10. Shaquille O'Neal - claim for fame: 2000 NBA MVP, 4x NBA champion, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 15x All-Star, 3x All-Star MVP, 1993 Rookie of the Year, 1990-91 NCAA AP Player of the Year, 8x All NBA first team member, 2x All NBA 2nd team member, 4x All NBA 3rd team member, 2x All NBA Defensive 2nd team member
9. Kobe Bryant - claim for fame: 2008 NBA MVP, 4x NBA champion, 1x NBA Finals MVP, 11x All-Star, 3x All-Star MVP, 7x All NBA First Team member, 2x All NBA 2nd team member, 2x All NBA 3rd team member, 7x NBA All Defensive first team member, 2x NBA All Defensive 2nd team member
8. Tim Duncan - claim for fame: 2x NBA MVP, 4x NBA champion, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 11x All-Star, 1x All-Star MVP, 1998 Rookie of the Year, 1996-97 NCAA AP Player of the Year, 1996-97 NCAA John R. Wooden Awardee, 1996-97 NCAA Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Awardee, 9x All NBA First Team member, 3x All NBA 2nd team member, 9x NBA All Defensive first team member, 3x NBA All Defensive 2nd team member
7. Oscar Robertson - claim for fame: 1x NBA MVP, 1x NBA champion, 12 x All-Star, 3x All-Star MVP, 1961 Rookie of the Year, 9x All NBA First Team member, 2x All NBA 2nd team member
6. Wilt Chamberlain - claim for fame: 4x NBA MVP, 2x NBA champion, 1x NBA Finals MVP, 13x All-Star, 1x All-Star MVP, 1960 Rookie of the Year, 1956-57 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, 7x All NBA First Team member, 3x All NBA 2nd team member, 1x NBA All Defensive first team member
* Note: Current NBA awards may not have existed during the time of some of these players for example: The Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award was only given in 1969, Russell's last year in the league. Others include the Defensive Player of the Year award established in 1982-1983, Sixth Man of The Year 1982-1983, Most Improved Player established in 1985-1986, All-Defensive team also in 1969.
After reviewing our list let's proceed to the remainder of our countdown, the cream of the crop shall we?
5. Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) - the master of the sky hook, the all-time leader in points scored, Kareem was a rare 7'2 center, the fact that he lasted 20 years of battery in the NBA says a lot about his endurance and durability.Before making it to the NBA, the Harlem Globetrotters have already offered him 1 million USD to play for them, unfortunately Kareem's destiny wouldn't be side-tracked so he politely declined the generous offer. Kareem then decided to play in the NBA choosing the established league over the up and coming ABA (which folded years after; the NBA though absorbed 4 of it's teams into it's fold: Nuggets, Spurs, Nets and Pacers). Entering the league via Milwaukee Bucks as Lew Alcindor (his real name before converting to Islam therefore getting the name Kareem Abdul Jabbar which means "noble, powerful servant"), his entry proved to be very timely. For one, Long time champion and probably the greatest center to date Bill Russell have just retired, and Wilt, although still effective was on his dog years at 33.
The Bucks got him as their number 1 pick as they only piled 27-55 prior to the draft. After his rookie season though Milwaukee would improve drastically as the young Alcindor compiled 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per outing, thus enabling the Bucks to finish 2nd place in the Eastern Division with a 56-26 record. Together with Oscar Robertson, Kareem would power Milwaukee in it's lone NBA championship in 1971.
Despite finding success in Milwaukee, Jabbar opted out of it because the place lacked of people who shared his religious and cultural beliefs. Bucks reluctantly obliged to the prodding of their once vaunted bigman and he was traded to the Lakers for Junior Bridgeman, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith, and Brian Winters in 1975. In Laker uniform, Kareem would have to wait until 1979, the arrival of the very young but very talented point guard named Earvin Johnson to renew his championship conquests once again. The new duo would add 5 more rings to Kareem's collection of 6 championship titles. Kareem's mantra on court was: "Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals."
And that was probably what's best remembered of him.
To view Kareem's career stats click here.
4. Larry Bird - Howie Chizek was quoted saying this after Bird set a club record with 60 points in one game and scored 48 in another during the 1984-85 season: “Larry Bird just throws the ball in the air and God moves the basket underneath it.” Maybe the best description of how deadly a shooter Larry Legend was.His addition to the Celtics, and Magic Johnson's to the Lakers in the 80's rejuvenated the NBA and was called the golden age of basketball wherein most of the all-time greats played in that single era. 70's was rather dull for the NBA, which lacked true charismatic players coupled with scandals of substance abuse from players.
