I think Adrian Dantley needs to be in the discussion. Not GOAT, mind you, but in the discussion. Remember, he was a 2 time scoring champ, and averaged over 30 for 4 seasons in a row. AD also had a knack for the psychological aspect of the game, often having his first shot attempt blocked on purpose, to set up his head fake. This, combined with his deadly first step, allowed him to get inside consistently enough to sport a .540 career FG%
The Pistons were better when they got Mark Aguire to play SF instead of Dantley if I recall. Though they both were some past their prime when that happened. I am not sure either were better than Wilkens, and Wilkens is not in the GOAT SF debate.
And when did I say he wasn't a very good player? When did I say he wasn't a dominant player? He just wasn't on Bird's level. What exactly did he "do" that no one else could do? Tell me.
best sf of all time? shane battier. seriously, who is the g.o.a.t.? who is better? have seen too many such discussions. never goes anywhere.
It's a sports forum... you've seen every discussion numerous times. None of them go anywhere except to the usual ending. lol.
What would your Top 5 of all-time be for SF's? What would you think of my list? 1. Bird 2. Hondo 3. Pippen 4. Erving 5. Rick Barry Disagreements, agreements, what say you?
Bird is still my #1. Honestly I never really saw Havlicek play much, but everything I heard was that he was an incredible player so I really wouldn't be able to rank the players. As much as Pippen is hated, he really was an incredible basketball player. People say Grant Hill was on his way to being the next Jordan before his injuries, but I think he was more like the next Pippen. The only replacement I'd make, and again, it was a bit of a different era, so who knows, is I'd put Elgin Baylor on there. He has to be somewhere in the top 3. I'd take him before Barry for sure. Heck, I may put him as high as 3 on your list. He was a scoring and rebounding god, but again, different era and time, so I don't know how he would translate to a more modern era. I keep thinking I'm missing someone obvious... hmm...
Methinks you jest. Among his peers, no other player had his combination of size, quickness, leaping ability and creativity. The NBA created a dunk competition because of him. NBA players in following generations were more athletic and were able to match his skills but ... there are still a handful of his more famous plays that have yet to be matched.
Size, quickness, leaping ability, creativity... all great. But they have been matched since then as you stated. We've had Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, James White (hehe... kidding), etc. People like 'Nique, MJ, etc. playing in close to the same era as Dr. J (a bit after) were just as freakish in athletic ability. David Thompson may have been his equal. He was the greatest athlete in the NBA of his day probably. Which is why Bird is even more amazing because he was blessed with hardly any of that athleticism, yet he scored better, rebounded better, and assisted far better than Dr. J did during their NBA careers during the same era. Add in the fact that if you ask anyone knowledgable about basketball to pick 5 people you would want to take the final shot in a game to win it or to rip your heart out and put the game away, Bird would almost assuredly be on every one of those lists. I doubt you could say the same for Dr. J. Dr. J was a great player, but there's a reason he's merely "the Doctor" and Larry is "the Legend"... *runs away*
