Omni, it was Magic and Bird who brought the NBA to the national spotlight. Before they came along, NBA Finals games were being shown on tape delay. He didn’t create the stage, he simply acted very well on it. Oh, David Stern probably deserves a lot of credit, too. Offensive guard centered? Did someone tell Shaq, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, etc? Someone DID tell Stephon Marburry, but he can’t shoot, so…
I’m not sure that you played against real centers if you culd get away with it a 6’3". My local team, the T’wolves is getting slaughtered in lots of games because they have (in their own words) no-one who can physically play with the big men. On the other hand, I sucked at every position in basketball.
I dunno. I think the problem with the ESPN list is that they don’t define “greatest” at all. Best all-around? Most dominant? Changed his/her sport the most? Transcended the sport? If it’s #1, I think it’s Thorpe or Babe DZ. If it’s #2-4, I would go with Babe R.
I still am not convinced MJ is even the best basketball player. He didn’t improve his teams immediately the way that players like Russell, Kareem, Magic, or Bird did, he was never acknowledged #1 by most observers while Magic and Bird played, he didn’t have rules changed to limit him like Kareem, Wilt, and Mikan did. (In fact, if they called travelling and palming, MJ and most other great players would be in a lot of trouble. Shaq would be out of the league.)
Another side note on Babe Ruth:
Before becoming an outfielder, he was one of the best pitchers in the American League.
In judging “best athlete” are we taking overall athleticism into account? Or just the impact that one person had in his/her field of specialization? Gretzky was a helluva hockey player, sure, and he even revolutionized how the game was played. But how much of an overall athlete is he? This is why I chose Jim Thorpe and Babe Zaharias. They were multiple-sport athlete, mastering the separate disciplines needed to excel in a variety of venues.
If the question were “Hockey player of the century” – then Gretzky, no question.
“Basketball player of the century” – Michael Jordan, hands down.
“Athlete of the century” – not a single-sport athlete. I’d choose Bruce Jenner over Jordan.
The Dave-Guy
“since my daughter’s only half-Jewish, can she go in up to her knees?” J.H. Marx
FYI, Gretzky was considered to be a pretty decent baseball player and was drafted by the Blue Jays, I believe.
The way that the whole top 50 ended up, I’m disapointed that Gretzky was only 5th. The lead he has in all-time scoring is astonishing. His lead over the next highest scorer, Gordie Howe, is something like 50%. The equivilant in football would be about 24,000 rushing yards.
Who else could:[ul][]vault nimbly over all evidence arrayed against his point[]lift three times his weight in definitions[]strain a thesis over 15 pages of thread[]hurl his opponents into the Pit[*]establish his own rating system[/ul]For SDMB athlete of the year, I’d have to choose Phaedrus!
