First off, they listed LeBron way too high at No. 3. I don't know where LeBron should rank within the Top 10, but I'm absolutely certain that he shouldn't be ranked ahead of Wilt Chamberlain (No. 5), Bill Russell (No. 7) or Oscar Robertson (No. 11). The credibility of the list is questionable right out the gate, as this isn't even an argument!
Then, there's Kevin Durant (No. 22) and Stephen Curry (No. 23), both of whom will almost surely get up to such high rankings in their future, but who for now are still way too young to be projecting them as such. God forbid, but if either of those guys breaks their leg tomorrow and never play another basketball game in their lives, which I really hope doesn't happen because I really enjoy watching both of them ball – Steph probably moreso than Durant -- then would either even really end up on this list? The fact that the compilers of this ridiculous list didn't think about that scenario makes me think that they're the same short-sighted people that would've placed Derrick Rose in their Top 10 had this list come out in 2011.
A bunch of other names appear on this list that have no business being on it. I'm looking at you, Pau (No. 56) & Marc Gasol (No. 95), Chris Bosh (No. 86), James Harden (No. 97), Kevin Love (No. 99) and Yao Ming (No. 89)! That last one is particularly disturbing because Yao majorly underachieved in his career with his less than 70 win shares (most people at such a rank should have 90 or more) and his career PRA (points + rebounds + assists) of just under 15,000 (most people at such a rank should have 22,500 or more). Also, being a 7'6” Center during an era where that position wasn't particularly great, you'd figure he'd have at least one All-NBA First Team selection, but he doesn't. Not even one! AND, he retired at age 30 because his legs couldn't take the grind of the game any longer. Sorry, as great of an ambassador as he was for the game, especially in China, he definitely does not belong on such a list.
I also don't understand why, if you're going to rank both those guys, you're ranking Pau so far ahead of Bosh? Chris Bosh and Pau Gasol are two of the most similar players in the league, both have two championships, both were the best player on their respective teams before joining superstars to chase titles, Pau was #2 on the Lakers and is now #3 on the Bulls, Bosh was #3 with Bron/Wade and is now #1 or 2 on the Heat, yet these folks are making it seem like they're worlds apart? Bosh has five more all-star selections than Pau, and has a 98% Hall of Fame probability, while Pau only has an 85% probability. If anything, Bosh should be ranked higher than Pau, no?!
This list also MAJORLY insulted some legends! Isiah Thomas at No. 26? Way too low! The guy was almost always the smallest guy on the court, and yet he still found ways to defeat both Magic and Michael on his way to those two championships. Allen Iverson at No. 46? Dude needs to be ranked better than that, as nobody's ever given as much of himself to the game as A.I., man! That guy left it all on the line – all day, every day! Bill Russell at No. 7, BELOW Larry Bird and LeBron James? REALLY?! Bill has eight more titles and two more MVPs than Larry Legend, while also posting more win shares and a better PRA (average or per game)! Bill has nine more titles and one more MVP than King James. If Russell and LeBron had the same number of titles, then LeBron would obviously be better, but they don't, not by a long shot. Bill could put a championship ring on each finger, and still have one left over, for Christ's sake! Dave DeBusschere at No. 85?!?! Far, far too low for one of the all-time best defenders and the prototype for the perfect modern Power Forward. The guy defended like a big, passed like a guard and shot so well from the perimeter that his opponents couldn't pack the paint. He should, at the very least, be in the Top 50! Paul Arizin at No. 90? That one's far too low, as well! He should probably be in the 50's or 60's, as he won two scoring titles, was a 10-time all-star, made three All-NBA First Teams, won an NBA title and has more than 100 win shares. He was the Durant of his era, and Durant ended up ranked No. 22... yes, perhaps he played in a “worse” era (which, frankly, is debatable, although today's NBA fan doesn't care to hear that), but even so, it wouldn't have been bad enough to drop him all the way to No. 90! Pete Maravich at No. 71? Pistol Pete may have had a shot at being the G.O.A.T., had it not been for his shortened career. Nonetheless, his career wasn't shortened enough to rank guys like Russell Westbrook (No. 49) and Manu Ginobili (No. 61) ahead of him, that's for dang sure! Also, he certainly wouldn't be a full 48 spots below a guy like Steph Curry at THIS point in Curry's career (basically only in his second truly stud season)! George Mikan at No. 33? Dude should be Top 25, for sure! From 1946 to 1954, he won two NBL championships and five NBA championships. That means he reached the pinnacle of the sport seven times in eight years! I don't care what era you do that in, it's still friggin' impressive!! During that span, he also netted three NBA scoring titles, and is still Top 25 in PPG, despite not dunking, not having the three-point line and playing without the 24-second shot clock. A lot of people may not realize this, but he had the third-best win shares per 48 minutes ever. If he had dominated any other era the way he did his, we'd be talking Top 10. He basically made the game what it is. The people at ESPN who ranked him No. 33 just don't have any respect for the history of the game. Oh yeah, and Bob Pettit being ranked right behind him at No. 34? Also too low! In the 1958 Finals, dude led his St. Louis Hawks to victory over Bill Russell and that dynastic Celtics squad, keeping them from winning yet another title in their amazing 11-titles-in-13-years run. The only other guy who was able to cost Russ' squads one? Wilt the Stilt! Plus, he's giving Timmy a definite run for his money in the “greatest Power Forward of all-time” category, and yet ESPN ranked Tim Duncan (No. 8) tremendously far ahead of him. That's just not right!
