The GOAT List: 2014 Edition

[QUOTE=Gotterdammerung]Run TMC should never have been broken up. :facepalm

One wonders if they stayed together, would the Warriors still get the chance to draft Chris Webber in 1993?

Now that would have been totally insane, a more talented version of Sacramento Kings circa 2000. :hammerhead:[/QUOTE]
I don't think so. Sprewell came in the season before. Unless they received the first pick from the Richmond/Owens deal.

They did get Chris Gatling the year Rock was traded. He was decent big, became an All-Star. Hi Shawn Kemp!

[QUOTE=fpliii]Hey G.O.A.T, have you ever done a top 10 GOAT streetballers list?[/QUOTE]
Jackie Jackson
Earl Manigualt
Pee Wee Kirkland
Joe Hammond
Fly Williams
Herman Helicopter
Bill The Kid Harris
Raymond Lewis
Hook Mitchell

NBA Players
Wilt Chamberlain
Lew Alcindor
Dr. J
Black Jesus
Nate the Skate
Charlie Scott
Elgin Baylor
Rafer Alston

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[SIZE="4"][B][FONT="Book Antiqua"]#118 Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo
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[b]Vitals:[/b] 7

Deke wad expecting him to be slightly higher on the list. Great player great man great taunting finger wag. If he was in his prime now who would you take him or Dwight?

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[SIZE="4"][B][FONT="Book Antiqua"]#117 Vincent Lamar Carter Jr.
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[b]Vitals:[/b] 6’6” 215 lbs
[B]Tier Classification:[/B] Elite Talents: Borderline Alphas
[B]Years Played (Quality Prime Seasons):[/B] 1998-current (12 prime)
[B]Primary Role(s) and Averages:[/B] 23-5-4-1-1 on 45/38/80
Best player on borderline playoff teams (5 seasons; 25-5-4-1-1 on 45/39/79)
#1/#2/#3 on borderline playoff teams (5 seasons; 23-6-5-1-1 on 45/37/81)
#3/#4 on playoff teams (2 seasons; 15-4-3-1 on 43/36/80)
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[SIZE="3"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="6"]A[/SIZE]fter he brought the house down in February of 2000 with an electrifying performance in the Slam Dunk Contest, Vince Carter was dubbed Half Man, Half Amazing by Shaquille O’Neal, a fitting and flattering title. Long before he ascended to greatness on the NBA stage however, the comparisons to Michael Jordan had begun. A 6’6” high flyer from North Carolina, there alone you have enough to get the pulse moving, but Vince was never going to be Michael and he was never going to try to be. His rookie season 1998-99, the year after Jordan’s second retirement, was a launching pad for him as he elevated himself on the court and in the minds of fans winning rookie of the year and capturing the popular vote with a myriad of fabulous in-game slams. Carter had players all over the league taking notice including teammate Charles Oakley and former MVP Larry Bird who both agreed “he’s going to be unstoppable when he adds a jump shot.”

The next season he added that jump shot and he was close to unstoppable on offense. That along with the rise of third year HS to Pro star Tracy McGrady (a distant Cousin of carter’s) made Toronto a playoff team for the first time in franchise history. They were swept by the Knicks in 2000 and that offseason McGrady bolted for Florida in free agency. Carter spent the summer playing fantastic in the Olympics and seemed to be showing a new edge. Something Antonio Davis felt he had long needed; [I]"Vince needs to find something that's going to motivate him to be as aggressive as he is when he's mad. Because when he's not, he's a totally different player."[/I] The next season Carter was Carter’s best (28 ppg 6 rpg 4 apg), second team all-NBA and the Raptors beat the Knicks before falling to Philadelphia in seven brutal games. Carter scored 35, 50 and 39 points in the teams three wins, but was held to 22 ppg in the four losses on below 35% shooting. In 2001-02 the Raptors lost 38 year old Charles Oakley to retirement and replaced him with 39 year old Hakeem Olajuwon. A knee injury ended Carter’s season prematurely with the Raptors playing .500 ball. They lost in the playoffs, without Carter, to the Pistons in five games. That was the beginning of the end in Toronto. Carter missed half of the 2002-03 season and Toronto bottomed out with a 24-58 record.

Though Carter wanted the Raptors to use the 4th pick of the draft as trade bait to acquire a veteran to help replace Oakley, Olajuwon and Davis, the retired big men from the Raptors playoff teams, but instead they kept the pick and took Chris Bosh frustrating Carter. They would trade for Jalen Rose early in the 2004 season and with Carter fighting through injuries they finished just 33-49, VC shot a career-low 41% from the field and the fans frustration was starting to match his. The 2004-05 season spelled the end for Carter in Canada; he mopped his way through 20 games listlessly, continues his theme of not attacking the basket or seeming even the least bit interested. He was traded to New Jersey just before Christmas and to an extent revitalized his career with the Nets. Teamed with Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson the Nets were one of the leagues top fast breaking teams. In nearly five seasons with the Nets Carter averaged 24-6-5, the Nets won as many as 49 games and made the playoff three consecutive years twice advancing to the second round. Carter was clearly filling up the stat sheets, but as he faded further and further from MVP and all-NBA consideration it was clear critics were not willing to forgive and forget his Toronto days.

