Even the "longevity" reservation on LeBron really doesn't hold water any more. Even though he's not even 30, he's in his 11th season, already scored more points than Larry Bird in his career and isn't far behind in terms of games/minutes. As for Kobe, lol, he's lucky to crack a top 20 discussion, let alone top 5.
It looks like it. 4 seasons, probably enough to overtake the 1st spot. Though I guess Wilt and Russell might be at the top as well if they were tracked.
I would put in Murphy before Yao. But Yao's definitely 5th and you could argue you should put him in over Calvin if you're interested in representing different generations.
Centers: Consensus is what my suspect basketball writers; sports analysts; or fans in general might choose Consensus Pick-Bill Russell Wilt Chamberlain Kareem Abdul Jabbar Consensus- Shaquille O'Neal or George Mikan Personal Pick - Wilt Chamberlain Kareem Abdul Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Hakeem Olajuwon Honorable Mentions: Bill Russell; Patrick Ewing; Consensus Pick - Tim Duncan Karl Malone Bob Petitte Charles Barkley Honorable Mentions: Dirk Nowitzki; Kevin McHale; Chris Webber; Kevin Garnett; Elvin Hayes Personal Pick - Tim Duncan Karl Malone Bob Petitte Charles Barkley Honorable Mentions: Dirk Nowitzki; Kevin McHale; Chris Webber; Kevin Garnett; Elvin Hayes Consensus Pick - Larry Bird Julius Erving Scottie Pippen (I honestly think fans give him too much credit) Toss-up: LeBron James, John Havlicek Personal Pick - LeBron James Larry Bird Julius Erving Toss-up between Dominique Wilkins, John Havlicek, Rick Barry, and Kevin Durant I have Scottie Pippen as high 7, but as low as 13. Consensus Pick - Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant Jerry West Allen Iverson Toss-up: Dwyane Wade, Clyde Drexler, Tracy McGrady, George Gervin, Pete Maravich, or Reggie Miller Personal Pick - Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant Jerry West George Gervin Honorable Mentions: Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, Clyde Drexler, Tracy McGrady, and Reggie Miller Consensus Pick - Magic Johnson Oscar Robertson Bob Cousy John Stockton Honorable Mentions: Steve Nash, Walt Frazier, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Gary Payton, and Kevin Johnson Personal Pick - Magic Johnson Oscar Robertson Walt Frazier Toss-up between Gary Payton and Isiah Thomas Honorable Mentions: Bob Cousy, John Stockton, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Kevin Johnson, and Big Mount-Rushmore, Consensus: Michael Jordan Bill Russell Magic Johnson Larry Bird Almost easily . . . Personal Pick: Michael Jordan Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Magic Johnson Toss up between Bird, Kobe, and Wilt.
...& then there's Wilt Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA Records With 72 records (68 of which he holds by himself), Wilt Chamberlain dominates the NBA record book. And he's not just the top guy on the lists below. In several cases, he's No. 1, 2 and 3. It's hard to believe that there will ever be another player who can dominate as many statistical categories as the Big Dipper did. MINUTES Most seasons leading league: 8 Most consecutive seasons leading league: 5 Highest average per game, career: 45.8 Highest average per game, season: 48.5 COMPLETE GAMES Most, season: 79 Most consecutive, season: 47 SCORING Most cons. seasons leading league: *7 Most points, season: 4,029 Highest average, season: 50.4 Most points, rookie, season: 2,707 Highest average, rookie, season: 37.6 Most points, game: 100 Most points, rookie, game: 58 Most games, 50 or more, career: 118 Most games, 50 or more, season: 45 Most cons.e games, 50 or more points: 7 Most games, 40 or more, career: 271 Most games, 40 or more, season: 63 Most cons. games, 40 or more points: 14 Most cons. games, 30 or more points: 65 Most cons. games, 20 or more points: 126 Most points, one half: 59 FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE Most seasons leading league: **9 Most cons. seasons leading league: 5 Highest, season (qualifiers): .727 Highest, game (min. 15 FG): ***1.000 Most field goals, no misses, game: 18 FIELD GOALS Most cons. seasons leading league: *7 Most, season: 1,597 Most cons., no misses, season: 35 Most, game: 36 Most, one half: 22 FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS Most cons. seasons leading league: 7 Most, season: 3,159 Most, game: 63 Most, one half: 37 Most, one quarter: 21 FREE THROWS MADE Most, game: 28 FREE THROW ATTEMPTS Most seasons leading league: 9 Most cons. seasons leading league: 6 Most, season: 1,363 Most, game: 34 REBOUNDS Most seasons leading league: 11 Most, career: 23,924 Highest average, career: 22.9 Most, season: 2,149 Most, rookie, season: 1,941 Most seasons, 1,000 or more: 13 Highest average, season: 27.2 Most, game: 55 Most, rookie, game: 45 DISQUALIFICATIONS