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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 12:24pm
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Disregarding the spam posting below, I thought it might be fun to really rate the best player of all time. I'm sure 99% of basketball fans living today consider it to be Michael Jordan. However, I am convinced it is George Mikan.
OK - flame me.
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Yom HaShoah 
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 12:40pm
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I've always been partial to Bird myself. On this subject...a friend and I were commenting on Kareem never appearing on the short list of greatest players ever. To me he was a better all around player than either Wilt or Russell and he won everywhere he played.
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 01:22pm
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Wilt Chamberlain
100 points in one game, single season scoring average of 50.4 points/game Never say never, but it is hard to imagine that these records will ever be broken.
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It's what you learn after you think you know it all that's important!
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:01pm
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Comparing him to the players of his era is much easier than trying to compare him to Mikan, Russell, Chamberlain, or Robertson. That was a different time and a different game. And it was certainly basketball at a more pure form than what we have today. These were great players but the game has changed so much since the 50's and 60's.
Certainly Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were great offensive players and great team leaders who led their teams to multiple championships. Michael played a somewhat more spectacular game than Magic and Larry always reminded me of a basketball version of Pete Rose. Also, Magic and Larry were surrounded by Hall of Fame players, which Michael never was. But neither Magic nor Larry played with the defensive intensity that Michael played with. For example, after serving as an asst. coach on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, Mike Kryzewski was asked what was the most surprising thing that he learned working with NBA players. He stated that the answer was easy - he could not believe the intensity with which Michael Jordan played defense. I think that while all these players were great players, Michael is the greatest player ever. My 2 pennies.
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:07pm
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my opinion
There are many to choose from. In the same breath as Michael Jordan, I also name Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. All three elevated the play of those they played with. They had such good court instincts. They played both ends of the floor. They could score at will and also find the open man.
Beyond these three players, I think everyone else mentioned (although great) are slightly behind.
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:17pm
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First you have to define "greatest player". That's at the heart of all these debates.
Best stats - Wilt Chamberlain. Best career winning percentage & most titles - Bill Russell Most points - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Highest career scoring average - Michael Jordan Larry and Magic saved the NBA, but I couldn't select either of them over any of the players named above. Best versus the players of his era - Chamberlain? Mikan? Best pound-for-pound - Isiah Thomas? Iverson? And what category do we put Maravich in? And it's always tough to discount your personal biases toward the players you've seen play. From my days watching him on WGN every other night, when it seemed like he could do anything he wanted, to last night, when I was getting angry at him for sitting out the fourth quarter, MJ was the only guy that I watched all the time, whether he was on defense or offense, whether he had the ball or not. I'd never take my eyes off him. I couldn't say that about any of the other greats I've seen play in my 31 years. So I'd pick Jordan. I'll take Russell as a close second--it's a team sport; the object is to win. There are a lot of things that you have to do to win that don't show up in the stat sheet. Russell did them all, and did them all as well as anyone from what I've seen and read. Oh, and Oscar Robertson's career assist average was 9.5 per game, and 7.5 rebounds. But he did have one SEASON in which he averaged a triple double, and he averaged a cumulative triple double over his first six seasons. 
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Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out. -- John Wooden
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:21pm
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Quote:
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:29pm
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I never saw Oscar Robertson play in real life, but I did see him on our old floor model black & white Philco TV.
I remember one drive to the hoop. Triple-teamed, he stopped in mid air with the ball only in his left, then only in his right, then scored only with his left. (There was no slo-mo back then, but the move was perfectly clear.) Just as the ball was released, the old Philco started leaning and fell over on its side. 
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:29pm
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I saw 'em all play- from Mikan to the present(even though I never really saw Mikan in his prime).
If I had to pick one player to start a franchise with,it would be Bill Russell.He was the consumate team player- and one of the all-time smartest,if not the smartest. My all-time favorite NBA ref was Manny Sokol.He wasn't one of the top guys,but he was funny as hell to watch.
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:37pm
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Quote:
I bow to your knowledge. mick
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:42pm
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Quote:
That was before we had this: http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...eer+statistics
__________________
Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out. -- John Wooden
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Thu Apr 17, 2003, 02:52pm
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I heard Russell speak last year and he said that it is impossible to compare players of different era's. He talked about how he would have to stay in different hotels and eat in different restaurants then the white players. Imagine MJ having to do that? If you go with era's, it still isn't easy.
If I had the number one pick I would take any of the following: Wilt Russel Bird Maravich Oscar Jordan (although I can't stand him@!) Lambeer (just because he is my all time favorite player, just ahead of Adrian Dantley.) Magic
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To Be Successful, One Must First Define What Success is.
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