Best in the NBA Post Jordan-ERA

[WiggyRuss]

I think the Shaq/Kobe debate is in particular very fascinating.

for a whole career- id rather have Kobe....

for the top of their prime's- i gotta take Shaq - and Shaq- i dunno- you could make a case for him being #1 on this list if the paramters were just how good you were at the absolute tip top of your prime.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

I think the Shaq/Kobe debate is in particular very fascinating.

for a whole career- id rather have Kobe....

for the top of their prime's- i gotta take Shaq - and Shaq- i dunno- you could make a case for him being #1 on this list if the paramters were just how good you were at the absolute tip top of your prime.

Shaq in his prime is better than anyone in the last 20 years

 

[Wamu]

Best in the NBA post MJ era? Well that's ez...

Spoiler

Tristan Thompson!

 

[Heatles84]

Shaq in his prime is better than anyone in the last 20 years

I've always been disappointed in Shaq's career. If he had Jordan's work ethic and mentality to always want to dominate, he would've been unquestionably the best player of all-time.

 

[tlance]

Shaq in his prime is better than anyone in the last 20 years

Hard to argue with that.

I do think Shaq's prime was too short to rank him ahead of LeBron though. He was very good both before and after his prime and had a good run as the league's best big man. He really only 3 or 4 years as the league's best overall player though.

LBJ is alone at the top, then take your pick between Shaq, Kobe and Duncan. Make a case for any, they are all extremely close.

 

[trojanfan12]

I think the Shaq/Kobe debate is in particular very fascinating.

for a whole career- id rather have Kobe....

for the top of their prime's- i gotta take Shaq - and Shaq- i dunno- you could make a case for him being #1 on this list if the paramters were just how good you were at the absolute tip top of your prime.

Agree. For entire career, you gotta take Kobe. But, in his prime, Shaq was unstoppable. That combination of size, strength and athleticism just wasn't fair.

Could you imagine what his career would have been like if he had listened to Kobe about staying in shape in the off-season? He might be the GOAT if he had.

 

[trojanfan12]

Best in the NBA post MJ era? Well that's ez...

Spoiler

Tristan Kardashian!

 

[WiggyRuss]

Hard to argue with that.

I do think Shaq's prime was too short to rank him ahead of LeBron though. He was very good both before and after his prime and had a good run as the league's best big man. He really only 3 or 4 years as the league's best overall player though.

LBJ is alone at the top, then take your pick between Shaq, Kobe and Duncan. Make a case for any, they are all extremely close.

Exactly

LeBron is just LeBron. I dont see how he retires at anything other than #2 all time. He has been so good for so long. How many years has he been the best overall player in the league? He has both the spectacular upside that Shaq had with Duncan's longevity.

4 MVP's is insane in todays NBA. 3 Finals MVP's. and like we said- hes only 31 (soon to be 32). He will only keep rolling up accolades- especially on a team like the Cavs with Kyrie and Love and Dan G's big fat wallet.

 

[Ball Up All Star]

My Top 10.

1.Kobe Bryant
2.Tim Duncan
3.Lebron James
4.Shaq
5.Kevin Garnett
6.Dirk
7.Steve Nash
8.D-Wade
9.Allen Iverson
10.Jason Kidd

 

[OutlawImmortal]

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.

It looks to me like Wiggy is going by accolades, and not talent. It's always an issue with rankings like these. In the end it's going to be subjective no matter what.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Agree. For entire career, you gotta take Kobe. But, in his prime, Shaq was unstoppable. That combination of size, strength and athleticism just wasn't fair.

Could you imagine what his career would have been like if he had listened to Kobe about staying in shape in the off-season? He might be the GOAT if he had.

Hard work beats talent but it takes passion to make talent work hard.

 

[WiggyRuss]

My Top 10.

