OT: Top 5 NBA players of all time
- Thread starter PennStateNate
- Start date
MJ
LeBron
Wilt
Russell
Kareem
Looks like I only swap Magic for Russell from yours.
Magic made Kareem what he was. He wouldn't have won much without Magic. Magic over Kareem.
Any list of all-time NBA players has to include Oscar Robertson. He could do it all.
Wilt
MJ
Magic
Russell
LeBron
Any of Kareem, Oscar or Larry Legend could have been No. 5. That is SUCH an elite and selective group.
MJ
Magic
Russell
LeBron
Any of Kareem, Oscar or Larry Legend could have been No. 5. That is SUCH an elite and selective group.
Believe me, I love Magic, but Lew Alcindor/KAJ was already a dominant NBA player while Earvin was still in middle school.
MJ, LeBron, Wilt, Kareem and TD for me
Holy crap, man! How in blazes can you leave out the guy who had more impact than any of them -- namely one Bill Russell?
Screw the rest of them on that list. Russell was the greatest competitor, the greatest rebounder, the greatest winner in the history of the league.
Give me the choice of one guy for one game for all the marbles. I’ll take Russell. OK, MJ is a pretty close second. Which is why he would make 2nd on my all-time list.
The rest of your top-5 is pretty good. Just rearrange things a bit, with Russell at the top, make MJ second, then Magic, followed by Kareem and LeBron.
Wilt? Alright, maybe the greatest talent, the greatest physical force, the greatest in terms of raw personal statistics.
But I don’t think he measures up to the guys on my top-5 because he could not and did not impose himself on a game or series the way the others did.
Ask the Knick player on whom he dropped a cool one hundred (100) points.
Ask the NBA players on whom he averaged over 50 ppg one season.
Ask the NBA players on whom he averaged over 30 rebounds one season.
But I agree fully with you about Russell. Eleven (11) rings means something.
I totally disagree with that. Kareem was super with the Bucks before he even came to the Lakers. Kareem is the all time scoring leader in the NBA. I may replace Magic with Bird, but would never leave Kareem off the list.
Magic is not even in the top 50 in career scoring. lol
Wilt
MJ
Lebron
Julius Erving
Kareem
Although I will admit that it is not right to compare guys of over 50 years ago with the players today.
Russell
Petit
Cousy
Baylor
West
Do you see what I mean? Those 5 were unbelievably good 50 years ago.
MJ
Lebron
Julius Erving
Kareem
Although I will admit that it is not right to compare guys of over 50 years ago with the players today.
Russell
Petit
Cousy
Baylor
West
Do you see what I mean? Those 5 were unbelievably good 50 years ago.
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Gee, I thought this got debated rather thoroughly on this board in the past year.
who knows why the OP thought it deserved a new thread
who knows why the OP thought it deserved a new thread
Even with the different eras picking the best five is pretty hard. Just picking an all-time center is all but impossible: Russell, Millikin, Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Bellamy, Kareem, Walton, and I have missed a slew of very good ones from the past 30 years.
I really don't think that Wilt would be that awesome today. His skill set would not translate as well against today's more athletic athletes, IMO.
LOL. The guy was 7'2" and strong as hell (stronger than anyone playing the game today). He could take a quarter off the top of the backboard and, when he was younger at least, he could run the court with the best of them. Most people posting here never saw Wilt play at all, or perhaps only in his last couple of years with the Lakers. He was a shadow of his earlier self by that point. You should check out some video of him in his days at Kansas, or with the Trotters or Warriors.
The records you cite are why I said Wilt is the greatest in terms of personal statistics. I mean, some of the numbers he put up will never be equaled. If the main measurement of greatness were personal statistics, Wilt would be #1 on my list.
Russell himself said Wilt was the strongest man he ever played against. So strong that he was downright scary. But he lacked a mean streak. And that’s why in one game or one series for all the marbles, Jerry West said he’d take Russell over anybody – to include Wilt. And West should know.
In the end, that’s why Wilt, as amazing as his numbers were, doesn’t make my top-5 list, and the others do. Starting with the meanest one of all, namely Russell.
Believe me, I'm old enough to have seen Wilt in his younger days. His repertoire of shots was a dunk, a finger tip roll shot, and a 10 foot fall away jump bank shot. He was terrible at the foul line; the absolute worst foul shooter in his era. But Wilt was a superb passer; a better passer than any big man of his time. Wilt also was exceptional at not fouling; having never fouled out of a game in his entire career.
I loved Wilt, and he was a tremendous player; and there's nobody that knows that better than myself. But...I truly believe that he would not have been as dominate today as he was in the past. He was a shade over 7' when everyone else was 6'10" or less. Most centers in Chamberlains day were 6'7" to 6'9" and some were quite awkward. He didn't play against very good competition in some cases; today it would be different. During Wilt's time, there were only a handful of decent centers. Nate Thurmond, Walt Bellamy, Bill Russell, Willis Reed, etc. to name a few; but most of those guys were younger than Wilt and came onto the scene in the late 60's; a few years after Wilt started his career.
Wilt was tremendous, there's no doubt in my mind, and I personally saw him play many times; but when he came onto the scene in the late 50's early 60's, the competition wasn't anything as powerful as it is today. This of course is my opinion. But if you think that he could have scored 100 points in one game today, and have averaged 50 points in one season today, I just believe that you are wrong.
Russell beat Wilt every year but once . Russell won 9 titles in 11 years no way you can leave him off the list. Doesn't have amazing personal stats except the 9 world championships including as a player/coach.
Russell's TEAM beat Wilt (Wilt didn't have a team) every year but once.
Really, this whole championships thing is not a great way to rate a player.
Is the backup power forward on those Celtics' team also better than Wilt?
Was Kurt Rambis a great player? How about Steve Kerr?
