Kevin Garnet is easily the most complete player in the NBA, hands down. He can dribble, pass, score, rebound, block.......
Sorry but Dirk is not better than Francis and Jordan is not nearly the defensive player he use to be. Now Kobe and Jason I agree with.
There are players more complete than Francis is but Francis is near the top of the list on the most complete players. I mean any player that can lead his team in several major categories and the PG position is pretty damn good as you all know.
I love Francis, but he is not the best complete player in the NBA. He can be one day but his defensive game and all around court awareness for a PG needs a tad more work before he gets that label. His defense is getting better and his court awareness will improve also since he is getting more PG experience under his belt. That being said, he is still an elite player in this league and I believe one day he might put Oscar Robertson type numbers up.
crispee, i think many fans put far too much emphasis on box scores and stat sheets. even then, j kidd is still damn impressive. but you'll never see the effect he has in black and white. you only see it on the floor. the way he absolutely controls a game's tempo. he's absolutely amazing. the biggest compliment i could ever give him - and i KNOW you'll appreciate this one: is that his "will to win" can only be rivaled by that of zeke thomas.
Kevin Garnett Kobe Bryant Ray Allen Tracy McGrady Gary Payton Jerry Stackhouse Dirk Nowitzki Tim Duncan Jason Kidd ... It really doesn't matter how complete a single player is, you're not going to win without a supporting cast and a coach who can put it all together. Due to injuries, we may have to wait til next year to see what we really have.
Verse, completely agree, the Nets might be healthy this year, but Kidd is the difference, his ability to make his teammates better and make his team win are amazing. They are playing extremely confident basketball at the moment, hopefully they can keep him. Smeg
*grumble*... Magic. *grumble*... Jordan. But I agree, I'd take Jason Kidd over any PG in the NBA right now and most anybody from any other position as well.
Micheal Finley and Chris Webber deserve honourable mention. Francis has no post game at all, not even against smaller guards, NEVER. SO he's not really that complete. I dont know if you guys want to base it on numbers or ability.
i totally agree on the jason kidd sentiment, though early in his career i thought he'd be a bust...boy, was i wrong! yes, i was the one who said francis is clearly not the best overall player in the league..apparently i have company. the name that immediately comes to mind when i think of great current all-around players is Kevin Garnett.
Allen Iverson is 39% from the field, 25% from downtown. ALLEN IVERSON IS THE MOST OVERRATED PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE!
mfclark, For your viewing pleasure : All the NBA players' "mfclark stat" values for games through yesterday.
He may not be able to hit ft's, but Shaq is probably the only player in the league whom you can put on any team and they become contenders instantly. He may not be the most complete because of his ft's, but he's the best and most dominant in the league period. He can control the game from end to end, pffensively and defensively. You can take Kobe, who is regarded as a top 5 player and they'll still be favored because of the attention he draws.
an opinion: I wish there were more defensive stats. specifically, I wish that basketball kept an official +/- stat the way hockey does. I think that's one of the best stats ever. without getting into minutiae, it really shows the effect a single player has on his/her team's fortune during the specific time he/she is on the floor. it's almost like an individual won-loss column for a team sport. and a question: could anyone use "the formula" to figure out what hakeem's rating would have been during only the '95 playoffs? and another opinion: I don't think it should matter if the formula is slanted toward big men. the sport is slanted toward big men. if you don't like it, become a horse jockey or twirl a baton with calvin.
