Your top 10 players all-time

[baseline bum]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Larry Bird
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Wilt Chamberlain
6. Oscar Robertson
7. Hakeem Olajuwon
8. Tim Duncan
9. Shaquille O'Neal
10. Isiah Thomas

[Bob Lanier]

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. Michael Jordan
3. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Earvin Johnson
5. Hakeem Olajuwon
6. Bill Russell
7. Larry Bird
8. Julius Erving
9. Oscar Robertson
10. Moses Malone

[JamStone]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Oscar Robertson
5. Bill Russell
6. Hakeem Olajuwon
7. Tim Duncan
8. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
9. Larry Bird
10. Shaquille O'Neal

[Dre_7]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Oscar Robertson
4. Bill Russell
5. Wilt Chamberlain
6. Tim Duncan
7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
8. Larry Bird
9. Hakeem Olajuwon
10. Shaquille O'Neal

[dbreiden83080]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Oscar Robertson
4. Bill Russell
5. Wilt Chamberlain
6. Tim Duncan
7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
8. Larry Bird
9. Hakeem Olajuwon
10. Shaquille O'Neal

Pretty much agree although a lot of names are interchangeable on the top 10 list. But Duncan is on it for sure.

[baseline bum]

How is Bird 3rd best ever to play the game?? As a player right off the bat he was nowhere near as complete as Hakeem and Duncan. Bird was never a great defender.

1. Bird is the greatest shooter in NBA history.
2. Bird is at worst one of the top 5 passers in NBA history.
3. Bird was the toughest sob in the history of the league; he dominated it for years with a destroyed back, and hustled like a 12th-man making a case to his coach.
4. Bird is the greatest clutch player I've ever seen.

Had Bird not destroyed his back in '83, he'd probably be the most complete player in NBA history.

[dbreiden83080]

1. Bird is the greatest shooter in NBA history.
2. Bird is at worst one of the top 5 passers in NBA history.
3. Bird was the toughest sob in the history of the league; he dominated it for years with a destroyed back, and hustled like a 12th-man making a case to his coach.
4. Bird is the greatest clutch shooter of all-time.

Had Bird not destroyed his back in '83, he'd probably be the most complete player in NBA history.

Bird was a beast on offense and mediocre on Defense. If he was not knocking his shot down, he did not have the impact that a Duncan and Hakeem did on the game. How many times have you seen Timmy, be off with his shot and take over the game on D and on the glass?? Bird is not as complete a player as the likes of Timmy and Hakeem, sorry not in my top 5. Got Dream and Timmy ahead of him.

[Dre_7]

1. Bird is the greatest shooter in NBA history.
2. Bird is at worst one of the top 5 passers in NBA history.
3. Bird was the toughest sob in the history of the league; he dominated it for years with a destroyed back, and hustled like a 12th-man making a case to his coach.
4. Bird is the greatest clutch player I've ever seen.

Had Bird not destroyed his back in '83, he'd probably be the most complete player in NBA history.

Thats a good argument for Bird, but how can you leave Russell off the list? He has a ring for each finger, both thumbs, and one toe.

[dallaskd]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Pete Maravich
3. Larry Bird
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Magic Johnson
6. Wilt Chamberlain
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Bill Russell
9. Shaquille O'Neal
10. Kobe Bryant

had to snub a few deserving guys. hard to judge because i wasnt alive to see alot of them play.

[baseline bum]

Bird was a beast on offense and mediocre on Defense. If he was not knocking his shot down, he did not have the impact that a Duncan and Hakeem did on the game. How many times have you seen Timmy, be off with his shot and take over the game on D and on the glass?? Bird is not as complete a player as the likes of Timmy and Hakeem, sorry not in my top 5. Got Dream and Timmy ahead of him.

Bird's shot was never not falling. He was an incredible passer on the break. He made Robert Parish into a Hall of Famer with all the easy layups he fed him. He fought for loose balls, and was a good rebounder. Bird is the king of intangibles.

The guy singlehandedly took a team of nobodies @ Indiana State and won 33 straight, taking them to the championship game (which they lost against Magic and Michigan State). If that doesn't say something about how much he did to improve his teammates, I don't know what will. I never saw a game from Bird where he didn't make an impact.

[timvp]

1. Bird is the greatest shooter in NBA history.

No way. How could you make a case for that? He wasn't that impressive as a three-point shooter and was only shot about 40-45% most years on his midrange shots. His field goal percentage would be around 50% because he scored a majority of his baskets around the rim.

There's really no way you can call a guy who shot 32.1% on three-pointers in the playoffs for his career the best shooter in NBA history. That simply doesn't compute. You can say he hit difficult shots but with the amount of Hall of Fame talent around him, he got plenty of open looks. Even a player like Michael Finley would laugh at 32.1%. Finley sucked this year and shot almost 5% higher in the playoffs and has never shot that bad in any playoff run. And that was Bird's career total.

I don't like Ray Allen but there's no way one can honestly say Bird was the better shooter. Allen almost tripled Bird's career-high in three-pointers made in '06. Allen's doesn't shoot a lot around the rim so his overall percentage isn't artificially higher. Plus Allen's career three-point percentage in the playoffs is higher than his regular season percentage.

Reggie Miller is another player who was a much better shooter.

2. Bird is at worst one of the top 5 passers in NBA history.

Eh I'd take Stockton, Kidd, Nash, Magic and Cousy ahead of him any day.

