ESPN's top 74 NBA players rankings

2,741 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Ulrich
NoahAg
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Surprised this hasn't been posted yet. Of course with any kind of sports list there are LOL holes all over. This link is 40-11.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29105681/ranking-top-74-nba-players-all-nos-40-11
Head Ninja In Charge
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AG
Steph over KD? And Giannis being placed that high? Hakeem outside of the top 10? List is trash.

I'm going to assume the top 10 looks like this:

10. Julius Erving
9. Kobe Bryant
8. Tim Duncan
7. Shaquille O'Neal
6. Larry Bird
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Magic Johnson
2. Bill Russell
1. Michael Jordan
Head Ninja In Charge
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AG
Ah, ***** Saw Doctor J was already listed. Obvious oversight.


10. Kobe Bryant
9. Tim Duncan
8. Shaquille O'Neal
7. Larry Bird
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Magic Johnson
3. Bill Russell
2. LeBron James
1. Michael Jordan
Fat Bib Fortuna
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AG
As soon as i saw them with chris paul at #40 i stopped reading it
ATM9000
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AG
Head Ninja In Charge said:

Steph over KD? And Giannis being placed that high? Hakeem outside of the top 10? List is trash.

I'm going to assume the top 10 looks like this:

10. Julius Erving
9. Kobe Bryant
8. Tim Duncan
7. Shaquille O'Neal
6. Larry Bird
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Magic Johnson
2. Bill Russell
1. Michael Jordan


I'm 39 and grew up going to the Summit multiple times annually and for most of the playoff games during Hakeem's era. 11 is about right for him.
hph6203
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AG
MuckRaker96 said:

As soon as i saw them with chris paul at #40 i stopped reading it

Of the rankings that is not one where I think he's too high or too low. Only way I can see someone holding this opinion is if you're a Rockets fan and bitter about that experiment not working out.
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Iowaggie
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AG
Head Ninja In Charge said:

Ah, ***** Saw Doctor J was already listed. Obvious oversight.


10. Kobe Bryant
9. Tim Duncan
8. Shaquille O'Neal
7. Larry Bird
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Magic Johnson
3. Bill Russell
2. LeBron James
1. Michael Jordan

For those who haven't seen the top 10 list.

10. Shaq
9. Kobe
8. Duncan
7. Bird
6. Wilt
5. Magic
4. Russell
3. Kareem
2. LeBron
1. MJ

Fat Bib Fortuna
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AG
Flip lebron and magic and id like it more.
NoahAg
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Iowaggie said:

Head Ninja In Charge said:

Ah, ***** Saw Doctor J was already listed. Obvious oversight.


10. Kobe Bryant
9. Tim Duncan
8. Shaquille O'Neal
7. Larry Bird
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Magic Johnson
3. Bill Russell
2. LeBron James
1. Michael Jordan

For those who haven't seen the top 10 list.

10. Shaq
9. Kobe
8. Duncan
7. Bird
6. Wilt
5. Magic
4. Russell
3. Kareem
2. LeBron
1. MJ



Nothing too bad about that. I'd put Kobe at 7. And have Bird and Duncan at 8, 9.
AustinAg2K
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This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I would not have Russell in my top 10. His claim to fame is the championships, but he played on a stacked team in a weak league. Just among centers I'd put Kareem, Hakeem, and Shaq above him. If you consider Duncan a center, I'd put him over Russell, too.
Look Out Below
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AG
Chamberlain too. I'd argue Wilt for 3. The man averaged 50 PPG for a season. Russell averaged 18.9 that same year.

Russell was the second-best rebounder of all -time...behind Wilt. Chamberlain also led the league in assists one year. Russell was a truly great player but he played with 7 Hall of Famers during his career.

Many of Wilt's individual accomplishments are as unattainable as Russell's team accomplishments.
AustinAg2K
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I think I kind of put Wilt and Russell in the same category, which is one that's hard to compare to today's players. They both played in a very weak league without great big men. I have no doubt that if you put 1994 Hakeem on one of those teams from the 60s, he would have easily averaged 50+ ppg, and 25-30 rpg. He probably had better ball skills than 90% of the guards in the NBA at that time.

Based off the highlights I've watched from the time, I have trouble giving high praise to the players before the merger with the ABA. The ABA really changed the way the game is played.
Head Ninja In Charge
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AG
I've always viewed them equally. What Wilt was on offense, that's what I've heard Bill Russell was on defense. By all accounts, Russell is more or less the greatest defensive player of all-time.
AustinAg2K
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It's probably bias because he's my all time favorite player, but I would vote Hakeem as the greatest defender ever. Most big men can get blocks and rebounds, but he's also top 10 in steals. He played against the premiere big men, too. Shaq, Robinson, Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo. Russell didn't have to go against the same completion.
Iowaggie
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AG
While Russell's championships may cause him to be somewhat overrated, there is no doubt he made a tremendous impact that is possibly being overlooked on here.

The 1955-56 Celtics lose in the first round of the playoffs.
The next year is Russell's first, and in his 13 years, they win 11 of 13 NBA championships.
After he retires, they aren't even making the playoffs for a couple years, and it isn't like they were breaking up the Celtics like the Bulls did after Jordan retired.


I'm also not a big fan in believing that since there is only 8 - 10 teams in a league that it makes it easier to repeat as champion. If anything, more teams distributes talent and allows dominant players to dominate more. Certainly it was easier to retain talent before the current system of salary cap/free agency. It was just different.
But you could also say that every game, Russell was going against a top 8 center in the league, and/or 2 of the top 20 PF/C in the game.

On that list, the guys I think should be higher are George Mikan (#34), Bob Petit (#38), and Cousy (#41) who should be ranked top 15 - 30.
Ulrich
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Iowaggie said:

I'm also not a big fan in believing that since there is only 8 - 10 teams in a league that it makes it easier to repeat as champion. If anything, more teams distributes talent and allows dominant players to dominate more. Certainly it was easier to retain talent before the current system of salary cap/free agency. It was just different.
But you could also say that every game, Russell was going against a top 8 center in the league, and/or 2 of the top 20 PF/C in the game.

The problem is that "top 8 center" term. In the 80s, the top 8 centers in the US were in the NBA. In 2020, the top 8 centers in the world are playing in the NBA. In the 60s, over half the guys who would have been top 8 were probably selling brake pads or being oppressed by the Soviets.

Everything is so different now that it's hard to compare, but the small number of teams, several of whom were in small markets, means that pro basketball hadn't been taken very seriously. Russell's Celtics were a big part of changing that so they deserve a lot of credit and had some legitimately great players... but a championship then wasn't nearly the accomplishment of a championship now.
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