The greatest of all time: Michael, Magic, Kareem or Lebron?

Bill Russell, backed by his his 11 Championship Rings.
 

Wilt Chamberlain
"The Big Dipper"

By virtue of his claim of having had sexual relations with as many as 20,000 women.
 
Any of the multitude when refs actually called traveling...or over the back..
 
Very difficult vote, Magic was the best point guard ever while he could and did play the low post. But it’s Michael.
 
No 'Bron in the top five?

He isn't even in the top 10. He is good. But dominant night in and night out? If he didn't travel every other time he touched the ball...i might put him at number 8 or 9.
 
No 'Bron in the top five?

Nope. LeBron is a specimen, of that there is no doubt. He is one of the greatest athletes to have played the game. But he also plays in an era where traveling is rarely if ever called and where defense is hamstrung by what they can and cannot do far more than what was allowed in prior years.
Mike, Kobe, and Bird each had the ice in the veins killer instinct and thrived on not only beating you but humiliating you in the process. Magic made everyone around him better and could play any position on the floor. Kareem... Well Kareem is Kareem. The sky hook is an indefensible shot and it's all his. No one has ever duplicated it.
 
Nope. LeBron is a specimen, of that there is no doubt. He is one of the greatest athletes to have played the game. But he also plays in an era where traveling is rarely if ever called and where defense is hamstrung by what they can and cannot do far more than what was allowed in prior years.
Mike, Kobe, and Bird each had the ice in the veins killer instinct and thrived on not only beating you but humiliating you in the process. Magic made everyone around him better and could play any position on the floor. Kareem... Well Kareem is Kareem. The sky hook is an indefensible shot and it's all his. No one has ever duplicated it.

i think this is bullshit. every player in the league is able to take advantage of the lack of those calls but lebron still stands out.

is tom brady not in the top 5 because receivers can do whatever they want these days? i hate the "era vs. era" argument.
 
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I would rank the top five as:

1. Jordan
2. LeBron
3. Kareem
4. Russell
5. Wilt

I have the disadvantage of never having seen Russell and only barely remembering Wilt.

I'd love to put Tim Duncan in the top five — there are very few people outside of San Antonio who know that he won more MVPs than Kobe — but I think he has to be sixth.
 
I would rank the top five as:

1. Jordan
2. LeBron
3. Kareem
4. Russell
5. Wilt

I have the disadvantage of never having seen Russell and only barely remembering Wilt.

I'd love to put Tim Duncan in the top five — there are very few people outside of San Antonio who know that he won more MVPs than Kobe — but I think he has to be sixth.

he and iverson were my fav players. fucking love duncan's game except when he got whiny.
 
Jordan is my pick. Maybe because I've watched him his whole career. I grew up hanging on his every move. Watching him pull out game winning shots and completely changing the outcome of a huge game, time and time again.

Does that make him better than Wilt or LeBron?

Yes.
 
i think this is bullshit. every player in the league is able to take advantage of the lack of those calls but lebron still stands out.

is tom brady not in the top 5 because receivers can do whatever they want these days? i hate the "era vs. era" argument.

Yes LeBron still stands out. He IS a great player. I'm not saying one era is superior to another. What I am saying is that LeBron has not had to go through headhunters on the nightly. He puts up his numbers in a softer game. That's not his fault, but you can't put him above the dudes who but up those types of numbers when they had to fight tooth and nail for them.
 
Yes LeBron still stands out. He IS a great player. I'm not saying one era is superior to another. What I am saying is that LeBron has not had to go through headhunters on the nightly. He puts up his numbers in a softer game. That's not his fault, but you can't put him above the dudes who but up those types of numbers when they had to fight tooth and nail for them.

Are you saying Kermit Washington would decapitate him like he did Rudy Tomjanovich? :D
 
Are you saying Kermit Washington would decapitate him like he did Rudy Tomjanovich? :D

Or Bill Laimbeer, or Charles Oakley, Chuck Barkley, Karl Malone and those are just the dudes I remember off the top of my head. Not to mention Kevin Mchale's elbows.
 
The Chuckster will always be my dude and the fact that he never won a 'ship only makes me like him more. Oakley is still a dick.
 
I will throw a new one in the mix. John Havlicek. Not that I know enough about basketball to make a serious decision but I did like the way he played. Also I had a history professor in college that considered Peter, Paul and Mary and the Celtics two of the pillars of western civilization. Every semester he would give his "Havlicek stole the ball" lecture. No. I don't really think he belongs in the top five but I did enjoy the older NBA. Personally I think the modern NBA is almost as exciting as golf.
 
Oscar Robertson deserves more love. 181 career triple doubles. Averaged a triple double for one whole season.
 
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