2019 Annual Jazzfanz Legends NBA Draft - Round 1, Match 4 - Ellis269 vs TheTrippleThreat

TheTrippleThreat said:

TOP 10 CENTERS
We'll unveil one player every half-hour starting at 10 a.m. ET. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook.

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images
Teams
Mikwaukee Bucks (1969-75), Los Angeles Lakers (1975-89)

Honors
Six-time MVP (1970-71, 1971-72, 1973-74, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1979-80), two-time Finals MVP, 19-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA selection, 10-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (1969-70), Hall of Fame

Championships
6 (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)

Career stats
24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 2.6 BPG, .559 FG%

The player
More MVPs than anyone. More career points than anyone. More career Win Shares than anyone. Simply put, there might not be a more complete career than Abdul-Jabbar's. -- Micah Adams, ESPN Stats & Info

His sky hook was the most unstoppable shot in NBA history. And he could play D, pass and hit his free throws, too. -- Rob Peterson, ESPN.com

No player in NBA history has combined peak value with longevity as well as Abdul-Jabbar. It's incredible to think Abdul-Jabbar won Finals MVPs 14 years apart. -- Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider

While the public often overlooks him in discussions about the game's greatest player, league insiders and legends always mention him when considering who's the G.O.A.T. -- Chris Broussard, ESPN The Magizine.

To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever, with voting based on both peak performance and career value.

TOP 10 POWER FORWARDS
We'll unveil one player every half-hour starting at 10 a.m. ET. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook.

1. Tim Duncan
D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images
Teams
San Antonio Spurs (1997-pres.)

Honors
Two-time MVP (2001-02, 2002-03), three-time Finals MVP, 15-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA selection, 15-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (1997-98)

Championships
5 (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014)

Career stats
19.3 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.2 BPG, .506 FG%

The player
The ultimate franchise player. For two decades, small-market San Antonio has built team after team around him, with so many different supporting casts. All he does is smooch in those bank shots. And win. -- Marc Stein, ESPN.com

Duncan is this generation's answer to Bill Russell. Fundamentals, consistency, quiet excellence and winning above all else; Duncan embodies everything basketball should be about. -- Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider

The only all-time great whose talent might be secondary to his temperament. His team-oriented attitude produced the longest run of sustained success the NBA has seen. -- J.A. Adande, ESPN.com

At this point I wonder if calling Duncan the greatest power forward ever almost does him a disservice. His resume stands with nearly any of the great big men of all time, power forwards and centers. -- Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider

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TheTrippleThreat said:

7. Bob Pettit
Teams
Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954-1965)

Honors
Two-time MVP (1955-56, 1958-59), 11-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, Rookie of the Year (1954-55)

Championships
1 (1958)

Career stats
26.4 PPG, 16.2 RPG, 3.0 APG, .436 FG%

The player
Centers and guards were the scorers in his day. Power forwards grabbed boards. Pettit was one of the first to do both extremely well, never averaging less than 24.6 point per game or 12.4 rebounds per game in a season. -- Peterson

One of the prototype high scorers. Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West were the only players who got to the league before Pettit and averaged more career points than him. -- Adande

In the '60s, Pettit maintained his production as the league improved rapidly during the decade. His greatness might be more obvious had he not retired at age 32 to work in banking. -- Pelton

You can sum up his greatness in one anecdote: When St. Louis won the 1958 title, Pettit scored 50 points in the clincher against a hobbled Bill Russell. Those Hawks were the only team to beat Russell's Celtics between 1957 and 1966. -- Doolittle

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TheTrippleThreat said:

TOP 10 SMALL FORWARDS
7. John Havlicek

Teams
Boston Celtics (1962-1978)

Honors
Finals MVP (1974), 13-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, eight-time All-D selection

Championships
8 (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976)

Career stats
20.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.8 APG, .439 FG%

The player
Hondo was a star sixth man before anyone thought of giving out an award for such things, and was part of most of those Celtics titles in the '60s. Then he was the best player on a whole different group of championship-winning Boston teams in the '70s. That's pretty good. -- Doolittle

A model of consistent excellence and an eight-time NBA champion, Hondo did a little bit of everything for the Celtics, whether it was coming off the bench earlier in his career or wining the '74 Finals MVP. -- Peterson

He often gets overlooked when discussing the game's greatest scorers. Only a handful of players in his era scored more points than he did, and they're all single-name guys: Wilt, Kareem, Moses, Elvin and Oscar. -- Adande

It's Havlicek -- not Bird, Cousy, or Russell -- who holds career records for games played and points scored in a Celtics uniform. -- Adams

8. Rick Barry
Vernon Biever/NBAE/Getty Images
Teams
San Francisco/Golden State Warriors (1965-1967, 1972-1978), Houston Rockets (1978-1980)

Honors
Finals MVP (1975), eight-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection, Rookie of the Year (1965-66), NBA scoring champion (1966-67)

Championships
1 (1975)

Career stats
23.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.1 APG, 2.0 SPG

The player
One of the greatest, most skilled perimeter talents the game has seen, Barry could do it all offensively. He's the most underrated superstar in basketball history. -- Broussard

