ESPN has spent the last few weeks announcing its greatest 100 players of all time according to its best and brightest analysts. It’s a cause for debate, as each and every individual NBA fan has his or her own personal greatest ever list in their own mind. The writers at Last Word Hoops are no different, and we asked five of our writers to debate the 2016 version of #NBArank.
- Was the top 10 of the NBArank correct?
Adam Joseph: Oscar Robertson would feel aggrieved for not making the cut, but for the most part yes. If you swap Bill Russell with LeBron James, then that’s close to what my list would have been. MJ, Magic, Wilt, Russell, Kareem, Larry, LeBron, Shaq, Duncan, Hakeem. I also think Magic is higher than LeBron, at least for now.
Matthew Cardenas: In my opinion, no. I would’ve liked to see Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar swapped. Also, there is no way that Kobe Bryant should not be in the top 10. I would swap him with Bill Russell. Besides that, the top 10 from ESPN is a pretty solid list.
Jack Moon Perrin: For the most part it was a correct ranking. However, like any subjective ranking of players of different eras, it is biased towards current players. Bill Russell was ranked far too low and Oscar Robertson was a notable player not on the list.
Harrison Marcus: The common discussion that has gone on for years has been deciding between Michael Jordan and LeBron James for the title of greatest basketball player of all time. If that is a daily debate, then isn’t that assuming that Jordan and James are undoubtedly the two best of all-time? That being said, I’d rank the King second, followed by Magic Johnson and then the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. After swapping the two Celtics legends, Bill Russell and Larry Bird, and then switching Hakeem Olajuwon with triple double machine Oscar Robertson, my top ten should be set. MJ, LeBron, Magic, Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Bird, Duncan, Shaq, Big O.
Thomas Mooney: I agree with the top 10. I would be fine if Kobe and Tim Duncan were switched, but there’s nobody in the top 10 that surprises me, and makes me say they shouldn’t be in. They were all dominant in their era, and honestly, would dominate in any era of basketball history.
- Who was ranked too high on the list?
Adam: Blake Griffin. Chris Paul was my first thought, but his all around accolades (defensively and All-NBA wise) changed my mind. Griffin has never made the Conference Finals, and hasn’t put the Clippers on his back in the postseason yet. When it really matters, Griffin has been found wanting. This season, it’s happened again. He’s got a lot more work to do to earn his spot.
Matthew: There is no way that Stephen Curry is already a top 25 player of all time. A player does not deserve that high of praise after two great years of basketball. He already has an MVP and a championship, but he still has a lot of work to do if he wants to be in the top 25 conversation. Don’t get me wrong; it is possible that he could end up in the top 25 at the end of his career. But for right now, those talks are premature.
Jack: LeBron James. LeBron James was ranked 3rd, which he may well end up at; however, based upon his current body of work, is too high for an all-time list of best players.
Harrison: Manu Ginobili is ranked as the 61st best basketball player of all-time, which is way too high. Quite frankly, I’m not even sure he deserves to be on this list at all. He’s been the third piece to the puzzle in San Antonio, and while that “puzzle” has been wildly successful, that doesn’t mean Ginobili should be ranked 61st. He has averaged 14 points per game in a career spent mostly as a sixth man off the bench. Ginobili is a great player, but not this great. Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and Blake Griffin are other players who are also ranked way too high.
Thomas: Steph Curry at 23. He’s really only been a top player for about a 2 year span, and i think it’s pretty absurd to put him ahead of guys like Isiah Thomas and Steve Nash at this point. Curry is a great player, best in the league right now, but he needs a longer span of dominance before he’s top 25 all-time worthy.
- Who was ranked too low on the list?
Adam: Tracy McGrady. The injuries that derailed his career cloud a lot of people’s minds, but his peak basketball was amongst the best we have ever seen. McGrady’s 2002-03 season is among the best ever, finishing with a PER above 30 while also posting a usage percentage above 35. Only himself and Dwayne Wade have ever done that. Understandably though, his lack of postseason success tarnishes his legacy.
Matthew: The fact that Kobe Bryant was put outside the top 10 is almost blasphemous. He is a five-time champion, a two-time finals MVP, an 18 time all-star, and a regular season MVP. Bryant is arguably the closest thing we have seen to Michael Jordan. He has impacted the game in ways that we had never seen. There is a reason opposing teams are filling arenas to see Bryant play in his last season. He deserves to be in the top 10 plain and simple.
