Bill Simmons' 96 Greatest NBA Players [Archive] - Message Board Basketball Forum

RRR3

12-12-2011, 09:41 PM

http://www.bareknucks.com/bill-simmons96-greatest-nba-players-ever

Robert. Horry. Ranked. At. 85. Holy. Shit. BTW here are the players he ranked below Horry: Tom Chambers, Jo Jo White, Jack Twyman, Kevin Johnson, Bob Lanier, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Shawn Kemp
Gail Goodrich, Connie Hawkins, Arvydas Sabonis.
Hell, he didn't even have Alonzo Mourning on the list. But seriously...Robert Horry? Robert "7 points per game" Horry? Robert "Role Player" Horry? Robert "Zero All-Star games, Zero All-NBA selections, Zero All-Defensive selections, Zero Finals MVPS" Horry? :facepalm He isn't even a top 300 player of all time. :banghead:

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/6/15/heeheehawhaw128580646144869777.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/1ptcn5.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.urlesque.com/media/2010/04/derp-derp-derp-derp.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s320x320/299865_209993345727248_177275968998986_556708_1112 962706_n.jpg
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2009/10/6/128993545946929530.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/2dt8y0.jpg

G-Funk

12-12-2011, 09:42 PM

http://i36.tinypic.com/1ptcn5.jpg

RRR3

12-12-2011, 09:43 PM

http://i36.tinypic.com/1ptcn5.jpg
We should make a list of players better than Horry. Wonder how many we could come up with? :cheers:

Inception28

12-12-2011, 09:44 PM

http://i.imgur.com/UBWwD.gif

Jimmy2k8

12-12-2011, 09:45 PM

20. LeBron James

19. Charles Barkley

18. Karl Malone

17. Bob Pettit

16. Julius Erving

15. Kobe Bryant

14. Elgin Baylor

13. John Havlicek

The Pantheon

12. Moses Malone

11. Shaquille O’Neal

10. Hakeem Olajuwon

9. Oscar Robertson

8. Jerry West

7. Tim Duncan

6. Wilt Chamberlain

5. Larry Bird

4. Magic Johnson

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

2. Bill Russell

1. Michael Jordan

Not sure how I feel about the Top 20...there's just something wrong that I don't like about that list. lol@Shaq not in the top 10

Miller for 3

12-12-2011, 09:46 PM

idk how you can even have Horry above other role players like Gasol, Ben Wallace, Bobby Jones, Gus Johnson, or dozens of others. List is pretty solid overall imo, but Horry is one that sticks out

Collie

12-12-2011, 09:46 PM

His list is largely based on his theory known as "The Secret", so you'll see guys like Wilt out of the top five and Horry making the list (along with Rodman).

RRR3

12-12-2011, 09:47 PM

Not sure how I feel about the Top 15...there's just something wrong that I don't like about that list.
Oh there's a lot of wrong stuff on the list, but Horry just stood out. Kobe Malone and Barkley are too low IMO.

RRR3

12-12-2011, 09:48 PM

His list is largely based on his theory known as "The Secret", so you'll see guys like Wilt out of the top five and Horry making the list (along with Rodman).
Yeah but Rodman actually won awards and led the league in categories. And I assume he's using "Rings" So why isn't Derek Fisher there? :facepalm

pauk

12-12-2011, 09:49 PM

20. LeBron James

19. Charles Barkley

18. Karl Malone

17. Bob Pettit

16. Julius Erving

15. Kobe Bryant <---- WORD!

14. Elgin Baylor

13. John Havlicek

The Pantheon

12. Moses Malone

11. Shaquille O

Collie

12-12-2011, 09:50 PM

Yeah but Rodman actually won awards and led the league in categories.

Yeah, I'm giving the reason why Simmons put Horry there, since he apparently had a bigger grasp of "The Secret" than 99% of NBA players in history.

Collie

12-12-2011, 09:51 PM

[QUOTE=pauk]20. LeBron James

19. Charles Barkley

18. Karl Malone

17. Bob Pettit

16. Julius Erving

15. Kobe Bryant <---- WORD!

14. Elgin Baylor

13. John Havlicek

The Pantheon

12. Moses Malone

11. Shaquille O

ShaqAttack3234

12-12-2011, 09:52 PM

Yeah but Rodman actually won awards and led the league in categories. And I assume he's using "Rings" So why isn't Derek Fisher there? :facepalm

Horry in the top 100 is a joke, but Horry was significantly better than Fisher ever was(especially with Houston) and more important to his championship teams than Fisher. Plus, he has 2 more rings than Fisher. So Horry should be ranked higher than Fisher, though neither should be anywhere near the top 100.

