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Here comes the bleeding butthole brigade to whine all over the thread.
Kobe or LeBron? LeBron or Kobe? Trying to settle on the best player in the NBA—Lakers guard Kobe Bryant(notes) or Cavaliers forward LeBron James(notes)—is no easy choice.
But, according to Sporting News’ panel of experts, Bryant is the clear-cut No. 1. Bryant tops SN’s list of the 50 greatest players in the NBA today, as selected by a panel of 107 Hall of Famers, major award winners, executives, current players and coaches and other basketball experts.
Bryant received almost twice as many first-place votes as James, 62 to 34.
Heat guard Dwyane Wade(notes) was third on the list and received 11 first-place votes. Magic center Dwight Howard(notes) was fourth, and Spurs power forward Tim Duncan(notes) fifth.
Rounding out the top 10: Hornets point guard Chris Paul(notes), Celtics power forward Kevin Garnett(notes), Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki(notes), Nuggets small forward Carmelo Anthony(notes), and Celtics small forward Paul Pierce(notes).
"I think what we’ve seen from Kobe in the last two, three years is that he has become an incredible leader," former Lakers great Magic Johnson said about Bryant. "That was the only thing he had to do that was left on his resume. Before, there was no question that he was the best basketball player in the world, like he is now. He was dominant every night, but he didn’t take on that leadership role. … Now, he is the total package."
SN’s Top 50 breakdown
By team
5: Lakers
4: Celtics, Spurs
3: Hawks, Pistons, Rockets
2: Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Jazz, Magic, Mavericks, Nuggets, Raptors, 76ers, Suns
1: Bulls, Bucks, Clippers, Heat, Hornets, Nets, Pacers, Thunder, Trail Blazers, Wizards
0: Bobcats, Kings, Knicks, Timberwolves, Warriors
By position
Point guard: 11
Shooting guard: 12
Small forward: 11
Power forward: 10
Center: 6
SN’s TOP 50 PLAYERS
1. Kobe Bryant, SG, Lakers
2. LeBron James, SF, Cavaliers
3. Dwyane Wade, SG, Heat
4. Dwight Howard, C, Magic
5. Tim Duncan, PF, Spurs
6. Chris Paul, PG, Hornets
7. Kevin Garnett, PF, Celtics
8. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Mavericks
9. Carmelo Anthony, SF, Nuggets
10. Paul Pierce, SF, Celtics
11. Steve Nash(notes), PG, Suns
12. Deron Williams(notes), PG, Jazz
13. Tony Parker(notes), PG, Spurs
14. Brandon Roy(notes), SG, Trail Blazers
15. Yao Ming(notes), C, Rockets
16. Shaquille O’Neal(notes), C, Cavaliers
17. Pau Gasol(notes), PF, Lakers
18. Chris Bosh(notes), PF, Raptors
19. Amare Stoudemire, PF, Suns
20. Chauncey Billups(notes), PG, Nuggets
21. Kevin Durant(notes), SF, Thunder
22. Manu Ginobili(notes), SG, Spurs
23. Jason Kidd(notes), PG, Mavericks
24. Tracy McGrady(notes), SG, Rockets
25. Joe Johnson(notes), SG, Hawks
26. Derrick Rose(notes), PG, Bulls
27. Ray Allen(notes), SG, Celtics
28. Gilbert Arenas(notes), PG, Wizards
29. Ron Artest(notes), SF, Lakers
30. Vince Carter(notes), SG, Magic
31. Danny Granger(notes), SF, Pacers
32. Baron Davis(notes), PG, Clippers
33. Devin Harris(notes), PG, Nets
34. Ben Gordon(notes), SG, Pistons
35. Al Horford(notes), C, Hawks
36. Carlos Boozer(notes), PF, Jazz
37. Nene, C, Nuggets
38. Rajon Rondo(notes), PG, Celtics
39. Andre Iguodala(notes), SG, 76ers
40. Josh Smith(notes), PF, Hawks
41. Rudy Gay(notes), SF, Grizzlies
