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ESPN Ranks LeBron as the #3 NBA Player All-Time. What say you?

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Kobe was nothing without shaq and Phil though.

It would be more accurate to say Shaq was nothing without Kobe and Phil since he only won one after his stint on the Lakers and that one year was basically his second to last meaningful year in the NBA.
 
It would be far more accurate to say both statements are ridiculous.

This is correct. Which is why I said "more" and not "most". They made each other and were probably the most dominant duo in the NBA ever next to Pippen and Jordan. IT's a shame they couldn't' work together. Something both have admitted to after the fact.
 
I know Wilt was a giant asshole which is why he always gets the shaft on these lists, but people really need to start respecting his skills.

I go:

1. Jordan, duh.
2. Wilt
3. Magic
4. Kareem
5. LeBron

Kareem's defensive woes are the only reason he's not higher.
 

BadAss2961

Member
That's purely something you can say in retrospect. Wilt was super defensive about it at the time, constantly whining about it and blaming teammates after losses. At one point, in his prime, the Warriors tried to trade Wilt to the Lakers and the Lakers said no because the players voted against trading for him. Says a lot about how he and his stats were viewed even then.
This is what i'm talking about. LeBron wants people to like him, wants people to believe what a team guy he is (though that's finally falling apart for everyone), tries his best to hide that he's a huge diva pulling all the strings behind the scenes. He'll let it slip sometimes in blaming coaches and teammates for losses, but for the most part he'll stay quiet publicly and just let the media rip them for him. Dude goes on vacation during the trade deadline and plays GM, shipping dudes out so he's not even around for the fallout. lol

Of the coverage i've seen of Wilt, he seemed like the same type of guy, just open and without shame. He reveled in the idea that it was the Wilt show. Getting buckets, hogging all the boards, bedding women by the dozens. Give me the ball and get the hell out my way, fuck yo stats.
 

jman2050

Member

Well they do have one major thing in common. They both suffer from having detractors who bend over backwards to disparage their career accomplishments and come up with progressively more insane reasons to elevate clearly inferior peers above them.
 

phanphare

Banned
He'll basically be unguarded. He can drive if Shaq closes out or shoot if Shaq backs off to prevent the drive.

yeah I was just joking. I think 1-on-1 claims don't hold any real weight because basketball is a team sport and the different positions make 1-on-1 comparisons impossible.
 

DopeToast

Banned
It's so hard to argue the top 5, or even the top 10, but he belongs in there no doubt. I think if he can win a championship with Cleveland before he retires then he cements his legacy.
 
You could talk me into anything in the top 5 as long as it's behind MJ. No problem at all with #3 In 20 years it won't even be a question if he belongs or not.
 

Azalean

Banned
Kobe not in the top 5, let alone 10? ROFL

I have no qualms with LBJ at #3. When his career is all over, I wouldn't be surprised to see many consider him the GOAT.
 
Duncan over Kobe? They vied for best player of their generation in their primes, but "who's better" was settled long ago in the playoffs. Kobe owns Duncan and the Spurs.

I'd also put Kobe above Shaq (didn't maximize his potential/prime due to poor work habits), Olajuwon, and LeBron.
 
Are you trying to start another list war?

I'd put Montana, Brady, and Peyton in top 3. I tend to think of Montana as #1 by virtue of being 4-0 despite in SB despite not having the insane stats that changes to the game brought forward.

Elway, Farve, Unitas, Marino, Bradshaw, & Staubauch are in the 2nd tier for me.

I don't subscribe to Steve Young being in that 2nd tier. I know he had great completion percentage, but his peak was pretty darn short (7 year starter) and only has the one championship.

BTW, I won't defend the garbage that is Lebron being #3, Russell and Duncan not being in top 5.
 
Bron is in top 5. The only thing that holds me back from ranking him 3rd GOAT is the finals performances. I mean damn. He's got A FUCK TON of shitty finals games.
Maybe i'm expecting too much out of him after seeing what MJ did every damn finals he went to. That MJ dude really got another SSJ level in him when things count the most.
 
Peyton is one of the three best QBs ever so...yeah I guess I'd agree with the first part.
One of the best regular season QBs. Just like Lebron is one of the best regular season players. Ask me to pick a QB I'd want to win one huge game, and my list would not include Peyton.
 
I know Wilt was a giant asshole which is why he always gets the shaft on these lists, but people really need to start respecting his skills.

I go:

1. Jordan, duh.
2. Wilt
3. Magic
4. Kareem
5. LeBron

Kareem's defensive woes are the only reason he's not higher.

Agree. If Wilt is any lower than #2 on your list, you don't have a list, you have a sham.
 
Who could ever forget his 4th quarter performance against Dallas?