1.Kobe Bryant
2.Tim Duncan
3.Lebron James
4.Shaq
5.Kevin Garnett
6.Dirk
7.Steve Nash
8.D-Wade
9.Allen Iverson
10.Jason Kidd

its still amazing to me Steve Nash has as many MVP awards as Shaq and Kobe combined.

 

[trojanfan12]

its still amazing to me Steve Nash has as many MVP awards as Shaq and Kobe combined.

To be fair, he was the orchestrator of what, at the time, was the most revolutionary offense in the NBA. But his 2nd MVP should probably have been Kobe's (at least that's what Kobe always tells him. lol).

 

[trojanfan12]

If we're talking greatest since MJ with regard to marketing, most talented, etc. I think there is no question that it's Lebron.

However, I think that, unless and until he gets another title or 2, strong cases can be made for both Timmy and Kobe over Lebron. Fair or not, I think team hopping (twice) will be held against him as well as number of titles.

I expect though, that by the time he retires he will be seen as the best since MJ and will be at least 3rd or 4th all time. Catching MJ is pretty much impossible at this point, so the question is can he catch and pass Kareem and/or Magic?

 

[Vyle203]

It looks to me like Wiggy is going by accolades, and not talent. It's always an issue with rankings like these. In the end it's going to be subjective no matter what.

Best player vs. Best career. Not always easy to decide if they are one in the same in a team sport.

 

[WiggyRuss]

It looks to me like Wiggy is going by accolades, and not talent. It's always an issue with rankings like these. In the end it's going to be subjective no matter what.

yah...because talent is just so subjective...accolades isnt everything -but it at least gives you a concrete basis which to base your argument off of.- i acknowledge their are deficiencies from that approach though.

 

[Wamu]

If we're talking greatest since MJ with regard to marketing, most talented, etc. I think there is no question that it's Lebron.

However, I think that, unless and until he gets another title or 2, strong cases can be made for both Timmy and Kobe over Lebron. Fair or not, I think team hopping (twice) will be held against him as well as number of titles.

I expect though, that by the time he retires he will be seen as the best since MJ and will be at least 3rd or 4th all time. Catching MJ is pretty much impossible at this point, so the question is can he catch and pass Kareem and/or Magic?

I think the only people that will hold LeBron leaving the Cavs & then leaving the Heat against him are people that have an issue w/ him. I've always enjoyed watching the NBA's best no matter where they played. As far as # of titles, he brought a championship to Cleveland. That will be his ultimate legacy as a player. And I think it's kinda crazy he's the only NBAer to be in the top 10 in scoring & the top 20 in assists.

Also if his team hopping is held against him the same needs to be said about Durant. Like I've said before I think what KD did is worse than what LeBron did. KD joined a team he couldn't beat, that are the 2x defending conference champs w/ the 2x League MVP. And yes LeBron teamed up w/ 2 All Stars but KD teamed up w/ 3.

 

[Shanemansj13]

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.

Look at Lebrons' roster. MJ might be the only other player that wins that series. He had scrubs pn that team.

 

[trojanfan12]

I think the only people that will hold LeBron leaving the Cavs & then leaving the Heat against him are people that have an issue w/ him.

Couldn't disagree more with this statement. It's the same crap the Lebroniacs do when they call people haters every time he gets criticized. There's a lot to be said about a player sticking with the same team throughout his career.

The fact is, when the going got tough in Cleveland, Lebron took an easier path. When things looked like they were going to get tough in Miami, he did it again. He was within his right to leave both times and had fulfilled his contract, but that doesn't change the fact that he has taken the path of least resistance twice now.

As far as # of titles, he brought a championship to Cleveland. That will be his ultimate legacy as a player.

Not buying this either. Who cares if he brought a title to Cleveland besides their fans. There's no extra credit. How many titles had the Bulls won before MJ? How many titles had the Spurs won before Timmy? No one is giving them extra credit.

 

[trojanfan12]

Also if his team hopping is held against him the same needs to be said about Durant.

It is being held against him. It just doesn't get talked about as much because Lebron is polarizing and KD isn't.