Top 10 Best To Ever Play The Game

[bmaster]

Ok guys, the first two you shouldn't even have to think about.
#1 Michael Jordan
#2 Wilt Chamberlain
you just can't argue with that, if you're putting people in front of them, you're just trying to be different and don't want to admith the truth. I don't know the other 8 but those are the two best.

[Freak93]

Bill Russell > Wilt. Wilt could not beat Bill Russell.

[sep]

bmaster said:

Ok guys, the first two you shouldn't even have to think about.
#1 Michael Jordan
#2 Wilt Chamberlain
you just can't argue with that, if you're putting people in front of them, you're just trying to be different and don't want to admith the truth. I don't know the other 8 but those are the two best.

Hit the nail on the head. As much as I hate Jordan I know, deep down he is #1. I just hate to admit it, hints LBJ my #1!!!

[BstnRdSx]

allstarmike2k5 said:

Bird could be...He may not of been as good as Jordan but he was just as good IMO

Are you serious?

[darjarbinx]

You contradicted yourself in the same sentence.

He may not have been as good as Jordan but he was just as good. ?

[allstarmike2k5]

i meant to say almost sorry for the typo

[bmaster]

freak93 said:

Bill Russell > Wilt. Wilt could not beat Bill Russell.

Last time I checked basketball is a team sport. You can put Michael Jordan on one team with four scrubs, and on the other team put Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Shaq, and Tim Duncan and Jordan will lose everytime. Does that mean Jordan isn't better than those other players?

[Freak93]

Bill Russel was a savior for the Celtics. He was a team player, and was great on his own.

[Bibby10]

Okay first of all, it's hard to compare past and present players to one list. Why? Because of how the game has changed over the decades. When Wilt scored 100, the game was made up of sprinting down on offense for a layup because the defense didn't get back. They would do that 48 minutes straight. So thus it's hard to compare that. So I will do my best to give you the TOP 10, IMO.

1. Michael Jordan. This may be a fad, but he nails through the crowd w/o a doubt. Why? Because he could do EVERYTHING. I'm not just saying that. He averaged like 25-30 ppg while dishing out the rock and playing defense like CRAZY. His defense is SOOOO underratted. But I think he's the best defensive guard to ever play the game. He also passed a ton and was never mentioned for it. He wasn't a ball hog like some big scorers. MJ knew how to play basketball. And is the best EVER.

2. John Stockton. Simply put, BEST POINT GUARD EVER. It's crazy that he was able to keep a 50% mark from the field while taking a good portion of shots and averaging like 20-25 PPG. And I haven't even started with his mad passing skillz. Underrated guy here.

3. Dennis Rodman. Okay, let me explain. Because of the fast pace back in Wilts time, he was able to grab an amzing 27.2 RPG. And people may think, OMFG thats the best evar. When actually you need to go deeper. I took a semi simple formula to calculate everyones rebound rate despite minutes or pace of play.

Rebound Rate= Rebounds x Team Minutes / Player Minutes x (Team Rebounds + Off. Reb)

This formula should calculate the best rebounder ever. Rodman comes out on top. Year after year. He came out with a 30 as a R.R. While Wilt came out with a 20 in his best year. Russell hit 23 in 57, his best. I can go into more depth with this formula, but won't. If you really want me to, I will.

4. Shaq Ugh, as much as I dislike the big fellow, he deserves his respect. Do I really need to explain this one? Didn't think so.

5. Bill Russell The big C's leader. I was thinking about moving him up. But I couldn't based on stats. Since of the types of play were different. This is where Russell I believe falls into place. A fantastic rebounder and a great scorer.

6. Reggie Miller Ok some people may have got lost after this one. And others might think I do this in "memory of the guy who left." But really, Reggie is the #1 underrated guy ever. He was the second best scorer next to MJ. And I'm not talking about percentage. I'm talking about saying, "Ok we'll give you the ball. You have to score." And how many times was he told this with like 3 seconds left in the game. Point = Explained.

7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar His game really defined "Big man basketball" And he's an obvious choice.

8. Dr. J Unstoppable I believe he is. He could throw it down on anyone. And did so! So really another no-brainer

9. Jerry West Mr. Clutch. He defined 1/2 second basketball. He is incredible. A three point and passing wiz.

10. Magic He almost hit the 9 spot but he doesn't have the shot to meet West. But Magic will be magicly great and earns his spot.

Okay so some people will be like, "WTF wheres Wilt?!?!?!?!" (or others) Let me explain. I didnt base these decisions off of pure stats. You have to compute them around. I listed these based on talent and not on what kind of matchups were present at the time.

[Freak93]

I honestly don't see how you can put Shaq ahead of Bill Russell. He carried the Celtics. Shaq gets a ton of help from the guards that have been there with him. I don't think Shaq would have his 3 championships if Kobe wasn't there to take amazing advantage of the opposing defense doubling on Shaq at times.

[Bibby10]

Thats exactly what I'm talking about. In the "Russell Era" no body heard of the true big men. I promise you if Shaq was in that era with a bunch of crap he would have whooped the C's over and over. Now that big men these days are become more apparent, they aren't as looked upon as true "Greats." When in fact, Shaq has played better than Russell.


But really that was a tough one.

[Freak93]

Russell has played better than Shaq. He has carried the team. Shaq is just huge. When you are that big, it is more of size than skill. Don't get me wrong Shaq has skill, but I think he uses his size more than his skill.

[Alex Confer]

Shaq would run all over Wilt. Maybe not Russell so much, but Wilt's a given.

[Freak93]

Yeah, Wilt would not have much of a chance against Shaq, but Bill Russell was so good at defense, and grabbing boards. He was just such a beast.

[Bibby10]

Russell was a good at grabbing the boards. But 4 miles behind Rod. But I admit Russ was better than O'Neal in grabbing boards. But not dominating over every being on the court.

[Alex Confer]

freak93 said:

Yeah, Wilt would not have much of a chance against Shaq, but Bill Russell was so good at defense, and grabbing boards. He was just such a beast.

While that's true, just think of the advantage Shaq would have over Bill. He just has the tangible body mass that destroys everything in its path.

[Freak93]

Yeah, Shaq has the huge body. Bill was able to block shots greatly, he played better D than Shaq.

[Bibby10]

Back in that era it was easier to get more blocks than ANYONE in this time because of the fast pace. But if you even it up like I did witht he rebound rate, Shaq would come out on top.

[Freak93]

You can't go soley on stats though. On the court, Bill Russell was just a beast that himself, could set the tone of the game. Remeber, Bill was there for all of the Celtics 11 championships in the 50's and 60's. He was the biggest part to their winning. The blocked shot wasn't even a kept stat back then, but he would have easily been on top. Until Shaq can prove he can lead a team to championsips at an older age like Russell did, Bill will always be better.

[Bibby10]

Bill got to go up against easier competition, plain and simple. Say Russel and Shaq had a face off in the Finals. Shaq would leave track marks on Bill. He looked really good on D in his ERA cuz there wasn't really a huge threat like Shaq around.