[Poll] Best NBA Player

[irvinehomeowner]

John Salley was on The Herd this morning and he said that he doesn't think Jordan was the best player he every played against. I think he said that he felt Magic was... and then named a bunch of other players he though were better than Jordan (including Bird and even Isaiah Thomas). He cited that the game was different back then and Jordan used the rules to make him look better but in today's NBA he would be called for fouls.

It's hard to say, especially with such a disparity in talent/opponents/game styles so I put my list above in order by eras... Bill Russell dominated the early era... late 50s to late 60s, then Kareem from the early 70s to late 80s... with Magic and Jordan overlapping from the 80s to the 90s, Kobe from the late 90s to now and the current greatest (in my opinion), Lebron. My list is based largely on number of rings and number of MVPs during their careers.

You can vote for 3 and although the list is Laker-heavy... I would probably have to say Bill Russell, Michael Jordan and Lebron. It's close between Jordan and Magic... and if Magic's career wasn't cut short by HIV, he may have edged Jordan out, but I have to recognize what Jordan has done.

I'm sure everyone else's list will be Kareem, Magic and Kobe.

 

[qwerty]

ive been a laker fan for about 27 years.  i voted for magic, but in if i had to be honest with myself, Lebron James is the best player of all time - the guy is the best combo of speed/strength/skill/height.  Russell may be the best winner with his 10-11 titles or whatever it is. Wasnt russell about 220? i dont think he could stop lebron.  in absolute terms, todays players are always going to be bigger, faster, stronger. I bet you LBJ could shut down Jordan with ease.  I think you have to break it down to eras and how dominant a player was relative to their era.  Jordan was pretty damn dominent in his, but as much as people want to make it seem like those 6 titles were all his doing he really did have very good players around him. 

one thing that always bugs me if is when people have jordan as the number one player and then kobe is like 5-10 spots below him. they are mirror images of each other and im not quite convinced Jordan was better than Kobe. If you have Jordan as 1 on your list and Kobe is not 1B, or 2, i just discredit that list immediately. 

so to recap my list: 1 - LBJ, 2 - Kobe, 3- MJ, 4 - Magic

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Yeah... I'm pretty much in the same space as you. I give Jordan the edge over Kobe because I think he carries a team better than Kobe does.

One of the things Colin said this morning about how people talk about Jordan's defense was so good was back then they allowed hand checking and Jordan had huge hands that allowed him to force players where he wanted them to be. In today's NBA, Lebron's defense is so much more skill/strength-based and the fact that he can guard ALL 5 positions makes him a much better player defensively.

I still think Lebron has a strange jumpshot... and if I had to pick who I wanted on my pick-up 3-on-3 team... I would probably go Magic/Lebron/(Russell or Kareem or Shaq).

 

[homer_simpson]

Yeah... I'm pretty much in the same space as you. I give Jordan the edge over Kobe because I think he carries a team better than Kobe does.

One of the things Colin said this morning about how people talk about Jordan's defense was so good was back then they allowed hand checking and Jordan had huge hands that allowed him to force players where he wanted them to be. In today's NBA, Lebron's defense is so much more skill/strength-based and the fact that he can guard ALL 5 positions makes him a much better player defensively.

I still think Lebron has a strange jumpshot... and if I had to pick who I wanted on my pick-up 3-on-3 team... I would probably go Magic/Lebron/(Russell or Kareem or Shaq).

Jordan then Kobe then Lebron.

 

[changm55]

i vote for kobe then lebron then jordan...

reason is kobe actually has to compensate since he has trouble palming the ball... so most of his moves dont look as fancy as jordans... so being an athlete i think he has to work extra hard to be on par with jordan so i give him that... same thing with the rules changing and stacked in favor of jordan... dont think jordan would do as well if he was playing now cause his hang time would definitely be effected if he bulked up to deal with todays more physical players...

haha if only kobe had longer fingers like jordan... i put lebron next cause even tho i hate him, i still give him props... hes like modern day magic johnson... not a lot of ppl are gifted to be able to play all the positions on the court...

but if i had to choose outside of the list, id pick my "mega" world peace formerly ron artest... because he is ghetto and he does not give a damn... and would probably elbow harden again just for the fuck of it... i respect a man who doesnt give a rats ass about another mans beard... the world would be a better place if less ppl were, if ud excuse my yellow trash heritage, "dem fake ass g's"...