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1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Larry Bird
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Wilt Chamberlain
6. Shaquille O'Neal
7. Tim Duncan
8. Bill Russell
9. Oscar Robertson
10. Jerry West
Michael gets the nod at #1 because he's the toughest MF I've ever seen in the game. His athleticism is unparalled in NBA history. He was one of the greatest defenders I've ever seen. He was the most unguardable player I've ever seen. He's also the hungriest player I've ever seen. I'm still amazing at the way he attacked the basket vs the Bad-Boy Pistons, knowing he was getting clothes-lined every time he went in the air.
Magic is far and away the most versitale player I've ever seen, so he's a close #2. He's the only player in NBA History who could be All-NBA First Team at every position on the floor. Magic had it all. He could score in the post. He was the greatest ever at leading a break. He extended Kareem's career. He developed excellent range later into his career. He was the all-time assist leader in NBA History when he retired at age 32.
Bird at 3 is a no-brainer to me. He's probably the hardest worker I've ever seen. To see a guy with that talent and with those horrile back problems giving his body ever night was amazing. He dove for loose balls like he was scrub#12 at the end of the bench, fighting for a 10-day contract. He's the best shooter I've ever seen. He's the second best passer I've seen. Anytime the Celtics were down 2 with 5 second left you knew Bird was just going to run down the court and throw up a three, and he hit it most of the time. Him missing the three at the buzzer in game 4 of the 87 Finals was shocking, because we just expected him to hit every one of those based on what he had done his whole career.
Kareem gets #4 because he's a proven winner everywhere he's ever played, and he kept himself in such amazing shape that he won Finals MVP at 38. That's something I don't think we'll ever see equaled. His skyhook is the most beautiful shot I've ever seen. He may be one of the biggest jerks to ever play the game, and his teammates hated him, but he never did anything but his best to help the team win on the court - a true professional unlike guys like Kobe.
Wilt gets the #5 ranking IMO because he was supposedly a very selfish player, concerned most with personal glory and numbers. Still, he made the 1967 Sixers and the 72 Lakers, 2 of the top 5 teams in NBA History. In all the tape I've ever seen of him it's apparent his size was an even bigger advantage then than Shaq's is now. You can't deny the numbers though.
Shaq gets the nod at 6. His 2000 season may be the most perfect season a bigman has ever played. 28.7 points per game on 57.2% shooting. 12.7 boards. 3.7 assists. 2.76 blocks. MVP. 67 wins. NBA Championship. Finals MVP. He followed it up with the same level of performance in the 2001 Playoffs, leading the Lakers to the most dominant postseason in NBA History, humiliating every single team he faced. Injuries slowed his game from 2002 on, but he still always delivered huge in the postseason. He was the only Laker who even showed up in the 2004 Finals. As much talk as there is about his weight and the shape he's in, he's always been loved by his teammates. That tells me a lot about what kind of team guy he is.
Duncan's a close 7. He's never had the kind of season Shaq did in 2000 (although his 2002 season was spectacular under any metric), but he's one of the most consistent players in NBA history. His hands are the best I've seen on a big. He leads a break better than any bigman not named Magic. He's excellent guarding the pick and roll. He's an amazing passer (see the 2002-03 season when the Spurs would get so many easy points from basket cuts by Stephen Jackson, with perfect passes delivered through traffic from Duncan). He anchors one of the greatest defenses in NBA history. His footwork is only bettered by Olajuwon. His game 6 performance in the 2003 Finals is unheard of in playoff history. 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, 8 blocks, and he held his man to 3-23 shooting. I've never seen anything like that.
Russell's #8 because he's the best defensive player I've ever seen. I don't think there's a player in the game who's even close to the slot-blocker he'd be right now if he was in his prime. The 11 les speak loudly too, but the Olowokandi-eque shooting percentage show he had a pretty weak offensive game. If you ever watch game tape of this guy it's pretty hard to aorgue there's ever been a better shotblocker. I've never seen anyone else with such anticipation, length, and quick feet so as to tip blocks to himself.
Oscar Robertson gets dropped to #9 because he seems to always be described as a Kobe Bryant type in the way he interacted with his teammates. Still, he won a le and his numbers have to make him top 10.
West amazes me every time I see tape of him. He may be a really sour guy, but there's not many other players in NBA history that I'd ever choose to take the last shot of a game over him.
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Olajuwon just strikes me as a little too selfish to be in the top 10. He couldn't get along at all with Sam Cassell, and forced the Rockets' hands into trading him. Watching him and Barkley fight each other for shots in the post was brutal, as was the way he pulled a Ewing-esque demand that the offense be run through him still, and he still be paid $16 million per by the Rockets in 2001 when he was done. He seemed to never get along with his guards, and he had a lot of seasons where the team just wasn't good. In fact, most of the seasons he played his team wasn't a real le contender. You can't really say that about guys like Jordan, Magic, Bird, Shaq, or Duncan.
