Best NBA player ever

A lot of young'uns think Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are candidates for this title. I, of course, think Michael Jordan was the best ever.

Also very high on my list is Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Not as flashy, but he is the league's all-time leading scorer. And the skyhook was unlike any other move in basketball history: consistently undefendable.

I can't really judge what I didn't see, like Russel, Chamberlain, West, Robertson but MJ would have been even more unstoppable today. They have seriously curtailed the hand checking and bumping on the perimeter. Play-off ball now is what the regulare season was like in the 80s-90's. There were actual goons on the court at times. They had the Jordan rules.

As much as I loved Jordan and Bird and disliked Magic, I'm going to vote for Magic. He could play all 5 positions. Remember the finals in 1980 when Kareem was hurt and he played center and scored about 42 and 15. He even had a baby sky hook.

I still find him annoying, but Magic could play 1-5 on both ends of the court and he had an all-time great to test him in Bird.

Magic or MJ? MJ or Magic?

I'll take the pair against any pair you wish to pair them up against today or yesterday.

I don't know....I kinda favour the "old" Harlem Globetrotters, myself - Curly, Meadowlark, et al

OK, so this thread died a quick death. Not many NBA fans at Raoul's, I guess. Must not be a sports bar. Either that or it's full of British and such. Those types seem to only be interested in soccer or cricket or whatever it's called, the one where they can't use their hands.

Anyway, how about LeBron James' trip to the finals? Is he better than Jordan?

Anyway, how about LeBron James' trip to the finals? Is he better than Jordan?

One day he could be, right now the score is MJ-6,  LBJ-0

I remember one year when it was the Bulls vs the Jazz. Karl the Mailman Malone had just won the MVP. In one game, Jordan taunted Malone, nailed a jumper over his head and said "Hey MVP, that's how you do it."

So far James isn't even in the running for Miss Congeniality, one day, but not today. I hate Kobe with every fibre of my being, but he's in that top group of greatest ever. He's walked the walk

I tutor a boy who is just NBA crazy and now know a lot, thanks to him. (If I ask him what he thought about a movie, he shrugs his shoulders and says "s'okay." If I ask him about basketball he talks non-stop for 30 minutes. As an English teacher guess which topic we talk about the most.

Anyway, he made me watch the "Year of the Griffin" videos, with, er, some guy name Griffin (I forget his first name and team). The guy kinda seems like a dick, but I really like watching him play. 

Not many NBA fans at Raoul's, I guess. Must not be a sports bar. Either that or it's full of British and such. Those types seem to only be interested in soccer or cricket or whatever it's called, the one where they can't use their hands.

Not true. I think it is more a case of every country having its own heroes.

My vote would be for Magic Johnson. I played basketball for years at a time when it was just another sport. Magic Johnson was the player who brought another dimension to the game and created international interest in the sport.

The first T-shirt I can remember seeing with the name of a sportsman was that of Magic Johnson. (ok - I know the colonies were always decades behind the times.)

Anyway, just to check on my impression I read a few articles and I liked this one:

"Earvin "Magic" Johnson
Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them. Just how great a basketball player was Johnson? So great, perhaps, that future generations of hoop fans may wish they had entered the world years earlier-just so they could have seen Magic play in person instead of watching him only on highlight reels. He was what Bob Cousy was to the 1950s, what Oscar Robertson was to the 1960s, what Julius Erving was to the 1970s. Still, Earvin Johnson was even more than a revolutionary player who, at 6-9, was the tallest point guard in league history. more..."

http://www.nba.com/history/players/johnsonm_summary.html

To emphasise the impact of Magic Johnson I have to admit that I have never heard of Cousy, Robertson and Erving
 

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LeBron has been in the league for 8 years but still doesn't always give his best effort.

LeBron has the physical tools to surpass Jordon but I'm not sure if he has the day to day competitve will. Even teaming up with Dwayne Wade seems like something Jordan would never do. He would want to crush Wade.

MJ's Bulls would be at the end of a six game western road trip playing back to back nights down by 15 at the half in a meaningless game at Sacramento with Sottie Pippen leaving the game with an ankle injury and Jordan would not let them lose. He played as if losing meant the the loss of his life and he demanded the same from his teammates.

LeBron might end up being be too nice a guy to pass Jordan.

LeBron has the physical tools to surpass Jordon but I'm not sure if he has the day to day competitve will. Even teaming up with Dwayne Wade seems like something Jordan would never do. He would want to crush Wade.

MJ's Bulls would be at the end of a six game western road trip playing back to back nights down by 15 at the half in a meaningless game at Sacramento with Sottie Pippen leaving the game with an ankle injury and Jordan would not let them lose. He played as if losing meant the the loss of his life and he demanded the same from his teammates.

