greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

I got into this debate w/ my friend a while ago and then someone in OOT threw out an NBA player’s name as the greatest ever to play as if it were fact a few days ago. Are there any serious basketball fans in the house w/ an opinion? (I am a casual observer of the game but am opinionated nonetheless [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]).

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Depends on what you mean by greatest. I voted Jordan, btw.

Won scoring titles, won championships, was a leader - took the big shots, generated excitement every time he played, increased the popularity of the league, seemed like a decent guy off the court, on and on and on..

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

MJ. There is no arguing this one, fellas.

Swede

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

The only choices that should be on this poll are MJ, Wilt, and Oscar Robertson. Having Kareem on your poll clearly makes it a joke.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Not even close.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

I'd have to go with Antoine Carr. I swear to god I never saw him miss a shot, must have been like 38 for 38 while I was watching in his career.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

jerome kersey



since he wasn't on the list i was FORCED to go with MJ.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

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I'd have to go with Antoine Carr. I swear to god I never saw him miss a shot, must have been like 38 for 38 while I was watching in his career.

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that's like me and John Kruk. granted, he was a pretty good hitter, but, with me watching (on TV) I think he hit arouind .600 and slugged around 1.000. I swear he went 2-4 or 3-4 with two doubles every time I saw his games.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

I'm a huge Magic fan and Wilt obviously has to be considered, but it's Michael.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Hehe Darko. I really liked those Blazer teams that Kersey were part of. They were pretty stacked with Clyde, Jerome, Terry Porter, Buck Williams and Cliff Robinson. Too bad Duckworth was such a headcase back then, or they'd have a couple of more championships.

Swede

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

my vote is Wilt over Jordan. when their stats are compared side by side they are close but wilt just pulls ahead. wilt holds 50 records in the NBA (the most by a player)!!

one startling record: Wilt holds the record for the most games with 50+ points at 118 games in his career. (Michael Jordan is 2nd with 29 games.)

edit: wilt accomplished his records before the 3 point shot was introduced among other handicaps

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

You make a good argument, and it's pretty tough to vote against a guy who scored 100 points in a game. Seriously now, he himself scored more than many teams do. However, I think Wilt's success was more due to his incredible size/strength advantage. The league at the time simply couldn't counter him so it was like a grown man playing against children.

When MJ played the league was very competitive, the most competitive it's ever been in my opinion. Jordan overcame this and still kicked ass, in spite of being 6'6" and 220 lbs. And no one was better at making the shot when he had to than Michael. These are a few reasons why MJ is the right choice.

Swede

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

This is even worse than the Beatles vs. LZ thread. By a lot.

edit: and the answer is quami brown

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Modern era, Jordan, no question.

But I'm surprised Oscar Robertson isn't on the list.

Dude averaged a triple double for an entire season.

He was like 28/12/12 or some crazy [censored] like that.

If you're talking best all-around game, you can't ignore that.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

perhaps you should spend more time in your masturbation chair.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Jordan by a mile. Kareem should probably be replaced by Oscar Robertson and/or Bill Russell.

Giving up 100 points to a center is an awful defensive job. Wilt ruled, but back then double teaming was seen as a bad idea. Fouling Wilt 50 times a game would've also worked. Against defensive minded coaches of today he would've put up numbers similar to Shaq in his prime.

WJ

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

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But I'm surprised Oscar Robertson isn't on the list.

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I actually had robertson on the list originally but i knew overwhelmingly people would pick jordan because theyve seen him play and not favor more contemporary players.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

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But I'm surprised Oscar Robertson isn't on the list.

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I actually had robertson on the list originally but i knew overwhelmingly people would pick jordan because theyve seen him play and not favor more contemporary players.

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This post makes no sense at all. If you were keeping people off the poll b/c you thought everyone would pick Jordan then why even have other options?? Oscar Robinson should have been clearly been on the list. Hence you too are a Polltard!

Also how is Shaq not on the list? His presence on both ends of the court is unmatched by anyone on this list. I still take Jordan, but he still deserves a mention.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

http://unlimited.nba.free.fr/kwame.jpg

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Where's the box for Kurt Rambis?

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Wilt slept with ~20K women, who can argue that he wasn't the greatest player ever?

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

YEAH BOY! YEAH BOY! PICK UP THE PHONE!

