Guy Lewis is not in the Hall of Fame!

 

Maybe but that will be unless Dwight Howard can learn some post moves. Before Tmac had all those injuries, he was considered one of the best players in the league. Back in his Orlando days and his first few season in the league, he was no doubt one of the top 3 guys in the league.

It sucks that he is injured prone and played for a team that runaway and hide during the playoffs and leave him all alone to take the blame for it.