Divac/Worthy/Perkins all missed significant time, not to mention the timing of Magic's HIV announcement. BTW, if that were a valid argument, LBJ would probably be considered the GOAT: 2002-2003 Cavs: 17-65 2004-2010 LeBrons: 349-225 2010-2011 Cavs: 19-63
Kobe? Don't make me laugh. Check this out. I assume the argument would be based on "Kobe (25 ppg) is a better scorer than Bird(22.8), Magic(19.2), Kareem(24.1), Wilt(23.6), Duncan(20.6)." To which I reply...no s**t, with how many shots he took. Effective field goal percentage goes Kareem(.559), Wilt(.540), Magic(.533), Bird(.514), Duncan(.508), Kobe(.486). Kobe gets blown away on assists by Bird and Magic, and leads the big men by just about 1 a game. He has by far the lowest rebound rate of the group. Stocks (steals + blocks) goes Kareem (3.6), Chamberlain (unrecorded but definitely high), Duncan (3.1), Bird (2.4), Magic (2.3), Kobe (2.0). Bryant has the worst defensive rating of the group and is also low-end in offensive rating. But okay, a high usage = greatness I guess. Whatever. My vote goes with Kareem. Monster in his prime, still incredible for one of the league's longest careers. All-time great scorer and also a legit defensive stud. For the record: 1. Jordan 2. Kareem 3. Russell 4. Magic 5. Chamberlain 6. Bird 7. Hakeem 8. Oscar 9. West 10. Kobe 11. Duncan 12. Shaq 13. Baylor 14. Moses 15. Havlicek (ghost spot: Lebron. Could end up anywhere from 15 to about 3 depending on a lot of stuff)
Who do you think is number one then? Most people would not put down Michael Jordan. That is why there is an OTHER option. I can only add 10 options.
He's gonna say Hakeem for sure. Please don't turn this into another Dream v. Jordan thread please, Tinman.
Good Insight, but may I say, that I think you are slightly overvaluing stats which would make Russell and Wilt look better. There was no competition for them back in the day. I agree with Kareem being a beast although I would put Magic slightly over him.
Lol. I am a fairly new member to Clutchfans. In this short time I have realized that Tinman has something with real vs fake Rockets fans. I didn't know he had something with MJ vs Hakeem.
Nah you don't understand. The "public" option means that we all can see who voted for what option. I was just curious to see which idiots voted for Kobe.
I don't mind the debate, but there's many other threads on the subject. You are clearly asking people's opinion about the #2 guy, while clearly stating MJ as #1 (which I agree with). I just don't want the thread to get derailed into the debate between the 2.
larry bird is like the clutch, non athletic lebron. He does it all, he is extremely clutch poised, competitive, gets the job done...one of the most impressive players ni NBA history
Kobe, Shaq, and Duncan can be left off, Oscar Robertson added, and the question re-phrased to be "who is the best after Wilt." Answer = MJ them Magic, then Kareem, then (Bird, Russell, Oscar, and Hakeem) in some order
WOW. no. Wilt's stats were inflated because of the lack of competition, and he was showed up by Bill Russell anyways in their head-to head matchups. And, Kobe, Shaq and Duncan are all far better than Robertson. He too was just a glorified stat collecter.
I'm ok with your thread, I just thought you could have put MJ for the people who don't agree with #1. So you are shocked people are picking Kobe? You got to realize people have short memories. Who's here who's even old enough to remember Chamberlain? that's like Deckard and a couple other dudes.
Kobe is on the decline. I'm assuming the OP means each player in his absolute prime. Kobe of 5 years ago is head and shoulders above Lebron and Durant....