11. Hakeem 16. Moses Malone 25. Barkley 27. Shadowman 28. CP3 36. Rick Barry 39. James Harden 40. Elvin Hayes 45. Clyde Drexler 48. Russell Westbrook 50. Carmelo Anthony 62. Dwight Howard 75. Tracy McGrady https://hoopshype.com/lists/77-greatest-nba-players-ever-hoopshype-list/
Ranking players is always interesting, I did a weighted ranking based purely on accolades awhile back based on number of MVPs, FMVPs, CFMVPs, All-NBA, DPOY, All-Defense and ASG appearances which spit out the below top 77: Spoiler 1 Michael Jordan 2 LeBron James 3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 4 Tim Duncan 5 Kobe Bryant 6 Magic Johnson 7 Shaquille O'Neal 8 Larry Bird 9 Wilt Chamberlain 10 Bill Russell 11 Hakeem Olajuwon 12 Julius Erving 13 Karl Malone 14 Moses Malone 15 Kevin Durant 16 Jerry West 17 Bob Pettit 18 Stephen Curry 19 Dirk Nowitzki 20 Bob Cousy 21 Giannis Antetokounmpo 22 Kevin Garnett 23 John Havlicek 24 Oscar Robertson 25 Rick Barry 26 David Robinson 27 Charles Barkley 28 Nikola Jokić 29 Willis Reed 30 Chris Paul 31 Kawhi Leonard 32 Dolph Schayes 33 Elgin Baylor 34 Dwyane Wade 35 Steve Nash 36 Artis Gilmore 37 James Harden 38 Mel Daniels 39 Gary Payton 40 Dwight Howard 41 Russell Westbrook 42 Allen Iverson 43 George Gervin 44 John Stockton 45 Isiah Thomas 46 Jason Kidd 47 Scottie Pippen 48 Walt Frazier 49 Elvin Hayes 50 Patrick Ewing 51 Billy Cunningham 52 George McGinnis 53 Bill Sharman 54 Joel Embiid 55 Spencer Haywood 56 Bill Walton 57 Paul Pierce 58 Dennis Johnson 59 Wes Unseld 60 Hal Greer 61 Dave Cowens 62 Joe Dumars 63 Anthony Davis 64 Dominique Wilkins 65 George Mikan 66 Tony Parker 67 Connie Hawkins 68 Ben Wallace 69 Sidney Moncrief 70 Tracy McGrady 71 Dikembe Mutombo 72 Paul Arizin 73 Paul George 74 Damian Lillard 75 Neil Johnston 76 Jerry Lucas 77 Clyde Drexler
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES Bill Walton, Draymond Green, Lenny Wilkens, Artis Gilmore, Klay Thompson, Adrian Dantley, Nate Thurmond, Chris Webber, Sam Jones, Paul George, Manu Ginobili, Dikembe Mutombo, Jerry Lucas, Dave Bing, Alonzo Mourning, Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Bill Sharman, Billy Cunningham, Bob Lanier, Bobby Jones, Dave DeBusschere, Dennis Johnson, Jamaal Wilkes, Joe Dumars, Joel Embiid and Robert Horry
Really underselling T-Mac. Dude was way more talented than some of those guys above him (who also didn't win rings).
Someone was angry about his non longevity, big mouth and his exit from the Rockets. To be fair, his idol Penny Hardaway was not there either. The archetype for so many playmaking SFs. Oh boi, Grant Hill.
I'd put Dream 8th on that list, maybe 7th. He's certainly ahead of Duncan and Kobe is always overrated in these things. I also think I'd rank him higher than Shaq.
All time Fantasy seasons...( Best season from each player ) 4. Russell Wesbrook '16 6. Olajuwon '89 9. Harden '18 18. Hayes '73 21. Barkey '86 23. Malone '80 26. Drexler '88 31. Paul '08 40. Pippen '93 Jordan finished 7th.
Also, Olajuwon had the greatest fantasy game EVER since 1951. Vs Seattle in 1987. Olajuwon was also 4th, Harden 9th, and Jordan was second.
Every list like this is subjective, obviously, but I have some major issues with it. I can get over guys like Kobe, Magic and Bird being overrated in the top 10. Most lists do that. But Karl Malone at 15, Iverson at 30 and Melo ahead of better scoring guards and wings like Pierce, Allen and T-Mac all really stand out. Kinda feels like they severely undervalued postseason performance and advanced stats on this list and overvalued things like longevity and basic stats.
