vcsgrizzfan wrote:
Just for fun, give your "guess" on the rankings going forward. I'm going to go with this.
KG
Hakeem
Shaq
Duncan
LeBron
Russell
MJ
KAJ
I think Shaq's superior peak likely gives him the edge over KG and Hakeem. I think we really do tend to forget how dominating he was (at least offensively as per FPL's point) at his best. He was FEARED. Duncan probably gets the edge over those three because he remained consistently excellent for so long. He was a positive contributing factor at both ends each and every year he played. I think LeBron "probably" fits in between that group above and the "big 3". Can't really explain why that well, but that's my feeling.
I'm guessing Russell is the laggard in the big 3 because he only played 13 seasons and he'll be penalized by the lower offensive production. And I think what will put KAJ at number one is that just ridiculous longevity and period of relevance.
Hakeem
KG
Shaq
Russell
Duncan
Lebron
MJ
Kareem
But that's just a guess.
Interesting. I'm really curious how much he will value Russell's defense and how he analyzes his contributions. The 13 years only hurts him. But the fact he the Celtics had the best defense in the NBA 12 out of his 13 seasons (2nd the other time) and that he proved he could elevate his game offensively when required (30 points and 40 rebounds in game 7 of the 1962 series against the Lakers) makes me think he HAS to have him in his top 3. We'll see.
The fact he doesn't do what ifs as in what if Russell played in today's era how would he do helps Russell .
Sudanese Sensation wrote:The Glove
The Big Diesel
The Mailman
The Black Mamba
Now that was a superteam.
no
malone retired a year later. was a shell of his former self. contributed nothing in the finals
and GP was even worse
both far too old to help.
but they did ring chase... and like i said. its ok when you're old. but it doesn't exactly help if all you're gonna bring to the table is 4ppg on 32% fg's in the finals
Greatest Individual Playoff Performance in NBA history - 22y.o = 29.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 6.1 apg, 15-1 Record, #1 in Win Shares
Bush4Ever35 wrote:
Hakeem
KG
Shaq
Russell
Duncan
Lebron
MJ
Kareem
But that's just a guess.
Interesting. I'm really curious how much he will value Russell's defense and how he analyzes his contributions. The 13 years only hurts him. But the fact he the Celtics had the best defense in the NBA 12 out of his 13 seasons (2nd the other time) and that he proved he could elevate his game offensively when required (30 points and 40 rebounds in game 7 of the 1962 series against the Lakers) makes me think he HAS to have him in his top 3. We'll see.
The fact he doesn't do what ifs as in what if Russell played in today's era how would he do helps Russell .
It's the only way you can make this type of analysis make sense. Russell born 60 years later would have a game and a body that looked very different from how he played and looked in the 60s. In exactly the same way that if you took James Harden and had him born 60s years ago, his game wouldn't look ANYTHING like it looks now. You have to make that adjustment or none of it makes sense. One thing about Russell that would always translate though, is his unbelievable side to side quickness and leaping ability which allowed him to block pretty much anyone's shot, and not just inside the paint. He struck defensive fear in everyone on the other team.
vcsgrizzfan wrote:
Interesting. I'm really curious how much he will value Russell's defense and how he analyzes his contributions. The 13 years only hurts him. But the fact he the Celtics had the best defense in the NBA 12 out of his 13 seasons (2nd the other time) and that he proved he could elevate his game offensively when required (30 points and 40 rebounds in game 7 of the 1962 series against the Lakers) makes me think he HAS to have him in his top 3. We'll see.
Yeah, very well could.
My gut kind of thinks that the back five will be much tighter and compact statistically than the top 3 (MJ, Kareem, and Lebron).
People that tend to rank Hakeem Olajuwon lower on this list predominantly due to him only having won two NBA championships. That removed, there is no defense for having him outside of the top 10. At the end of his career, he was clearly:
1. the premier big man of his era
2. A dominant two-way player
3. The only player in NBA history to be ranked top 10 in career points, rebounds, blocks, and steals
Analytically, he trails David Robinson in several categories and the Spurs won a greater portion of the head-to-head matchups versus the Rockets during that era. However, when factoring in the postseason, David Robinson does not match up with Hakeem Olajuwon.
Y2K wrote:People that tend to rank Hakeem Olajuwon lower on this list predominantly due to him only having won two NBA championships. That removed, there is no defense for having him outside of the top 10. At the end of his career, he was clearly:
1. the premier big man of his era
2. A dominant two-way player
3. The only player in NBA history to be ranked top 10 in career points, rebounds, blocks, and steals
Analytically, he trails David Robinson in several categories and the Spurs won a greater portion of the head-to-head matchups versus the Rockets during that era. However, when factoring in the postseason, David Robinson does not match up with Hakeem Olajuwon.
Give us your guess on the final 8 order Y2K. Edit: and FPL too.
Are you saying he has Russell at number 8 or number 1 and so on and so forth. I'm somewhat confused.
THIS
Interesting. I can see 8 and 7 and maybe even 6. After that, I don't understand how you get there, especially with KAJ because of his incredible longevity.
vcsgrizzfan wrote:
Are you saying he has Russell at number 8 or number 1 and so on and so forth. I'm somewhat confused.
THIS
Interesting. I can see 8 and 7 and maybe even 6. After that, I don't understand how you get there, especially with KAJ because of his incredible longevity.
Doesn't he give the most weight to contribution to team success ?
Interesting. I can see 8 and 7 and maybe even 6. After that, I don't understand how you get there, especially with KAJ because of his incredible longevity.
Doesn't he give the most weight to contribution to team success ?
i can't believe you people are actually considering this isn't a lebron fluff piece
Greatest Individual Playoff Performance in NBA history - 22y.o = 29.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 6.1 apg, 15-1 Record, #1 in Win Shares
Interesting. I can see 8 and 7 and maybe even 6. After that, I don't understand how you get there, especially with KAJ because of his incredible longevity.
Doesn't he give the most weight to contribution to team success ?
But longevity matters a great deal. KAJ would have been contributing to team success for an extremely long time, and in some of his seasons, at an extremely high level. I think a lot will depend on how he views how good KAJ was defensively.
vcsgrizzfan wrote:
Interesting. I can see 8 and 7 and maybe even 6. After that, I don't understand how you get there, especially with KAJ because of his incredible longevity.
Doesn't he give the most weight to contribution to team success ?
But longevity matters a great deal. KAJ would have been contributing to team success for an extremely long time, and in some of his seasons, at an extremely high level. I think a lot will depend on how he views how good KAJ was defensively.
I am reading Coach Wooden and Me by Kareem. I'm really enjoying it.
I found it interesting because Kareem's BIG individual work was almost exclusively done in the 1970s, which for me is kind of an empty space in my historical knowledge of the game (beyond obvious things).
Y2K wrote:People that tend to rank Hakeem Olajuwon lower on this list predominantly due to him only having won two NBA championships. That removed, there is no defense for having him outside of the top 10. At the end of his career, he was clearly:
1. the premier big man of his era
2. A dominant two-way player
3. The only player in NBA history to be ranked top 10 in career points, rebounds, blocks, and steals
Analytically, he trails David Robinson in several categories and the Spurs won a greater portion of the head-to-head matchups versus the Rockets during that era. However, when factoring in the postseason, David Robinson does not match up with Hakeem Olajuwon.
Give us your guess on the final 8 order Y2K. Edit: and FPL too.
8. Russell
7. Garnett
6. Hakeem
5. Shaq
4. Duncan
3. LeBron
2. Jordan
1. Kareem
