Top 10 of All Time

[Herculesx1000]

Yes shaq was better those years.. But you have to look at entire careers, and longetevity.
Kobe averaged 25 this past year. The highest ppg for a guard with that many years in the league before this past year was 14. 14! Kobe is doing what nobody has ever done before and that's being this good this long.
Wilt was very very very good.. But he dominated a bad league. Yes there were great players but he would not put up the same stats he did back then. And even then he only won one ring I believe.
I just now went and looked at Shaqs numbers.. He was better longer than I thought he was
Was a dominant force for 14 seasons until the 06-07 season
if I went back and changed my list I'd move shaq up two spots to number five, behind Kobe.

[SidVish]

Re: Top 10 of All Time

Here's my top 10.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Bill Russell
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Larry Bird
6. Wilt Chamberlain
7. Shaquille O'Neal
8. Kobe Bryant
9. Tim Duncan
10. Oscar Robertson

[ojandpizza]

Yes shaq was better those years.. But you have to look at entire careers, and longetevity.
Kobe averaged 25 this past year. The highest ppg for a guard with that many years in the league before this past year was 14. 14! Kobe is doing what nobody has ever done before and that's being this good this long.
Wilt was very very very good.. But he dominated a bad league. Yes there were great players but he would not put up the same stats he did back then. And even then he only won one ring I believe.
I just now went and looked at Shaqs numbers.. He was better longer than I thought he was
Was a dominant force for 14 seasons until the 06-07 season
if I went back and changed my list I'd move shaq up two spots to number five, behind Kobe.

Kobe also came into the league much younger than any player ever as well.. And Shaq was a monster immediately, it took Kobe a few years.. The way I look at it is when they were playing together they were both very close to their primes and Shaq was the better player, though Kobe had a couple huge seasons after he left I don't see that being enough to counter all the years Shaq had in Orlando just dominating everything lol.. I could see the argument from the standpoint that Kobe has one more ring than Shaq though..

I THINK Wilt won 2 rings.. But you can't really hold it against him that he played in a different era' that's not his fault.. Although he probably would put up anything close to those numbers now his records will probably never be touched, and that has to count for something.. I mean some people even argue that Kobe is better than Jordan because he put up 81 points.. Wilt scored 100 and couldn't shoot 3s lol..

[Herculesx1000]

Another reason I think Kobe is slightly better than shaq is the legacy he left/will leave. I feel like Kobe's legacy had/has so much more of an impact on the league than Shaqs legacy.

[ojandpizza]

Another reason I think Kobe is slightly better than shaq is the legacy he left/will leave. I feel like Kobe's legacy had/has so much more of an impact on the league than Shaqs legacy.

That's probably true.. If only Shaq didn't bounce around so much towards the end of his career.. He has a legacy as well, for those who watched his entire career we'll always remember him as the most dominant basketball player to ever play the game.

[ojandpizza]

^ if you went by legacy you could argue Russell and Wilt could be higher than Jordan.. I guess there is lots of ways to look at the list, depends on taste.. For the most part we all have pretty much the same guys, just shuffled around..

[Herculesx1000]

I'm not sure because I wasn't around during the Wilt and Russell era but it seems like to me that Jordan had the biggest legacy.
The greatest player to ever play, clutch shot after clutch shot, championship after championship.

[ojandpizza]

Yeah he's definitely the greatest ever, but 11 rings for Bill, and 100 points in one game, 50ppg for Wilt and both averaging over 20 rebounds for game is just ridiculous lol

[Drewski]

Re: Top 10 of All Time

Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Tim Duncan
Kobe Bryant
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Shaquille O'Neal
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Oscar Robertson

Crazy respect for Duncan, looking at his career.

[ojandpizza]

Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Tim Duncan
Kobe Bryant
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Shaquille O'Neal
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Oscar Robertson

Crazy respect for Duncan, looking at his career.

Kareem so low..? He has more MVPs than any player ever.. How???

[ojandpizza]

^^^^^
In fact he has more than Kobe, Shaq, Big O, and Duncan combined...?

Russell has 5 times the amount of MVPs, and more than double the amount of rings

Oscar averaged a triple double, Kobe has only 17 over his ENTIRE career all but 4 of them came while playing with Shaq, so you know where the ball was going..

Wilt tops his 35 ppg with 50ppg, his 81 points in a game with 100, Wilt has 1 finals MVP however would have 2 (matching Kobe) had they started the award before the '69 season.. Wilt also has 4 times the amount of regular season MVPs..

[Rule of Two]

Re: Top 10 of All Time

1. Michael Jordan
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Bill Russell
4. Earvin "Magic" Johnson
5. Larry Bird
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
7. Hakeem Olajuwon
8. Shaquille O'neal
9. Tim Duncan
10. Kobe Bryant/Oscar Robertson

11. LeBron James - Will undoubtly go down as a top 5 all-time player once he retires. Would really like to have him in there now but I know it's popular to hate the guy right now so a lot of people would disagree.


Lets not forget that not only did Oscar average a triple double for the '61-'62 season, he nearly did it five seasons in a row! In the '60-'61 season he missed it by .3APG. In '62-'63 by half an assist per game. In '63-'64 by .1RPG. In '64-'65 by one rebound per game. Simply amazing. I doubt anyone ever does this again.

[NicHadler]

Re: Top 10 of All Time

Mine are:
1. Michael Jordan
2. Larry Bird
3. Magic Johnson
4. Kareem Abdul Jabaar
5. Shaquille O'Neal
6. Kobe Brant
7. Bill Russel
8. Tim Duncan
9. Wilt Chaimberlain
10. Lebron James

[ojandpizza]

1. Michael Jordan
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Bill Russell
4. Earvin "Magic" Johnson
5. Larry Bird
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
7. Hakeem Olajuwon
8. Shaquille O'neal
9. Tim Duncan
10. Kobe Bryant/Oscar Robertson

11. LeBron James - Will undoubtly go down as a top 5 all-time player once he retires. Would really like to have him in there now but I know it's popular to hate the guy right now so a lot of people would disagree.


Lets not forget that not only did Oscar average a triple double for the '61-'62 season, he nearly did it five seasons in a row! In the '60-'61 season he missed it by .3APG. In '62-'63 by half an assist per game. In '63-'64 by .1RPG. In '64-'65 by one rebound per game. Simply amazing. I doubt anyone ever does this again.

Your list is fairly close to the one I posted, I like our thinking lol

[ojandpizza]

I completely do not understand how people are putting Kobe so high, I understand if you're a Kobe fan you of course like him but when honestly rating the top players ever?

The only argument anybody ever has for Kobe is "he has 5 rings" or "he scored 81 points" yet you're sticking him ahead of Russell who had 11 rings and Wilt who scored 100 points.. There is zero logic there..

Also not to mention a championship is a team effort and this is a PLAYER thread and an MVP award is a player award, Kareem has 6 times as many as Kobe, Wilt has 4 times, Russell has 5 times, Magic and Bird both I think at 3 times.. I just don't understand were it comes from