3. Bird was the toughest sob in the history of the league; he dominated it for years with a destroyed back, and hustled like a 12th-man making a case to his coach.

That's subjective so it's tough to argue but I think that's closer to hyperbole than fact.

4. Bird is the greatest clutch player I've ever seen.

He had clutch moment, no doubt. His top moments are some of the most memoriable in history.

However, looking at his full body of work, it'd be hard to say Bird was the clutchest player ever. What type of clutch player shoots 5% worse from three-pointers in the playoffs? What type of clutch player scores less points per game on lower field goal percentage in more minutes per game in the playoffs?

If you are talking about clutch for one shot, then you can make a case for that. Clutch as far as career clutch, no way.

[balli]

I guess that ^ settles things.

I base this on my own just made up hybrid scale of talent, accomplishment and compensation for era.

1. MJ
2. Magic
3. Bill Russell
4. Bird
5. Kareem
6. Tim Duncan
7. Shaq
8. Oscar Robertson
9. Wilt
10. John Stockton

And check back in a few years to see if Kobe ends up in that #2 spot.

[dallaskd]

Pistol Pete!!!!

[balli]

Pistol Pete!!!!

NCAA forum.

But to be fair the thread doesn't specifically say top 10 NBA players. Still, if we're talking NBA, no way The Pistol is top 10.

[dallaskd]

NCAA forum.

But to be fair the thread doesn't specifically say top 10 NBA players. Still, if we're talking NBA, no way The Pistol is top 10.

it says top players of all time. anyways this is a great book...

[PM5K]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Who Cares?

[shelshor]

1. Bill Russell
2. Tim Duncan
3. John Havlicek
4. Oscar Robertson
5. Nate "Tiny" Archibald
6. Larry Bird
7. George Gervin
8. Elgin Baylor
9. Bob Cousy
10. Hakeem Olajuwon

[ShoogarBear]

1. Jordan
2. Magic
3. Russell
4. Wilt
5. Bird
6. Kareem
7. Oscar
8. Duncan
9. Shaq
10. Hakeem

[ShoogarBear]

1. Bill Russell
2. Tim Duncan
3. John Havlicek
4. Oscar Robertson
5. Nate "Tiny" Archibald
6. Larry Bird
7. George Gervin
8. Elgin Baylor
9. Bob Cousy
10. Hakeem Olajuwon

Celtic much?

[MateoNeygro]

1. Rex Chapman
2. Cedric Ceballos
3. Steve Kerr
4. Shawn Kemp
5. Luc Longley
6. Will Perdue
7. Chuck Person
8. Mario Ellie
9. Vinny Del Negro
10. Kwame Brown

[m33p0]

No way. How could you make a case for that? He wasn't that impressive as a three-point shooter and was only shot about 40-45% most years on his midrange shots. His field goal percentage would be around 50% because he scored a majority of his baskets around the rim.

There's really no way you can call a guy who shot 32.1% on three-pointers in the playoffs for his career the best shooter in NBA history. That simply doesn't compute. You can say he hit difficult shots but with the amount of Hall of Fame talent around him, he got plenty of open looks. Even a player like Michael Finley would laugh at 32.1%. Finley sucked this year and shot almost 5% higher in the playoffs and has never shot that bad in any playoff run. And that was Bird's career total.

I don't like Ray Allen but there's no way one can honestly say Bird was the better shooter. Allen almost tripled Bird's career-high in three-pointers made in '06. Allen's doesn't shoot a lot around the rim so his overall percentage isn't artificially higher. Plus Allen's career three-point percentage in the playoffs is higher than his regular season percentage.

Reggie Miller is another player who was a much better shooter.

Eh I'd take Stockton, Kidd, Nash, Magic and Cousy ahead of him any day.

That's subjective so it's tough to argue but I think that's closer to hyperbole than fact.

He had clutch moment, no doubt. His top moments are some of the most memoriable in history.

However, looking at his full body of work, it'd be hard to say Bird was the clutchest player ever. What type of clutch player shoots 5% worse from three-pointers in the playoffs? What type of clutch player scores less points per game on lower field goal percentage in more minutes per game in the playoffs?

If you are talking about clutch for one shot, then you can make a case for that. Clutch as far as career clutch, no way.

alot of those shots he took under duress. and the reason why miller's % is higher is because he passed up alot of shots if his man was within an arm's length of him. i wouldn't say he's the clutchest ever. that le belongs to jordan. but bird did fight for every possession. which, to me, is why he's career was so short. that, and the fact that kc jones worked his 1st five to death.

[Galileo]

1. Tim Duncan
2. Hakeem Olajuwon
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabber
4. Magic Johnson
5. Larry Bird
6. Bill Russell
7. Michael Jordan
8. Bob Cousy
9. Shaquille O'Neal
10. Wilt Chamberlain

[Girasuck]

1- Jordan
2- Magic
3- Russell
4- Wilt
5- Robertson
6- Bird
7- Kareem
8- Hakeem
9- Duncan
10- Stockton

[resistanze]

1. Jordan
2. Kareem
3. Magic
4. Wilt
5. Russell
6. Bird
7. Oscar
8. Duncan
9. Shaq
10. Hakeem

[SenorSpur]

Not in any particular order:

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. Michael Jordan
3. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Earvin Johnson
5. Hakeem Olajuwon
6. Bill Russell
7. Larry Bird
8. Julius Erving
9. Oscar Robertson
10. Tim Duncan