Some of his other rankings are extremely puzzling as well.

RRR3

12-12-2011, 09:53 PM

Yeah, I'm giving the reason why Simmons put Horry there, since he apparently had a bigger grasp of "The Secret" than 99% of NBA players in history.
Yeah. Was Horry even top 96 in the NBA at any point in his career? I mean come on now that is a ranking that can simply NOT be justified by any rational person.

knickswin

12-12-2011, 09:54 PM

Lebron top 20 by 2009? For what? beating the wizards, pistons, and nets a bunch of times . . .

RRR3

12-12-2011, 09:54 PM

Horry in the top 100 is a joke, but Horry was significantly better than Fisher ever was(especially with Houston) and more important to his championship teams than Fisher. Plus, he has 2 more rings than Fisher. So Horry should be ranked higher than Fisher, though neither should be anywhere near the top 100.

Some of his other rankings are extremely puzzling as well.
I know Horry was better, but my point was that it makes no sense unless he's using rings as his argument, which also would be strange because his list doesn't completely support that consistently.

Inception28

12-12-2011, 09:55 PM

Lebron top 20 by 2009? For what? beating the wizards, pistons, and nets a bunch of times . . .
lol.

Yup, Lebron is not even a top 5 SF ever.

RRR3

12-12-2011, 09:56 PM

lol.

Yup, Lebron is not even a top 5 SF ever.
Bullshit.

christian1923

12-12-2011, 09:58 PM

lol guess bill simmons isnt a kobe fan

Inception28

12-12-2011, 09:58 PM

Bullshit.
Yeah I know that is what all of your posts are, whats your point?

RRR3

12-12-2011, 09:59 PM

Yeah I know that is what all of your posts are, whats your point?
Bird
Erving
Barry

Who else are you going to rank over LeBron? :confusedshrug:

Inception28

12-12-2011, 10:00 PM

Bird
Erving
Barry

Who else are you going to rank over LeBron? :confusedshrug:
Pippen
Hondo
Baylor
Pierce
Dominique
Worthy
Melo
Durant
Hill
King

and I am sure there are more. Probably not even top 10.

Collie

12-12-2011, 10:01 PM

Yeah. Was Horry even top 96 in the NBA at any point in his career? I mean come on now that is a ranking that can simply NOT be justified by any rational person.

I'm not agreeing with him, I'm stating WHY Simmons put him there. I have his book, and you need to read the previous chapters to understand what he was thinking (the pyramid is the one of the last chapters). The second chapter of the book is called "The Secret", which is basically him explaining that a large part of winning championships is actually not about basketball, but other intangible things that Isiah Thomas and some other players described to Simmons. His pyramid (basically his top 96 players), rely largely on "The Secret", so that's why he put Horry there. Basically, Horry embodies the ultimate roleplayer and understands "The Secret" better than nearly anyone.

I obviously don't agree with Horry in the top 100 (or even 150), but there you go. If you're perplexed.

christian1923

12-12-2011, 10:01 PM

Pippen
Hondo
Baylor
Pierce
Dominique
Worthy
Melo
Durant
Hill
King

and I am sure there are more. Probably not even top 10.

GET EM LOL:hammerhead: :hammerhead:

RRR3

12-12-2011, 10:02 PM

Pippen...LeBron is basically Pippen on steroids so no
Hondo...Oh boy he rode Russell's coattails to rings! GOAT :bowdown:
Baylor...Maybe forgot him
Pierce...No. LeBron is just a better player.
Dominique....Um...no
Worthy-:roll:
Melo-:roll: :roll:
Durant-:roll: :roll: :roll:
Hill-:facepalm
King-:facepalm

and I am sure there are more. Probably not even top 10.
:facepalm

swi7ch

12-12-2011, 10:03 PM

Checked to see if MJ is #1, said to myself "solid list."

Inception28

12-12-2011, 10:03 PM

:facepalm
Oh yeah and I forgot about Cunningham and Arizin.

Yeah seriously, Lebron is not top 5 nor is he top 10. Lebron is weak.

The_Yearning

12-12-2011, 10:04 PM

LBJ at 20 and Kobe only at 15?

Lol @ this clown.

Inception28

12-12-2011, 10:05 PM

LBJ at 20 and Kobe only at 15?

Lol @ this clown.
forreal. Lebron might not even be a top 20 SF to ever play, lol at top 20 player.

Inception28

12-12-2011, 10:07 PM

lol at the hate messages I am getting through my inbox.

