The point is that his size relative to his peers is why they changed the rules for him. You used it as an indicator of greatness. It's an indicator of being a physical anomaly at the time. They're two separate arguments.
Who's your Top 5 NBA players of all time ?
- Thread starter TopCatCal
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The point is that his size relative to his peers is why they changed the rules for him. You used it as an indicator of greatness. It's an indicator of being a physical anomaly at the time. They're two separate arguments.
The NBA is full of 6'8" athletic freaks.
LeBron is on the court with bigger, stronger, faster players each game.
I have never understood the resistance to LJ as the best player in the NBA's history. There has never been a player in this league that would have led Cleveland to a title last season. Jordan would not have done it, nor Magic, Bird, Wilt or anyone else but LeBron.
Kyrie is not even All NBA, let alone all-time top 5. Ridiculous.
So, Duncan is a center?
Any legitimate list would have to include Jabbar. He is the most accomplished NBA player of all time.
The all time top 5 NBA players are
Michael Jordan
Wilt Chamberlain
Bill Russell
Oscar Robertson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
He's on mine All-Time NBA starting 5:
PG Oscar Robertson
SG Michael Jordan
SF LeBron James
PF Karl Malone
C Shaq O'Neal
Name me one guy that is LeBron's size that is as quick and athletic as he is. Some guys may be his size and can jump but are not quick enough to guard him. Others may be quick but he overpowers them. I'm not saying he isn't good just that you can't discount what made Wilt great in his era and not recognize it is the same thing that makes LeBron great today.
That is false but averaging 30 PPG and 23 RPG for his career is a sign of greatness
These are the best since my time from the 80's on.
PG-Magic Johnson
SG-Michael Jordan
SF-Lebron James
PF-Larry Bird
C-Shaq or Kareem
PG-Magic Johnson
SG-Michael Jordan
SF-Lebron James
PF-Larry Bird
C-Shaq or Kareem
I don't really have a dog in this fight, but the argument is not whether anyone is/was as quick as Lebron/Wilt. They're both all-time great athletes. The issue was the level of competition overall (not just individuals). So the point is that while both Lebron and Wilt are 100 on a 1-100 scale, the NBA right now (or relevant positions) is, say, an 70, and in Wilt's time it was, say, 50. The delta has shrunk.
Also, when comparing across such vastly different eras, raw per game totals don't really say anything meaningful. At a bare minimum, you have to account for pace, and should account for things like (for example) opportunities for rebounds (i.e. rebound %) due to large disparities in things like FG%.
Also have to account that there were only 12 NBA teams then Wilt played which meant he was competing against the top 140 players in the world as opposed to the top 450 players in the world today
All these young folks just got it wrong, any list without Wilt is not a list.
As stated by a few earlier, Wilt is, was and now the greatest. After that I guess there are arguments for the other top four with Kareem, Byrd, Magic, MJ, Kobe, Russell, Oscar, Shaq and some others.
But Wilt #1.
As stated by a few earlier, Wilt is, was and now the greatest. After that I guess there are arguments for the other top four with Kareem, Byrd, Magic, MJ, Kobe, Russell, Oscar, Shaq and some others.
But Wilt #1.
In no particular order:
Lebron
Jordan
Wilt
Magic
Robertson
But we are splitting hairs here. Lebron wasn't great in the second half (5-16 FG's after 10-11 start), but he had to CARRY that team against a team with four all-stars. They did give up an 11-0 to close out the game, but Jordan lost game 6 in the 1995 ECSF to Orlando, giving up a 14-0, blowing an 8-point lead.
Lebron
Jordan
Wilt
Magic
Robertson
But we are splitting hairs here. Lebron wasn't great in the second half (5-16 FG's after 10-11 start), but he had to CARRY that team against a team with four all-stars. They did give up an 11-0 to close out the game, but Jordan lost game 6 in the 1995 ECSF to Orlando, giving up a 14-0, blowing an 8-point lead.
What? Smaller league means better players for each team if all else is equal. But all else is not equal. Do you really think that the best "140 players in the world" were in the NBA then? Mutombo, Hakeem, Duncan (Virgin Islands, he's playing soccer then), Dirk, Ginobli, Parker, Gasol, Yao, Petrovic, Stojakovic, Greek Freak, Nash, Jokic, Nurkic, Mirotic, Embiid, Wiggins, Ewing, Bol, Kanter, etc... In fact, without guys like Wilt and Russell making basketball popular (which is a service they get little credit for), even someone like Shaq might not have decided to play - recall he grew up an Army brat and lived in Germany and Texas (maybe he ends up playing football). Just this year, there were 113 international players from 41 countries and territories.
Now add in that NBA players made little salary back in the day - for example, Dave Cowens moonlighted as a cab driver in the 1970s - which means that a smaller % of US people sought out the NBA. Today's huge salaries lure in everyone with the requisite height and athleticism to at least try to make it.
Not to mention that a higher % of the league is in great physical shape - nutrition, training, and injury recovery. Would someone like Kareem (noted health nut) have such a comparative advantage in these areas against the modern NBA? Likely not.
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