Hollinger's players of the decade

[DAF86]

Insider help, please.

[stretch]

spurs r gay

[endrity]

yes, someone please?

[alchemist]

his top 3 were

1. Duncan
2. KG
3. Kobe

[anonoftheinternets]

ugh KG at 2 ... credibility lost ..

[21_Blessings]

his top 3 were

1. Duncan
2. KG
3. Kobe

What a bitter faggot.

[TIMMYD!]

KG is nowhere near Tim's and Kobe's level, not even sure he'd be a Top-5 Player of the Decade.

[Double-Up]

I don't get it...how the fuck does KG beat out Kobe? :lol

[IronMexican]

It don't get it...how the fuck does KG beat out Kobe? :lol

Hollinger's whole system has never been pro-Kobe. People think he's "hating" but it's just a flawed system(How many systems aren't flawed, though?)

[21_Blessings]

Hollinger's whole system has never been pro-Kobe. People think he's "hating" but it's just a flawed system(How many systems aren't flawed, though?)

He's a closet Portland fan and a Jordan worshiper. Even ignoring his sysem Chimpy constantly takes indirect shots at Kobe.

50% hate/50% KOBE IS OVERRATED READ MY ARTICLES.

[endrity]

It's just that Hollinger's PER puts a lot of emphasis on "efficiency", shooting percentage, turnovers, ability to do more than just score, and statistically speaking that's not been Kobe's forte, ever! During the middle parts of the decade KG was routinely at the top of the PER ratings, in fact Hollinger has maintained that he was the best player in 2005 regardless of the Shaq v. Nash MVP duel. So it's not a complete surprise to be honest.

[endrity]

So, could someone please post it then? Lars?

[Spursmania]

What a bitter faggot.

:lol

[resistanze]

lol @ KG even in the discussion.

[IronMexican]

He's a closet Portland fan and a Jordan worshiper. Even ignoring his sysem Chimpy constantly takes indirect shots at Kobe.

50% hate/50% KOBE IS OVERRATED READ MY ARTICLES.

What do you want him to say? Of course he wont come out and say his system is flawed.

[Muser]

:lmao at KG being #2

[HarlemHeat37]

KG at his peak was better than Kobe..believe it..

Kobe's pretty much the only superstar non-PG that doesn't have the advanced metrics on his side in these comparisons..

[gaKNOW!blee]

With that said, let's introduce my top 10 players of the decade:

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Pierce
10. Paul Pierce (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=662)

He didn't have the blow-up years players like McGrady, Vince Carter (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=136) or Gilbert Arenas (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=974) did, but he was phenomenally consistent and durable. Pierce kept his PER in the 20 range all decade, was a much better defender than most high-scoring wings and, of course, was the MVP of the 2008 NBA Finals. He never made first-team All-NBA and never should have, but his body of work across the entire decade puts him on this list.

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Wade
9. Dwyane Wade (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1987)

You can make a strong argument for ranking Wade higher given his two historic performances, the first coming in the 2006 Finals (which I've argued was the best Finals effort in history (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=FinalsPerformances-1)) and the second coming with his brilliant play in 2008-09. But major gaps litter his record: a pair of 51-game seasons due to injuries and a brief résumé before 2006. On a 2005-2014 All-Decade team five years from now he'd probably crack the top three or four, but on this list his body of work is too limited to rate higher than ninth.

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Billups
8. Chauncey Billups (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=63)

The only player on this list to make seven straight conference finals, Billups wasn't a bit player on any of those teams; he consistently posted PERs in the low 20s and added solid defense at the point. In terms of hardware, he won the 2004 Finals MVP, and would have taken home a second if Detroit had hung on to a second-half lead in Game 7 of the 2005 Finals against San Antonio. Billups also started for eight straight 50-win teams, including one in Minnesota. While he failed to garner the same appreciation his contemporaries did this decade -- just four All-Star teams and three All-NBA teams -- only one player has a stronger case as point guard of the decade.

