2014 Anger General Greatest of All Time: #4 selection

[Y2K]

The results are in. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Was voted as the #3 Greatest Player of All Time.

Greatest players of All Time list:
____________________________________

1. Michael Jordan

2. Bill Russell

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Vote for your #4 player of all time posting the said player's name from the list of candidates available during that particular round.


Larry Bird - 1

Wilt Chamberlain - 9

Magic Johnson - 10

Shaquille O'Neal

Hakeem Olajuwon

Tim Duncan

Kobe Bryant


TOTAL Votes : 20

[Robceltsfan]

Wilt the Stilt.

[Deez]

Wilt

[vcsgrizzfan]

Magic.

[Bush4Ever]

Mr. Magic Johnson

[Y2K]

Mr. Magic Johnson

What are your thoughts on Magic over Wilt?

[876Stephen]

Magic

[Robceltsfan]

My ONLY problem placing Magic this high (and in defense I almost always rank him 5th) is the fact that he fell into such a perfect situation in LA. Similar to Kobe, Magic got to play with the most dominant big man in the league for the first part of his career. Shouldn't the #2 and #4 all-time players be better than 5-4 in the Finals?

People give flack to Lebron for being 2-3, but Lebron never played with the league MVP on his team.

#devilsadvocate

(Yes, I know there's more context than to what I simplified above, but you get my gist.)

[Y2K]

My ONLY problem placing Magic this high (and in defense I almost always rank him 5th) is the fact that he fell into such a perfect situation in LA. Similar to Kobe, Magic got to play with the most dominant big man in the league for the first part of his career. Shouldn't the #2 and #4 all-time players be better than 5-4 in the Finals?

People give flack to Lebron for being 2-3, but Lebron never played with the league MVP on his team.

#devilsadvocate

(Yes, I know there's more context than to what I simplified above, but you get my gist.)

I get what you're saying. Magic had his slip ups in 1984 but never was he as terrible as Lebron was in 2007 and 2011.

[vcsgrizzfan]

My ONLY problem placing Magic this high (and in defense I almost always rank him 5th) is the fact that he fell into such a perfect situation in LA. Similar to Kobe, Magic got to play with the most dominant big man in the league for the first part of his career. Shouldn't the #2 and #4 all-time players be better than 5-4 in the Finals?

People give flack to Lebron for being 2-3, but Lebron never played with the league MVP on his team.

#devilsadvocate

(Yes, I know there's more context than to what I simplified above, but you get my gist.)

He also had the advantage of almost having a bye in the western conference for much of the 80s. Having said that, and having watched him play throughout his career, he still earned it. And he lost to some pretty good teams in those finals.

[Y2K]

I have Wilt. I have him at #3 but no real issue with Kareem ahead of him.

[Bush4Ever]

My ONLY problem placing Magic this high (and in defense I almost always rank him 5th) is the fact that he fell into such a perfect situation in LA. Similar to Kobe, Magic got to play with the most dominant big man in the league for the first part of his career. Shouldn't the #2 and #4 all-time players be better than 5-4 in the Finals?

People give flack to Lebron for being 2-3, but Lebron never played with the league MVP on his team.

#devilsadvocate

(Yes, I know there's more context than to what I simplified above, but you get my gist.)

You have to keep in mind an awful lot of what makes Kareem number 3 all-time took place before Magic even came to the Lakers in the first place.

There was never a time where both Magic and Kareem were playing at the level that would guide them into being ranked 3rd or 4th. First, Kareem was in peak form but Magic wasn't. By the time Magic got to his peak, Kareem was a fading all-star, but hardly earth-moving/shattering.

So, it's a little deceptive to say "the 3rd and 4th best players ever should be better than 5-4 in the Finals". There was never a time when Kareem was playing at the "3rd-best ever level" WHILE Magic was playing at the "4th-best ever level".

Also, while Magic had more supporting talent than almost everyone in volume, he had to go *against* teams that were stacked in a somewhat similar way, at least in the Finals with the 76ers, Celtics, and Pistons. In those types of series...one of the stacked teams has to lose.

[Bush4Ever]

Mr. Magic Johnson

What are your thoughts on Magic over Wilt?

I think it is a pretty straightforward argument.

The main difference being Magic has almost a multiplier effect on his teammates's performance, while Wilt at best had a neutral effect. Nested within a team game, that is pretty huge. So while Wilt is probably the greater individual player (divorced from a supporting cast), Magic's contribution becomes greater when in a team game, due to the aforementioned effect.

Probably the biggest attack Wilt would have over Magic is defense. Wilt was great, although he had some quirks. Magic was generally regarded as medicore to average defensive player for the most part. But I don't think that is especially dealbreaking, considering Magic played PG mostly in his career.

[Deez]

Mr. Magic Johnson

What are your thoughts on Magic over Wilt?

I think it is a pretty straightforward argument.

The main difference being Magic has almost a multiplier effect on his teammates's performance, while Wilt at best had a neutral effect. Nested within a team game, that is pretty huge. So while Wilt is probably the greater individual player (divorced from a supporting cast), Magic's contribution becomes greater when in a team game, due to the aforementioned effect.

Probably the biggest attack Wilt would have over Magic is defense. Wilt was great, although he had some quirks. Magic was generally regarded as medicore to average defensive player for the most part. But I don't think that is especially dealbreaking, considering Magic played PG mostly in his career.

Magic wasn't a PG, he was a SG

[Robceltsfan]

What are your thoughts on Magic over Wilt?

I think it is a pretty straightforward argument.

The main difference being Magic has almost a multiplier effect on his teammates's performance, while Wilt at best had a neutral effect. Nested within a team game, that is pretty huge. So while Wilt is probably the greater individual player (divorced from a supporting cast), Magic's contribution becomes greater when in a team game, due to the aforementioned effect.

Probably the biggest attack Wilt would have over Magic is defense. Wilt was great, although he had some quirks. Magic was generally regarded as medicore to average defensive player for the most part. But I don't think that is especially dealbreaking, considering Magic played PG mostly in his career.

Magic wasn't a PG, he was a SG

[Deez]

I think it is a pretty straightforward argument.

The main difference being Magic has almost a multiplier effect on his teammates's performance, while Wilt at best had a neutral effect. Nested within a team game, that is pretty huge. So while Wilt is probably the greater individual player (divorced from a supporting cast), Magic's contribution becomes greater when in a team game, due to the aforementioned effect.

Probably the biggest attack Wilt would have over Magic is defense. Wilt was great, although he had some quirks. Magic was generally regarded as medicore to average defensive player for the most part. But I don't think that is especially dealbreaking, considering Magic played PG mostly in his career.

Magic wasn't a PG, he was a SG

[elmouse03]

WILT!!!!

[americaninfidel]

Magic.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Magic wasn't a PG, he was a SG

Magic was a frontcourt PG.

[wailuaFC]

Wilt