Guys who have done it all but don’t get into the conversation.

[Kblaze8855]

Meaning mvp level players who also won rings while being elite. Some didn’t actually win mvp but I’m talking a level of player. There are always a few of them at the same time.

All have been on the top tier of players and won rings while up there. They may lack lesser accolades....DPOY....scoring “title” or whatever specific things each lacks....but they did the things you set out to do.

Off the top of my head all of these players fit the criteria but rarely find themselves in all time conversations. Meaning top 10 and those few people aren’t sure of who may be 10-15.


KD
Bob Petitt
Wade
Leonard
Mikan
Havlicek
Steph
Wills Reed
KG
Moses Malone
Bill Walton
Dave Cowens
Jerry West
Doctor J(giving credit for ABA rings even if not 83)
Dirk
Rick Barry





Tell me....which of those players do you feel most deserves a spot in that “Oh and honorable mention....” spot just outside the usual top 10?

Give me a couple names or three.


And for the record I’m not discounting the status of guys like Karl Malone, Baylor, Oscar and so on who may well have been that good but I’m focused on the guys you don’t have the “Yea but he never.....” argument for.

Nobody cares if you have a scoring title, led the league in assists, or whatever. Not as a disqualifying career omission. People toss you out of top 10 talks if you lack a ring or were never elite even if you have rings.

This is about those guys. The ones you have no “Yea but....he never ____” about. They just don’t get the status others do for....whatever reason.


Some have 2 mvps and 3 rings or 3 mvps and a ring....2 rings and 2 finals mvp and an mvp....whatever the case may be.

Which of them you most want to see in that all time elite conversation?

[Vino24]

Kawhi. For the most part he has elevated teams to contenders. His offensive ppg might never be mvp worthy but he’s a complete package

[tontoz]

KD has the best chance to crack the top 10. He is hurt by being in lebron's shadow and acting like a bitch but he is a great player. A lot depends on what happens with the Nets.

Steph has an outside chance. If the warriors can become title contenders again and actually win another ring that will go a long way for him.

Kawhi has the game but not the durability and completely lacks personality which does matter when people make lists like this. If he ages well he could have a case but his stats don't measure up to other atg players.

[Kblaze8855]

Wade, KD, and Moses to me may be the 3 I’d say are most likely to look like the equal of whoever else is on the floor if they all play in their primes.

Whoever your GOAT is....on the same court with peak Wade or KD he probably wouldn’t appear to be on a whole other level.

Peak Wade was a legit as good as an MVP level Lebron(though you could argue Lebron got better from those days). KD has never seemed outclassed from a basketball standpoint in his prime. Moses was considered the best in a league with mvp caliber Bird, Kareem, and Magic.

Whoever else is on the floor....they would probably seem to be in their league.

[Mauzah]

KD
Kawhi
Curry

In that order and I also have no idea how to rank Dr. J

[sdot_thadon]

Dr.J is one of the most difficult to rank for people because some don't care to count Aba accomplishments. That included he was clearly top 10 until maybe the 2000s. Dr.j was the face of basketball for my parents generation as adults.

[eliteballer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgXxAysSsks



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYYR4imoi-I

[SouBeachTalents]

In terms of where I'd rank them all time, it'd prob go something like this

Top 15
West
Dr. J
Moses

Top 20-25
KG
Dirk
Pettit
Durant
Curry
Wade
Havlicek

Top 30-50
Barry
Kawhi
Reed
Cowensi

Walton had an ATG peak but had barely 2 elite seasons, so he's clearly way below all these guys in regards to all time rank. And personally, idk where the hell you rank Mikan or any of the dudes from the pre shot clock & Russell/Wilt era, I honestly just leave him out of the rankings

[tontoz]

Walton didnt play enough to be in the conversation. Foot injuries ruined his career.

[Reggie43]

Moses Malone for me. I was wondering if his style of play contributed to him being underrated being the classic physical bruiser in the paint?

[Kblaze8855]

Moses Malone for me. I was wondering if his style of play contributed to him being underrated being the classic physical bruiser in the paint?

We had a discussion on that when I made this:


https://youtu.be/0dyw-dpenlA


And the answer is apparently yes. Being brutally relentless as your primary talent does cost you credit.

[Thenameless]

I was afraid of Moses Malone.

[HylianNightmare]

Moses and Dr J

[tontoz]

Dr J was in his prime before Magic and Bird came in and made the league more popular. I didn't see enough of him to make a good judgement.

[EllEffEll]

In terms of where I'd rank them all time, it'd prob go something like this

Top 15
West
Dr. J
Moses

Top 20-25
KG
Dirk
Pettit
Durant
Curry
Wade
Havlicek

Top 30-50
Barry
Kawhi
Reed
Cowens

Walton had an ATG peak but had barely 2 elite seasons, so he's clearly way below all these guys in regards to all time rank. And personally, idk where the hell you rank Mikan or any of the dudes from the pre shot clock & Russell/Wilt era, I honestly just leave him out of the rankings

Thoughtful, seemingly objective, unbiased, non-agenda driven breakdown. Kinda rare around here, LOL.

[BigShotBob]

Rick Barry does not get the credit that he deserves. He was the very definition of a dominant scorer in a way that dwarfed other great scorers like Bernard King and Adrian Dantley because of his efficiency and his relentless rebounding. As a sophomore he averaged over 35 points a game.....

Again. As a sophomore he averaged over 35 points a game.

If he had been paid for his talents and hard work then he would have never left for the ABA. But during that time there were a lot of grumblings due to lack of free agency and just overall lack of compensation which was why the ABA looked like a far better deal at the time.

Regardless he was just flat out unstoppable.

[tanibanana]

Moses and Dr J

Abosolutely this. If only NBA give ABA the rightful recognition it deserves.

Dr.J was the GOAT SF until Bird bump him to 2nd, and later LeBron further bump him to 3rd. But truth be told, whoever is the 4th, is far from bumping him down.

While Moses is arguably the 3rd best player of the 80s
(strictly the 80s decade only) after Bird/Magic.

[DoctorP]

Peak-wise Pete Maravich can make a case to be up there with some of the greatest, at least when comparing to his era.

From recent times I would say Harden could be that dude that will get crazy overlooked in time. Now that it looks like his peak is over he didn't do anything as the main man except crazy stats. Similar to Maravich.

[ralph_i_el]

Isiah Thomas? I don't really know how he was viewed at the time, I'm too young.