In 2009 with the Nets facing rebuilding Carter was traded to Orlando where the Magic were coming off their first NBA finals appearance in 15 years. Accepting a smaller role (31 mpg) Carter averaged 16.6 points for Orlando (second on the team) and made it to the conference finals for the first time in his career. He struggled however against the Celtics shooting just 29-79 from the field as Boston won in six games. He spent the next season splitting time between Phoenix and Orlando before moving on to Dallas where he has played the past three seasons. Though he never had the same individual impact in the later phases of his career, Carter’s longevity is a testament to the fact that he is more than just a scorer. Carter now ranks 30th all-time in scoring, he’s in the top 50 in games and minutes played and he may not be done yet.

[b]Resume:[/b] 16 seasons and counting - 8x all-star, 2x all-NBA, 6x top ten PPG, 1x top ten 3ptm, 2x top ten PER, 2x top ten WS

-1999 Rookie of the Year
-2000 Slam Dunk Champion (Greatest performance ever)
-Top Vote Getter for All-Star Game Three times

[b]What Makes Him Elite:[/b] Few players have ever had the combined skill and athleticism on Vince Carter. In his first three seasons he was on the fast track to Superstardom but was derailed by immaturity and the frustrating nature of trying to win as the man in the NBA. No one else in his era brought the type of above the rim excitement a young Carter did as he transformed the Raptors into a legit NBA team for the first time. When he added a three-point shot and improved his passing and later his defense he had all the requisite skills to last in the NBA and now with 17 years of double digit scoring under his belt, he’s among the company of Reggie Miller and Ray Allen in terms of longevity at the shooting guard position.

[b]What are his Weaknesses/Limitations:[/b] Carter had all the tools to do so, but never became an elite player. In 2000 he was considered a better player than Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant, 2 years later he wasn’t even in the discussion. He never could handle the pressure/responsibility of being a superstar. He sulked in Toronto after things went bad, was accused and later admitted that he had not played hard a lot of times. At first his weaknesses were considered his outside shooting and playmaking, he addressed both over the course of his career but lost some of his strengths in the process; Carter developed a much needed jump shot during his second season but abandoned his basket attacking in the subsequent years. His playmaking in New Jersey and revitalized energy on the break came at the expense of his defense and the Nets were hardly more successful than Raptors despite a more talented roster. The worst thing about Carter is that you’ll remember him for what he could have been instead of what he was.

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VC gets such a bad rap for being a great player.

Wow, surprised to see them this early. I expected both especially Mutombo a lot higher. He was one of the best defensive players of all time in his prime, his resume proofs that.

[QUOTE=L.Kizzle]VC gets such a bad rap for being a great player.[/QUOTE]

A great player yes, but he brought a lot of his criticism on himself. No to mention his history of no show in elimination games. He's numbers from 2000-2010 in playoff elimination games

13.2 ppg
3.8 rpg
4.9 apg
.371 fg%

Since then

10.3 ppg
6.0 rpg
2.0 apg
.393 fg%

[QUOTE=G.O.A.T]A great player yes, but he brought a lot of his criticism on himself. No to mention his history of no show in elimination games. He's numbers from 2000-2010 in playoff elimination games

13.2 ppg
3.8 rpg
4.9 apg
.371 fg%

Since then

10.3 ppg
6.0 rpg
2.0 apg
.393 fg%[/QUOTE]
He had good games vs Sixers and Heat.

[QUOTE=L.Kizzle]Hi Shawn Kemp![/QUOTE]

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[SIZE="4"][B][FONT="Book Antiqua"]#116 Shawn T. Kemp
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[b]Vitals:[/b] 6

Deke at 118:biggums: :biggums: he should be at least top 50 this list is sht:facepalm

[QUOTE=Hamtaro CP3KDKG]Deke at 118:biggums: :biggums: he should be at least top 50 this list is sht:facepalm[/QUOTE]

As strong as your argument is, I have an even better counterpoint...No.

Looks like I win this time.

Mutombo is certainly not a top fifty player all-time. He never led a team past the second round, he was never an MVP candidate...without being elite as the leader of a team or as an individual player you're not getting in the top 50.

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[SIZE="4"][B][FONT="Book Antiqua"]#115 Adrian Delano Dantley
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[b]Vitals:[/b] 6

Dam you [B]Jim Mcilvaine.[/B] You ruined a good thing.

Kemp might have been my favorite player in the mid-90s. It was between him and Penny Hardaway.

I have a feeling A'mare might be next, I'd take Kemp over him.

[QUOTE=L.Kizzle]Dam you [B]Jim Mcilvaine.[/B] You ruined a good thing.

Kemp might have been my favorite player in the mid-90s. It was between him and Penny Hardaway.

I have a feeling A'mare might be next, I'd take Kemp over him.[/QUOTE]
Yes I too grew up watching Kemp mature from a raw talent in 1991 to a dominant force in the 1996 Finals.

He's better than Amare, a much better defender and rebounder, tho Amare was slightly better on offense.