Windhorst probably. JJ Barera sonned him. I think my plasma TV got a burned-in image of Bron stading in the 3pt corner doing absolutly nothing.
It was downhill from dwade from that point on too. Last time you can say he was healthy enough to be 100 in the finals.
 
IMO,
4 Finals Ls on your resume is a bad look...unless your name is Earvin and you also have 5 Ws to go along with that.

LeBron is
0-2 without Spoletra, Wade and Bosh.

2-2 with them.

Amazing Eastern Conference Regular Season Fantasy Player, though.

#1 all time.
 
Bron is in top 5. The only thing that holds me back from ranking him 3rd GOAT is the finals performances. I mean damn. He's got A FUCK TON of shitty finals games.
Maybe i'm expecting too much out of him after seeing what MJ did every damn finals he went to. That MJ dude really got another SSJ level in him when things count the most.

We tend to forget MJ's to periods of struggle in the Finals because the team found a way to win. The 70 win Bulls team was self destructing against the Sonics in the Finals after taking a 3-0 lead, Jordan struggled badly in Game 6(30% from the field), but Rodman bailed them out with a dominant two way performance. Game 6 against the Blazers, Pippen and the scrubs bailed MJ out in the 4th. Games 5-6 against the Jazz in 98, Jordan got outplayed by Malone, then pushed off on Russell to get the game winner (no call); he scored big in those games, but was highly inefficient.

It doesn't take anything away from Jordan's place as the GOAT, but he wasn't perfect. The point is that in addition to being the GOAT, he also had the best teams around him, who could pick up the slack when his play ebbed (as it does for all players).
 
When you take efficiency into account LeBron is a better scorer than Kobe. PPG wise they are close and Bron does it much more efficiently. It's like having a player that hits 50 Homeruns a year while batting .240/.300/.475 or a player that hits 40 Homeruns a year while batting .290/.375/.500. I can tell you who I'd rather have.

Missed this, but the comparison is off, because the rate of swinging and hitting a bad pitch in baseball is different to taking and making a bad shot for basketball. Kobe is the best bad-shot maker in League history. Even taking efficiency into account, I'd take Kobe 10/10 times over LBJ if I need a bucket.

Was gonna say the same thing

Duncan should be higher, yes. But, this is all stats-driven and little else, so...

Bron is in top 5. The only thing that holds me back from ranking him 3rd GOAT is the finals performances. I mean damn. He's got A FUCK TON of shitty finals games.
Maybe i'm expecting too much out of him after seeing what MJ did every damn finals he went to. That MJ dude really got another SSJ level in him when things count the most.

Not really, MJ had plenty of terrible shooting nights in the Finals.
Difference is, he still won.
Bron isn't Top 5 to me, top 15 yes, Top 10 is arguable because the comparison has to go beyond stats; at that point it comes down to rings and moments. I can't really put him up there when he has the same amount of rings as Clyde.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
My list is probably:
1. Jordan
2. Kareem
3. Russell
4. Wilt
5. Magic
6. Duncan
7. Bird
8. LeBron
9. West

why are americans so obsessed with rings/championships in team sports when it comes to rating/ranking individual players?

Like with Peyton after his second ring. Dude played a horrible season and just because his defense won him another ring he's suddenly up there with Brady again?

This is true, and it's super annoying. He did as much as he could last year, but the team was just not as good as the Warriors.

But, he did not play well in three of the NBA Finals he lost. I'll cut him some slack when the Cavs got swept by the Spurs, but against Dallas and San Antonio in 2014, no way.

Also, the last year on his first go round in Cleveland, he had the best team in the league, and flat out quit on them in the playoffs, then ran to Miami. It's not a finals loss but it's pretty bad, even if Delonte banged his mom. These are legitimate dings on his resume, just like the way the Broncos crapped the bed against the Seahawks is a legitimate ding on Manning's.
 
tom brady is better becuase he won more superbowls? i never understood that logic.

The point of game is to win I don't see why it wouldn't be a factor. I don't know how statistics are somehow a better metric for "greatness". You can put up high numbers on shit teams simply because you're always playing from behind.

More on the point of basketball, Lebron plays in the East against inferior competition. I could only imagine what his resume would look like if he had to go through the western conference each year.
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
Lol at the lebron hate, guy is an absolute beast. That being said Magic Johnson has unreal numbers. Kareem doesn't seem like he should be #2.
 

megalowho

Member
I'd put him in the 6-8 range, with the caveat that it's stupid to put current players in an all time ranking list.

As it was phrased on JJ Reddick's latest podcast where they went over top 5 PG's, you don't say "this is my favorite book/movie/album" halfway through, the entire picture needs to come into focus before reflecting on where it sits in the pantheon. Same with professional sports careers. The concept behind the list is flawed in my opinion, just water cooler stuff.

Like seriously ... Brian Windhorst people.
This too. The guy is from Akron and it's his job to basically cover (and promote) LeBron for ESPN.
 
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