1.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2.Wilt Chamberlain 3.Bill Russell 4.Shaquille O'Neal 5.Hakeem Olajuwon Agree or disagree?
not in that order..but more or less the same players.. prolly be Wilt Russell Olajuwon kareem Shaq If shaq could shoot a freethrow to save his life he would be top3 imo
What's the criteria here? In terms of raw basketball ability and skill, do people really think that Bill Russell was a better player than, say, Moses Malone or David Robinson?
I tend to prefer skills over stats. And new players over old. You can't tell me LeBron wouldn't have torched any team he played against in Wilt's era. The championships also mean more in recent times because there is so much less continuity and the leagues are geared towards parity over dynasties. 1. Kareem 2. Hakeem 3. Shaq 4. Russell 4. Wilt
Yes I think he was. But I also think Moses Malone is one of the most under-rater players of all times. I think what hurt him the most is that he only won one ring. Becasue if you look at his stats he had many seasons where he put up numbers like 25 and 15....
But you can't put skills over championships. Hakeem only has 2 while Shaq has 4, Russell 11. So how can you put Hakeem ahead of them.
Mine would be: 1. Hakeem Olajuwon 2. Shaquille O'Neal 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3. 4.Wilt Chamberlain 5. Bill Russell Athletes of the old era weren’t even close to being as refined physically…..everything was taken up a notch once the league got bigger in the mid 80’s….. Can’t compare them in my opinion…apples and oranges.
rings are only part of the equation, not the entire thing, but at least you gave dream both his championships in this thread. are you sure jordan didn't take one of em? horry has 7 rings, perhaps he's better then wilt, shaq, dream, and jabbar?
Shaq and Russell have more than just rings on their resume. Russell won 3 stright MVP's and all defense team, reb. champs. And Shaq also have a nice resume with MVP's and all nba teams with 3 finals MVP's.
Hakeem had strength, speed, agility, small ego, and footwork that no other center could touch. He did it at both ends like no center ever could. Jabbar had longevity like no other, the Emmit Smith of basketball. Wilt had stats like no other. No one will ever come close to those kind of stats. And if someone comes close to 50 and 20 they will never also lead the league in assists. Russell had leadership and surrounding talent like no other. Will any other center coach and play for his team? Of course not. Shaq? The most unstoppable force in pro American pro sports history. For me its Olajuwon, Russell, Jabbar, Shaq, Chamberlain. If you count college too then things change. But I can see why its different for everybody. Its hard to argue.
I like your top five...however, you must be young or a new NBA fan. Dream was simply the best center EVER. He just never had the talent these other guys had around him. 1. Dream - Three finals appearances, two rings. Won once with an allstar sidekick (Otis Thorpe) and second with a superstar sidekick (Clyde Drexler). I should note that we would have gone on to whip the Bulls in 97, but were cheated by the Jazz in game 6 of the WCF. 2. Kareem - had Magic. Amazing what a good point guard can do for your career. See Suns, Phoenix. 3. Wilt Chamberlain - The most dominant player ever. 4. Shaq - The second most dominant player ever. Also had a better surrounding cast during his championships than Dream had. 5a. Bill Russell - Played on the best -team- ever, the 60's Celtics. 5b. Duncan
Yup. But my order? 1.) Hakeem Olajuwon - the most skilled overall with the least help and the best competition 2.) Bill Russell - freaking defined the position 3.) Wilt Chamberlain - most dominant center in history 4.) Lew Alcindor - great player but couldn't swing it without a point guard 5a.) Shaquille O'Neal - improves team chemistry, has been winning since the second he set foot in the league. Has taco neck syndrome. 5b.) George Mikan - if Russell defined it, Mikan invented it. Mikan's presence and dominance CHANGED RULES
what do you mean by BEST? The best player -Hakeem The best scorer -Jabar the best all round player-Malone The best entertainer- Hakeem- so many moves The best winner of championships Russell The best defencive player Russell The best offensive player-O'Neil The most dominent -Chamberlain The one with the highest score 100 -Chamberlain
right, but russell played with 6 more hall of famers then dream and shaq played his entire prime with kobe bryant who was arguably the second best player in the league. they didn't win more rings because they were individually better then dream. if you want to compare what they did against each other, well hakeem swept shaq right out of the finals in their only head to head matchup.
You can if Shaq got his championships with Kobe in a manner that could best be described as an eighteen-wheeler backing up into a building's docking area. When you win by being heavier and just shoving everyone else around and then dunking it, that's within the rules, but that's not skill, and it doesn't have to warrant my respect.
Ok ... so all any 7-footer has to do is gain an extra 100 pounds and then they'll be like Shaq? You can't discount that the guy was an athletic freak of nature. Even Hakeem was an athletic freak in his own way. Do you think if Olajuwon was built like Kelvin Cato he still would have been a great player? And as far as skill, Shaq his prime had great touch around the basket, superior foot work, and he was excellent at reading defenses and passing out of the double teams.
