re: If Jordan didn't play basketball who would be the GOAT?

Top 5 players is a tough list to compile as you're comparing guys from different eras. I'd probably say:

Jordan
Magic
Kareem
Wilt
Bird

Duncan, Kobe, Russell, Big O and Shaq are the next five, with Hakeem, Lebron, Dr J, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor being in that next tier. Arguments could be made for a lot of these guys to be in the top 10 and some top 5 (like Russell if you value championships or Lebron if you're projecting through the end of his career).

Other greats that likely won't make anyone's top 5: Barkley, K Malone, M Malone, Pettit, Isiah Thomas, Pippen, Stockton, etc. So many greats, and today's NBA is probably deeper than it's ever been.

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kareem

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He never hustled back on defense tho.

LeBron

GTFO

It still would be Lebron

It wouldn't be anyone who played after Jordan. He is a good part of the reason why kobe/Lebron/Durant etc are the players they are today. They saw what he did and he may have even been the reason these kids picked up a basketball

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Peter Press Maravich

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press maravich for coach

press two for spanish

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No one is putting Russell in the top five solely based off of championships.

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Not sure about that, he's got "the ultimate winner" narrative in his favor. I've heard that as justification for him being among the greats.

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The guy was a helluva all around player. He was an incredible rebounder, x5NBA leader I believe, and played dominating defense. Russell deserves to be in the top five discussion if we're comparing all eras

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This is all fair, but I think Russell is judged based off the era he played in. He and Wilt played in the same era, but Wilt dominated the NBA and Russell head to head. It's really not even close.

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Although, comparing all eras becomes incredibly difficult when you consider a good chunk of this board never actually watched MJ play. Anything older than MJ, and they're basing ranking off of highlight reels and stats, neither of which tell the whole story

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Stats are at least unbiased, though. You can gain some perspective when looking at certain players' stats relative to their competition within that era.

I think basketball is unlike the NFL and MLB in that fans are quicker to anoint more recent players above guys that played decades before. When listing the 10 best baseball players of all time, you'll see very few, if any, guys on that list that played in the last 20 years. Ruth, Cobb, Aaron, Ted Williams, Mays, Mantle, etc. are listed above Griffey, Bonds, Pujols, etc. Older QBs and RBs in the NFL are often lauded more than current guys, but to a lesser extent than baseball. Maybe that's due to baseball having a longer history, or maybe it's just too "traditional" to place younger guys among the elites

In basketball, most top 10s will include some combination of MJ, Shaq, Hakeem, Duncan, and Kobe. Maybe that's because individual greatness is more apparent in basketball since individuals have a greater impact, or maybe the NBA just has a younger following. I'm not sure. I'm also not sure what my point is. I kind of got lost in a tangent, but zero fricks given.

Russell Westbrook

The GOAT is Wilt Chamberlain, even if Jordan played basketball.