[valentine]

U have to read the book to truly understand the rankings but here they are

Level 1

96. Tom Chambers

95. Jo Jo White

94. Jack Twyman

93. Kevin Johnson

92. Bob Lanier

91. Dwight Howard

90. Chris Paul

89. Shawn Kemp

88. Gail Goodrich

87. Connie Hawkins

86. Arvydas Sabonis

85. Robert Horry

84. Cliff Hagan

83. Vince Carter

82. Chris Mullin

81. Dave Bing

80. Bailey Howell

79. Bobby Dandridge

78. Paul Westphal

77. Dan Issel

76. Artis Gilmore

75. Tracy McGrady

74. Joe Dumars

73. Sidney Moncrief

72. Chris Webber

71. Lenny Wilkens

70. David Thompson

69. Dennis Rodman

68. Pete Maravich

67. Earl Monroe

66. Adrian Dantley

65. Alex English

64. Jerry Lucas

63. Ray Allen

62. Reggie Miller

Level 2

61. Bob McAdoo

60. Nate Archibald

59. Robert Parish

58. Bernard King

57. Tommy Heinsohn

56. Paul Arizin

55. Dominique Wilkins

54. Paul Pierce

53. Dwayne Wade

52. Dennis Johnson

51. Bill Sharman

50. Dolph Schayes

49. Elvin Hayes

48. James Worthy

47. Billy Cunningham

46. Hal Greer

45. Dave DeBusschere

44. Nate Thurmond

43. Clyde Drexler

42. Jason Kidd

41. Wes Unseld

40. Gary Payton

39. Patrick Ewing

38. Steve Nash

37. Dirk Nowitzki

Level 3

36. George Mikan

35. Kevin McHale

34. George Gervin

33. Sam Jones

32. Walt Frazier

31. Dave Cowens

30. Willis Reed

29. Allen Iverson

28. David Robinson

27. Bill Walton

26. Rick Barry

25. John Stockton

Level 4

24. Scottie Pippen

23. Isiah Thomas

22. Kevin Garnett

21. Bob Cousy

20. LeBron James

19. Charles Barkley

18. Karl Malone

17. Bob Pettit

16. Julius Erving

15. Kobe Bryant

14. Elgin Baylor

13. John Havlicek

The Pantheon

12. Moses Malone

11. Shaquille O’Neal

10. Hakeem Olajuwon

9. Oscar Robertson

8. Jerry West

7. Tim Duncan

6. Wilt Chamberlain

5. Larry Bird

4. Magic Johnson

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

2. Bill Russell

1. Michael Jordan

[Michael.S.Participant]

Is he serious?

Not only is he ranking players, he is putting them on different levels?

Tim Duncan is on a different level than Kobe?

Dennis Johnson is better than T-Mac?

Wilt Chamberlain #7?

Iverson not in the top 20?

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 I like the list overall…. Like everyone else I would make a few changes….  but it’s not a big deal….. Simmons DEF favors his home town Celtic players too much….. But the two comments or recomendations I would make (def not criticism)……. is:

1. I really believe that the ABA stats of players should be at least noted & taken into consideration when we make All Time Great lists….. I realize that we can not combine them….. But use common sense

2. Instead of ranking in Tiers – rank these guys by Time Period….. For Example: the NBA is 68 years old…. So rank the Top Dozen from each Decade….. It’s fun debating but it’s impossible to compare players from different Era’s……

So 1970’s Top 12 or 15: Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Dr.J Julius Erving,  Moses Malone, Bill Walton, Bob McAdoo, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Pete Maravich, Bob Lanier, Dave Cowens, Mychal Thompson, Bernard King……

1980’s: Jordan, Magic, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, James Worthy, Kevin McHale, Dominique Wilkens, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond

1990’s: Gary Payton, Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mouring, Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Kevin Garnette, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Jesus Shuttlesworth, Vince Carter…..

