All Time NBA Draft

[Nathan89]

When T-Mac was healthy, which was a rare occasion, he was better than Kobe. True story.

Kobe is overrated but I wouldn't go so far to say this.

[Axe Murderer]

When T-Mac was healthy, which was a rare occasion, he was better than Kobe. True story.

[Shane27]

T-Mac was better than kobe. Just didn't have the same will kobe does, plus the injuries

[DAF86]

T-Mac was better than kobe. Just didn't have the same will kobe does, plus the injuries

So, what you're saying is that he wasn't better than Kobe.

[Amaso]

When T-Mac was healthy, which was a rare occasion, he was better than Kobe. True story.

[FkLA]

Prime Tmac was a better scorer than Kobe tbh. He just didnt have Kobe's defense and drive to be the best. Or Shaq by his side. People talk because Tmac didnt get out of the 1st round but neither did Kobe w/o Shaq and MVPau. Nothing wrong with Dirk in the 5th round either, he's a 4th rounder at best...every person that follows basketball other than the most biased fanbase in the NBA (Mavs) realizes that.

[Slo spurs fan]

Nobody took Dražen Petrović????
I guess he died too young....

[Leetonidas]

Tim should be higher and lol @ Dirk in the 5th round. I understand these guys are building a team with their picks but I find it hard to believe anyone would take Dave Cowens over Dirk Nowitzki

[djohn2oo8]

T-Mac was close with Kobe in 03-04 I believe it was. He had the tools to be better, he was just content on letting his natural talent get him by.

[jag]

_jag ur a

David Robinson is an amazing human being.

[dirk4mvp]

Prime Tmac was a better scorer than Kobe tbh. He just didnt have Kobe's defense and drive to be the best. Or Shaq by his side. People talk because Tmac didnt get out of the 1st round but neither did Kobe w/o Shaq and MVPau. Nothing wrong with Dirk in the 5th round either, he's a 4th rounder at best...every person that follows basketball other than the most biased fanbase in the NBA (Mavs) realizes that.

People enjoy your posts and care about what you have to say.

[resistanze]

LOL @ wasting the #3 draft pick.

[DAF86]

LOL @ wasting the #3 draft pick.

Dude won this , I think.

[dirk4mvp]

There are several options at C better than Russell that were picked after him.

[redzero]

The mythical beast known as Orlando T-Mac is easily one of the greatest to ever lace em up.

[DAF86]

Dude won this , I think.

I must clarify that I was talking about the guy drafting winning the simulated tournament.

[resistanze]

There are several options at C better than Russell that were picked after him.

Sorry, I prefer rings and class over actual talent and ability for MY draft.

[Daddy_Of_All_Trolls]

I wouldn't go that far, but it is mostly true. The real secret of success for those Celtic teams was Red Auerbach. Phenomenal coach, all time greatest coach. He turned last place teams into contenders and made the best draft picks. Russell was a great player, his offense is overrated, but the Celtics were constantly getting lucky and Red always drafted the best players in entire drafts with the late picks. The secret for that was that Red was so well connected he called up coaches about players they have seen across the country. The NCAA was a regional game back then, not as popular nationally as it is today. On top of that the NBA didn't really have scouts of any kind so some draft picks were shots in the dark. If I am not mistaken Red Auerbach actually never saw Russell play a game before he drafted him. Not TV, not live, not in high school, not at San Francisco, not for team USA. He just went based off a trusted friend.

Absolutely Red Auerbach is the main reason for the Celtics' success, yet as the years go on, Russell is getting the credit.

Looking at the actual teams made in the all-time draft, the guy that drafted Wilt ran away with it. I don't even need to look at the other teams.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/bas...posnanski.html

You have two potiential greatest players of all-time depending on who you ask with Wilt and Dr.J.

Before you guys get on me on Dr. J being the greatest of all time, I don't personally believe that, but I know people that saw him with the Nets and Squires of the ABA before his knees were injured and they told me he was the most amazing defensive and offenive player with the most increible athletic ability they had ever seen. That included Jordan. I've been told that the amazing Erving highlights we see on hardwood classics when Erving was in his late 20s was with bad knees and such mazing plays would happen two or three times a night.

Keep in mind, the ABA actually became just as good as the NBA back around 73. Dr. J was a main reason the merger happened because he was by far the best player in the world (that includes Kareem).