Thorn

12-12-2011, 10:08 PM

These rankings were done by October 2009. He mentioned that some rankings were changed for his paperback edition (for example he moved Kobe to #8 after the 2010 Finals) and would probably be altered some now with the '11 season over, especially for guys like Lebron, Wade and Dirk.

That said, the Horry ranking is a bit odd. I do see where he's coming from. One of the consummate role players - very good help defender, tons of clutch moments, a solid all around player especially during his Rockets tenure, and did tons of little things (Phil Jackson mentioned that it was him and Ron Harper who talked to the refs and tried to sway them onto their side, stuff like that) There's no way the numbers on the stat sheet could embody his total impact. the However, I'm not sure I agree that those are enough to push him over players that he was ranked over. Guys like Laimbeer and Sikma were completely omitted from the top 100. Kevin Johnson was 8 spots below Horry and so on.

Then again, rankings are completely subjective anyway and he did at least support his arguments for why he ranked them the way he did. Huge Celtics homer, sure, but it's not like it's any worse than other people's lists.

ZenMaster

12-12-2011, 10:09 PM

I know Horry was better, but my point was that it makes no sense unless he's using rings as his argument, which also would be strange because his list doesn't completely support that consistently.

Bill Simmons is on a whole other level.

Like mentioned his list is made from "The Secret" theory.

Inception28

12-12-2011, 10:09 PM

Yeah Lebron should go from #20 to out of the top 50. Lebron might not even be a top 100 player to play the game.

millwad

12-12-2011, 10:14 PM

Haha, Simmons is the man.
He also went out in media saying that he thought Wilt was gay...:roll:

http://youbeenblinded.com/bill-simmons-thinks-wilt-chamberlain-was-gay/4426

christian1923

12-12-2011, 10:19 PM

Yeah Lebron should go from #20 to out of the top 50. Lebron might not even be a top 100 player to play the game.

http://l1.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/111211/jones_unified.jpg

Lakerlove420

12-12-2011, 10:28 PM

61. Bob McAdoo

60. Nate Archibald

59. Robert Parish

58. Bernard King

57. Tommy Heinsohn

56. Paul Arizin

55. Dominique Wilkins

54. Paul Pierce

53. Dwayne Wade

52. Dennis Johnson

51. Bill Sharman

50. Dolph Schayes

49. Elvin Hayes

48. James Worthy

47. Billy Cunningham

46. Hal Greer

45. Dave DeBusschere

44. Nate Thurmond

43. Clyde Drexler

42. Jason Kidd

41. Wes Unseld

40. Gary Payton

39. Patrick Ewing

38. Steve Nash

37. Dirk Nowitzki

^^^^^^^^^I told you f*ckin haters.. suck my nuts
and OP check yourself ..

.....talking about Gail Goodrich like that..before my time as well..
but I do know he is one of seven or so that has had the little honor
of having his number retired by the Los Angels Lakers.
Do you understand what that means?

http://media.photobucket.com/image/Lakers%20retired%20numbers%20banner%20gail%20goodr ich/myriamamandarico/lakers/rafters.jpg[

RRR3

12-12-2011, 10:31 PM

^^^^^^^^^I told you f*ckin haters.. suck my nuts
and OP check yourself ..

.....talking about Gail Goodrich like that..before my time as well..
but I do know he is one of seven or so that has had the little honor
of having his number retired by the Los Angels Lakers.
Do you understand what that means?

http://media.photobucket.com/image/Lakers%20retired%20numbers%20banner%20gail%20goodr ich/myriamamandarico/lakers/rafters.jpg[
WTF? When did I "talk about Goodrich like that"? :wtf:

Dwyane Rose

12-12-2011, 10:33 PM

Pippen - probably not, but you could argue defensively
Hondo - debatable
Baylor - nope
Pierce - :facepalm:
Dominique - not the passer lebron is
Worthy - nope
Melo - :oldlol:
Durant - nope
Hill - :no:
King :rolleyes:

I have come to the conclusion that you're a troll by the way. I'm not even a LeBron James fan but you're just being delusional. LeBron's probably not in the top 5, but he's at least 10th, come on.

Court Vision

12-12-2011, 10:39 PM

Pippen
Hondo
Baylor
Pierce
Dominique
Worthy
Melo
Durant
Hill
King

and I am sure there are more. Probably not even top 10.

Some of you people are so f*cking stupid, I swear....

DirtySanchez

12-12-2011, 10:45 PM

This is his old list....

Inception28

12-12-2011, 10:45 PM

I have come to the conclusion that you're a troll by the way. I'm not even a LeBron James fan but you're just being delusional. LeBron's probably not in the top 5, but he's at least 10th, come on.
Nah.

Lakerlove420

12-12-2011, 10:56 PM