2000’s: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzski, Paul Pierce, Pau Gasol, Yao Ming, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, 

2010’s: Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Paul George, John Wall, Boogie Cousins,  Uni-brow Davis, Andre Drummond,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 I like the list overall…. Like everyone else I would make a few changes….  but it’s not a big deal….. Simmons DEF favors his home town Celtic players too much….. But the two comments or recomendations I would make (def not criticism)……. is:

1. I really believe that the ABA stats of players should be at least noted & taken into consideration when we make All Time Great lists….. I realize that we can not combine them….. But use common sense

2. Instead of ranking in Tiers – rank these guys by Time Period….. For Example: the NBA is 68 years old…. So rank the Top Dozen from each Decade….. It’s fun debating but it’s impossible to compare players from different Era’s……

So 1970’s Top 12 or 15: Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Dr.J Julius Erving,  Moses Malone, Bill Walton, Bob McAdoo, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Pete Maravich, Bob Lanier, Dave Cowens, Mychal Thompson, Bernard King……

1980’s: Jordan, Magic, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, James Worthy, Kevin McHale, Dominique Wilkens, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond

1990’s: Gary Payton, Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mouring, Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Kevin Garnette, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Jesus Shuttlesworth, Vince Carter…..

2000’s: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzski, Paul Pierce, Pau Gasol, Yao Ming, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, 

2010’s: Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Paul George, John Wall, Boogie Cousins,  Uni-brow Davis, Andre Drummond,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Clyde-Glide10]

You have to read the book….but ill help you.

Yea. Different levels of ” The Pyramid”

Yea, He rated them now. Kobe is not that far off from Duncan and Duncan was dominant from day 1

Dennis Johnson was better then McGrady….That’s one you have to read

Wilt is 6th.

Iverson is not a top 20 player all time….

[Michael.S.Participant]

How is Charles Barkley 10 spots better than Iverson?

[Clyde-Glide10]

Charles Barkley was a guy who at 6-6 was probably the 2nd best offensive rebounder in the NBA. He was lazy and overwieght but once he got traded to Pheonix, He put up 4 seasons that were ranked in the top 20 for a PF.

What hurt Iverson was more his attitude. Where Barkley wanted teammates and wanted someone who he can defer to, Iverson drove teammates away from him and only passed if he had to.

Look at the career numbers. Don’t only look at scoring, look at the 2nd stats ( Rebounding, passing)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/statistics?statsId=0020
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/stats?playerId=366

[llperez]

simmons just did an article about a week ago in espn the mag where he said he wanted to make some changes to his book and one of the changes was that Kobe moved into the top 10 and went from being selfish to a guy who was about winning.

also, looking at the list, you have to think about comparing era’s. I mean does anybody on here really think Mikan could out play Dirk? No, but from the larger perspective, Mikan had a greater impact on the game during his time when he was dominant and revolutionized what big men could do to impact the game.

[Clyde-Glide10]

I forgot to mention that- Thanks!

[the I in winParticipant]

well that is a list. i just can’t justify putting anyone who played before 1970 in the discussion. They didn’t even play the same game back then.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Yea… True, but you have to respect what they did in their era.

[TRC1991Participant]

billy cunningham ahead of dwyane wade…has anyone even heard of billy cunningham, wades a champion (NBA and Olympic)

[Clyde-Glide10]

Billy Cunningham played in the olympics, was a top SF in his era and won 2 rings.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Apparently he knows nothing about the “Kangaroo Kid” lol.

[Champzilla21Participant]

I have nothing wrong with the list they way he did it, by there careeer acomplishmets impact on the game etc.. But if i saw gunna compile a best players list i would go by skill and athleticism and mmore towards this era because lets face it these are the best athletes in the world playing now and they could get by with that against some of the older players back in the day

[thunderforthewinParticipant]

People that need to be higher:
Pistol pete – changed the nba game forever
Rodman- maybe im biased but hes got 5 rings and 2x defensive player of the year and 7 defensive first team and 7 time rebounding leader – at 6 foot 7/8.
Alex English – one of the better scorers the game has seen

People to go down
Moses malone – Pantheon? top 12? more around 18
Sabonis? i think its debatable he averaged 12 and 7 in his nba career but maybe cause he was out of his prime
dantley- probs should be about 10 spots lower

and one more thing, if Paul, Wade, Howard, Ray Allen and TMAc all make this list, where is carmelo anthony????

[Clyde-Glide10]

Whoa….Moses Malone was a top 10 all time.

I agree with the rest. Carmelo Anthony has stepped up last season…more years like that and he’ll be on the list

[TRC1991Participant]

moses malone? 3 time MVP…career averages of 20 ppg, 12 rpg…4 time on the all NBA first team

[Cusemen727Participant]

I dont know exactly where I would put him but I do think Melo has to be on the list. Hes been a top tier scorer and player since he entered the league and hes made the Nuggets a perrenial playoff team when before he got there they were a laughing stock and thunderforwin mentioned it, if youre going to put the likes of cp3 and dwight on the list its obsurd Melos not on it.