Contrary to Russell, the years have not been kind to Dr. J.'s legacy. He is more known for losing his first 3 finals and needing Moses Malone to finally win it all. Largely forgotten is the fact he won his first 3 playoff series against the Boston Celtics, beatng both Havlicek/Cowens/White, and Larry Bird, twice, the second when Larry had McHale and Parish. Plus, Boston was NBA champion in two of those series. What other great player beat Boston his first 3 series? Isiaih Thomas beat Boston a few times but didn't win his first.

Julius Erving, along with Oscar Robertson, belong in a top 10 discussion. Both are better than Bill Russell and both have been forgotten by the current generation who buy into Russell's 11 championships and the current trend favoring Tim, Hakeem, Shaq, and Kobe. Rather sad when the worst of the old players, Russell, sidesteps so many clearly better players of both the old and newer generations.

The rest of the draft list has many LOLs in it. I can't believe they placed Rajon Rondo in top 100. He's had two good years, 2009 and 2010. He was a ok in 2011, but a headcase nonetheless. Plus, his 2010 finals play was pretty poor.

[LnGrrrR]

Wilt was also a better defender. He blocked more shots and yanked down more rebounds. Plus, Wilt never fouled out on personals. That latter talent can never be understated. You expect active defenders to pick up fouls, but Wilt was too smart, and too athletic. Put Russell on the New York Knicks of that era and not even the fame of the Big Apple would make us remember him. Those Knicks sucked and Russell would be ringless. Wilt could play anywhere and rack up the offensive and defensive stats.

You make it sound as if Wilt was saddled with no other all-stars on the roster. Sure, Celtics had more, but Wilt had some decent talent when he got to the Lakers (even if the core was aging).

Also, while your statement about Chamberlain grabbing more rebounds is true, he only averaged .4 more rebounds per game over the course of their careers. So not an overwhelming difference.

I'm not saying Wilt wasn't better than Russell, but your assertion that Russell would be a nobody in New York seems a bit hyperbolic.

[LnGrrrR]

And yeah, I would think Posnanski's team would run away with it. How did Dwight Howard end up going in the 6th round?

[Daddy_Of_All_Trolls]

You make it sound as if Wilt was saddled with no other all-stars on the roster. Sure, Celtics had more, but Wilt had some decent talent when he got to the Lakers (even if the core was aging).

Also, while your statement about Chamberlain grabbing more rebounds is true, he only averaged .4 more rebounds per game over the course of their careers. So not an overwhelming difference.

I'm not saying Wilt wasn't better than Russell, but your assertion that Russell would be a nobody in New York seems a bit hyperbolic.

Well, Wilt's Lakers had a better chance in 1969, they just counted their chickens before they hatched, that's all do ented.

Rebound totals are correct, but blocked shots weren't tallied back then and from those that witnessed things, Wilt had more. Chamberlain is 4th all time in career triple doubles. He would be a lot higher for all those 10+ blocked shots games he didn't get credit for. Plus, you can't discount Chamberlain's talent of defending and not fouling. Wilt averaged just under 2 personal fouls a game, and he usually played all 48 minutes. (46 MPG average) Russell averaged 2.7 fouls per game, he averaged 42 minutes a game. Russell may have rebounded at a slightly better clip per minute than wilt did, but Russell could not stop Chamberlain from scoring against him at will. Wilt could stop Bill, who wasn't much of a threat offensively. Chamberlain also played with some great rebounding forwards, Happy Hairston, Bill Bridges, C/F Nate Thurmond that all averaged double digit rebounds per game. Not saying Russell didn't, but Wilt had plenty of help cleaning the boards and competing for individual stats, just not the complete teams Russell had.

Ever hear of Walt Bellamay? Few here have I'd wager.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...bellawa01.html

A career 20 ppg player, scored and rebounded better earlier in his career. He played briefly for the Knicks, and few remember him. Until the Knicks got Reed, Frazier, Debusschere, and Bradley, they were the laughing stock of the NBA. Russell on the Knicks would not have made a difference and his lack of offense and no championships would have doomed him to obscurity as has befallen Bellamy.

[Amaso]

Looking at the actual teams made in the all-time draft, the guy that drafted Wilt ran away with it. I don't even need to look at the other teams.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/bas...posnanski.html

You have two potiential greatest players of all-time depending on who you ask with Wilt and Dr.J.

