The ten greatest-ever basketball players

[ekedolphin]

@Kent_Clark

I know we have a tendency to overlook players before the age of TV, but I can’t believe no one has mentioned Bob Cousy, the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty in the 1950s, who virtually invented the position of point guard;

I gave serious thought to including Cousy on my list.

[Jaycat.again]

@Kent_Clark

I can’t believe no one has mentioned Bob Cousy,

Also not getting any mentions is Isaiah Thomas. Ten greatest-ever is a really high bar.

[ekedolphin]

@Jaycat.again

Also not getting any mentions is Isaiah Thomas.

You mean Isiah Thomas, with one a. They’re two different people. Isiah Thomas is the Hall-of-Fame point guard who won two championships with the Pistons. Isaiah Thomas was relatively speaking a flash-in-the-pan.

[Jaycat.again]

I stand corrected.

[DCnDC]

Jordan
LeBron
Kareem
Wilt
Magic
Bird
Duncan
Shaq
Kobe
Russell

Only players I’ve actually seen play:
Jordan
LeBron
Magic
Bird
Duncan
Shaq
Kobe
Curry
Barkley
Iverson

[Bullitt]

@RickJay

1. Michael Jordan
2. Bill Russell
3. Lebron James
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Wilt Chamberlain
6. Magic Johnson
7. Shaquille O’Neal
8. Oscar Robertson
9. Tim Duncan
10. Stephen Curry

I found this really, really hard to come up with.

I feel like point guards are underrepresented here but, weirdly, many of the players that statistics SAY are the greatest point guards of all time - Stockton, Chris Paul, Steve Nash - never won a title, and I count that as being important.

Objectively I realize Curry is likely on this list a little early, but here’s the thing:

1. Curry is easily the greatest player on a great, great team,
2. Curry isn’t yet done so I’ll assume here he has a few more great years left, and
3. I am given him some credit for being such a transformative player.

I’m curious, why did you leave Larry Bird off of your list?

[RickJay]

@Bullitt

I’m curious, why did you leave Larry Bird off of your list?

I didn’t have room for him.

He was a great player. I do not believe he was as great a player as the ten men I listed above.

[Snarky_Kong]

Not a basketball fan, but enjoy analytics in general. Kobe is on a lot of lists here, but it’s my possibly mistaken understanding that he’s considerably overrated in general? Like, he scored points because he shot a lot and he won titles because Shaq was on his team. Like, without Shaq is he considered any better than James Harden?

@RickJay

I didn’t have room for him.

He was a great player. I do not believe he was as great a player as the ten men I listed above.

Isn’t this just you restating his question?

Alice - Why did team A win?
Bob - They scored more points.
Alice - Yeah, but why? Was their defensive scheme too solid, did the ref blow a key call, were they too athletic to handle.

[ekedolphin]

@Snarky_Kong

and he won titles because Shaq was on his team.

He won three of his five championships with Shaq on the team, but he won two as the undisputed leader of his team, with Pau Gasol as the #2 player.

[Bullitt]

Okay folks, coming back to this after a year, I tallied all of our votes and bolded our cumulative top 10. Kareem and Wilt top the list, with MJ right behind them.

1 Charles Barkley
3 Elgin Baylor
6 Larry Bird
5 Kobe Bryant
10 Wilt Chamberlain
1 Bob Cousy
6 Steph Curry
6 Tim Duncan
1 Julius Erving
1 Elvin Hayes
1 Allen Iverson
10 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
7 LeBron James
7 Magic Johnson
9 Michael Jordan
1 Jason Kidd
1 Karl Malone
3 George Mikan
4 Shaquille O’Neal
1 Bob Pettit
1 Scottie Pippen
4 Oscar Robertson
7 Bill Russell
1 Isiah Thomas
2 Jerry West

[John_DiFool]

Karl Malone but no Moses Malone, huh.

[Bullitt]

The Chairman of the Boards was not mentioned at all, until you said him.