2015 Anger General Greatest post-merger Players of All Time #2

[wailuaFC]

Magic, as much as I love defensive bigs, no one was able to run an offense like magic, year in and year out the lakers were elite offensively despite many moving parts. That being said, this is a really hard spot to vote because it's essentially peak vs longevity, with bird/magic having clearly higher picks and Duncan the much greater longevity. I don't think there's a wrong vote to be made for any of those 3


Side note: I respect how much Timmy did for the Spurs, but magic (and bird) brought back the whole NBA, their rivalry and magics magic made people start being fans again

Your side note is something that I value very much.

Its also the reason I have such a hard time making these lists. What magic, bird, and to a lesser extent Duncan have done for the NBA/their team is remarkable, but its more so a legacy boaster then actual player resume boost. It's really difficult for me to separate the player and their legacy of that makes any sense

[l3bron]

Duncan.

I don't believe Bird nor Magic could replicate what Duncan has done for the San Antonio Spurs. What Duncan has done with the Spurs for ~18 years is unbelievable. He's anchored the most successful sports franchise in North America in the last 20 years. Disclaimer: A large part of that is health.

Eh...I don't know about that with Magic. I mean as much as his defense can be called into question, he was far superior the offensive weapon....even at age 36 he was still very impactful.

Again, I'm a huge proponent of great two-way players. But at some point being arguably a top 5 most lethal and impactful offensive player to ever play in the NBA can trump being at best an average defensive player.

Duncan was/is an phenomenal offensive talent. His versatility to adapt and change his playing style to the trends of the game is unmatched. Being a historic defender with an All Star offensive repertoire beats out being a historic offensive player who's a turnstile on defense. And this is coming from a huge Steve Nash fan.

[Y2K]

Duncan.

I don't believe Bird nor Magic could replicate what Duncan has done for the San Antonio Spurs. What Duncan has done with the Spurs for ~18 years is unbelievable. He's anchored the most successful sports franchise in North America in the last 20 years. Disclaimer: A large part of that is health.

Eh...I don't know about that with Magic. I mean as much as his defense can be called into question, he was far superior the offensive weapon....even at age 36 he was still very impactful.

Again, I'm a huge proponent of great two-way players. But at some point being arguably a top 5 most lethal and impactful offensive player to ever play in the NBA can trump being at best an average defensive player.

Duncan was/is an phenomenal offensive talent. His versatility to adapt and change his playing style to the trends of the game is unmatched. Being a historic defender with an All Star offensive repertoire beats out being a historic offensive player who's a turnstile on defense. And this is coming from a huge Steve Nash fan.

Duncan was great. He wasn't phenomenal. He was never the guy who was deemed unstoppable by his peers. He was great, steady and fundamentally sound like a mo'fo. His offensive impact doesn't even remotely come close to Magic Johnson. Defensively, it's vice versa, despite the belief that Magic was horrible. He was on smaller guards but he was okay in the post against bigger guys.

So now the question is at what point does one say that being a great two-way player, one of the best of all time, may not be enough to counter a top 5 elite offensive player of all-time?

For some, the answer is no. Myself, there's a line. It's just figuring out where that line is.

[americaninfidel]

Eh...I don't know about that with Magic. I mean as much as his defense can be called into question, he was far superior the offensive weapon....even at age 36 he was still very impactful.

Again, I'm a huge proponent of great two-way players. But at some point being arguably a top 5 most lethal and impactful offensive player to ever play in the NBA can trump being at best an average defensive player.

Duncan was/is an phenomenal offensive talent. His versatility to adapt and change his playing style to the trends of the game is unmatched. Being a historic defender with an All Star offensive repertoire beats out being a historic offensive player who's a turnstile on defense. And this is coming from a huge Steve Nash fan.

Duncan was great. He wasn't phenomenal. He was never the guy who was deemed unstoppable by his peers. He was great, steady and fundamentally sound like a mo'fo. His offensive impact doesn't even remotely come close to Magic Johnson. Defensively, it's vice versa, despite the belief that Magic was horrible. He was on smaller guards but he was okay in the post against bigger guys.

So now the question is at what point does one say that being a great two-way player, one of the best of all time, may not be enough to counter a top 5 elite offensive player of all-time?