Larry Bird came into a struggling Boston club who only had 29-53 in 1978-79. Actually Bird was originally drafted in 1978, but opted to stay in college for another year. So the NBA year was 1979-80 and Bird never let Boston, who were eagerly awaiting for him down as he would lead the Boston resurgence with an amazing 61-21 record, a +32 single season turn around even led the team straight to the Eastern conference finals where they were foiled by the Philadelphia 76ers 4-1.
Red Auerbach's genius never seem to run out as Boston kinda duped Golden State into a deal, a deal that would send draft rights to Joe Barry Carroll to the Warriors for Robert Parish and the rights to a draft choice that turned out to be Kevin McHale. Both Parish and McHale became NBA bests which I can't say for Joe, sadly.
Together, Bird, Mc Hale and Parish would form one of the best frontcourts in NBA histrory, thus earning the name "Big Three". In only his 2nd season, Bird would again lead Boston to the play-offs, square off once again against the Sixers which they eventually won, then secure his first NBA championship altogether.
As stated above, He and Magic would rejuvenate and renew the dormant rivalry of the Celtics and the Lakers. It was Black vs. White, East vs. West. A near perfect story board for the NBA, none-the-less an epic which roots back to their college days when Johnson's Michigan State beat Bird's Indiana University. In the NBA both would renew their individual rivalry. And they would stage it 3 times in basketball's biggest stage: The NBA Finals.
The first meeting in 1984 belonged to Bird, averaging 27.4 points on .484 shooting and 14 rebounds a game during the 7 game series. Boston would win 3 titles under Bird and he would earn for himself 3 NBA MVP awards, 12 All-Star appearances, 2 Finals MVPs and many other accolades. Although what set Larry apart was, he didn't had this many athletic gifts but he did fill that up with a lot of heart. He wasn't the highest leaper yet he got so many rebounds, nor was he the fastest, still he got so many steals. It was really Larry's heart and love for the game and competition.
Towards the end, Bird's body, broke down. He had been bothered by back problems for years, and his back became progressively worse. And this condition led to his retirement in 1992, finishing his career with averages of more than 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game, while shooting 49.6% from the field, 88.6% from the free throw line and 37.6% from three-point range.
"Larry Bird is the greatest shooter ever. He made every player on the court better and he made everybody believe they can win." Magic Johnson himself had been quoted of saying.
To view Larry Bird's career stats, click here.
3. Bill Russell - William Felton Russell wasn't always the happy man, as pictured above, Russell was a victim of intense racism in the 60's. The greatest winner in NBA history compiled an NBA record 11 titles, 8 of which came in a row from 1959-1966.Bill was another product of Red Auerbach's trading brilliance as they landed him for Ed Macauley, then a six-time All-Star at that point and another rookie Cliff Hagan. Had St. Louis known what they were losing they wouldn't have opted for this trade.
Bill was the cornerstone of the Celtics dyansty and from his very first year Bill rallied his team for the championship, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4-3. In Bill averaged 16.6 points per game and a league-record average of 22.7 rebounds per game. He was also voted as the MVP despite only being a member of the All-NBA second team. The reason for this? The NBA reasoned that other centers were better all-round players than Russell, but no player was more valuable to his team. 2nd season though saw the Celtics losing to the St. Louis Hawks in the Finals 4-2, as Russell injures himself in game 3. This would prove to be the only dent in Bill Russell's Finals resume.
The next season, his third up to 1966 the Celtics would rack up the championships earning their 9th championship in only 10 years. Following the 1966 championship, Red Auerbach decide to call it quits in coaching and just presided over the team as it's General Manager. Leaving Boston without a coach, Red initially decided to give the coaching reigns to Frank Ramsey, but Ramsey was too occupied running his three lucrative nursing homes. His 2nd choice, Bob Cousy again declined as he didn't want to coach his former teammates. The third choice Tom Heinsohn also said no, because he did not think he could handle the often surly Russell. However, Heinsohn proposed Russell himself as a player-coach, and when Auerbach asked his center, he said yes, thus making Russell the first Black American to be named NBA coach.
Of course, this didn't escape the pre-dominantly racist journalists (it was the 60's afterall when racism was still THAT large in America, even though there are still some racists in the country it's not as rampant as it was in the yesteryears) who questioned his capacity to run the team; to which Bill replied:"I wasn't offered the job because I am a Negro, I was offered it because Red figured I could do it."
