Best in the NBA Post Jordan-ERA

[WiggyRuss]

How would you rank the best players in the game that have played since His Airness retired?

1. LeBron James- 3 Finals MVP's, 7 Finals Appearances, 4 MVP's, 12 time all star, 5 time All Defensive First Team, Ten Time All NBA first team, 2 time 2nd team, ROY, etc. etc. etc.....and he is only 32. Unbelievalbe. Greatness personified. Quite simply- THE KING.

2. Tim Duncan- 5 time NBA champion, 3 time Finals MVP, 15 time All Star, 10 All NBa First teams, 5 All NBa 2nd teams, 8 times First Team defense, - the Big Fundamental- if Tim Duncan does not play for Pop- and is instead drafted somewhere else- i wonder what his career would look like- interesting to ponder.

3. Shaq O Neal- dominance personified- 4 time NBA Champion, 3 time Finals MVP, MVP most valuable player (1), 15 time all star, 9 time 1st team all nba, 2 time all nba 2nd team, 3 time all defensive team, a force. could be higher if his work ethic was better. Couldnt officiate him like everyone else.

4. Kobe Bryant- 5 time NBA Champion, he won the MVP once in 2008, 2 time Finals MVP, 18 time all star, 11 time All NBA first team, 2 time 2nd team, 9 time all NBA Defensive first team, and he beat an indictment for r*pe. Would have been better to keep that black mamba in his pants.

5. Steve Nash- 2 time NBA MVP, 8 time all star, 3 time First team NBA, lead the league in assists 6 times, all time free throw percentage champion, 8 time all star. changed the game with the Suns and the 7 seconds or less.

6. Allen Iverson- 1 time MVP, 4 time scoring champion, one of the best all time.

7. Kevin Garnett- 1 time NBA Champion, NBA MVP in 2004, DPOY- 2008...pretty cool having one of each on the resume- 15 time all star, 4 time all nba 1st team, 3 time 2nd team, 9 time All NBa 1st team defense, huge dbag that would get down on all 4's and bark like a dog during a game.

8. Dwade- 3 time NBA Champion, 1 time NBA Finals MVP, 12 time all star, 2 time NBA First team , 3 time 2nd team, 4 time All NBa first team defense, nba scoring champion 1 year, id like to think that James Harden watched Dwade flail to the basket in that Mavs series and thought- thats gonna be me someday!

9. Dirk- 1 time nba champion, 1 time finals mvp, 13 time all star, redfined the pf position, 4 time nba first eam, 5 time 2nd team, 6th in all time scoring. Amazing how he won his title for the Mavs- loyalty personified.

10. Jason Kidd- 1 time NBa champion (not nearly in his prime), 10 time all star, 5 time 1st team all nba, 1 time 2nd team, 4 time all nba 1st team defense, 5 time all nba 2nd team defense, longevity was amazing. Was more of a role player when he finally won it.

11. Steph Curry- 2 time MVP, 1 time nba champion, 3 time all star, 2 time all nba first team, 1 time all nba 2nd team, probably the best shooter who ever lived. Gotta be here on this list when you are a 2 time MVP. He will climb up this list as his career goes on i would imagine.


honorable mentions- Vince Cater, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Tracy McGrady, Chris Paul, , Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups

 

[HurricaneDij39]

1. Duncan
2. Shaq
3. LeBron
4. Kobe
5. Dirk
6. Nash
7. Wade
8. Garnett
9. Kidd
10. Iverson

 

[broncosmitty]

1. Shaq
2. Timmy
3. BronBron (will be #1)
4. Kobe
5. Garnett
6. DWade
7. Iverson
8. Nash
9. Dirk
10. Bosh

(Kidd had something like his first 8 or 9 seasons go down before MJ was finally done. So I'm leaving him off. Otherwise he's after DWade to me.)

 

[msgkings322]

Durant might have to be on this list now, or in a few years for sure.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

Durant might have to be on this list now, or in a few years for sure.

He and Westbrook should at least be honorable mention.

 

[msgkings322]

He and Westbrook should at least be honorable mention.

Agreed but how you have LeBron not #1 is silly. He's easily the most dominant force in basketball since Jordan and it's not even a debate.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

Agreed but how you have LeBron not #1 is silly. He's easily the most dominant force in basketball since Jordan and it's not even a debate.

Duncan - 5 rings all with the team that drafted him
LeBron - 3 rings with two different teams and arguably two fabricated rosters

Not all that difficult to figure out...

 

[RobToxin]

As much as I would love to be a homer, can't do it.

I can't put Duncan over LeBron.

Duncan does not take the roster LeBron has in 2007 and make it to the NBA Finals.

The reality is, without LeBron, the 2006-07 Cleveland Cavaliers would have been a lottery team. With him, they were Eastern Conference Champions.