This list is just puzzling to me from top to bottom. For example, I still have doubts about Reggie Miller (No. 51) and Carmelo Anthony (No. 59) being ranked as high as they were. If you want to compare Melo to other high-scoring Small Forwards, he hasn't had the career to compare with Alex English (No. 62) or Adrian Dantley (No. 72), yet he easily outpaces them here. Those guys scored on comparable volume with better efficiency (MUCH better efficiency in Dantley's case!), and Melo doesn't do much of anything else all that well (he's a decent rebounder, and is just starting to use the threat of his scoring to consistently make plays for others). However, his scoring takes a noticeable hit in the playoffs. Those guys both had comparable or better team success than Melo, and were around a longer time. If Melo belongs on this list, in my opinion, it's in the 91-100 range. As for Reggie, I loved watching him play as I was growing up. The way he made it rain threes quickly made him one of my faves. Nevertheless, it still seems so odd to see someone who was never higher than 13th(!) in MVP voting placing above guys who actually won MVP awards!
Even putting aside differences in eras and positions, “greatest of all-time” lists are so subjective because they account for both peak and “total body of work” with no real guide as to which weighs more heavily. The main problem with these comparisons is that it isn't a level playing field, as the NBA has changed too much over the years to successfully compare players of one generation with those of another. Could Curry handle prancing through the key, if someone like a Rick Mahorn could nail him in the gut 2-3 times per half? How many games before he'd roll his ankle, strain a knee or break a wrist? Imagine the injuries Westbrook would be facing if he exploded as intensely as he does and got decked mid-air, mid-flight.
It's a three-point circus today, which is definitely fun to watch. Perhaps this version of basketball needs its era, but make no mistake – it's an era! A Moses Malone may not be as effective today, since he always slowed the game's pace down to the speed of molasses. Same goes with Alex English and his turn-around jumpshots from 18 feet away. However, if we were to play “Bad Boy” rules, there'd be no Rose, Westbrook or Curry, as those guys would be getting decked hard by strong-@$$ men!
Anyway, I'm done criticizing this ridiculous list for now, as I've got some errands to run. However, if you want my Top 10, it'd probably look more like this: 1. Jordan, 2. Kareem, 3. Russell, 4. Wilt, 5. Magic, 6. Big O, 7. Bird, 8. LeBron, 9. Dr. J, 10. Hakeem. I admit that it'd really be a very hard list to compile, but I don't think ESPN did a very good job with their attempt. They had a majorly-obvious recency bias, which just made the list look silly at times, and their rankings were pretty much a crapshoot with no real logic or reason behind them.
But anyway, if you still care to see their list, here is the horrible thing (and by the way, I obviously had nothing to do with this nonsensical list, so don't kill the messenger, as he's just as baffled as you are!):
1. Michael Jordan
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3. LeBron James
4. Magic Johnson
5. Wilt Chamberlain
6. Larry Bird
7. Bill Russell
8. Tim Duncan
9. Shaquille O’Neal
10. Hakeem Olajuwon
11. Oscar Robertson
12. Kobe Bryant
13. Jerry West
14. Julius Erving
15. Moses Malone
16. Karl Malone
17. Dirk Nowitzki
18. Charles Barkley
19. John Stockton
20. David Robinson
21. Kevin Garnett
22. Kevin Durant
23. Stephen Curry
24. Elgin Baylor
25. Scottie Pippen
26. Isiah Thomas
27. Dwyane Wade
28. John Havlicek
29. Chris Paul
30. Steve Nash
31. Kevin McHale
32. Patrick Ewing
33. George Mikan
34. Bob Pettit
35. Jason Kidd
36. Clyde Drexler
37. Rick Barry
38. Walt Frazier
39. Bob Cousy
40. Elvin Hayes
41. Gary Payton
42. Bill Walton
43. James Worthy
44. Dominique Wilkins
45. Paul Pierce
46. Allen Iverson
47. George Gervin
48. Willis Reed
49. Russell Westbrook
50. Ray Allen
51. Reggie Miller
52. Bob McAdoo
53. Wes Unseld
54. Bernard King
55. Dave Cowens
56. Pau Gasol
57. Robert Parish
58. Tony Parker
59. Carmelo Anthony
60. Earl Monroe
61. Manu Ginobili
62. Alex English
63. Tracy McGrady
64. Dennis Rodman
65. Alonzo Mourning
66. Chris Webber
67. Dwight Howard
68. Bob Lanier
69. Vince Carter
70. Artis Gilmore
71. Pete Maravich
72. Adrian Dantley
73. Dikembe Mutombo
74. Dolph Schayes
75. Blake Griffin
76. Nate Archibald
77. Joe Dumars
78. Sam Jones
79. Jerry Lucas
80. Grant Hill
81. Sidney Moncrief
82. David Thompson
83. Chris Mullin
84. Dennis Johnson
85. Dave DeBusschere
86. Chris Bosh
87. Chauncey Billups
88. Billy Cunningham
89. Yao Ming
90. Paul Arizin
91. Maurice Cheeks
92. Nate Thurmond
93. Lenny Wilkens
94. Mark Price
95. Marc Gasol
96. Bobby Jones
97. James Harden
98. Gail Goodrich
99. Kevin Love
100. Shawn Kemp
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