42. Hedo Turkoglu(notes), SF, Raptors
43. Lamar Odom(notes), SF, Lakers
44. Shane Battier(notes), SF, Rockets
45. Elton Brand(notes), PF, 76ers
46. Richard Jefferson(notes), SF, Spurs
47. O.J. Mayo(notes), SG, Grizzlies
48. Charlie Villanueva(notes), PF, Pistons
49. Michael Redd(notes), SG, Bucks
50. Andrew Bynum(notes), C, Lakers
SN’s PANEL
Gene Banks
Rick Barry
Elgin Baylor
Butch Beard
Walt Bellamy
Travis Best
Otis Birdsong
Muggsy Bogues
Jeff Bower
Bill Bradley
Terrell Brandon
Allan Bristow
Dee Brown(notes)
Hubie Brown
Mike Brown
P.J. Brown(notes)
Marcus Camby(notes)
Rick Carlisle
Bill Cartwright
Tyson Chandler(notes)
Phil Chenier
Doug Christie(notes)
Archie Clark
Jim Cleamons
Wayne Cooper
Bob Cousy
Dave Cowens
Mike D’Antoni
Don Delaney
Joe Dumars
Mike Dunleavy
Mark Eaton
Craig Ehlo
Mario Elie
Gar Forman
Harry Gallatin
Garmaker
Mike Gminski
Cliff Hagan
John Hammond
Tim Hardaway
Tom Heinsohn
Rod Higgins
Bob Hill
Lionel Hollins
Bob Houbregs
Bailey Howell
Eddie Johnson
Marques Johnson
Bobby Jones(notes)
George Karl
Steve Kerr
Bob Kurland
Frank Layden
Tim Legler
Ronnie Lester
Earl Lloyd
Donyell Marshall(notes)
Bob McAdoo
Rodney McCray
McGuire
Brad Miller(notes)
Earl Monroe
Daryl Morey
David Morway
Tracy Murray
Tom Nissalke
Norm Nixon
Kevin O’Connor
Will Perdue
Geoff Petrie
Bob Pet
Randy Pfund
Scot Pollard(notes)
Gregg Popovich
Kevin Pritchard
Jack Ramsay
Frank Ramsey
Arnie Risen
Oscar Robertson
Scotty Robertson
Jimmy Rodgers
John Salley
Flip Saunders
Charlie Scott
Bill Sharman
Purvis Short
Jim Spanarkel
Steve Stipanovich
Ed Stefanski
Rod Thorn
Jay Triano
Kelly Tripucka
Jack Twyman
Van Arsdale
Kiki Vandeweghe
Stan Van Gundy
Vitale
Chet Walker
Bobby Wanzer
Mark Warkentien
Slick Watts
Bill Wennington
Jerry West
Lenny Wilkens
Pat Williams
Brian Winters
For much more on the NBA’s 50 greatest players, pick up the Dec. 7 edition of Sporting News at Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...=tsn&type=lgns
Here comes the bleeding butthole brigade to whine all over the thread.
dirk and melo are both better than garnett, cp3 is better than duncan and maybe dwight
I am feeling a lot of blind hatred headed this threads way.
Oh, and Wade/Lebron > Kobe
Why the is Shaq in the top 20?
I think LeBron is more physically skilled than Kobe, and at 7 years younger, his time is coming. They're basically 1A and 1B at this point. Because he's younger, he can drive to the basket more while Kobe has to pick his spots. But Kobe is a threat to score from anywhere on the court and must be defended the entire court, whereas LeBron doesn't have the shooting range that Kobe does.
Hmm, as for my top ten:
Top Three, in no particular order: Kobe, Bron, Wade
Next Group, no particular order: Dirk, Duncan, CP3, Carmelo, Dwight
Top 8 is easy enough to determine, but there's about 5 or 6 guys who could fit the bill to round out the 2 spots left in the top 10.
Huh? If this is the case, these guys are way overrated.16. Shaquille O’Neal(notes), C, Cavaliers
19. Amare Stoudemire, PF, Suns
24. Tracy McGrady(notes), SG, Rockets
28. Gilbert Arenas(notes), PG, Wizards
32. Baron Davis(notes), PG, Clippers
33. Devin Harris(notes), PG, Nets
38. Rajon Rondo(notes), PG, Celtics
45. Elton Brand(notes), PF, 76ers
48. Charlie Villanueva(notes), PF, Pistons
What does "physically skilled" even mean Findog? Yeah he's bigger and more athletic - that's it. Gifted is the word you're looking for.