Hakeem outside the top 10. 3 of the 8 voted LeBron as goat for points record even though Kareem had it with 6 titles and mvps but LeBron was already ahead and jumps jordan with mere points totals? I can't take lebron fans seriously. KD ahead of Curry, again, can't take lebron fans seriously b/c their strategy is see through-to devalue anyone who is in lebrons way and boost anyone who would bring down anyone in lebrons way. Pippen 27th greatest of all time? Hilarious. Jokic 41. Sigh. AD is 47th even though he is right behind lebron in reg season and playoff PER. But sure, Pippen is 20 players better than AD. At least DWade got his props, though i'm not sure if i would put him ahead of Robinson and Barkley. The list has awarded OGs, yet punished some modern players. The list has awarded champions while punishing non champions. The list has punished champions while awarding non champions. It's all over the place...bc lebron fans are idiots.
Gervin ahead of Clyde and AD. At least Dame isn't overhyped on this list and not top 50. That's the only thing they got right.
These discussions are always subjective, but I think objectively Lebron is probably the second greatest player at all time. You could use different accolades or barometers to nitpick his game, but you can do that with anyone. If you're going to make a case for Lebron higher than MJ, really the only barometer you have is longevity, which I tend to think shouldn't be one of the most important factors in these discussions. For me, it's all about peak performance in the regular season and postseason and how these guys stacked up to their peers in their eras. Lebron's peak is otherworldly, but it's not as strong as MJ's, and as dominant as he's historically been in the playoffs, MJ was more dominant. You could maybe make a case for Lebron if you just talk all-around game, passing ability, rebounding, etc.—but in terms of just sheer efficiency, statistical dominance and postseason prowess, MJ always comes up No. 1. I don't think Kareem has a great case ahead of either guy, tbh. Some of the other points here—I agree Pippen is too high. Jokic feels too low to me as well; not sure how Giannis is 19 spots higher despite them both having similar resumes. Wade ahead of Robinson and Barkley definitely feels like a mistake. But I'm not a fan of AD in the top 50—he's 29 and already feels like his best days were years ago. Dude can't stay healthy and his peak is really strong, but incredibly short.
Of all these lists to come out over the last handful of years I have liked the Thinking Basketball Podcasts top 40 best careers the most. Spoiler LeBron James Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Bill Russell Hakeem Olajuwon Shaquille O'Neal Tim Duncan Wilt Chamberlain Kevin Garnett Larry Bird Magic Johnson Kobe Bryant Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Dirk Nowitzki Steph Curry Chris Paul Jerry West David Robinson Julius Erving Kevin Durant Charles Barkley Steve Nash John Stockton Moses Malone Dwyane Wade Scottie Pippen Rick Barry Reggie Miller James Harden Bob Pettit John Havlicek Jason Kidd Artis Gilmore Patrick Ewing Paul Pierce Walt Frazier Elgin Baylor Isiah Thomas Clyde Drexler
That list has 8 guys who may or may not have done extensive or holistic research, accolade only based is a weak criteria imo. Thinking basketball comes the closest, and it took awhile for Ben Taylor/El Gee to move Dream at #5 all time. I have Hakeem as the GOAT center, slightly above Kareem, so #3 all time. I value peaks and longevity equally within reason, so I would have MJ #1 as well.
AD is top 5-10 all time PF talent. Kawhi is same as a SF talent. Both a half tier above Pippen imho. The issue is availability. Pippen was mostly available and won 6 rings averaging a really nice 19, 8 and 6 in his Finals career, albeit with really poor shooting splits, but never an argument for FMVP or ECMVP if it existed back then. Rings as a clear #2 is going to go a long way, but AD won a ring dominating looking like 1A at times and a 1B at others including likely winning WCMVP in their title run if it existed. Dominating helping the Lakers reach the WCF this season. If Gasol got boosted by winning with Kobe, and AD is a tier above Pau who gets ranked around top 75, then AD should be around 50 imo. Kawhi is a weird one. 2x FMVP, 2xDPOTY, brought an expansion team their first and only championship as a detour. Has the efficiency. The Clutch gene. Just doesn't have the longevity and the Clippers era of his prime has hurt his legacy terribly. Now in a blink of an eye, he's 32, and having a star teammate in PG13 wasn't enough to get it done. If they manage to win 1, maybe it undoes the damage his last 4 years have done, but idk. That's years 28 to 32. Supposed to be his prime best years and we just watched him blow a playoff lead and rest on the bench or get hurt in game. If he wins 1 more ring and a 3rd FMVP, what is the case for Pippen over him? Longevity? More all star selections? Availability as a #2 vs a star #1 winning 2(Spurs is a weird one, Timmy the elder statesmen but who was really the #1 on that team?) with 3 FMVPs? I'm afraid Kawhi needs 3 as the #1 just to surpass Pippens ever increasing place in NBA history in large part by having his name attached to MJ, but Kawhis absolutely a tier above Pip in the same vein that Reggie is a tier above Klay and imho how Harden should be a tier above Dame.
