Let's not bring up how a 35 year old Hakeem faired in the playoffs versus one of his rivals. Now remember Kareem was 39 when he faced Kareem. I am all for some homerism (one can make an argument Hakeem > Shaq though one can argue the flip too), but not ridiculous homerism (either one of these two is a greater basketball player than Kareem). That is like these Kobe is really better than Jordan faux debates.
I will take a 92-97 Olajuwon over any incarnation of Kareem or Lew. I'd take Shaq over him too. And Wilt. Probably not Russell though, or anyone else until we see what Yao and Howard grow into. Call it homerism if you like, the "X player is absolutely unquestionable and that's that" line is borderline cultism. I mean really... Wilt and Russell get hammered for playing with shorties. Shaq and Kobe for relying on each other. Hakeem for winning when MJ was playing baseball. Heck, even Jordan gets the teensiest audible doubts every now and then for never winning anything without Pippen, but you will consistently see Kareem at no lower than number three, with no asterisks for gravy-training Magic Johnson. It's mind-boggling.
Not to mention the fact that Kareem also played with Oscar, "I only happened to average a triple double that one YEAR," Roberston.
What is mind boggling is this perspective. If anyone on the top 10 list is the slightest bit overrated, I would say Magic (some here say he, not Jordan, is the best ever non-center, and Magic himself has pretty much implied Jordan is better/greater player). He didn't get any rings without 2 of the 50 greatest players and a loaded squad. Don't get me wrong, Magic is def top 10 of all time, but he couldn't have had a better supporting cast, including folks like Wilks, McAddoo, and Cooper off the feaken bench alone. You could put Magic in company with Cousy and Russell as perhaps overrated because their cast was so strong. As for the Oscar thing, Oscar owes Kareem/Lew a ring. Kareem was the MVP for that season and playoffs. The 1st two season they were together Kareem put up 32-16-3 & 35-17-5 (and figure 3 or more blocks they didn't count at the time; meanwhile Oscar was like an 18-8-6 player)). Oscar was more like Pippen/Kobe to Jordan/Shaq, everybody knows the 1st two are great players, but the second pair were the legendary beasts that made those teams go. Now I won't dispute Magic was more important/better than Kareem when they were on the same team, but Kareem was well past his peak despite still being a top 5 player most of that period. Kareem by that time already was 3 for 3 in college titles, an NBA championship (playoff MVP), and 5 season MVPs into his career.
Wait a second I'm no Wilt hater I think hes top 5 of of times. And as for Mike 6 rings 5 mvps 10 scoring titles that speak for itself.
Magic won his first ring without Kareem, didn't he? Besides, he took a couple of Kareem-less teams to the Finals with AIDS. Imagine if he was healthy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_NBA_Finals 42 and 15 at 20! Magic needed Kareem like Dream needed Zan Tabak!
Tinman, is that THE WHOPPER in highlights #8 and #1, 1981 Finals? Man oh man, poor Billy Paultz. He could even lose a dance contest to Larry Bird -- never mind a loose ball.
man people forgot how good he was cause people today think you have to look like Lebron to be a decent NBA player. Ok enough Bird praise, I am a Rockets fan! If Ralph didn't go down, we'd beat them in 86!
No question that was one of the greatest performances of all time and Magic won that game for them. But Magic never won an NBA title w/o Kareem, the reverse isn't true. Kareem also beats him in every category (stats, awards, titles), save assits. Lew Alcindor's entry into the NBA was timely, as center Bill Russell had just left the Boston Celtics, and Wilt Chamberlain, though still effective, was then 33 years old. Alcindor's presence enabled the 1969-70 Bucks to claim second place in the NBA's Eastern Division with a 56-26 record (up from 27-55 the previous year), and he was an instant star, ranking second in the league in scoring (28.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (14.5 rpg), for which he was awarded the title of NBA Rookie of the Year. With the addition of Oscar Robertson, Milwaukee went on to record a league-best 66 victories in 1970-71, including a then-record of 20 straight wins. Alcindor was awarded his first of six NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, along with his first scoring title (31.7 ppg). In the playoffs, the Bucks went 12-2 (including a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA Finals), won the championship, and Alcindor was named Finals MVP. On May 1, 1971, the day after the Bucks won the NBA championship, he adopted the Arabic name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, meaning "noble, servant of the all-powerful [i.e., of Allah]." Abdul-Jabbar remained a dominant force for Milwaukee, repeating as scoring champion (34.8 ppg) and NBA Most Valuable Player the following year, and helping the Bucks to repeat as division leaders for four straight years. In 1973, Abdul-Jabbar won his third MVP Award in five years and was among the top five NBA players in scoring (27.0 ppg, third), rebounding (14.5 rpg, fourth), blocked shots (283, second), and field goal percentage (.539, second). In 1979, the Lakers acquired 1st overall draft pick Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The trade and draft paved the way for a second Abdul-Jabbar dynasty as the Lakers went on to become the most dominant team of the 1980s, appearing in the finals eight times and winning five NBA championships. Individually, while Jabbar was not the dominant center he was in the 1970s, he experienced a number of highlight moments. Among them were his record sixth MVP award in 1980, four more All-NBA First Team designations, two more All-Defense First Team designations, the 1985 Finals MVP, and on April 5, 1984 he broke Wilt Chamberlain's record for career points.
Michael Jordon is the greatest basketball player EVER... I am amazed to see so many people here put him out of the top 5...unbelievable.
Right. But I can understand if someone doesn't think hes the greatest, but what I can't understand is to have him not in your top 3 or 5.
[1] Wilt [2] MJ [3] Magic [4] Kareem [5] Dr J [6] Oscar Robinson [7] Bird [8] Shaq [9] Duncan [10]Barkley [11] Hakeem [12]E Baylor [13] J West [14] K Malone [15] M Malone
This is to me open and shut...and I know many will disagree. If I'm starting a team the first guy I pick is Magic.Yes,he of Spartans and Lakers fame.MJ is amazing and I love him,but Magic came right in and won a Championship against the Celtics.The guy could play every position and had the best court vision combined with being 6'9" with looong arms to rap and rifle his passes.Him loping down the court like a gazelle was a sight to behold.There were plenty of coast to coast highlights that ended in him throwing down in sick ways with a myriad of fakes and pumps.(esp. in the first half of his career)But what was most important was his ability to be a coach on the floor.Think about those Lakers teams.... Kareem was as Yogi would say always getting up there in age.Byron Scott and Michael Cooper had their roles..specialties.Worthy was great,but Magic made him so much better serving him dunks on a silver platter.He was the engine that made them run.Make no mistake in the eighties if the Rockets weren't playing then I was rooting for Showtime.This was the zenith of the NBA.... SO FAR.In some ways our trips to the finals during the reign of arguably the two greatest teams in NBA history are at least equal in accomplishment to our titles. If those Lakers teams don't have to play the Celtics and Magic doesn't have to retire then how many titles and assists does he have? Johnny Boy would have never have gotten a sniff.It doesn't matter though because personally I wouldn't have had it any other way. Dream has been and for quite awhile will still be ....underrated....I do believe history will give him the last laugh though...Ho Ho fockassed and unbeatable,....