Unfortunately, the Celtics dynasty run was put to a temporary halt as Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia 76ers finally figured out how to oust the seemingly undeterred Boston locomotive. Russell acknowledged his first real loss in his career (he had been injured in 1958 when the Celtics lost the NBA Finals) by visiting Chamberlain in the locker room, shaking his hand and saying, "Great". owever, the game still ended on a high note for Russell. After the loss, he led his grandfather through the Celtics locker rooms, and the two saw white Celtics player John Havlicek taking a shower next to his black teammate Sam Jones and discussing the game. Suddenly, Russell Sr. broke down crying. Asked by his grandson what was wrong, his grandfather replied how proud he was of him, being coach of an organization in which blacks and whites coexisted in harmony.
The following season, Boston would climb back to the top with Russell and his aging staff. Bill at 34, averaged 12.5 points and 18.6 rebounds per game. In the Finals Boston beat it's perennial foe, The Lakers 4-2 to earn Russell's 10th title in 12 years. In Bill's ultimate season, he became disillusioned with the murder of RFK, Vietnam War, and personal difficulty ncreasingly stale (and later divorced) marriage to his wife Rose, he was convinced that the U.S. was a corrupt nation and that he was wasting his time playing something as superficial as basketball. With all this distractions the meager effort the Celtics could muster was 48–34 record was the team's worst since 1955-56, and was only seeded fourth in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, however, Russell and his Celtics achieved upsets over the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks to earn a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Lakers were now parading their newest acquisition Wilt Chamberlain, a center they lacked in the previous meetings against Boston.
As both teams split the first six games then Laker owner Jack Kent Cooke made a mistake of motivating the Celtics, with the series finale shifting to Los Angeles, the Laker owner aforementioned was already putting "proceedings of Lakers victory ceremony" on the game leaflets. Russell used a copy as extra motivation and told his team to play a running game, because in that case, not the better, but the more determined team was going to win. And they did, Celtics won 108–106 to claim their 11th title in 13 years.
On court, he was considered the consummate defensive center, noted for his unmatched defensive intensity, his stellar basketball IQ and his sheer will to win. Russell was known to throw up before a game, and Red noted this. If Bill throws up they'll win.
During the 2009 NBA All-Stars, the NBA decided to honor Bill announcing that the Finals MVP award from then on will be now known as the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award.
To check Bill Russell's stats, please click here.
2. Earvin "Magic" Johnson - If I were to name a player who made every teammate of his better I'd have no doubt of naming Earvin up there. One of the most unselfish players of the game, he was the all-time leader in assists before John Stockton shattered the record for good.For his very first year, Magic would deliver the Lakers to the Finals. With him onboard, the Lakers compiled a 60-22 record, and the rookie only averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per outing, yeah that bad despite playing behind one of the best players of the game (That's Kareem Abdul Jabbar if you just didn't get).
In the 1980 Finals, The Lakers took a 3–2 lead in the series, but Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 33 points a game in the series, sprained his ankle in Game 5 and could not play in Game 6. With a lot of doubts whether they can close out the series without the captain, Johnson took it to himself and started out as center (he, throughout the game though, never played center he only jumped as "center" during the tip off and played all four position in the game), and scored 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, good enough to win the NBA Finals MVP award, the only rookie to do so.
Though they would not follow-up with a championship the following year (Johnson was injured for half a season) they would cap his third season with the gold with the young 6-9 point guard averaging: 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 9.5 assists, and a league-high 2.7 steals per game.
Magic's greatness shone it's brightest when they battled long-time rival Larry Bird's Celtics. In Johnson's 5th season, he averaged double double with 17.6 points and 13.1 assists, as well as 7.3 rebounds per game. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals for the third year in a row, where Johnson's Lakers and Bird's Celtics met for the first time in the post-season. Bird would draw first blood in the encounters as Boston rally for the Game 7 win. It seemed Larry had finally avenged his loss to Johnson in their NCAA Finals duel in 1979.
Magic would then propel the Lakers revenge in 1985 with averages of 18.3 points, 12.6 assists, and 6.2 rebounds, although a sad note greeted them in the very first game of the series, the Lakers when they allowed an NBA Finals record 148 points to the Celtics in a 34-point loss in Game 1 in what was to become known as the "Memorial Day Massacre". To bounce back from the humiliating loss 38 years old Abdul-Jabbar, scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in Game 2, and 36 points in a Game 5 win were instrumental in establishing a 3–2 lead for Los Angeles. Lakers would end the series in 6 games with Magic averaging 18.3 points on .494 shooting, 14.0 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game in the series. It was interesting to note also that it marked the first time any Laker team defeated a Boston Celtic team in their NBA long rivalry.
