re: 11 greatest professional basketball players in recorded history according to me

Possible.

Because didn't he rank the 1986 Celtics the GOAT?

Would have been pretty obvious if he had that and Jordan #1 and Bird #2.

But he does make a compelling argument that frankly Magic just had the better career...whether that makes Magic an inherently better basketball player is up for debate.

When Bird was healthy he was dominating the NBA.

But even Bird when asked who was better simply said: "I go by championshoips and he has more so I give him the nod."

Bird played at full tilt...he was never going to have a long injury free career like Kobe...and Magic could have kept playing for another 5 years after Bird retired but for HIV. Magic was in the Finals in 1991 a year before Bird retired. Magic was still on top of the game.

You don't really compare them. You weigh the importance of what he was - the centerpiece of the winningest pro sports dynasty of the last 60 years, you consider the mostly written accounts of what he was as a player and the things he did especially in the playoffs and you pick a spot for him that respects his historical greatness but also considers the context of the league at the time, his relatively meager stats, etc..


The ranking, like all rankings is subjective. Criteria can't be quantified. There's not even a computer than can give us a definitive answer. And yet we're still attempting it. I know some people on the spectrum can't handle that sort of thing and that's ok

Every time a guy says someone like Bill Russell doesn't belong on the list Kobe moves up one step higher.

Isiah Zeke Thomas isn't even on this list! So much disrespect to the legends of the game

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Lebron shouldn't be on the list. None of those others would have trotted out after a sweep and made up a story about an injured hand. We all know this to be fact.

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Wilt did worse. In terms of competitive drive Wilt makes LeBron look like Jordan

Hard to argue against anyone on that list.
I’d probably replace Shaq with Karl Malone.

25 points and 10 rebounds for his career
2nd in points, minutes, FG made
7th in rebounds
2× NBA Most Valuable Player (1997, 1999)
14× NBA All-Star (1988–1998, 2000–2002)
2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1989, 1993)
11× All-NBA First Team (1989–1999)
2× All-NBA Second Team (1988, 2000)
All-NBA Third Team (2001)
3× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1997–1999)
NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1988)
NBA All-Rookie Team (1986)
2 Olympic Gold (1992, 96)

That's the problem with a top 10, there are about 25 players you can't forget about

The all white guy list is incomplete without Dirk Nowiztki

Thanks. The reason this goes all the way to 11 is not just because it's one higher. I had to include Hakeem. Before I ever thought about a list, my gut instinct is that Hakeem is around the top 5. In terms of pure skill and ability I think he is. But then I make the list and I just can't justify him over the 10 ahead of him

The problem with Shaq is I feel Kobe deserves to be on this list. You had an entire generation of guys imitating Jordan at the 2, and he's the only one that actually came close. I mean who's the 2nd best? Vince Carter? Kobe's accomplishments stood on their own as all time greatness.

But if you include Kobe, you have to include Shaq ahead of him