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"Best NBA Player" ever???

Just wanted to clarify, I don't automatically associate "Best NBA player" with "most skilled" or "most dominant." LeBron can do things on the court MJ never could, Wilt was the most dominant player ever, and Kareem had the most unstoppable shot.
When I think "Best NBA Player ever" I go with MJ because of the combination of his championships, his competitive greatness, his skill/athletic ability, his defense and even his marketability (fortunate to come along at just the right time but he still transcended the popularity of the game). IMO no player played his position any better than MJ played his - which is why I think he's the "greatest ever."
 
vslice02 said:
Kareem played until he was 42 - of course he's going to have the edge in career statistical totals. Vinny Testaverde also has more career passing yards, touchdowns and completions than Joe Montana, so he must've been the better quarterback, right?
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....nobody said anything about factoring in how many years a player played. Longevity counts for something...including statistical achievements!!! We can't help that Jordan decided to play baseball for 2 years during the prime of his basketball career! If he was that stupid, then he lost out on further basketball achievements! Jabbar decided to stick with basketball. So his achievements supersede those of Jordan! And you can't tell me that Testiverde actually has more yards and touchdowns than Joe Montana has!
 
carolinajazz said:
you can't tell me that Testiverde actually has more yards and touchdowns than Joe Montana has!
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I just did, because it's true and that's Exhibit A. why you can't judge "who's better" simply by which player has the higher career statisical totals.
 
Here's how I'd put it
best player
MJ
best defender
MJ
most dominant
Wilt
most clutch
MJ/Kobe
most unstoppable
Kobe
best shooter
Larry Bird
best scorer
Kobe
biggest freak
Lebron/Wilt

I gotta give credit to Kobe... nobody hits as many "in your face" jumpshots with the pressure on. I mean there was a time when Kobe could score, whenever he wanted to. Literally, no matter who was guarding him he pull up, go around, go through, anybody and put the ball in the basket.

I think if Kobe and MJ played a game of 1 on 1 in their primes. If the stakes were 1 million dollars, Kobe would win handily. If the stakes were zero dollars, MJ would win handily. Thats the kind of players/people they were.
 
I think it's crazy to call Bill Russell better than LeBron. Look who they played against. Russell was 6'9 215. AK is 6'9 220. Lebron is 6'8 250 and plays SMALL forward.

Russell was dominant in his era but to say he would have been great in LeBron's era would be less of a certainty as LeBron absolutely destroying people in Russell's era.
 
Chad Feldheimer said:
I think it's crazy to call Bill Russell better than LeBron. Look who they played against. Russell was 6'9 215. AK is 6'9 220. Lebron is 6'8 250 and plays SMALL forward.

Russell was dominant in his era but to say he would have been great in LeBron's era would be less of a certainty as LeBron absolutely destroying people in Russell's era.
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Hard to make comparisons from those eras. It's a much different game, and athletes are simply bigger, stronger, faster now than in the 50's and 60's.
 
The-Joker said:
Here's how I'd put it
best player
MJ
best defender
MJ
most dominant
Wilt
most clutch
MJ/Kobe
most unstoppable
Kobe
best shooter
Larry Bird
best scorer
Kobe
biggest freak
Lebron/Wilt

I gotta give credit to Kobe... nobody hits as many "in your face" jumpshots with the pressure on. I mean there was a time when Kobe could score, whenever he wanted to. Literally, no matter who was guarding him he pull up, go around, go through, anybody and put the ball in the basket.

I think if Kobe and MJ played a game of 1 on 1 in their primes. If the stakes were 1 million dollars, Kobe would win handily. If the stakes were zero dollars, MJ would win handily. Thats the kind of players/people they were.
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...the jokers post is, well....beyond believable! He's wrong on so many counts it's not even funny. If you were going to pick best defender, then Bill Russell would have to be on top. He not only blocked the most shots...but he blocked them and GRABBED them, rather than smacking them out of bounds for the opposing team to retain possession and probably score. Kobe was NOT and is NOT unstoppable. Nor does he have an unstoppable shot. Kareem had the most unstoppable shot, if there is, in fact, such a thing. Larry Bird was a good shooter, but certainly not the best. Reggie Miller and Ray Allen were both better shooters from the outside. Statistically, I don't know who shot the highest percentage from the field for a career, but I could look it up. Jordan had the highest competitive streak between him and Kobe....so I would take Jordan over Kobe in a one on one contest anyday of the week and twice on Sunday! Plus, Jordan was just a smarter ball player than Kobe.
 
vslice02 said:
Hard to make comparisons from those eras. It's a much different game, and athletes are simply bigger, stronger, faster now than in the 50's and 60's.
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I think it's pretty easy to say LeBron, Kobe, Dwight Howard etc would have destroyed in the Bill Russell era.

Dolph Schayes was 6'7 195 and played center and was averaging 20-12. Bob Pettit 6'9 205 getting 26-16 over his career.

Some of the guys like Robertson, Baylor, West etc would be great in any era. But some of those old time big guys would get killed in todays NBA.
 
Larry Bird was a good shooter, but certainly not the best. Reggie Miller and Ray Allen were both better shooters from the outside. Statistically, I don't know who shot the highest percentage from the field for a career, but I could look it up.
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Bird: 49.6% FG, 37% 3pt, 88% FT
Miller: 47.1% FG, 39.5 3PT, 88% FT
Allen: 45% FG, 39.9 3PT, 89.3% FT

Bird destroys both in rebounding, defense, & assists though. Miller & Allen both great shooters but not nearly the complete player Bird was. Bird could truly do it all.
 
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