Barry led the NBA in scoring in 1967 with the highest per-game average (35.8) ever by someone not named Chamberlain or Jordan. As symbolized by his underhanded free throw style, he used whatever method he could to win. -- Peterson

Barry was not just an ace shooter who shot granny-style free throws. He was a unique and dominant all-around player who made his mark in two leagues. When the NBA adopted the 3-point line for his last season, Barry was among the first to exploit the new rule. -- Doolittle

He helped expand the concept of shooting range for small forwards. -- Adande

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TheTrippleThreat said:

TOP 10 SHOOTING GAURDS
3. Jerry West
Teams
Los Angeles Lakers (1960-1974)

Honors
Finals MVP (1969), 14-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA selection, five-time All-D selection, Hall of Fame

Championships
1 (1972)

Career stats
27.0 PPG, 6.7 APG, 2.6 SPG, .474 FG%

The player
A legendary performer in the postseason, West averaged 40.6 points per game in the 1965 playoffs (Jordan is the only other player in NBA history to average 40 points per game for an entire postseason) and remains the only player from a losing team to win Finals MVP (in 1969). -- Adams

Consider how great you have to be to earn a reputation as one of the best clutch performers ever despite your team losing eight times in nine trips to the Finals. Only West could do it. -- Pelton

What amazes me most about West is how he switched to point guard late in his career ... and led the league in assist average. -- Doolittle

As relentlessly competitive and prolific as Jordan; there's a reason West's silhouette is the NBA's logo. -- Peterson

6. Allen Iverson
Teams
Philadelphia 76ers (1996-2006, 2009-2010) Denver Nuggets (2006-2008) Detroit Pistons (2008-2009) Memphis Grizzlies (2009)

Honors
MVP (2000-01) 11-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, four-time NBA scoring champion, Rookie of the Year (1996-97)

Championships
None

Career stats
26.7 PPG, 6.2 APG, 3.7 RPG, 2.2 SPG

The player
Often referred to as the best "pound for pound" player of his time, Iverson remains a larger-than-life figure to basketball fans of his generation. -- Reisinger

He stands as the paragon of an era where creating difficult shots was preferable to scoring easy ones. -- Pelton

While the isolation plays he loved are going out of favor, his combination of athleticism and relentlessness helped carry many offensively challenged Sixers squads into the postseason. -- Peterson

The signature Reeboks, the cornrows, the long shorts, the swagger. The Answer is on the short list of the most influential players in league history. -- Adams

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TheTrippleThreat said:

TOP 10 POINT GAURDS
2. Oscar Robertson
Teams
Cincinnati Royals (1960-70), Milwaukee Bucks (1970-74)

Honors
MVP (1963-64), 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, Rookie of the Year (1960-61), Hall of Fame

Championships
1 (1971)

Career stats
25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, .485 FG%

The player
Mr. Triple Double was so far ahead of his time in terms of size, speed, strength and stats. -- Peterson

He was the forerunner of Magic Johnson and LeBron James, and it's telling that both of those stars revere the Big O. -- Brad Doolittle

Robertson's averaging a triple-double in 1961-62 is probably overrated because it was a product of the fast-paced play in the 1960s, but his role in the Milwaukee Bucks' early '70s championship run is probably underrated. -- Pelton

Perhaps the most incredible part of the Big O's triple-double season is that he finished third in MVP voting (behind winner Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 50.4 PPG). -- Adams

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Ellis269 said:

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Thee jazz fan said:

The only highlight I cared to click on was Stockton. Simply the best pg to ever play the game, there was not one weakness in his game, dude put up Wayne Gretzky type stats. He could pass, shoot, drive, finish at the rim with the best of them, play defense, and score, though he 90% of the time chose not to shoot it seemed sometimes which drove me nuts sometimes, and a great clutch performer, and shooter, not just the shot that sent the jazz to the finals, but finding his team down literally put the team on his back the final 8 or so minutes of that game. He did this more times than I can count. Often the team would go on a scoring drought, this is when Stockton would turn on a switch and go on a scoring barrage. This is the guy that could’ve averaged 25pts 12 ast. 2.5 stl. Had he wanted to. Had he chose to shoot more he wouldn’t have been considered a good shooter but elite. Had he played in the 60’s or on the showtime lakers he’d be on the Mount Rushmore of the nba, but he played for the most obscure team in pro sports history. IMO the gap between him and the second best pg is about the same as the gap between his all time assist totals and whoever is second place. If anyone of you try’s to refute this, you are the biggest idiot I have ever come across.

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Thee jazz fan said:

Not sure why Oscar is playing sg and West at pg. Oscar is the better pg by far, where as West is a great shooter and Oscar doesn’t shoot from long range. Simple solution would’ve been have Oscar play point and guard the other teams sg.

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TheTrippleThreat said:

I think people are forgetting how good of a facilitator "The Logo" was. Later in his career he moved to PG and avereged 9 assists in multiple seasons.

He also made the All D team 5 times (4 1sts, 1 2nd) in his last five years. Those were the first five years the award was given out.

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TheTrippleThreat said:

Since we can never know we have to take the players worth as their performance in the era that they played in. Thats the whole point of a Legends draft.

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