NBA: Top 20 Players Ever List on NBA.com

[Phillip]

http://www.nba.com/magic/cohen-8ball..._062413?page=0

I don't know if this was posted or not. Either way, interesting list. At least someone has the brains to realize how overrated Wilt and Russell get by many people.

[HarlemHeat37]

Wow, maybe the only thing worse than the actual list was the "analysis", tbh..

I would expect more intelligence from a Jew, tbh..

[Captivus]

Kareem is WAY down on that list.

[DMC]

Wow, maybe the only thing worse than the actual list was the "analysis", tbh..

I would expect more intelligence from a Jew, tbh..

Probably took a payment for that ranking tbh

[Killakobe81]

I like the way the Lakers are represented but what a HORRIBLE list ...

Magic is my all-time favorite player in ANY sport and I would rather hoop with him then any other player in NBA history ...
But even he admits MJ is the GOAT. You could argue Magic is a better team guy and one of the greatest winners team players ever ... but MJ is the GOAT Magic is a notch behind and Lebron is gaining on them both ...

[D-Wade]

Shaq ahead of MJ
Pip even on the list

[baseline bum]

Shaq over Jordan and Shaq, Kobe, and Oscar over Kareem?

[Arnold Toht]

Solid list.

[baseline bum]

At least he got Nowitzki over Malone right.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Looks good to me...flipflop 4 and 2 though.

[hater]

if he's talking pure dominance over a stretch it's probably

1. Jordan
2. Hakeem
3. Shaq

[SpurSwag]

laughed when i saw magic at #1
closed the site when i saw shaq #2

[DPG21920]

Caprisun_Man level list right there.

[Arcadian]

At least someone has the brains to realize how overrated Wilt and Russell get by many people.

Actually, there's a much simpler explanation: recency bias. People have the tendency to favor things that they have experienced recently and can remember vividly over things that they experienced long ago (or never) and are fuzzy in memory.

[m>s]

"Caprisun_Man"

to me it's always pretty funny when kirby stan has to do all that stanning just to put kobe "close" to jordan yet still right behind...because they even know how laughable it would be to state otherwise. lol kobe #4 all time, GMAFB. the ranking jordan at 3 part was just subtle trolling.

[DAF86]

stretch
"interesting"
"brain to understand how overrated Wilt and Bill get by many people"
Only reason he posted this ty list is 'cause it has Dirk on it

[DAF86]

if he's talking pure dominance over a stretch it's probably

1. Jordan
2. Hakeem
3. Shaq

Yeah, let's ignore the guy that averaged 50 ppg one season.

[Robz4000]

Jesus Christ, what a terrible list

[TXstbobcat]

Jordan not #1??? Crappy list.

[Katherine Robinson]

I agree with leaving Wilt low on the list, but that's about it.

[Juggity]

Kevin mchale is a top 20 player of all time?

lol wut

[ambchang]

The list is historically bad, but the analysis took it one step further.

To wit:

In fact, most probably don’t have O’Neal amongst the top 10 NBA players of all time.

What? O'Neal is probably on everyone's top ten list. How can he not be?

MJ is unanimously No. 1 on most people’s all-time best list. However, it’s skewed. Jordan was the league’s superhero when NBA television exposure was blowing up in the 90s.

The NBA blew up in the 90s because of MJ.

You can certainly argue that if Kobe played the heart of his career during the 90s instead of MJ, he would be widely categorized as the best player in NBA history.

Kobe wasn't even better than Shaq, by his own admission. And at this point, 3 of the top 4 were Lakers, I guess we don't have to wonder which team is his favourite team.

And if Shaq was #2 and Kobe #4, why could they only win 3 championships together when they played together in their prime? Why would they get beaten by Duncan and the Spurs twice, who was ranked much lower?

Another center who doesn’t get enough acclaim.

You've been living under a rock or something? Kobe, Lebron and Dwight seeked him out for tutoring. He was widely known to have the best post moves in the history of the league? How the was he not getting enough acclaim?

I wasn’t born yet and can only cite research and archived material, but I have always been led to believe that Oscar is the greatest player of his generation.

He then went on to talk about how Russell won more and Wilt was more dominant, so how in the world was Oscar greater?

The only thing that diminishes Kareem was the fact that he never definitively was the best player on any of his championship teams (Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson).

I am SURE he knows the Big O at that point was no where close to his dominant self earlier in his career. He MUST know that KAJ was the clear best player on that Bucks team. He MUST know that KAJ didn't officially hand over the keys to the Lakers until 1986. This is unbelievable that NBA.com would publish an article this shoddily written and clearly by a person with no knowledge of the game.

How would he fair if he was matched up against more recent dominant centers like Shaq, Hakeem and Ewing? Something tells me his stats and reputation as an all-time great would have significantly dropped.

And what is that something? You would have to back up your points, at the very least. Wilt certainly would have scored less, but where did he came in with the half estimate?

In the year MJ played baseball, Pippen averaged a career-best 22 points, almost nine rebounds and nearly six assists.

Grant Hill put up similar numbers for a few years as well, why wasn't Hill a top 10?

If the Doctor played his entire career in the NBA rather than partially in the ABA, he would probably be much higher in the rankings.

Wait, Wilt and Russell's accomplishments were diminished because they played in a different era, and Dr. J should be rewarded for playing in a league that was all scoring and no defense?

Then Jason Kidd over players like Robinson, Barkley, Payton, Stockton, Garnett, and probably a whole list of others.

This was just the worst list I have seen, not even people trying to troll on this site can have a list worse than this.

[AchillesHeel]

Cohen’s Analysis: You can certainly argue that if Kirby played the heart of his career during the 90s instead of MJ, he would be widely categorized as the best player in NBA history. For a while, Rapist was overshadowed as an all-time great because he played alongside Shaq. But once he captured those two additional les in 09 and 10, it was unmistakable that Rapist deserved far more respect. Aside from the extra championship, Jordan’s offensive output was a tad more sensational than Kirby’s.

LOL

horrible

[Phillip]

Actually, there's a much simpler explanation: recency bias. People have the tendency to favor things that they have experienced recently and can remember vividly over things that they experienced long ago (or never) and are fuzzy in memory.

or it could be the fact that those guys dominated a league where the average centers height was 6'8, and most of the players where white, mediocre athletes, while Russell and especially Wilt were world class athletes.

if anyone seriously thinks that Russell could lead a team to 11 championships, or that Wilt could average 50/20 during an entire season in today's league, words cannot describe the level of stupidity they possess.

[Phillip]

this list sucks

manu #1
timmy #2
parker #3

MJ a distant 4th

great list got