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Jordan. Not very close IMO. I agree with the others that Robertson should've been on this list, and find it absurd that he doesn't get the attention that Magic, Bird, Jabbar and the other legends get. I hadn't heard of him until I was like 12.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Larry Bird? Jesus H. Christ.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Now if the question was greatest honky player in the NBA Bird looks like a strong contender.

Swede

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Yeah, I'm just saying that having Larry Bird on the short list is like putting Joe D. on the short list of best baseball players ever.

You can know he's an inner circle HOFer and still realize that he ain't near the best ever.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

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Larry Bird? Jesus H. Christ.

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Well he is the Basketball Jesus

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

I voted for MJ, but could make an argument for Wilt. There is no need to list other players. IMO, no good argument can be made (ok, Maybe the Big O) for any other player compared to these two.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

No option for Lebron? You will regret this poll in about 8 years.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Lebron, easy.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

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You will regret this poll in about 8 years.

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lol, potd

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

John Stockton.


sorry I'm a homer

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Clearly it was Sam Bowie, then Clyde Drexler, then Michael Jordan.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

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Larry Bird? Jesus H. Christ.

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He's easily top 5 all time.

He was a better 3 pt shooter than Jordan, a better FT shooter, and while Jordan did average more PPG over his career, about 2/3 of those PPG can be attributed to getting to the free throw line more per game.

That said, I voted Jordan.

Bird is ahead of Magic, imo. And I hate the Celtics. But Bird's greatness cannot be denied.

If there are 3 seconds left on the shot clock, game 7 of the NBA finals, with the opposition leading by 2, there's no one I want more than Larry Bird to take that shot.

And having Bird on the short list is not like having DiMaggio on the short list. DiMaggio was top 30 all time. Bird is top 5 all time. Bird was much better at basketball than DiMaggio was at baseball.

Top 5 players of all time, imo:

Jordan
Chamberlain
Robertson
Bird
Kareem

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

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If there are 3 seconds left on the shot clock, game 7 of the NBA finals, with the opposition leading by 2, there's no one I want more than Larry Bird to take that shot.


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What about Robert Horry

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

11 rings and he didn't make the list? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Yeah I'm loving his lifetime FG% of 43%.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

To throw things into perspective, here are Oscar Robertson's ROOKIE stats. He led the league in assists that year.

Points: 30.5
Assists: 9.7
Rebounds: 10.1

He followed that up with these sophomore stats.

Points: 30.8
Assists: 11.4
Rebounds: 12.5

That might be the greatest season ever, seriously. Think about if a player was throwing up numbers like that these days.

Also, keep in mind that there was no 3-point shot.

For comparison, Jordan and LeBron's first two year stats.

Jordan Rookie Season

Points: 28.2
Assists: 5.9
Rebounds: 6.5

Jordan Third Season (I'll ignore his sophomore season, actually, since he was injured)

Points: 37.1
Assists: 4.6
Rebounds: 5.2


LeBron Rookie Season

Points: 20.9
Assists: 5.9
Rebounds: 5.5

LeBron Sophomore Season

Points: 27.2
Assists: 7.2
Rebounds: 7.4

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

[ QUOTE ]
To throw things into perspective, here are Oscar Robertson's ROOKIE stats. He led the league in assists that year.

Points: 30.5
Assists: 9.7
Rebounds: 10.1

He followed that up with these sophomore stats.

Points: 30.8
Assists: 11.4
Rebounds: 12.5

That might be the greatest season ever, seriously. Think about if a player was throwing up numbers like that these days.

Also, keep in mind that there was no 3-point shot.

For comparison, Jordan and LeBron's first two year stats.

Jordan Rookie Season

Points: 28.2
Assists: 5.9
Rebounds: 6.5

Jordan Third Season (I'll ignore his sophomore season, actually, since he was injured)

Points: 37.1
Assists: 4.6
Rebounds: 5.2


LeBron Rookie Season

Points: 20.9
Assists: 5.9
Rebounds: 5.5

LeBron Sophomore Season

Points: 27.2
Assists: 7.2
Rebounds: 7.4

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Different era, but the Big O's numbers are extremely impressive. That being said, Jordan's unbelievable dominance in clutch situations as well as his huge psychological edge over the opposition -- combined, of course with his stellar numbers, particularly his FG% -- make him the clear favorite in this competion. If you were up 90-89 and the Bulls had the last posession, you probably felt like you had already lost.

Re: greatest player ever in the NBA?
 

Uhm... where is Bill Russell?????