At Lebron's age Kobe already had a fleshed out post-game and one of the best pull up mid-range jumpers in the league. Lebron has alot of catching up to do if he wants to be playing at a high level in his 30s like Kobe is currently doing. His physical gifts won't beat age.
I agree that LeBron is getting by on his physical gifts more than polish at this point, which is why I have to give the nod to Kobe for now. His basketball smarts will get better as his physical skills decline...both Jordan and now Kobe were able to compensate for their loss of athleticism by expanding their games, but I agree that he needs to develop the same kind of shooting range Kobe has to be at the same level in his thirties. Kobe has been playing starter's minutes since his second year in the league, and he has definitely slowed down somewhat physically. But he is the best player in the league because of his basketball IQ, work ethic and mastering his craft/skills.
The Real Top Five
1.) LeBron James
2.) Dwyane Wade
3.) Kobe Bryant
4.) Chris Paul
5.) Dwight Howard
People need to stop living in the past.
Howard and Paul are top 10, not top 5, and Kobe is the best player in the league, just a hair above LBJ and Wade. Not by a wide margin, but I think it's true.
43% shooting and his team sucks.
Name two players not on my list who are better than Chris Paul (and, I guess, Dwight Howard).
Dwyane Wade Career FG% - .481
Kobe Bryant Career FG% - .455
I know you aren't talking about field goal percentages.
But seriously claiming Lebron is better than Kobe would be like saying Karl Malone was better than Jordan during his second three-peat.
Nope, it's just blatantly obvious that LeBron is better than Kobe.
Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony and Dirk Nowitzki.
CP3: You could argue that PG is a more important position than PF or SF, and it's better to have a PG like Paul than a big, but I think those 3 guys have more of an impact on a game than Paul does. I think Paul is a great player but is slightly overrated. I see him being put in the category of Wade, LeBron and Kobe when he's done nothing to deserve that status. He had a competent supporting cast two years ago and HCA, and couldn't get out of the second round. The 3 guys I mentioned have all gone further with a decent supporting cast. And if you misconstrue this as me putting them above Paul based on career achievements, Dirk is playing the best ball of his career right now and so is Carmelo. And if I'm a coach and not a GM, give me a 32-yr-old Duncan over Paul right now too.
Howard: I think he's another top 10 guy that has done nothing to earn top 5 status. He's never developed a post-game, his basketball IQ leaves a lot to be desired (blocking shots into the 3rd row instead of trying to control or tip them to teammates) and his defense is a bit overrated as well. If his brain and work ethic ever catches up to his physical gifts, it's lights out for the rest of the league. I think the Magic got to the Finals last year because they were a stacked team talent-wise, and his rep was inflated a bit after he destroyed Ilgauskas and Varejao. Great player, but not a top 5 player.
The it is.
Kobe Bryant career eFG% .488
Dwyane Wade career eFG% .494
Maybe to a rube like yourself that doesn't fully understand how basketball is played.
Stop living in the past. At this point in their careers, Paul is clearly better than Duncan.
The only thing Carmelo has over Paul is shooting. He can't control the flow of an offense like an elite player is capable of, an he didn't do anything until Billups got to Denver.Carmelo Anthony
Nope. Come on, be serious here.and Dirk Nowitzki.
Okay, .494% > .488%.
I can see putting CP3 and Howard over Dirk and Duncan on a Top 50 trade value list based on the fact that they're so much younger, but today? I'd rather have Dirk/Duncan than CP3/Howard.
You would put the future of your frachise on two aging players, past their primes (although Dirk is playing exceptionally well right now)?
Serious talk: Wade is proving he can't play efficiently from the perimeter. He's jacking threes/20foot jumpers like crazy. When he's not throwing his body at the rim with the refs gifting him calls then he's not nearly as effective. It's only going to get worse for him as he gets older.
No. This season reigning finals MVP Kobe 49% > 1st round exit fodder Wade 42.9%
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