The NBA at 62: the 62 Greatest Players of All Time
TWELVE ADDED TO THE ORIGINAL LIST
Twelve years ago the National Basketball Association turned fifty. To celebrate its birthday, the league decided to name the fifty greatest players of all time. Today, Shaq is the only one of them still playing, and based on the Sun's record I don't know if you could even call that playing. So in honor of the NBA's 62nd birthday, I'm going to name twelve players to add to that list.
The original list contains all but one of the league's Most Valuable Players during that time period, Bob McAdoo. While McAdoo certainly deserves his status in the Hall of Fame, he probably did not crack the top fifty because of his inconsistent career: he started out strong in his first four years in the league, faded away, and became a star again a few years later. His absence from the top fifty list gives me the pleasure of being able to exclude one of the 6 non-lister MVPs since 1997. My choices are Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Allen Iverson. Kobe, KG, and Duncan all make the list because they've won titles and have dominated the league since they've arrived. I'll add Nash to the list because he revitalized the Suns, won MVP twice, and in my opinion, was cheated out of the NBA title in 2007 when corrupt ex-ref Tim Donaghy fixed the conference semifinals that year between Phoenix and San Antonio, which many called the real NBA Finals (since whoever won that series would go on to win the title). That leaves either Dirk or A.I. to exclude from the list...hmmmm...while both probably deserve to stay on, I'll kick off A.I.. Dirk has been more loyal to his team, been on top of the league longer, isn't responsible for his team's poor performance now, and more importantly, carried his team further more times than A.I. ever did.
I'll also add to the list Reggie Miller, for his outstanding three point and free throw shooting along with his ability to keep the Indiana Pacers towards the top of the Eastern Conference during his entire career. Gary Payton also makes the list, more for his work in Seattle than his winning the title with Miami. Jason Kidd has to make the list: he's almost the opposite of Starbury, he led the Nets to several Finals appearances, and he grabs a lot of rebounds for a little point guard. In probably my most controversial pick, I'll say Grant Hill. Not only was he a fantastic player in his youth, but after a career ending injury he came back to be a very solid player, better than several in his age group.
There are three spots left. I'll give one of them to Lebron James. Barring a career ending injury or a Pete Rosesque performance, he'll definitely be a Hall of Famer and an unquestionable member of one of these lists one day. I'll put him on, but in doing so I'll make him the youngest in NBA years member of this list. While Chris Paul and Dwight Howard probably deserve to be on it given the level they play at now, they need to prove themselves for a few more years to be considered among the greatest of all time. Chris Webber will get the eleventh spot, given how hard he made it for the Lakers to win their three titles in the early 21st century. The last spot? Tracy McGrady. He's been around about decade, he's been good for all of it since he broke out as a star. While he might not get this spot if I wasn't excluding A.I., he deserves mention when talking about great scorers.
The original list contains all but one of the league's Most Valuable Players during that time period, Bob McAdoo. While McAdoo certainly deserves his status in the Hall of Fame, he probably did not crack the top fifty because of his inconsistent career: he started out strong in his first four years in the league, faded away, and became a star again a few years later. His absence from the top fifty list gives me the pleasure of being able to exclude one of the 6 non-lister MVPs since 1997. My choices are Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Allen Iverson. Kobe, KG, and Duncan all make the list because they've won titles and have dominated the league since they've arrived. I'll add Nash to the list because he revitalized the Suns, won MVP twice, and in my opinion, was cheated out of the NBA title in 2007 when corrupt ex-ref Tim Donaghy fixed the conference semifinals that year between Phoenix and San Antonio, which many called the real NBA Finals (since whoever won that series would go on to win the title). That leaves either Dirk or A.I. to exclude from the list...hmmmm...while both probably deserve to stay on, I'll kick off A.I.. Dirk has been more loyal to his team, been on top of the league longer, isn't responsible for his team's poor performance now, and more importantly, carried his team further more times than A.I. ever did.
I'll also add to the list Reggie Miller, for his outstanding three point and free throw shooting along with his ability to keep the Indiana Pacers towards the top of the Eastern Conference during his entire career. Gary Payton also makes the list, more for his work in Seattle than his winning the title with Miami. Jason Kidd has to make the list: he's almost the opposite of Starbury, he led the Nets to several Finals appearances, and he grabs a lot of rebounds for a little point guard. In probably my most controversial pick, I'll say Grant Hill. Not only was he a fantastic player in his youth, but after a career ending injury he came back to be a very solid player, better than several in his age group.
There are three spots left. I'll give one of them to Lebron James. Barring a career ending injury or a Pete Rosesque performance, he'll definitely be a Hall of Famer and an unquestionable member of one of these lists one day. I'll put him on, but in doing so I'll make him the youngest in NBA years member of this list. While Chris Paul and Dwight Howard probably deserve to be on it given the level they play at now, they need to prove themselves for a few more years to be considered among the greatest of all time. Chris Webber will get the eleventh spot, given how hard he made it for the Lakers to win their three titles in the early 21st century. The last spot? Tracy McGrady. He's been around about decade, he's been good for all of it since he broke out as a star. While he might not get this spot if I wasn't excluding A.I., he deserves mention when talking about great scorers.
WVBR 93-SECOND SPORTS SHOT ARCHIVE
~Final Bore (Thu 4/2)
~My Pick for NBA MVP (Tue 3/31)
~The Best That I Have Seen (Mon 3/30)
~A Fan in Need is a Fan Indeed (Thu 3/26)
~The NBA at 62: the 62 Greatest Players of All Time (Wed 3/25)
~Sleepers and...uhhh...Anti-Sleepers? (Tue 3/24)
~No Cinderella at this Dance (Mon 3/23)
~Bracket Advice (Fri 3/13)
~Caring about the World Baseball Classic (Thu 3/12) 2 Comments
~Facebook Tragedy (Wed 3/11) 2 Comments
~Just Say Yes To Michael Vick (Fri 3/6) 2 Comments
~Home-Made Wins (Thu 3/5)
~Just Say No to Michael Vick (Tue 3/3)
~One and Done? (Thu 2/26)
~If I ruled the world...I'd cut every player on the Detr... (Wed 2/25)
~Slow Time in Sports (Tue 2/24)
~Are We Humans, or Are We 'Roiders? (Wed 2/18) 2 Comments
~When the Going gets Tough (Tue 2/17)
~Congressional Roid Rage (Mon 2/16)
~High School Football Rah Rah Rah (Wed 2/11) 1 Comment
~My Pick for NBA MVP (Tue 3/31)
~The Best That I Have Seen (Mon 3/30)
~A Fan in Need is a Fan Indeed (Thu 3/26)
~The NBA at 62: the 62 Greatest Players of All Time (Wed 3/25)
~Sleepers and...uhhh...Anti-Sleepers? (Tue 3/24)
~No Cinderella at this Dance (Mon 3/23)
~Bracket Advice (Fri 3/13)
~Caring about the World Baseball Classic (Thu 3/12) 2 Comments
~Facebook Tragedy (Wed 3/11) 2 Comments
~Just Say Yes To Michael Vick (Fri 3/6) 2 Comments
~Home-Made Wins (Thu 3/5)
~Just Say No to Michael Vick (Tue 3/3)
~One and Done? (Thu 2/26)
~If I ruled the world...I'd cut every player on the Detr... (Wed 2/25)
~Slow Time in Sports (Tue 2/24)
~Are We Humans, or Are We 'Roiders? (Wed 2/18) 2 Comments
~When the Going gets Tough (Tue 2/17)
~Congressional Roid Rage (Mon 2/16)
~High School Football Rah Rah Rah (Wed 2/11) 1 Comment