In 1986-87, Johnson averaged career-high of 23.9 points, as well as 12.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game earning him his first NBA MVP award. The Lakers met the Celtics for the third time in the Finals, most notable of which was Game 4 with Johnson hitting a last-second hook shot over Celtics' Parish and McHale to win the game 107–106. The game-winning shot, which Johnson dubbed his "junior, junior, junior sky-hook", helped Los Angeles defeat Boston in six games. Johnson was awarded his third Finals MVP title after averaging 26.2 points on .541 shooting, 13.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.33 steals per game.
After winning their 4th title at the expense of their long-time rival, Coach Pat Riley made a bold prediction of them repeating as champions. It has been a long time since any NBA team repeated as champions the last time was in 1969 during the Celtics dynasty. Not backing down from the challenge their coach posted the Lakers again returned to the Finals and battled tooth and nails against the Detroit Pistons. Lakers won the series in 7. this proved to be their last title.
“I don’t think there will ever be another 6’9” point guard who smiles while he humiliates you.” says long time teammate James Worthy of Magic.
"Magic is head-and-shoulders above everybody else," Larry Bird once said "I've never seen [anybody] as good as him."
Should anybody question it now?
To check Magic's stats, please click here.
And now we come to the greatest of them all, should you ask who he is? Or is it already anticipated?
1. Michael Jordan - "Once Michael gets up there he says, ‘Well, maybe I’ll just hang up here in the air for a while, just sit back.’ Then all of a sudden, he says, ‘Well, maybe I’ll 360. No I changed my mind. I’ll go up on the other side.’ He’s just incredible." That's what Magic Johnson said in one interview.For the millions who witnessed Jordan's heroics there is no room for argument on the incredible part of Magic's speech. But there are critics and skeptics about him being named as the greatest. In 1980, the US press have already named Bill Russell as the greatest ever in the sports. Largely because of Russell's number of championship. In his own words: Nobody is going to question you when you winning or something in that effect.
Yet one critic and a Russell friend Wilt Chamberlain bares some doubt on the authenticity of the claim citing that Russell played with a number of Hall of Fame players, last time I counted the most was 8 at one point of his career. While it is true that Wilt had his share of HOF players their number dwindles in comparison to Bill's collection. In 1992, Magic Johnson was heralded as the greatest ever by acclamation, But one argument was Johnson lost to Michael Jordan in 1991 and since then Jordan never relinquished the crown. So by that means Jordan had his claim since he had wrest the throne from the erstwhile king.
Here's what some critics say:
1. Jordan doesn't deserve being called the GOAT (Greatest of all-time) because he has never won any crap in the 1980's: While it is true that Jordan never won any title in the 1980's we should note that when Jordan was drafted the Bulls were already a rebuilding team. They have missed three straight play-offs without no. 23 in there. The moment Jordan was added the Bulls started their string of play-offs appearance.
Kareem also hit Jordan some more when he said: "As brilliant an individual that Michael Jordan was, he was not successful until he got with a good team unit. " Yep tell that to the marines captain, because before getting Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson you were just like David Robinson and Jordan... Making it to the play-offs only to fall short of the Finals.
Before Jordan had Pippen, Grant, and Cartwright, basically the core that made it to the championship Jordan was teammates with forgettable names such as: Dave Corzine, Quintin Daily, Chris Engler, Sidney Green, Dave Greenwood, Rod Higgins, Steve Johnson, Caldwell Jones, Charles Jones, Wes Matthews, Jawann Oldham, Ennis Whatley and Orlando Woolridge. Woolridge was the only player to note of Jordan's former teammates in his rookie year, but you need also to note that Woolridge started getting effective almost at the same time Jordan joined in the line-up.
Until Krause duped Seattle for Scottie Pippen in 1987 (traded for Olden Polynice) Jordan never had talent, well except maybe for George Gervin, but George only appeared in 2 games in the play-offs and was never the old reliable he once was in that series against Boston.
2. Jordan never made his teammates better. Jordan had a career average of 5.3 assist. It was well noted that Jordan wanted to burn himself in practice "so that in games, it'll be a lot easier" and his teammates were part of his routine. Jordan instigated grueling practices that it almost became too personal, Jordan would taunt his own teammates even punched Steve Kerr once in practice because he was "getting to his head". Horace Grant resented those practices but it proved to be fruitful as the Bulls got better and better every game. Pippen as Phil Jackson himself would confess later got most of his chops from Jordan not from the coaching staff.