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Nash
7. Steve Nash (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=592)

While I'm dubious about Nash's two MVP awards, one can't deny he's one of the best offensive players in history. He never won the big prize this decade, but his teams went to three conference finals in a difficult Western Conference. And despite his perceived frailty he also proved durable, playing at least 70 games in every full season this decade. Nash's strongest case, however, lies in the dazzling offensive efficiency numbers his teams posted. While he never lacked for help, his teams led the league an amazing eight times. Most notably, his 2003-04 Dallas team was the best offense in history.

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James
6. LeBron James (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1966)

LeBron has two principal shortcomings that keep him out of the top five on this list. The first, the lack of a championship ring, is likely to be remedied at some point in the next several years. The second, however, is that his track record is half a decade shorter than the other guys'. While James' 2008-09 regular season included the best PER ever by a player not named Jordan and marked his second straight season leading the league, he had only three MVP-contender seasons and two others that were All-NBA worthy. That pales beside the players above him on this list, so he'll have to settle for sixth.

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Nowitzki
5. Dirk Nowitzki (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=609)

Nowitzki's résumé lacks only an NBA title for validation; the Dwyane Wade Show in 2006 and a knee injury in 2003 eliminated his best chances. (Side note: Don't forget that fadeaway he hit over Shaq in Game 5 in Miami before the foul call on Wade). Otherwise, he won one MVP award and had three other seasons that were MVP-caliber. He also made the All-NBA team nine years despite a surplus of quality players at his position. Additionally, Nowitzki's teams won at least 50 games every full season this decade, capped by 67 in 2006-07; that's a feat only Tim Duncan can match.

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O'Neal
4. Shaquille O'Neal (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=614)

I have some misgivings about putting him this low because of his astronomic peak value: For the first three years of the decade, he was one of the three greatest players in history. The rest of his decade, however, wasn't nearly as impressive. He won another championship and made four more All-NBA first teams, but he wasn't as durable (missing at least 15 games six different times) or as consistent (loafing through his last year and a half in Miami) as the other players on this list. He should have been first, in other words, but I can't put him higher than fourth.

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Bryant
3. Kobe Bryant (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=110)

Bryant is unquestionably the most memorable player of this decade, not to mention the most watchable. He's not the best, though. He won one MVP award and four rings, but was only the lead dog on one of the championship teams, and in terms of PER he has more in common with Nowitzki than the other players in the top five. Though it's been common to hear people say he's the best player in the league, thumb through his résumé and it's hard to pinpoint a single season in which you could prove that was true. Subjectively, one can also say he didn't understand how to constructively channel his insatiable competitiveness until the final two or three years of the decade.
That he outranks Shaq and all but two other players is a testament to his consistency -- including seven top-5 MVP finishes -- and tenacity. Few star guards have defended better, especially in big moments. He made the All-Defense team every year but one.

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Garnett
2. Kevin Garnett (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=261)

Unfairly lampooned for not leading a deeply flawed Minnesota team past the likes of L.A. and San Antonio, Garnett showed what he can do with some better help around him after he was traded to Boston. He led the league in PER in back-to-back seasons in Minnesota, but didn't get a single MVP vote the second year because his supporting cast was so bad. In Boston, he proved his defensive dominance by leading one of the greatest defensive teams in history to a title. He made the All-Defense team every year of the decade, was a first-team pick eight times and won the defensive player of the year award in 2008; had he been traded to Boston a few years earlier he probably would have won the award a few more times.
Since I presume I'll need to defend this ranking to the larger world, I'll add two more facts. First, it will no doubt shock readers to learn that Garnett's career playoff PER is better than Bryant's and, in fact, ranks in the top 10 in post-merger history; his primary shortcoming in Minnesota wasn't a lack of mettle in the clutch, it was that he couldn't fire Kevin McHale. Second, recall that the one time this decade Garnett and Bryant met as the alpha males on their respective teams, Garnett's side rolled.