That's what makes the truly great ones different from the very good ones. It's not just having the tools, its having the heart. The same in any sport.

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Not many NBA fans at Raoul's, I guess. Must not be a sports bar. Either that or it's full of British and such. Those types seem to only be interested in soccer or cricket or whatever it's called, the one where they can't use their hands.

Not true. I think it is more a case of every country having its own heroes.

My vote would be for Magic Johnson. I played basketball for years at a time when it was just another sport. Magic Johnson was the player who brought another dimension to the game and created international interest in the sport.

The first T-shirt I can remember seeing with the name of a sportsman was that of Magic Johnson. (ok - I know the colonies were always decades behind the times.)

Anyway, just to check on my impression I read a few articles and I liked this one:

"Earvin "Magic" Johnson
Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them. Just how great a basketball player was Johnson? So great, perhaps, that future generations of hoop fans may wish they had entered the world years earlier-just so they could have seen Magic play in person instead of watching him only on highlight reels. He was what Bob Cousy was to the 1950s, what Oscar Robertson was to the 1960s, what Julius Erving was to the 1970s. Still, Earvin Johnson was even more than a revolutionary player who, at 6-9, was the tallest point guard in league history. more..."

http://www.nba.com/history/players/johnsonm_summary.html

To emphasise the impact of Magic Johnson I have to admit that I have never heard of Cousy, Robertson and Erving
 

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You've never heard of Dr. J?

You've never heard of Dr. J?

No - but I enjoyed reading about him in response to your question.

You have to remember that the world was a different place back then.

How different? I will start writing a book about it ... tomorrow

But I am not a total cultural loser - I have heard of Dr Pepper 

Well in most likely hood Jordan was the best player in the NBA.
But really he is not my favourite player, that would be Larry Bird. Larry could even stick it to MJ sometimes and that's a really decent feat for a gangly white boy.
MJ would dominate the dunk contest year after year and Bird would do the same thing with the 3 point contest.

Lots of players deserve mention, lots of players were great.

People talk a lot about Lebron these days, I think he has a great deal of talent but in all honesty I think his overall game lacks the depth of someone like Jordan or Magic or Bird or Hakeem or... I could go on for a while.
I'm thinking the NBA these days doesn't really have the same kind of depth of talent that it used to have back in the 80's and the first half of the 90's. If he was playing back in those days then it would be a different a story I think. Sure he would still be a very talented player but I think he would get owned a lot more than he does in the current playing environment.
Most people cite the records that he has broken ie being the youngest player to do this and that but I think there is two points that need to be considered:
1. He was drafted fresh out of high school, most of the other players went through at least 3 years of college ball before entering the draft and thus he does have a head start on most. 2. I think it is easier to break records these days as there isn't a huge pool of talented players spread throughout the league as there was back in the days when those records were set.

My top list of basket ball players I hear you  say?? (even if I don't  )

Michael Jordan
Shaquille O’Neal
Magic Johnson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Tim Duncan
Larry Bird
Hakeem Olajuwon
Karl Malone
Charles Barkley
John Stockton
David Robinson
Scottie Pippen
Kevin Garnett
Patrick Ewing
Gary Payton
Allen Iverson
Clyde Drexler
Dominique Wilkins
Dennis Rodman
Steve Nash
Shawn Kemp
etc

Notice also that most of these guys were playing around the same time as eachother, give or take 5 years or so for some of them.

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You've never heard of Dr. J?

No - but I enjoyed reading about him in response to your question.

You have to remember that the world was a different place back then.

How different? I will start writing a book about it ... tomorrow

But I am not a total cultural loser - I have heard of Dr Pepper 

Well, you gotta get on Youtube and look up "Dr. J baseline move" and "Dr. J rock the baby." You'll be amazed!

 I have to say Jordan. Although Kobe is closing in and LeBron definitely has the physical skills to join the conversation, nobody imposed their will upon the game of basketball as completely as Jordan. He had the ability to take over games on both sides of the ball and always made his teammates better.

 Jordan always seemed to take losing personally whereas Kobe is inclined to look at his teammates as the main reason for a loss. LeBron doesn't seem to have the "killer" instinct that both Jordan and Kobe possessed and relaxes or "quits" during games.

 We can't forget about Wilt! He was by far the most dominant player in the league but loses points for only two rings and playing in a different era. 2 rings, 4 MVPs, 13 All Star selections, 7 scoring and 11 rebounding titles. Pretty impressive!

 (I still go with MJ.)