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Top Ten NBA Players of All Time

post #1 of 21
6/22/04 at 9:06pm
Thread Starter 
Just finished this list with a couple of my friends and was wondering what others thought. Who's your top ten?

10. John Stockton - All time leader in assists and steals and would have two titles if it weren't for some guy named Michael Jordan. He's what a point guard should be.

9. Oscar Robertson - Only player ever to average a triple double for an entire season.

8. Jerry West - Played both ends of the floor. A great defender and an even better scorer. And his silhouette is the logo for the league...he's gotta be on here.

7. Hakeem Olajuwon - All time leader in blocks and the first player ever to win the league MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and the Finals MVP in the same season. Maybe the most versatile center ever.

6. Magic Johnson - Best passer in NBA history. As a rookie, he started one game in the finals at center and played every position. A great leader.

5. Larry Bird - League MVP for three years in a row. Only other player to do that besides Russell and Chamberlain.

4. Kareem Abdul-Jabar - All time leader in points and second in total blocks. He also had the most dominating offensive move in history.

3. Wilt Chamberlain - Maybe the most dominating scorer in history. 100 points in a game and averaged 50 points/game during a season.

2. Bill Russell - Played 13 seasons and won 11 titles.

1. Michael Jordan - I think his will to win is what sets him apart from the others.

Honorable mentions: Isiah Thomas and Bob Pettit
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post #2 of 21
6/22/04 at 10:29pm
Personally I'm a Bill Russell man. He's tops on my list. Speaking of Celtics, I'd throw Bob Cousey in there, too--an artist with the ball.

It's hard to compare Jordan with Chamberlain and the older power scorers...the game was so different back then. But sure, his will was inspiring as hell.
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post #3 of 21
6/22/04 at 11:20pm
Jordan - its hard to dispute this one living in the modern age of the NBA

Abdul-Jabbar - along with chamberlain and shaq, he was also one of the most unstoppable forces in the NBA

WILT - enough said

Bill Russell - only one who could stop bill russel

Larry Bird - amazing scorer

Magic - he made Everyone on the team better

Shaq - truly unstoppable

Jerry West - he is the logo

John Stockton - he could pass...very well

Oscar Robertson - the triple double average is just insane.
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post #4 of 21
6/23/04 at 12:32am
John Stockton is so far below Oscar that it just seems wrong to see him on so many top ten lists, just because he compiled the stats doesn't mean he warrants such a high ranking (think Karl Malone). And I'll just ignore the reference to the Human Highlight Film for now.

So where's the Elgin Baylor love? Moses Malone? Elvin Hayes? John Havlicek? If people are going to put up John Stockton and Dominique Wilkins (I guess I lied), I figured one of these guys would get mentioned somewhere.
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post #5 of 21
6/23/04 at 1:20am
I can't wait for the first list that doesn't contain Jordan, Wilt or Russell.
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post #6 of 21
6/23/04 at 1:44am
I know for me its hard to list people who i havent seen play too much. So my rankings are unfairly biased to the 70s onwards.
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post #7 of 21
6/23/04 at 2:16am
Yeah, really people, Elgin Baylor anyone?

I will be doing my list tonight. I've personally been working on a top 100 of all time.
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post #8 of 21
6/23/04 at 12:40pm

for larry: Top Ten WHITE NBA players of all time

(no special order)

Larry Bird (so good, you had to guard him with a black guy!)

Jerry West (Mr. Clutch, 14 time all star, 3rd player to score more than 25,000 points)

George Mikan (shaq before there was shaq, wilt before there was wilt. they changed the dimensions of the lane I think 3 times to try to slow him down)

Kevin Mchale (best post moves ever? how many great players did he make look ridiculous with a simple up and under move...)

John Stockton (career leader in assists and steals, and rarely missed a game)

Bob Pettit (averaged 16.2 rebounds and 26.4 points per game...wowsers)

Pete Maravich (pistol pete!)

Dave DeBusschere (the big D! six time all defensive first team, 8 time all-star)

Bob Cousy (the ORIGINAL human highlight film, get the freak outta here)

Rick Barry (can't stand him, nobody could, but man could he SCORE)
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post #9 of 21
6/23/04 at 2:19pm
Thread Starter 
I guess deep down I realize that Shaq has a spot on this list, but I just can't bring myself to put him on there just yet. I guess I'm still angry about Shaq being named one of the 50 greatest players of all time when he was in Orlando. I alwsays thought Dominique deserved a spot. The greatest dunker ever and also one of the best scorers in history. And for that reason I'm not saying anything about Nique being mentioned ona top ten list...no matter how ridiculous it is.

As for Baylor, M. Malone, Hayes, and Havlicek, I've considered all of these and more but there are only ten spots. I could switch any of these players with any on the bottom half of the list and they would be deserving, but someone's gotta be left off. If anyone's being overlooked, I'd say it was Isiah. Led his team to back to back titles beating Jordan's Bulls, Bird's Celtics, and Magic's Lakers.

