Well an argument can be made for Lebron James.... The fate of the NBA/various teams is hedged upon his decision this summer.
I'd really like to hear the argument a top pick that's been directly correlated with four rings (and could conceivably be the cornerstone for a couple more). Tim Duncan is the San Antonio Spurs. Under his leadership, they went from a good organization known for big-game collapses to a dynasty. He defined a generation of his sport. I don't see Manning with the postseason success to say the same, as great of a player as he is.
Doesn't matter, Magic made a great pick for a player who was voted one of 50 greatest players ever who has only been in league for 3 and 1/2 years at the time.
I don't know, I'd say Peyton Manning playing arguably his best football ever this season without Marvin Harrison is a testament to how valuable he is to his team. Peyton Manning is the Colts moreso than Tim Duncan is the Spurs, IMO.
DAMN IT. Thought y'all wouldn't catch that. Title MisREAD fail. last 20 years, fatty! C'mon, man... work with me... WORK... WITH... ME! Help me... help you... help me... *ah, crap, wrong movie...*
What's weird about George is that he doesn't appear to have been that bad of an athlete, or had any off-the-field personal problems whatsoever. I believe he was always regarded as one of the strongest throwers in the league. You get the sense he could have had a perfectly satisfying Neil O'Donnell, Phil Simms or Jim Harbaugh-like career, maybe even playing his whole career in Indy or even Atlanta, if he'd just shown an ounce of humility; and maybe not all the time, just in public or on camera.
Peyton Manning is too dominant, too amazing, too consistent. He doesn't get hurt, he doesn't seem to age, and it seems like he can go on doing this for years and years to come (while Duncan has been breaking down of late and seems like he's on the decline for sure--has needed more and more help) As moes said, Peyton lost Harrison and has turned Collie and Garcon into names that a lot of people recognize.. insane.
Still, his career was far better than Carr, Couch, Leaf, and probably Russell. George was a pro-bowl caliber player for a couple years his career in Atlanta, Oakland, and Minnesota.
Jeff George had an insane arm. He could literally just drop a 60 yard bomb off his backfoot. Total headcase though, but there were some years he looked like a world beater.
Duncan landed on a perennial 50-win team. If he had gone to New Jersey or Boston, the story would have been a lot different.
I would agree with under most circumstances, when I say most ... I mean 98%. But, you realize the Nets won 43 games and made the playoffs in 1997 with Keith Van Horn as their pick who only played 62 games. Replace him with Tim Duncan, that team could easily win an extra 7 to 11 games. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/1998.html Boston Celtics only won 36 games, but adding Duncan would've been one of the final pieces for them to become a perennial playoff team. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1998.html I even think in some places, if Duncan stays one of those teams, long enough, they probably would go to Finals as many times as the Spurs, not sure about them winning as much. But, Duncan in the East, means he is going to dominant most nights, especially since the East was in serious decline after the Bulls broke up with teams like the Pacers and Heat aging quickly.
My bad. I was just plugging in NJ because I remember Van Horn coming in second. Didn't remember Philadelphia had actually drafted in that slot (Iverson/Duncan would have been an interesting duo). Good point about the east. He would definitely have have had better luck there than in Vancouver or Denver.