D-Rob at 15. One of the most underrated players ever. Looks like KG will be top 20. 1. April 12 2. April 9 3. April 5 4. April 2 5. March 28 6. March 25 7. March 22 8. March 19 9. Wilt Chamberlain (1) 10. Magic Johnson (9) 11. Larry Bird (8) 12. Oscar Robertson (4) 13. February 8 14. March 1 15. David Robinson (15) 16. Julius Erving (6) 17. Jerry West (3) 18. February 26 19. February 22 20. Charles Barkley (14) 21. February 19* 22. February 15* 23. Scottie Pippen* (13) 24. Moses Malone* (7) 25. John Stockton (12) 26. March 5* 27. Patrick Ewing* (11) 28. Rick Barry* (5) 29. Reggie Miller (10) 30. Bob Pettit* (2) 31. March 12 32. March 12 33. March 12 34. March 12 35. March 12 36. March 8 37. March 8 38. March 8 39. March 8 40. March 8
Karl Malone at 13. Still not a single active player on the list. I've got a feeling CP3 is top 8...Morey said he'd take him over Magic. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Wilt Chamberlain 10. Magic Johnson 11. Larry Bird 12. Oscar Robertson 13. Karl Malone 14. 15. David Robinson 16. Julius Erving 17. Jerry West 18. 19. 20. Charles Barkley 21. 22. 23. Scottie Pippen 24. Moses Malone 25. John Stockton 26. 27. Patrick Ewing 28. Rick Barry 29. Reggie Miller 30. Bob Pettit
Wade comes in at 22. I thought his short peak would've put him in the 30s. It looks like Hakeem is top 8 because 14 has Kobe's name written all over it. I can't see Bill Russell making the top 8 given his offensive faults. I predict the top 8 will be Hakeem, Kareem, Shaq, Garnett, Lebron, Dirk, Durant, and CP3. Curry and Russell around 18, 19, or 21. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Wilt Chamberlain 10. Magic Johnson 11. Larry Bird 12. Oscar Robertson 13. Karl Malone 14. 15. David Robinson 16. Julius Erving 17. Jerry West 18. 19. 20. Charles Barkley 21. 22. Dwyane Wade 23. Scottie Pippen 24. Moses Malone 25. John Stockton 26. 27. Patrick Ewing 28. Rick Barry 29. Reggie Miller 30. Bob Pettit 31-40.
It's going to be interesting where Russell goes. His system seems to value defense heavily. Russell's Celtics were by far the best defensive team of that era and Russell was the reason for that. Then, his offense at its peak was about as important to the Celtics as anyone else on his teams, but obviously not near a historic level as other players in consideration for these last few spots. He also values playoff performance and Russell raised his game there. Chris Paul fell way short of your prediction, but the other guys look like locks.
hakeem is a playoff monster and his system seems to like playoff performance. i don't know what WOWY and other stats say, but hakeem is one of the only greats to have a higher PER, WS/48, and TS% in the playoffs (i think isiah is the other, but it may have been reggie). robinson kills PER and WS/48 and even is good at those in the playoffs, but still drops off from the regular season. with bird and magic and wilt outside the top 8, it certainly seems like hakeem has to be in there, unless he's going to have a really weird list. given the "Big 4" graph he showed in bird's write-up with steph's scoring/efficiency, wonder where steph will rank.
I'm surprised he's including current players. It would have been easier for him to just ignore them. Top 2 has to be Michael Jordan and then LeBron James. After that, there are a handful of players that I can see him putting in different orders: Hakeem Olajuwon Shaquille O'neal Tim Duncan Kevin Garnett Kevin Durant Kobe Bryant Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I really hope #14 goes to Kobe or Durant or Garnett -- not Hakeem. That would put a bad taste in my mouth for what is otherwise a fantastic series.
Steph does have the 5th highest peak WS/48 in NBA history, with a peak BPM of +12.6, good for 4th all time. (Side note, Russell Westbrook has the highest peak BPM of all time at +15.55 for his 2016-17 season, a full 2 more than Jordan. Yet his WS/48 for that year had him at .224, the 10th highest rating of that season.) I don't know where Curry would rank on the list, his peak year is beyond legendary, up there with the best seasons of LeBron, Wilt, Kareem, and MJ. If you compare him to a contemporary, like James Harden, Harden has the advantage in career WS/48 (.207 vs .214), but Curry's 5 year peak is undeniably superior (.268 vs .242). If the season ended right now, Harden would have a WS/48 of .299, good for the 5th highest peak of all time. Curry's peak season had a WS/48 of .317.
Then prepare yourself for disappointment (and overall forum meltdown). The write up on K. Malone does not portend well for Hakeem being in the top 8. I also didn't like the little swipe at the Rockets in the Oscar Robertson write up. I predict both Russell and Curry will be in the top 8, and Kobe is more sure fire in the elite 8 than Hakeem, Dirk and Garnett. Steve Nash is also a dark horse for a spot. Durant or Garnett getting in the top 8 ahead of Hakeem would invalidate the list for me (as does K. Malone ranking ahead of Hakeem). Curry would be meh since he's data ball pr0n.
It wouldn't surprise me to see both Hakeem and Kobe outside of the top 8, Kobe has no peak worth mentioning, his best season (05-06) had him at .224 WS/48 and a BPM of +5.6. Hakeem, who himself isn't known for gaudy regular season advanced stats, has a much better peak year (92-93) with a peak WS/48 at .234 and a BPM at +8.4. Hakeem's offense is honestly a bit overrated, but his defense was always phenomenal, he lead the league in Defensive WS 4 times, and lead the league in DBPM 3 times. EDIT: Dirk and KG both had 5 year peaks and single year peaks that blow both Hakeem and Kobe's out of the water. Dirk had a peak WS/48 and BPM of a league leading .278 and an ordinary 6.7 respectively. Garnett had a peak of .272 WS/48 and a 9.9 BPM, both lead the league. I expect the list to go 14. Hakeem 8. Dirk 7. KG IDK where to put Kobe, his peak years weren't that good and his defensive impact is comparable to Derek Jeter.
I completely forgot about Russell. Yes — he’s top 8 for sure. I’d be shocked if he put Curry that high at this stage in his career — even with the 2 MVPs. He is accounting for longevity as well. Here’s my prediction: Jordan LeBron Bill Russell Kareem Shaq Duncan Olajuwon Kobe ... Garnett
Dream in the top 8 would be fitting. On defence alone, he deserves Top 5 recognition. 11 seasons of 200+ blocks and 100+ steals which is the all-time NBA record and frankly no current player is touching that record. For comparison, Anthony Davis has one season of exactly 200 blocks, 100 steals in his six years in the league.
I may be wrong, but isn't Hakeem the only player in NBA history with a 200 steal 200 block season? I think Jordan got the first 200 steal 100 block season, and has been joined in that club by Pippen and Hakeem. But Hakeem posted 200 blocks in his 200 steal season, so goes into a league of his own.
thats correct and Hakeem is the only player to have won reg MVP, finals MVP and defensive POY all in one season
Dream was one of the few people that could never be single covered by anyone or he would score 40, so he was always double teamed. He average 35 points against 2 DPOY's who directly covered him.
He is the only player with a total amount of steals that is high at anywhere close to his height. The guy was a phenom in every single regard on defense.
