NBA: Can you really be considered one of the greatest ever....

[LnGrrrR]

You can go upstairs now.

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[LnGrrrR]

Eh, maybe I was wrong about you. That was a nice touche.

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[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Of course you can. Kareem was before my time but the way older guys I work with tell it his last seasons were just as painful to watch as Shaq's decline, he just managed to stay in one spot.

Gotta take them on a case by case basis. Now if you sign a big contract and pout your way into a trade, that will cost you a few slots on the GOAT list in my book.

[da_suns_fan]

If you play for more than two teams? Or are you just considered one of the best at your position?

KG - 3 teams
Barkley - 3 teams
Shaq - 6...6!...teams

Shaq did help 2 different franchises win rings though.

The true greats, MJ, Russell, Kareem, Magic, Bird, Duncan, Kobe, all played on one team with the exception of kareem.

I know I left some guys off both lists, but you get the idea.

Pretty stupid thread. Players in bold played majority (if not all) of their careers before free agency.

Tom Chambers was NBA's first unrestricted free agent back in 1988.

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Pretty stupid thread. Players in bold played majority (if not all) of their careers before free agency.

Tom Chambers was NBA's first unrestricted free agent back in 1988.

Yet somehow Kareem still forced a trade from the Bucks to LA before free agency existed. It was harder but still possible, so to dismiss the entire thread because Tom Chambers was the first free agent is pretty stupid.

[Juggity]

Cmon now, while i cant stand kobe as much as most...he does have 5 rings as a 1 or 1a on his team.

And I dont remember Kobe ever playing a game in a Hornets uniform.

3 rings as a beta, 1 ring as an alpha, and 1 as a 6-24 monstrosity.

[da_suns_fan]

Yet somehow Kareem still forced a trade from the Bucks to LA before free agency existed. It was harder but still possible, so to dismiss the entire thread because Tom Chambers was the first free agent is pretty stupid.

Using "how many teams they played for" is probably the dumbest criteria Ive ever heard used to determine "the greats".

Jordan played for two teams so that completely screws up the "has to play for one team" argument. Likewise, why should KG be penalized for playing for three teams? Minnesota basically "freed" him after 8 seasons (or something) and Boston has no loyalty towards him because he played most of his career somewhere else. If KG had been drafted by San Antonio and played his whole career there its just as unlikely the Spurs would be just as against trading him as they are trading Duncan.

Likewise, Im sure the Magic would have kept Shaq his entire career if Shaq would have allowed it.

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Using "how many teams they played for" is probably the dumbest criteria Ive ever heard used to determine "the greats".

Jordan played for two teams so that completely screws up the "has to play for one team" argument. Likewise, why should KG be penalized for playing for three teams? Minnesota basically "freed" him after 8 seasons (or something) and Boston has no loyalty towards him because he played most of his career somewhere else. If KG had been drafted by San Antonio and played his whole career there its just as unlikely the Spurs would be just as against trading him as they are trading Duncan.

Likewise, Im sure the Magic would have kept Shaq his entire career if Shaq would have allowed it.

Reading comprehension...you should try it. I never said one team was the criteria.