Barkley got to play with two championship-winning Hall-of-Fame duos (Dr. J & Moses Malone and Hakeem & Clyde), but in both cases he became their teammate two years too late and it was before or after his prime. Timing is everything. Barkley at least led the Suns to a conference championship. Pippen definitely didn't have it in him to lead any team anywhere.
Cuttino mobley did not get enough iso's in the post. In 1999, bench was not up for the job for sure. Lakers had Brian Shaw and a/c 'jerry curl' green making hay against the rockets!
I think there should be an aspect of team success involved with grading an individual. Certainly on MVP voting. Many of the all nba awards and all defensive team awards are based on name or reputation. Sometimes not even on the actual value of the season. Kobe wasn’t an all nba defensive player 9 times or whatever it was. Probably wasn’t for even half of that. With championships, the people fighting it out for the top 10 all have rings. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. But I don’t think having a championship is a prerequisite to being considered an all time great. **** happens. Karl Malone is a no doubt top 15 player and has an absolute championship level work ethic, etc.