All the talk of championships and yet it is the one he didn't win that most impresses me.

 

[msgkings322]

Duncan - 5 rings all with the team that drafted him
LeBron - 3 rings with two different teams and arguably two fabricated rosters

Not all that difficult to figure out...

It's not a history test, it's who is the BEST player. It's tiresome to get into why the greatest players don't always win rings, or some on this list don't win ANY like Iverson. LeBron is better at playing the game of basketball than any human on earth since Jordan and again this is beyond dispute.

 

[tducey]

Top 4 would be Duncan, Lebron, Shaq, Kobe in no particular order.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

As much as I would love to be a homer, can't do it.

I can't put Duncan over LeBron.

Duncan does not take the roster LeBron has in 2007 and make it to the NBA Finals.

The reality is, without LeBron, the 2006-07 Cleveland Cavaliers would have been a lottery team. With him, they were Eastern Conference Champions.

All the talk of championships and yet it is the one he didn't win that most impresses me.

Gay...If we were basing these ranking off of one year, Allen Iverson should be #1 (2001). The fact is that those 2007 Cavs didn't play anyone of note other than Detroit, and that was the year after they lost Ben Wallace, who you could argue was their heart and soul.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

It's not a history test, it's who is the BEST player. It's tiresome to get into why the greatest players don't always win rings, or some on this list don't win ANY like Iverson. LeBron is better at playing the game of basketball than any human on earth since Jordan and again this is beyond dispute.

You're exactly right - It's a ranking of BEST players, not talented...

 

[HurricaneDij39]

If LeBron wins two more rings (which I predict he'll win one this year) - Sure, I'll rank him #1...But I value fundamentals and intangibles over physical specimen.

 

[Heatles84]

I'd probably flip flop Duncan and Shaq given that Shaq's been dominant wherever he's gone pre-Miami days (he was still really good with Miami). Duncan has always had Pop, which is similar to Brady being with Belichick. You don't hold it against them until a certain point.

 

[CitySushi]

Serious question, when do you consider the start of the Post-Jordan era. Some of those guys on the list played against Jordan, while he was still winning championships. Depending on where you drew the line you would have to include a lot more guys that played against Jordan, or revise the list to exclude a majority of the original list.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

2. Tim Duncan- 5 time NBA champion, 3 time Finals MVP, 15 time All Star, 10 All NBa First teams, 5 All NBa 2nd teams, 8 times First Team defense, - the Big Fundamental- if Tim Duncan does not play for Pop- and is instead drafted somewhere else- i wonder what his career would look like- interesting to ponder.

Quite a lame statement here if you ask me. Pop was by no means a known commodity as a coach when Duncan first broke into the league. He was almost fired after a 6-8 start in 1999...Sure they had David Robinson in his later stages, but these guys truly worked for their accomplishments. Parker was a #29 pick, Ginobili was a #58 pick, and Leonard they had done their homework and stolen him from the Pacers in a draft night deal.

Basically punishing one for not being as gifted and having worked for their achievements is quite lame...

 

[WiggyRuss]

Quite a lame statement here if you ask me. Pop was by no means a known commodity as a coach when Duncan first broke into the league. He was almost fired after a 6-8 start in 1999...Sure they had David Robinson in his later stages, but these guys truly worked for their accomplishments. Parker was a #29 pick, Ginobili was a #58 pick, and Leonard they had done their homework and stolen him from the Pacers in a draft night deal.

Basically punishing one for not being as gifted and having worked for their achievements is quite lame...

im not punishing him....im just wondering if he is drafted to the Boston Celtics or some where else - and does not have the structure and help that he got in SAS - what his career would look like....

 

[WiggyRuss]

If LeBron wins two more rings (which I predict he'll win one this year) - Sure, I'll rank him #1...But I value fundamentals and intangibles over physical specimen.

i absolutely believe that if LeBron James was drafted into the SPurs organization when he was- and Ducnan was drafted int othe Cavs when LeBron was- that LeBron would have way more hardware.....

i admit that is totally 100% subjective.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

i absolutely believe that if LeBron James was drafted into the SPurs organization when he was- and Ducnan was drafted int othe Cavs when LeBron was- that LeBron would have way more hardware.....

i admit that is totally 100% subjective.

That's not really what career acolades are about, though. In many ways, you're a product of your environment. The same holds true for LeBron as it does for Duncan or any other player.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Serious question, when do you consider the start of the Post-Jordan era. Some of those guys on the list played against Jordan, while he was still winning championships. Depending on where you drew the line you would have to include a lot more guys that played against Jordan, or revise the list to exclude a majority of the original list.

id say if you played more the majority of your career after Jordan's 2nd retirment---- Wiz doesnt count.