Posted on 02/22/2020 7:52:14 AM PST by Raymond Pamintuan
Jordan also beat Bird when it came to blocked shots. The way my father compared players was asking questions, like if Jordan took it to the hoop against Bill Russell, what would be the result.
Heartily agree with you about Wilt. A bit of trivia that in his 100 point game he, a miserable free thrower, made 28 out of 32. At KU he put the shot 58 feet when the world record was 60.
Chamberlain was also a great volleyball player, some say he loved playing volleyball even more than basketball.
This goes back 50+ years ago..
I played a mean game of two man volley ball on the strand in Manhattan Beach. Young, 6’7”, 250 lbs - could go all day in that hot sand.
And then one day, Wilt came over and asked for a game. I haven’t the faintest memory who we played with, all I know is I got trashed. Wilt would vault and spike one right through my hands into my face. It never stopped. I felt like I had been put through a meat tenderizer. Great moves, reactions like a snake, and a great guy. Best time in my life sharing a few post game beers!
I dont disagree at all.
But if we are just counting rings...Mr Russell takes on all challengers. Lol.
I look at it this way. If we had the ultimate pickup game where you could pick any NBA player, past or present. If you had the first pick, who would you take, and my answer is Russell.
Jordan had more points (regular season) 32,292 to 21,791.
Jordan had 6672 rebounds to Bird's 8974. But Bird was a power forward.
Jordan had 5633 assists to Bird's 5695, a virtual wash.
In terms of statistics, there really is no comparison. Jordan was a fantastic offensive and defensive player.
Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten scoring titles (both all-time records), five MVP Awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP Awards, three steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press' list of athletes of the century.
The logo?
I don't know....West was pretty good in his day.
If they were all at their best...I have to agree with you. Ive met him a couple of times. Not someone I would have a beer with...but he is the best, most successful player of all time.
I have no interest in the Thug League. Let them have their tattoos and their illegitimate children, I have better things to do with my time.
First - When the greatest team player (Bill Russell) names Wilt as the most unstoppable player of all time you kinda have to go with that as the greatest.
Second - I am so tired of people naming Jordan as the greatest because “He won six championships and NEVER lost”. So what. John Havlicek won EIGHT and never lost. The first six with Russell and the last two with Cowens (My all-time favorite player). As stated by another poster here - Jordan is the most overrated player of all time. Shooting the ball 35-40 times a game will get you those points you know and the post players at that time would get mauled and not get to go the the FT line while you couldn’t even breathe on Jordan without sending him to the line. Points add up fast that way. And by-the-way, Russell would have been 12 for 12 in the NBA finals had he not gotten hurt against the St. Louis Hawks in the final his second year in the league. Take that Jordan.
Third - The rule changes of traveling have elevated the stats of so many players of the last 20 years along with palming the ball and the total disappearance of the 3-second call that it is hard to even consider any of these players as belonging in the argument. Let’s see these players have to make their moves today with the rules of the 40s to the early 80s. They would be lost.
Fourth - The argument about the early league having much fewer teams made it easier to be a star. HUH?! When you have fewer teams you have a greater concentration of talent. Also, these teams knew each other’s plays since that would face them up to 10-12 times a year. Don’t you think it would be a hell of a lot harder to win year in and year out like the Celtics did when they only had six plays that everyone was waiting for? That is all that Auerbach used. That is how great they were and Russell led the way. Best player? My choice
I don’t watch NBA any more. But Bill Russell is the best of all time in my book.
Where’s Bob Cousy?
I know her had to be good because I had a pair of Bob Cousy sneakers back in the early ‘60s....
“What about John Stockton?”
Stockton was a give guy for more than a shooter. His lifetime shooting percentages were excellent for a guard, at over 50% and 48%, and as a dish guy and not shooting very much, didn’t get to the line very often. But because of size, he lacked rebounding capacity but did accomplish steals at over two a game career.
Great point guard, he reminded me of Bob Cousy who won six straight assist titles, thirteen all star games and six rings in the NBA along with one MVP partially because he played four seasons before the award existed.
Stockton was a great passer, and helped make Carl Malone a great player. Top five choice, but not top tier as a traditional point guard.
rwood
I hope you are old enough to have seen Oscar play. He was not exciting to watch, he was a surgeon. Most players in the 50’s and 60’s were not exciting as they did a job rather than sold their play like today’s players. Names like Bill Russell, Wilt, Jerry West, Bob Pettit, Bailey Howell, Elgin Baylor, Walt Bellamy, Willis Reid, and others would have made many lists like this thread one. But they lacked flair and didn’t care about drama. They just did their job.......very well.
An interesting point is position players, especially sixth man, was not part of the thread list. My choice would be John Havlicek as a large amount of his career was as a sixth. His career game stats were over 20 a game, over 6 assists, and just under 5 on rebounds. For a guy that did a lot of sixth, that ain’t bad.
rwood
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