It was also Jordan's most memorable passes in various game-winning situation, most notable was the pass to Steve Kerr after luring John Stockton on the double in the Game 6 of the 1997 Finals. Proved to be the clincher (actually Toni stole the ball in the next play and dunked it but Kerr's shot sealed the deal).
4. Jordan played in a watered-down league. Jordan always gets the flak every time someone puts up the 72-win season. Some say that Jordan only won it because of the many expansion team that lingered during the period. Yet they also fail to notice that despite those circumstances no team have ever put up that much wins in history. Why not New York who had a better team then? Why not the Lakers? (With Shaq, Van Exel, Jones and Bryant).
5. Nike was the reason Jordan ever had claims with the GOAT. Before Jordan even made it to the NBA, Converse already had the foothold of the league. Investing heavily on Magic and Larry's juggernaut images Converse primarily won the wars. Here comes Jordan with then little known Nike brand in tow, it was actually Jordan's consistency and heroics that propelled Nike to the top, not the other way around. Read related article.
6. Jordan never made Washington better. Before Jordan came aboard, Washington only displayed 19-63 in their win column, his arrival aged 39-40 gave the team a pair of 37-45 finishes. That's +18 wins. It's easy to point out Jordan's failure to lead the team to the play-offs but Jordan did have that chronic knee injury to begin with. Plus the fact that he should have been well retired by then and should had just basked in old glories... Well I think he just wanted to prove something yet again. And he didn't fail entirely, for a 40 year old guy he did average above 20 points a night thus shattering old records made by former greats who made it beyond 40.
Why was Jordan the GOAT then?
Jordan captured the hearts and minds of everyone, lots of players nowadays grew up watching Jordan dominate modern basketball. From dethroning the erstwhile champ (Magic Johnson), to making it two in a row, to capturing an Olympic Gold and having the three peat (made it two times).
I don't think there was any other player as successful as Michael, you know, from the top -- retiring-- then coming back on top. As an old guy in washington he wasn't just any veteran help as other guys have been relegated when they reached the 40 year old plateau. He was still the star in Washington.
Jordan also proved that he can play despite being under the weather, Michael proved that in Game 5 of the 1997 Finals in what was known as the "flu game". Jordan pored in 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block despite battling flu-like symptoms throughout the game (later it was said to have been a stomach virus).
"That was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done." Jordan would later confess.
"I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game. If we had lost, I would have been devastated, because of the circumstances, with this being a critical game in the Finals, I'd have to say this is the greatest game I've seen Michael play. Just standing up was nauseating for him and caused him dizzy spells. This was a heroic effort, one to add to the collection of efforts that make up his legend." Phil Jackson adds.
Another entry we should add is that after missing all but 18 games of his sophomore season, Jordan led Chicago against Boston and ultimately scored 63 points, all that while everyone else was scared that he might recur the injury.
At the height of the Bad Boys dynasty there was no player the club feared than Michael Jordan, thus they instigated a defensive mechanism to limit Michael Jordan, a technique later known as the "Jordan rules". "I think that ‘Jordan Rules’ defense, as much as anything else, played a part in the making of Michael Jordan,” said Tex Winter, who was an assistant coach for that Chicago team. The 1990 loss forced Jordan and the Bulls to find an answer to Detroit’s muscle.“Those Jordan Rules were murder,” Winter explained. “The fact that we could win the next year even though they were playing that defense says everything about Jordan as a competitor. Any lesser player would have folded his tent.”
Jordan also had the highest career point average, had the most Finals MVP award (proving he took it over when it REALLY mattered), had the highest single Finals series point average in history with 41.0, Recorded only triple-double in All-Star Game history, with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record by scoring in double-digits for the 788th consecutive game, scoring a game-high 33 points, against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 12/30/97, Holds the NBA record for most seasons leading league in scoring with 10 and holds single-game records for most free throws made in one half with 20.
And for all of these, for me, Jordan is the obvious choice for the GOAT.
To check Jordan's career stats click here.
Feel free to post your comments and reactions, any questions is gladly encouraged.
Sources: NBA.com, Wikipedia, Yahoo! Sports, Basketball-Reference.com, Youtube also photos used here are those already circulating in the net, thanks for those.
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