Jack: Bill Russell. Russell is arguably the 2nd best player of all-time. Russell was a five-time MVP and won eleven NBA championships with two runner-up finishes. In the early 1960’s, Russell likely never got as much recognition as he deserved. Russell was most like Michael Jordan in being obsessed with winning. All of the top ten players were competitive, but these two players stand apart in their singular desire to always win. As noted by Bill Simmons, Russell teams were 10-0 in deciding game 5’s and game 7’s.
Harrison: Dominique Wilkins. Ranked at 44, the Human Highlight Film isn’t getting the love he deserves. It seems as if Dominique’s lack of a championship hurt him a bit in the rankings. ESPN is trying to convince us that Chris Paul deserves to be 15 spots higher than Dominique Wilkins? Bill Walton was a better player, too? C’mon now.
Thomas: Allen Iverson at 46, easy. Iverson was one of the most electrifying players of his time, and one of the greatest scorers of his era. Also take in that he single-handedly took a bad 76ers team to the NBA Finals, he should be in the top 30 maybe even top 25.
- LeBron James was listed 3rd in the rankings, was that correct?
Adam: No. You quite simply cannot tell me at this point in time LeBron stands above Magic, Kareem, Wilt, Russell and Larry. Due to his failures in the finals (2-4, likely to be 2-5 come June), he will never pass Jordan in the number one spot. If his career follows it’s current trajectory, he has every chance to fully earn that third spot. Right now though, players like Magic are beating him by a mile.
Matthew: There should not be a problem with LeBron James being ranked the third best player of all time. It is rare to see someone of his size have such a complete game. Obviously he has not won as many championships as the greats, but that does not take anything away from his skill set. James has accomplished almost everything there is to accomplish in the NBA. The only thing he needs to do now is deliver a championship to the city of Cleveland. That will ultimately cement his legacy.
Jack: No. LeBron will definitely end up in the top ten all-time NBA players. But, it shows far too much current bias to place James in the top three already. His career has been incredible; however, really until last year’s NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James had never succeeded without a ready-made free-agent cast of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
Harrison: As I said earlier, if the constant debate is between LeBron James and Michael Jordan for best of all-time, it doesn’t make much sense for anyone other than these two players to be ranked in the top two. It’s kind of like if you’re trying to decide between Forrest Gump and Star Wars for the best movie of all-time, but then when you’re asked to rank the top 100 movies of all-time, one of those movies places first while the other places third. It just doesn’t make much sense. LeBron James should be 2nd on this list.
Thomas: I’m inclined to say no, but barely. I would switch him with Magic Johnson at 4. Only because Magic won more titles than him, and I think LeBron has deferred too much in big moments. But I’d be willing to switch it right back if LeBron ends up winning Cleveland a championship.
- Which current player can climb highest from their current ranking?
Adam: Kevin Durant. Steph Curry is ranked far too high (as are most of the current players), but Durant is returning to the form that saw him surpass LeBron James in almost every advanced metric in 2013/14. His all around offensive ability is unlike anything we have ever seen. Injuries and a new rival in Curry will present ongoing challenges, Durant has the ability to climb towards the top 10.
Matthew: Kevin Durant is already a little too high, but he could make up for that as his career goes on. He is still young, but he needs to start delivering championships. Durant is already one of the greatest scorers we have ever seen. Players in the NBA are ultimately looked at for their championships. Durant has plenty of time to put himself in the conversation as one of the greats.
Jack: LeBron James. It seems like the sky is the limit with James. He could certainly end up 2nd or even 1st over Michael Jordan depending on how his career ends.
Harrison: Stephen Curry, who ESPN ranked at 23, has the greatest potential to work his way up this list. He’s currently the most dominant force in basketball, and the scary thing is, he continues to improve each and every day. Curry has a chance to crack the top 15 by the time he retires.
Thomas: Going to go with Steph Curry. He’s already probably the greatest shooter we’ve ever seen, especially off the dribble, and if he can keep this up for another 5-6 years like we all expect, he could find himself in the top 10 when his career is over.
