I thought this was interesting. Its a community player rater, based on Elo chess rating system. Read about it here. View current rankings and pick a winner for random matchups. Current top 30: Code: Rk Player Rating G W L W-L% Last Updated 1 Michael Jordan 2794 819 616 203 .752 February 12, 2011, 12:42AM 2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2759 883 636 247 .720 February 12, 2011, 12:33AM 3 Magic Johnson 2759 990 715 275 .722 February 12, 2011, 12:40AM 4 Bill Russell 2739 990 644 346 .651 February 12, 2011, 12:43AM 5 Wilt Chamberlain 2692 949 634 315 .668 February 12, 2011, 12:16AM 6 Larry Bird 2662 942 608 334 .645 February 12, 2011, 12:43AM 7 Tim Duncan 2658 1172 681 491 .581 February 12, 2011, 12:34AM 8 Hakeem Olajuwon 2658 921 610 311 .662 February 12, 2011, 12:36AM 9 Shaquille O'Neal 2645 981 612 368 .624 February 12, 2011, 12:42AM 10 Moses Malone 2621 945 573 372 .606 February 12, 2011, 12:23AM 11 Oscar Robertson 2621 971 596 375 .614 February 12, 2011, 12:42AM 12 Jerry West 2620 1051 613 438 .583 February 12, 2011, 12:37AM 13 Julius Erving 2603 995 559 436 .562 February 12, 2011, 12:40AM 14 David Robinson 2601 1028 612 415 .596 February 12, 2011, 12:25AM 15 LeBron James 2571 1136 598 538 .526 February 12, 2011, 12:41AM 16 Kevin Garnett 2542 1067 620 447 .581 February 12, 2011, 12:39AM 17 Karl Malone 2537 1045 606 438 .580 February 12, 2011, 12:42AM 18 Dwyane Wade 2531 1076 621 454 .578 February 12, 2011, 12:31AM 19 Charles Barkley 2515 1021 601 420 .589 February 12, 2011, 12:34AM 20 John Havlicek 2491 961 534 427 .556 February 12, 2011, 12:34AM Rk Player Rating G W L W-L% Last Updated 21 John Stockton 2487 1031 571 460 .554 February 12, 2011, 12:39AM 22 Dirk Nowitzki 2474 1038 585 453 .564 February 12, 2011, 12:40AM 23 Kobe Bryant 2468 1065 633 432 .594 February 12, 2011, 12:33AM 24 Elgin Baylor 2467 1031 576 455 .559 February 12, 2011, 12:40AM 25 Patrick Ewing 2465 1077 604 473 .561 February 12, 2011, 12:39AM 26 Bob Pettit 2463 1035 606 429 .586 February 12, 2011, 12:41AM 27 Steve Nash 2457 1058 591 467 .559 February 12, 2011, 12:29AM 28 Clyde Drexler 2441 1009 568 441 .563 February 12, 2011, 12:36AM 29 Dominique Wilkins 2441 1003 566 437 .564 February 12, 2011, 12:40AM 30 Walt Frazier 2438 1008 564 444 .560 February 12, 2011, 12:41AM 31 Scottie Pippen 2436 1055 593 462 .562 February 12, 2011, 12:38AM I'm thinking basketball-reference regulars aren't the biggest Kobe fans, generally speaking.
Generally speaking, basketball-reference regulars are going to know a hell of a lot more about the game than casual fans. And anyone who knows the game will understand that Kobe, although great, is one of the most overrated players in history.
I agree that Kobe is overrated. However Wade, Garnett and Nowitzki shouldn't be above him. (I also think Lebron does not have enough play off success to be above Kobe). That being said any list that does not have Bryant as one of the top 10 players of all time is fine for me. (However Duncan above Hakeem )
Umm... Maybe you should look at it closely. Hakeem and Duncan have identical ratings. I see no reason why, homerism aside, why they can't be put at the same level.
well if you're going to use the ELO system, using their tie breaker rule sort of needs to be included.
I actually think that's a pretty good list. It gets things just about right, in that you could argue over a few spaces here or there (e.g., should Shaq be moved up to #7, or should Kobe be moved up to #20), but I think it pretty well reproduces what an unbiased ranking of the all-time greats would look like.
I think the lack of skilled big man nowadays gets people to appreciate how great a player Hakeem was.
Thanks durvasa. I used to be a competitive chess player (my rating peaked at ~1850), so this intrigues me.
...judging from the rankings I'm seeing on the site right now, it seems relatively recent players are favored over older players from the Pre-ESPN days with the exception of the gaudy stats guys. Also, Hakeem took a huge jump since you posted this which I can only assume means clutchfans skewing the vote(not that Hakeem isn't deserving).