[TRC1991Participant]

cunningham ahead of dominique wilkins?!?!?!?!?!

career stats:

cunningham:
13,626 points
6,638 rebs
2,625 assists

wilkins:
26,668 points
7,167 rebs
2,667 assists

dwyane wade has only played 6 1/2 years and almost has as many points as cunningham so nice try negating my points you blabbering idiots

[Michael.S.Participant]

80. Bailey Howell..Who is he?

79. Bobby Dandridge…Who is he?

85. Robert Horry…..LOL …He is not a top 200 basketball player of all-time

84. Cliff Hagan……Who is he?

[HaleParticipant]

Why the hell is Robert Horry on this list? He is maybe top 960, being generous.

[NarcParticipant]

I don’t think that Dirk Nowtizki should be that high at #37…I don’t like this list at all really. He left off a lot of names that should be on there. I don’t see guys like Arvydas Sabonis or Alex English being that low making sense. Plus he has a lot of young guys on here that to me haven’t done enough yet.

[thunderforthewinParticipant]

okay maybe i was wrong with malone
ill admit my errors

[thunderforthewinParticipant]

okay maybe i was wrong with malone
ill admit my errors

[trackstud44Participant]

Cunningham averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists during his 9 year NBA career, and 23, 11, and 6 in his two year ABA career. Voted to the top 50 NBA players of all time in 1996.

Wade has averaged 25 points, 6 assists, and almost 5 boards…

I’d take 20, 10 and 4 anyday.

Barkley deserves top 20. Kobe is now top 10 per a recent simmons article. Looks like a pretty good list to me.

Barkely averaged 22 points, almost 12 rebounds, (4 offensive), and 4 assists in his 15 year career.. much better than Iversons 26, 6 assists, and almost 4 rebounds in his 14 year career (so far, but those numbers will keep going down if he keeps trying to play.) Plus Barkley shot MUCH better from the field, and .5% behind in Free throws.

[trackstud44Participant]

Cunningham averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists during his 9 year NBA career, and 23, 11, and 6 in his two year ABA career. Voted to the top 50 NBA players of all time in 1996.

Wade has averaged 25 points, 6 assists, and almost 5 boards…

I’d take 20, 10 and 4 anyday.

Barkley deserves top 20. Kobe is now top 10 per a recent simmons article. Looks like a pretty good list to me.

Barkely averaged 22 points, almost 12 rebounds, (4 offensive), and 4 assists in his 15 year career.. much better than Iversons 26, 6 assists, and almost 4 rebounds in his 14 year career (so far, but those numbers will keep going down if he keeps trying to play.) Plus Barkley shot MUCH better from the field, and .5% behind in Free throws.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

I like the Book of basketball. A GREAT book for NBA fans.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

I like the Book of basketball. A GREAT book for NBA fans.

[GladysLAndersonParticipant]

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[GladysLAndersonParticipant]

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[YungmUNyParticipant]

I know this is a spam generated bump, but for the fun of it, I like Simmons inclusion of Jason Kidd. I don’t think he gets enough credit. He should have won the 2001(or ’02?) MVP over Duncan for essentially doing what Nash won two MVP’s for years later, but better. The guy led league in assists, was the best perimeter defender in the NBA, and also happened to lead his team in rebounds, all while taking them to back-to-back NBA Finals (something Nash never did in Phoenix as a system player). There are some gaudy stats from guys like Stockton and Nash, and while I respect the hell out of them, I somehow just feel like Kidd’s assists were more genuine and earned… as if he was racking them up outside of the system he played in, just based on being an amazing floor general. I really feel like Jason Kidd is the best point guard we’ve seen since Magic.

[YungmUNyParticipant]

I know this is a spam generated bump, but for the fun of it, I like Simmons inclusion of Jason Kidd. I don’t think he gets enough credit. He should have won the 2001(or ’02?) MVP over Duncan for essentially doing what Nash won two MVP’s for years later, but better. The guy led league in assists, was the best perimeter defender in the NBA, and also happened to lead his team in rebounds, all while taking them to back-to-back NBA Finals (something Nash never did in Phoenix as a system player). There are some gaudy stats from guys like Stockton and Nash, and while I respect the hell out of them, I somehow just feel like Kidd’s assists were more genuine and earned… as if he was racking them up outside of the system he played in, just based on being an amazing floor general. I really feel like Jason Kidd is the best point guard we’ve seen since Magic.

[Author]

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