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Duncan
1. Tim Duncan (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=215)

Perhaps the unsexiest superstar in league history, Duncan proved monotonously, predictably, devastatingly effective while earning two MVPs, three championships, seven first-team All-NBA selections, seven first-team All-Defense nods, and seven top-5 MVP finishes. He won at least 53 games every year of the decade, and no player this decade won a title with anywhere near as little help as he had in 2003; only one teammate averaged more than a dozen points, 20-year-old Tony Parker (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1015) at 15.5.Duncan didn't have any stratospheric seasons, but he consistently played at an MVP level the entire decade. For several players above I recounted how many MVP-contender seasons they had; in Duncan's case, it was all of them. Nobody writes flowing prose about him because of how he played, but there's only one choice for Player of the Decade.
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A couple more All-Decade awards


Coach of the Decade: (tie) Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson
Rookie of the Decade: Chris Paul (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2779), 2005-06
Sixth Man of the Decade: Manu Ginobili
Defensive Player of the Decade: Ben Wallace (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=885)
Decade All-Defensive Team:
C: Wallace
PF (tie): Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett
SF: Ron Artest (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=25)
SG: Bruce Bowen (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=83)
PG: Jason Kidd


A lot of Spurs love....

[BlackSwordsMan]

duncan at one? FUCKING BULLSHIT

[BlackSwordsMan]

PF (tie): Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett :lmao
intensity > boring championships

[namlook]

Garnett hasn't won enough rings to be #2. He's ahead of two guys who have won 4? Yeah right.

Kobe and Duncan should be 1A and 1B

Shaq had a dominant 1st half of the decade and fell off after that. Shaq is clearly #3 though because he won 4 rings and had 3 finals MVPs,

Then we can look at the other players like KG.

[Venti Quattro]

Hollinger is a certified Laker Hater so no surprises.

[HarlemHeat37]

Hollinger isn't a "hater" though..going by that logic, his "formula" is "hating" on the Lakers..so you're basically saying a computer hates the Lakers..

[Venti Quattro]

It's more than his computer savvy or his knowledge in stats. It's more than that. This guy flat out hates the Lakers.

[DAF86]

Where's Kidd?

IMO the list should go:

1)Duncan (due to consistency)
2)O'neal (highest peak of all)
3)Kobe
4)Garnett
5)Lebron
6)Wade
7)Nash
8)Kidd
9)Nowitzki
10)Iverson

[Venti Quattro]

Where's Kidd?

IMO the list should go:

1)Duncan (due to consistency)
2)O'neal (highest peak of all)
3)Kobe
4)Garnett
5)Lebron
6)Wade
7)Nash
8)Kidd
9)Nowitzki
10)Iverson

I can take LOLLinger's article he made his list this way.

[HarlemHeat37]

Dirk at #9 DAF?..

[Venti Quattro]

Dirk at #9 DAF?..

Dirk is severely underrated IMO.

[DAF86]

Dirk at #9 DAF?..

Yeah, I aparently don't think as much of Dirk as a lot of people do in here, maybe I caught him in a lot of bad games during this decade, I should start watching more Dallas games, he's obviously a great player but he never struck(?) fear in my heart, maybe it's his style of play (a 7 footer that shoots jumpers and isn't a presence on defense), I don't know I just don't think as highly of him as most guys in here do.

[DAF86]

I also think that Spurs fans overrate Dirk a little because he always plays well against us.

[endrity]

Well given that the Spurs have managed to take almost any superstar out of their game during the clutch moments in decade, Shaq and Kobe probably being the only exception to the rule, than it's no small feat to accomplish what Dirk has. I mean, has anyone taken Pop more out of his philosophy than Dirk did during the 06 playoffs?

[Killakobe81]

Hollinger's whole system has never been pro-Kobe. People think he's "hating" but it's just a flawed system(How many systems aren't flawed, though?)

There are other that are more "pro-Kobe" but who cares?! For example last year Hollinger argued that OKC was better with Durant off the floor ...his system does not take in account the "threat" that durant provided even if his defense and rebounding weret strong last year ...
You HAVE to use your eyes looking at boxcores dont always tell you teh story stast should be used to support what you see ...Another great example of that is Shane Battier his numbers HARDLY ever do justice to teh impact he plays on a game I would LOVE to have Battier on he Lakers even more than artest even though Ronn is the better offensive player ...but Ron is underappreciated by stats as well ...

[spursncowboys]

He's a closet Portland fan and a Jordan worshiper. Even ignoring his sysem Chimpy constantly takes indirect shots at Kobe.

50% hate/50% KOBE IS OVERRATED READ MY ARTICLES.
I don't think he ever got over the Kings loss.