The hardest part of writing the 25 best to ever play in the NBA not named Michael Jordan lies within this blog. My 10th best player could have just as easily been my 7th ranked player and vice versa. I really considered the totality of the impact that each player had on his team and the team success and also pondered the what ifs scenario to come to this conclusion. By the time I finish this I may have changed my mind... but as someone once said, let it be written, so it be done.
10. Kobe Bryant is the second best 2 guard to ever play the game. He has been too date, the closest thing we have ever seen to 'You Know Who'. In the last 10 years he has been the 1 guy who you definitively felt if it's the end of the game and the ball is in his hand, it's a bucket. I know stats show that hero ball doesn't work but when the last olympic team needed buckets they didn't go to lebron or D-Wade, they called on the Black Mamba. He had arguably the best mid-range game ever, at times he played like the best perimeter defender in the league, he was the most competitive person in his era, he won 5 championships, 2 finals MVP, 1 regular season MVP, 10x's All 1st team NBA, 9x's defensive 1st team, dropped 81 points in a game and beat a rape charge (I kinda wish every statistical run could end in a overturned criminal charge, for example "...And that Mofo beat a murder rap")
Why he's not: Kobe Bryant got kinda lucky when he went to the Lakers. I mean playing with Shaq put him on an instant title contender and no doubt Kobe's play was a big part of them winning 3 straight 'chips but that was Shaq's team. I hated the Lakers and I always yelled, "why is Rick Fox, Derek Fisher and Robert Horry so wide open all the time" because Shaq was the most dominant force on the team and everyone was collapsing on him leaving those role players wide open. One of the measuring sticks to find the greatness in a superstar is how good he makes role players and Shaq was the one that did that for them. Kobe was the closer for sure, but he never made anyone better, which is why when Shaq left they were 1 and done in the playoffs for 2 years and missed the playoffs in the other year. I always think that Magic kind of had the same situation. Magic could have ran Kareem off the team if he wanted, but Magic was all about winning, Kobe was all about winning too, as long as he was the man, which ultimately led to the Lakers getting rid Shaq. They could have won 6 titles if they had stayed together but it wasn't to be and that's why Kobe's top 5 talent couldn't overcome his lack of overall leadership which keeps him behind this far better teammate...
9. Tim Duncan got 4 'chips, went head to head with Shaq and Kobe's Lakers and more than held his own. He's the only Spurs player that was a part of all 4 of their championships. I could give a shit that the Big Fundamental had no flair to his game, he could post you up, drive to the rack and his bank shot was flat out money, he wasn't a great free throw shooter but he shot them better in crunch time. Defensively he was underrated, holding down the paint for a defensive minded Spurs team. After his 1st year in the league he was one of the top 5 players in the league and didn't relinquish that for 10 arguably 11 years and unlike number 10 on the list he consistently made his teammates better cause he didn't care about stats he cared about winning
Why he's not higher: I dunno! (That shit would be the most hilarious thing I ever wrote if I left it like that) It's really simple, Tim Duncan could put his team on his back but not quite to the extent that the 8 remaining players could. One time in particulars sticks out. It was during the Lakers, Shaq/Kobe second championship run and the Lakers had won the 1st game in San Antonio and Tim Duncan had this fuck this I'm going down swinging mode and dropped 40 to Shaq's 19 and they still lost. The next game Shaq clearly bothered by this dropped 35 to Duncan's nine as they won by 40 and in the end whenever I close my eyes I just can't see Duncan being better than the Diesel.
8. I love how everyone says how fat and lazy Shaq was. That's the crazy thing about sports, I personally know very few, if anybody, who completely maxes out on their job preparation, and yet we as fans constantly yell at the top 1% of athletes who does not meet the qualifications that we ourselves don't meet at our own jobs. As Shaq got older he definitely was not in the shape he once was. But who am I to judge the metabolism of a 7 foot 320 lb man. Their have been 2 physical marvels, in my history of watching hoops, Shaq and Lebron. A couple of years ago I watching ESPN classic and the 1994 All Star game was on, the 1st thing I said was Holy Shit, Shaq ran like a small forward. He was as unstoppable as anyone, no one in the last 30 years had to prepare more for one man, including 'You Know Who' than Shaq. Teams that had championship aspirations during Shaq's prime would get 3 and 4 centers to defend him not 3 or 4 two guards. I don't care that he could have been 10% better if he kept himself in better shape, or that he relied on brute strength more than anyone except Wilt. I don't care about 'Kazaam' or his rap career. Tim Duncan and Shaq went head to head in their primes and very seldom did I get the impression that Duncan was the better player and Shaq had way to much of an impact on his teammates than Kobe had on his. Shaq routinely destroyed Ewing and David Robinson, he was a flat out beast.
Why he's not higher: When Shaq lost in the playoffs it was way to often with a whimper, his team was swept like 6 times. That's way too high for someone with Shaq's dominance, at some point he should have been able to say 'you may have a better team but tonight ya'll about to take this 50 pts and 20 boards and come back another day' that and the fact his free throw shooting made it impossible to consistently rely on him in crunch time.
7. I have never seen anyone dominate a superstar in the playoffs, like Hakeem Olajuwon dominated David Robinson in 1994. It was as complete as an undressing of a reigning regular season MVP I have ever seen. From that point on no one looked at David Robinson the same and I'm sure everyone that voted him MVP that year felt like shit. He averaged 35 points against him and willed a bunch of role players to an NBA championship. Otis Thorpe, Kenny Smith, a 2nd year player in Robert Horry, a rookie Sam Cassell, etc., has there ever been a more mediocre championship roster in the last 30 years? BTW in the Finals, Hakeem dominated Shaq and Patrick Ewing, so in his 2 championship runs he thoroughly outplayed his 3 biggest competitors. Not only was Hakeem dominant offensively but he was the best defensive center as well, averaging 4+ blocks and 2 steals a game in his prime compare that to Shaq's 2+ blocks and .5 steals and you see how significant it was. Olajuwon never had a legit star player in his prime until he got Drexler, if Hakeem had Drexler his whole career they may have put a dent in the Bulls 6 title run.
Why he's not higher: Unfortunately for The Dream his only 2 'chips came when 'You Know Who' retired and even though at that time, The Dream was playing at a level that was close to equal as 'You Know Who', perception is reality. Which means that if 'You Know Who' didn't retire, Hakeem would have been #16 on my list. Hakeem's biggest obstacle of not being higher, is ultimately the Houston Rocket management not putting a championship team, for truly one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA.
6. Well this one was easy, if your nick name has Legend in it, then you gotta be somewhere on this list. When I was compiling this list, the 1st thing I knew was that Larry Bird would be the highest rated white guy on the list. No offense, but Bird himself used to be upset when teams would put other white players to guard him. Bird played like if there wasn't basketball he would be nothing in life. I used to dislike Larry as he dismantled my favorite player Dr. J year in and year out. Bird gave it to everybody which is why he was a 3 time MVP to go along with his 3 championships while yearly dropping 25-29 points, 10 boards and 6+ dimes a game. What would Bird's ring total look like if he didn't have to battle Dr. J's Sixers and Magic's Lakers in the 80's.
Why He's Not Higher: Mostly injuries. After Bird's last championship appearance where he lost to the Lakers, the game didn't seem to come as easy for him in the following years, and after watching the Bird/Magic documentary on HBO, you remember when he would lay on the sidelines with his jacked up back clearly in pain. In the end Larry Bird's Celtics couldn't wrestle the team of the 80's title away from Magic and the Lakers, losing 5 titles to 3, but ending my next to last best of series with Larry Joe Bird makes me feel really good about this list!
Coming Soon... The Final 5
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