For some, the answer is no. Myself, there's a line. It's just figuring out where that line is.

Have you voted yet, y2k? I skimmed through the thread and may have missed it, but I don't see where you've committed. The last I was aware, you were debating between Magic/Bird/Kareem.

[Y2K]

Duncan was/is an phenomenal offensive talent. His versatility to adapt and change his playing style to the trends of the game is unmatched. Being a historic defender with an All Star offensive repertoire beats out being a historic offensive player who's a turnstile on defense. And this is coming from a huge Steve Nash fan.

Duncan was great. He wasn't phenomenal. He was never the guy who was deemed unstoppable by his peers. He was great, steady and fundamentally sound like a mo'fo. His offensive impact doesn't even remotely come close to Magic Johnson. Defensively, it's vice versa, despite the belief that Magic was horrible. He was on smaller guards but he was okay in the post against bigger guys.

So now the question is at what point does one say that being a great two-way player, one of the best of all time, may not be enough to counter a top 5 elite offensive player of all-time?

For some, the answer is no. Myself, there's a line. It's just figuring out where that line is.

Have you voted yet, y2k? I skimmed through the thread and may have missed it, but I don't see where you've committed. The last I was aware, you were debating between Magic/Bird/Kareem.

Nope, no official vote yet. I'm ruling Bird out though.

Edit: I am going with Magic but I'm okay with Duncan going here if he indeed hold on to win.

[vcsgrizzfan]

Voting for this round will end today at 7:45 PM CST.

Congratulations to Duncan!

[americaninfidel]

Voting for this round will end today at 7:45 PM CST.

Congratulations to Duncan!

[wailuaFC]

So does this mean those who voted for Duncan have him at #4 on their lists (after Russell, Jordan, jabbar)?

[vcsgrizzfan]

So does this mean those who voted for Duncan have him at #4 on their lists (after Russell, Jordan, jabbar)?

I think Wilt would have been on many of those lists.

[americaninfidel]

So does this mean those who voted for Duncan have him at #4 on their lists (after Russell, Jordan, jabbar)?

I had him at 5, behind Jordan, Russ, KAJ, and Magic. But then TDK (of all people) laid out a convincing case for Timmy over Magic.

So I guess, yeah. I do think Timmy's probably #4 overall. (I'm reluctant to say so, since I feel like it'll come across as homerism.)

[wailuaFC]

So does this mean those who voted for Duncan have him at #4 on their lists (after Russell, Jordan, jabbar)?

I had him at 5, behind Jordan, Russ, KAJ, and Magic. But then TDK (of all people) laid out a convincing case for Timmy over Magic.

So I guess, yeah. I do think Timmy's probably #4 overall. (I'm reluctant to say so, since I feel like it'll come across as homerism.)

I think he does have a case as I can't find anything that tips the scale heavily against him, but I have too much nostalgic bias to put him over magic and bird.

[wailuaFC]

So does this mean those who voted for Duncan have him at #4 on their lists (after Russell, Jordan, jabbar)?

I think Wilt would have been on many of those lists.

Wilt is by far the hardest person to rank for me, I bounce around from having him 4th-7th

[vcsgrizzfan]

So does this mean those who voted for Duncan have him at #4 on their lists (after Russell, Jordan, jabbar)?

I think Wilt would have been on many of those lists.

Wilt is by far the hardest person to rank for me, I bounce around from having him 4th-7th

Me too. The dichotomy of his regular season play and post season play makes it particularly hard. Overall. I think we tend to overrate him because of his ungodly regular season numbers.

[thedangerouskitchen]

So does this mean those who voted for Duncan have him at #4 on their lists (after Russell, Jordan, jabbar)?

I had him at 5, behind Jordan, Russ, KAJ, and Magic. But then TDK (of all people) laid out a convincing case for Timmy over Magic.

So I guess, yeah. I do think Timmy's probably #4 overall. (I'm reluctant to say so, since I feel like it'll come across as homerism.)

What's that supposed to mean... I have always been a huge Duncan fan.

That aside, however, I also happen to think KG would be right-there as well IF he and Duncan switched teams for their entire careers... buuut, that's a discussion for another time.

[Odogg]

Magic