I don't see how Stockton is "so far below" Oscar or anyone else on the list. Compiled the stats??? Out of all the great players in NBA history there is no one who has more assists or steals. He's also in the top 30 in total points. His team made the playoffs every season of his career due largely in part to his play, the point guard, the floor general. Granted, he wasn't as exciting to watch as some, better yet, all of the other players, but he did what was necessary to win.
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post #10 of 21
6/23/04 at 2:46pm
Quote:
Originally posted by SevenYearItch
I don't see how Stockton is "so far below" Oscar or anyone else on the list. Compiled the stats??? Out of all the great players in NBA history there is no one who has more assists or steals. He's also in the top 30 in total points. His team made the playoffs every season of his career due largely in part to his play, the point guard, the floor general. Granted, he wasn't as exciting to watch as some, better yet, all of the other players, but he did what was necessary to win.
Career Averages:
John Stockton
13.1PTS 10.5AST 2.7REB

Oscar Robertson
25.7PTS 9.5AST 7.5REB
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post #11 of 21
6/23/04 at 4:06pm
Thread Starter 
Career Averages:
John Stockton
13.1PTS 10.5AST 2.7REB

Oscar Robertson
25.7PTS 9.5AST 7.5REB

I'm not sure what this is supposed to prove other than both players had very impressive stat lines for their career. I hope your not basing your opinion on stats alone. And I know I've made a big deal about Stockton being the ALL TIME LEADER IN ASSISTS AND STEALS, but what made him great were the intangibles that he brought to the game every night that helped his team be so successful. And the fact that he was so good for so long accounts for a lot. He played five more years than Robertson and was extremely effective in games, which is more than most can say at the end of their career. I'm not saying Stockton is better than Robertson, just that it shouldn't seem so absurd to mention them in the same breath.
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post #12 of 21
6/23/04 at 4:48pm
My god... I just didn't feel like arguing, so I put up the numbers. If you don't understand why Oscar Robertson is in a different league from John Stockton, there's nothing I can say to dissuade you.
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post #13 of 21
6/23/04 at 9:00pm
Thread Starter 
Easy man Arguing/debating? I thought this was one of the purposes for message boards and lists such as this one. I am curious to see who you DO think is in the same league as Robertson if Stockton is not, or better yet, just list your top ten.
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post #14 of 21
6/23/04 at 9:22pm
10. JULIUS ERVING

9. LARRY BIRD

8. TINY ARCHIBALD

7. BILL RUSSELL

6. MAGIC JOHNSON

5. KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

4. OSCAR ROBERTSON

3. ELGIN BAYLOR

2. MICHAEL JORDAN

1. WILT CHAMBERLAIN
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post #15 of 21
6/23/04 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally posted by SevenYearItch
I am curious to see who you DO think is in the same league as Robertson if Stockton is not, or better yet, just list your top ten.
I don't really know how important that would be, since there's very little that should really change.

I mean, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are just players that should be on peoples lists. It's a lot like Baseball, there's not much room up top for discussion.

Who you want to throw in with the nine, well, that can get interesting. You can throw in a West, a Pettit, hell, even a Hakeem (I'd take him over Shaq, but maybe that's just me). I just found it impressive that these were the sort of players that people were putting Stockton or Wilkins over. One could argue their contemporaries over them, let alone Hall of Famers.

Anyway, another interesting question could be, who would your starting five be.

PG - The Big O
SG - Michael Jordan
SF - Elgin Baylor
PF - Larry Legend
C - Wilt Chamberlain
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post #16 of 21
6/24/04 at 1:06am
Thread Starter 
All Time Starting Five

PG - Magic Johnson
SG - Michael Jordan
SF - Larry Bird
PF - Bill Russell
C - Wilt Chamberlain
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post #17 of 21
6/24/04 at 2:45am
Quote:
Originally posted by SevenYearItch
All Time Starting Five

PG - Magic Johnson
SG - Michael Jordan
SF - Larry Bird
PF - Bill Russell
C - Wilt Chamberlain
No cheating, Russell is a C.
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post #18 of 21
6/24/04 at 3:19am
Quote:
Originally posted by A-Pathetic
I can't wait for the first list that doesn't contain Jordan, Wilt or Russell.
you can't wait for the shittiest list of all-time? I hope they will always be on top.
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post #19 of 21
7/18/04 at 5:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Pappas/Jabba
8. Dominique Wilkins
Go ahead, bash.
If you get away with him. I got to have Charles Barkley on my list.
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post #20 of 21
7/18/04 at 1:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy Jim
If you get away with him. I got to have Charles Barkley on my list.
You know, I've always thought that Charles was a better player than Karl. Better shooter, better handle, better rebounder... but I suppose I'd be in the minority.
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post #21 of 21
7/18/04 at 4:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuber
you can't wait for the shittiest list of all-time? I hope they will always be on top.
I just always enjoy that there's somebody who has to put together a crap list in order to elicit a response.
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