[LnGrrrR]

Rebound totals are correct, but blocked shots weren't tallied back then and from those that witnessed things, Wilt had more. Chamberlain is 4th all time in career triple doubles. He would be a lot higher for all those 10+ blocked shots games he didn't get credit for. Plus, you can't discount Chamberlain's talent of defending and not fouling. Wilt averaged just under 2 personal fouls a game, and he usually played all 48 minutes. (46 MPG average) Russell averaged 2.7 fouls per game, he averaged 42 minutes a game. Russell may have rebounded at a slightly better clip per minute than wilt did, but Russell could not stop Chamberlain from scoring against him at will. Wilt could stop Bill, who wasn't much of a threat offensively. Chamberlain also played with some great rebounding forwards, Happy Hairston, Bill Bridges, C/F Nate Thurmond that all averaged double digit rebounds per game. Not saying Russell didn't, but Wilt had plenty of help cleaning the boards and competing for individual stats, just not the complete teams Russell had.

I'm a bit too young to have seen them play a great deal, so I can't really speak for which one was more dominant defensively. Statswise, I'd say Wilt definitely has the advantage.

Ever hear of Walt Bellamay? Few here have I'd wager.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...bellawa01.html

A career 20 ppg player, scored and rebounded better earlier in his career. He played briefly for the Knicks, and few remember him. Until the Knicks got Reed, Frazier, Debusschere, and Bradley, they were the laughing stock of the NBA. Russell on the Knicks would not have made a difference and his lack of offense and no championships would have doomed him to obscurity as has befallen Bellamy.

Averaging 20+ ppg is more noteworthy than averaging 20+ rpg. As well, checking his statistics page, he BARELY makes 20 ppg (career avg 20.1), and those are inflated by his first few years in the league.

Bellamy was a good rebounder, 8th on the all-time list with 13.65 per game. But Wilt and Russell are just so far above everyone else when it comes to rebounding it's not even fair. Wilt avg'd 22.89, Russell 22.45, and the next closest is Bob Pet at 16.22.

[Daddy_Of_All_Trolls]

I'm a bit too young to have seen them play a great deal, so I can't really speak for which one was more dominant defensively. Statswise, I'd say Wilt definitely has the advantage.




Averaging 20+ ppg is more noteworthy than averaging 20+ rpg. As well, checking his statistics page, he BARELY makes 20 ppg (career avg 20.1), and those are inflated by his first few years in the league.

Bellamy was a good rebounder, 8th on the all-time list with 13.65 per game. But Wilt and Russell are just so far above everyone else when it comes to rebounding it's not even fair. Wilt avg'd 22.89, Russell 22.45, and the next closest is Bob Pet at 16.22.

You're a cool guy and I am not trying to pick on you about your player, Russell. All I am saying is, you have pretty close to even defenders in Wilt and Russell, but you have the offense in Wilt. The only player Wilt couldn't defend was Kareem, and likewise Kareem couldn't stop Wilt either. They tried to defend each other, I'll give them that, the effort was there.

What it comes down to, you draft Wilt over Russell. You draft a lot of centers ahead of Russell, because you have a lot of centers who can score and still defend. With all the offensive threats in this mock draft at all positions you need a center who can score as well because no team will double team Russell. Heck, Wes Unseld would be a tossup with Bill if it came down to the last two teams and the last two centers. Patrick Ewing and Dennis Rodman would be at least an even fit defensively compared to Russell and Happy Hairston, and better overall offensively. Hairston was a jump shooter who got his points when the other Lakers had to pass the ball out of double teams. Ewing would make up for Rodman's lack of offense.

This mock draft should have been by position.

[LnGrrrR]

You're a cool guy and I am not trying to pick on you about your player, Russell. All I am saying is, you have pretty close to even defenders in Wilt and Russell, but you have the offense in Wilt. The only player Wilt couldn't defend was Kareem, and likewise Kareem couldn't stop Wilt either. They tried to defend each other, I'll give them that, the effort was there.

Totally understandable. I'm not denying that Wilt was a better player than Russell.

What it comes down to, you draft Wilt over Russell. You draft a lot of centers ahead of Russell, because you have a lot of centers who can score and still defend. With all the offensive threats in this mock draft at all positions you need a center who can score as well because no team will double team Russell. Heck, Wes Unseld would be a tossup with Bill if it came down to the last two teams and the last two centers. Patrick Ewing and Dennis Rodman would be at least an even fit defensively compared to Russell and Happy Hairston, and better overall offensively. Hairston was a jump shooter who got his points when the other Lakers had to pass the ball out of double teams. Ewing would make up for Rodman's lack of offense.

This mock draft should have been by position.

I definitely would've taken Hakeem, Kareem, Wilt, and Shaq before Russell. I think I would've taken Russell over Unseld, Rodman, and Ewing though.