Lowest percentage, career: ****0.00 POINTS, PLAYOFFS Most by rookie, game: 53 MINUTES, PLAYOFFS Most, 3-game series: 144 Most, 4-game series: 195 Most, 6-game series: 296 FIELD GOALS, PLAYOFFS Most, 7-game series: 113 Most made, game: 24 Most attempts, game: 28 Most attempts, half: 25 FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS, PLAYOFFS Most, 3-game series: 104 Highest field goal percentage (minimum, 8): 1.000***** REBOUNDS, PLAYOFFS Most, 5-game series: 160 Most, 6-game series: 171 Most, 7-game series: 220 Highest average, per game, series: 32.0 Most, game: 41 Most, half: 26 Most by rookie, game: 35 MINUTES, FINALS Most, 5-game series: 240 REBOUNDS, FINALS Most, 6-game series: 171 Most, half: 26 NOTES *Tied with Michael Jordan **Tied with Shaquille O'Neal ***Three times (15/15, 16/16, 18/18) ****Tied with several others, but played most games of any *****Tied with 12 others Updated as of 2005-06 season. The Big Dipper holds 16 scoring records. Wen Roberts/NBAE/Getty Images Among Chamberlain's 12 rebounding marks is the most in a career, 23,924. Wen Roberts/NBAE/Getty Images If blocks were counted before he retired, this list might be longer. http://www.nba.com/encyclopedia/wilts_records.html
No matter how good your stats look two championships is just low for someone to be considered as one of the greatest among the greatest.
Wilt didn't join Russell, and MJ didn't join Malone/Barkley in their primes, but Lebron joined Wade when both were widely considered as top2 players in NBA...
Only if you don't know how to value impact on the court, best defensive teams relative to league average in NBA history: (Pacers this year are -9.6% so they'd be 5th)
Christ, this is a tough decision. Jordan Bird Magic Russell Jordan for obvious reasons. To me, both Magic and Bird saved the NBA, and I feel that you can never truly separate them. Russell was the first real superstar of the league, and you can't deny that string of championships in a row. I dunno how LeBron could surpass any of them.
Best player in the 60s: Russell (Wilt close 2nd) Best player in the 70's: Jabar Best player in the 80's: Magic (Bird close 2nd) Best player in the 90's: Jordan Best player in the 00's: Bryant (Duncan close 2nd) Best player in the 10's: Lebron
If I have to only pick 4, I pick Magic, Bird, Jordan, and Lebron. I'd love to go with someone like Hakeem, but while he had the talent, he didn't have the personality to be a Mount Rushmore type.
There is always a natural bias towards players that you have seen, which is why there are so many recent players on people's lists. Wilt Chamberlain averaged 30ppg and 22 rebounds per game over a 16 season career, including a 50ppg/25rpg season. They didn't record blocks when he played, otherwise he'd probably hold that record (debatable). Bill Russell has the rings, but he had a much better supporting cast. Russell's scoring averages don't compare to Chamberlain's, although he's right there in rebounds and blocks. Chamberlain and Jordan are in a category by themselves. Kareem Abdul Jabbar is probably 3rd. For fourth... Lebron's body of work today is probably good enough to put him here. I give him a slight edge over the others since he is playing against top competition in today's NBA. Magic and Bird are so close, you can't really pick one or the other. Magic's assists were off the charts, but a lot of people would be surprised to know that Bird led the league in defense win shares 4 times over his career. Oscar Robertson is right there in the mix, with arguably equal stats to Magic/Bird. Hakeem is in the discussion with his defensive prowess. Julius Erving has stats equal to Magic/Bird as well. So I'd say Jordan-Chamberlain-Abdul Jabbar-James and if we did a 5-8, then Magic-Bird-Robertson-Olajuwon
Actually I think the reason why guys like Wilt and Russell don't show up more often is because the league was in it's infancy then and so anything they did has to be viewed in that context. It's the reason when people talk about baseball players you don't hear about Billy Hamilton, Buck Ewing, Cap Anson, or King Kelly. I'm not sure anyone thinks that guys from 40 or 50 years ago would be anything if they played with the level of competition that has existed in the NBA the last 30 years. So when you hear about Wilt having a 50ppg/25rpg season, it's nice, but it's not like he did that against any real competition.
Any sport that lasts more than 50 years will have more than 5 great players that deserve to be on the all-time greatest list. Not only the so-called GOAT is hard to pick, the top 5, even top 10 is hard to pick. You are bound to leave out some deserving ones. One Mount Rushmore is just not enough. And my continuous pet peeve: THERE IS NO OBJECTIVE WAY TO COMPARE PLAYERS ACROSS ERAS. You can only compare how much they produce relative to their own eras.
