#5 NBA Player Peak Of All-Time According to InsideHoops

[RRR3]

Op, crisOner=dirtysanchez. Lol at that kobetard trying to stack the deck for Kobe

[SilkkTheShocker]

Lebron

[BlackVVaves]

Anyone voting for Lebron or Kobe at this juncture of the list should be ashamed of themselves.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Almost every poster that voted for Kobe is a Laker fan

[KG215]

And what are the posters, like yourself, that voted for LeBron?

[Freedom Kid7]

And what are the posters, like yourself, that voted for LeBron?

LeBron fans
If Kobe gets #5 and LeBron #6, then . I'd take Duncan in '03 over both those guys (none of them have a case for a top 5 peak though). I'm still going with '87 Magic due to how he scored, passed and handled the offense like nobodies business. He made that team the GOAT Team (in my mind, I know it might seem crazy but whatever). He continued to make his teammates great, yada yada.

[KG215]

Well, Kareem, Magic, Bird, and Duncan have a better case for this high than Kobe. I'd say Bill Walton, too, but he only had a 1.5 year peak/prime that was ended by injuries.

[Freedom Kid7]

Well, Kareem, Magic, Bird, and Duncan have a better case for this high than Kobe. I'd say Bill Walton, too, but he only had a 1.5 year peak/prime that was ended by injuries.

I'd actually take Walton's prime over Kareem's prime, but that's just me . He beat Walton in '77, probably had better leadership qualities, rebounded about the same, and Walton couldn't score like Kareem, but Kareem couldn't pass like Walton so

[fpliii]

Well, Kareem, Magic, Bird, and Duncan have a better case for this high than Kobe. I'd say Bill Walton, too, but he only had a 1.5 year peak/prime that was ended by injuries.

I'd actually take Walton's prime over Kareem's prime, but that's just me . He beat Walton in '77, probably had better leadership qualities, rebounded about the same, and Walton couldn't score like Kareem, but Kareem couldn't pass like Walton so

hey guys, voting is complete:

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=276556

feel free to discuss results in the new thread

[G.O.A.T]

hey, just wondering what your years are for Nowitzki's, Garnett's, Sabonis's (or is it Sabonis'? I was a math major, so I'm not certain with grammar) peaks? your ranges have pretty much been consensus for everyone else, so while I don't personally agree with those votes, I'd like to fill in your ideas of their peak seasons in the OP

For Nowitzki I'd say 2005-2008. After Nash left he really showed that he was a franchise player. It's hard to leave out the title year, but that wasn't a great season for him, just a phenomenal playoff run.

For Garnett it'd be 2002-2005. He was pretty much unstoppable then. I don't like that the T-Pups missed the postseason in 2005. but when you consider that Cassell was only healthy for about 40% of the season (started like 35 games), that they changed coaches that year mid-season (GM McHale took over) and went 10-4 down the stretch and missed the playoffs by one game, hard to fault KG. In the East that year they'd have been the sixth seed.

Sabonis I am not sure honestly, It'd be insincere for me to pretend I've watched, seen or read anything about Sabonis during his prime years (playing in the USSR) that gives me a firm grasp on the type of player he was. I'd guess, if I had to, 85-88. My reasoning, he was first drafted in 1985 and in 1988 he lead the Soviets to the Gold Medal and was very clearly a dominant player at any level. A guy that big is likely to peak early, so 22-25 seems like a reasonable age to estimate.

Yeah, I'm pretty high on Walton's peak. Do you think that Blazers team stays together for the most part and is good enough to take a couple more titles from the Lakers/76ers/Celtics in the early to mid-80s?

Do you think he was trending towards being a 20 ppg scorer to go with the 14-15 rpg, 4-5 apg, and 3 bpg?

I think it more likely he'd have had a 6-7 apg season. Had his team been depleted by injuries or just needed him to score more I think he could give you 23-26 ppg on strong efficiency, but to do so he;d have to sacrifice a good deal of his play making. Acknowledging the heavy attention he always got, Walton became a pass first player. Anyone who can shoot 21-22 in an NCAA title game and doesn't "need" to be a major scorer in the NBA is an amazing phenomenon to me. To have the confidence in yourself to be that good under that type of pressure and to accept that you don't need to be that guy ever again...amazing! Only Russell proved he was clearly a greater winner, and had it not been for injuries, I do believe Walton would have rivaled him.

[KG215]

I think it more likely he'd have had a 6-7 apg season. Had his team been depleted by injuries or just needed him to score more I think he could give you 23-26 ppg on strong efficiency, but to do so he;d have to sacrifice a good deal of his play making. Acknowledging the heavy attention he always got, Walton became a pass first player. Anyone who can shoot 21-22 in an NCAA title game and doesn't "need" to be a major scorer in the NBA is an amazing phenomenon to me. To have the confidence in yourself to be that good under that type of pressure and to accept that you don't need to be that guy ever again...amazing! Only Russell proved he was clearly a greater winner, and had it not been for injuries, I do believe Walton would have rivaled him.

Thanks for the response. Walton is one of the most intriguing players ever. I mean have we ever seen a player show flashes and the makings of a top 3-10 player all-time, only to completely disappear (in regards to being ranked that high) due to injuries? Sure, there's been other guys that have 2-3 year peaks that rival the best of all-time but aren't considered top 40/50 guys, but Walton showed he could lead a team to a championship and was on track to repeat. Obviously at the time no one knew that, after getting hurt in '78, he'd never be the same; but in hindsight it really is intriguing and strange. I think he's easily most compelling "what if?" player in NBA history.