Slow news cycle and ramp up to training camp.
This came out recently:
https://hoopshype.com/lists/78-greatest-...
They got Lebron at the top. Objectively its an interesting take unless you hate Lebron.
While we still consider Michael Jordan to have a higher peak than LeBron, at this point we have to bow down to King James and finally move him up one spot to the top of our GOAT list ahead of MJ. His advantage in terms of sustained excellence is just too big to ignore, with LeBron at No. 1 and far ahead of His Airness in an increasing number of accolades and statistical categories.
I liked the way they intellectualized "peak vs career" regarding Jordan and Lebron. The 6 for 6 in finals produces a hell of a legend for Jordan. No doubt its the back bone of his cred.
Much of this is subjective. One can argue well that Jordan is the GOAT. Or Bill Russell? or Kareem? Maybe nobody is wrong?
Thoughts........
I do have issue with some guards picked ahead of Clyde. Those two chips do matter. Chris Paul way ahead of him? Gary Payton? Lillard? Ray Allen? Clyde Drexler? Am I that biased? perhaps.
Jokic at 29th? Three time MVP and a chip on a team he was clearly the catalyst on. I suspect he moves up in time.
David Robinson ahead of Ewing? I did not like this but considering league MVP, two chips, and DPOY are things Patrick does not have. Sure he had Timmy to help achieve and Ewing did not have the Spurs roster. Its not fair, but its their history.
Paul Pierce at 51? Yuck. Melo at 50? About right. But not with Drexler and Dominique Wilkens ahead. Elvin Hayes is underrated at 41, "4th in rebounds, 12th in scoring, 25th in blocks". Harden should not be ahead of him. Objectively neither should Ewing. Elvin was a monster on both ends. So was Ewing.
Pau Gasol and Robert Parish ahead of Willis at Number 61? C'mon, the League MVP trumps their accomplishments without a doubt. Parish had a great long career. Willis by age 32 was cooked.
Chis Bosh ahead of Dave Cowens?
I know Bill Walton at 78th had as shorter career but had a league MVP, Finals MVP, and two chips. one of which he was the driving force but 15 spots behind Dwight Howard? BTW, Dwight is an interesting pick given his gaudy stats. I believe he'll be in the HOF at some point. His roster spot and role on the 2020 laker bubble championship does not carry the same weight as Waltons 1977 chip with Blazers.
They mention Olympic Medals and thats not entirely fair given it used to be amateur only and injuries did prevent some players from going, as did deep playoff runs. They count for HOF consideration. As does NCAA and other contributions. Olympic metals are not NBA contributions.
Lists are great for debates.
I'm not upset with Paul ahead of Clyde. One title and Paul is in the running as one of the best PGs of all-time. I don't agree with that ranking, but I understand it. I agree that the other guys you mentioned are dubious. I was listening to Austin Rivers podcast and they discussed who had the better career, Dame or Jrue. They eventually settled on Dame, but it was a compelling argument once they laid out the cases for both players. Dame is tough guy to place on any all time list because the numbers speak for themselves, but I can't think of a time when I ever considered him the best of PG of his generation. He's also hindered, IMHO, by the lack of playoff success. As for Drexler and Wilkins, I have Drexler ahead of him. Nique was a scoring machine no doubt. But I don't think it's a stretch to say Clyde was a better all around player. And he has a title.
BigDaddyG wrote:I'm not upset with Paul ahead of Clyde. One title and Paul is in the running as one of the best PGs of all-time. I don't agree with that ranking, but I understand it. I agree that the other guys you mentioned are dubious. I was listening to Austin Rivers podcast and they discussed who had the better career, Dame or Jrue. They eventually settled on Dame, but it was a compelling argument once they laid out the cases for both players. Dame is tough guy to place on any all time list because the numbers speak for themselves, but I can't think of a time when I ever considered him the best of PG of his generation. He's also hindered, IMHO, by the lack of playoff success. As for Drexler and Wilkins, I have Drexler ahead of him. Nique was a scoring machine no doubt. But I don't think it's a stretch to say Clyde was a better all around player. And he has a title.
Problem with Dame is he is only on side of the court. A complete liability on the other. If we are talking about who should be taking bulk shots, yeah, it’s Dame. If I am building a championship roster? It’s Jrue.
Kudos to the MJ hype machine that the only thing people remember is the middle act. The first 9 years of his career are prologue and the last bit with the Wizards is epilogue. 94 should be pretty strong evidence that even without Jordan, that team was stacked. Every team Lebron left, immediately went to the lottery, not game 7 of the efc. For me, it's not that close.
Whatever argument someone might use to pick mj over Russell equally applies to lbj over mj.
I'd switch Dirk and Jokic's spots. Dirk didn't show a dribble drive until relatively late in his career, or an interest in defense as well. Would put Harden near the bottom of that list because of how much he chokes in the playoffs. Too much to be ahead of so many players.
