FoxSports Top 10 Players All Time Rankings

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

kobe will always be number 1 in my heart.

[fpliii]

This probably reflects common perception (actually Most people I've asked still put Dr. J above Duncan too, I guess since Tim is more low key and only on these boards are ABA seasons ignored; not that I have a problem with it, just pointing this out). I'm not big on these lists, but it's interesting that Odcar had been the one whose legacy has taken the biggest hit, and Hakeem's has jumped the most among fans here and on other sites. Not that I have a problem with it, just an observation.

Truth be told there are a lot of great players so you're short changing at least 2-3 by making a top 10 list.

[Electric Slide]

Russell doesn't have any Finals MVP because there wasn't one then. He would have gotten more than 6 though. It was a different era and his defense had huge impact.

if Russell could win 5 MVPs, no question he would have won more Finals MVPs since he was an even better playoff performer.

[SHAQisGOAT]

1. Jordan
2. Magic (?)
3. Russel
4. Kareem
5.Bird
6. Wilt
7. Oscar (lol)
8. Kobe (should be 7, but majority of high IQ earth has him between the 7-9 range)
9. Shaq
10. Duncan

Magic at 2nd (also 3 spots over Bird when imho 1 is the only thing conceivable)
Kareem at 4th
Oscar at 7th
Kobe at 8th
Shaq at 9th
No Hakeem

What a sh!tty list

[SamuraiSWISH]

11 championships, 7-8 Finals MVP, 5 MVPs, probably 6-7 DPOTY awards.
A student of the game, brilliant individual at understanding the game. Plays his role to perfection as a leader; best anchor defensively of all-time.

How on earth do you not agree with his place in history?

I understand why others value him. I understand his impact on the history of the game as well.

Well there was no Finals MVPs in his era. And if there was, he didn't deserve 7 or 8 of those Finals MVPs. From what I've read, and seen there was a vast majority of those Finals where he was either the 4th or even 5th most productive player on offense. Obviously he had the defense on lock, but being great on one side of the ball exclusively isn't enough justification for me. People want to rank him that high because of the 11 rings. It's just his insanely stacked team and the fact that his HOF teammates rarely get mentioned, or that they played in an era with 8 teams. Where is the mention of the impact of Cousy? I just find ranking Russell difficult. Plus, all I've done is read about him. Haven't gotten to see a whole lot of him.

I almost feel there should be separate lists. The top ten of the pre modern era game (pre 180) when the game was in it's infancy and developmental stages. That way players like Mikan and others don't get the shaft. Then have a separate top ten for the modern game. Because the game has changed a lot up until around the mid / late 70's. Since then it's been pretty consistent as the recognizable finalized sport we know it as today.

[longtime lurker]

1. Jordan
2. Magic (?)
3. Russel
4. Kareem
5.Bird
6. Wilt
7. Oscar (lol)
8. Kobe (should be 7, but majority of high IQ earth has him between the 7-9 range)
9. Shaq
10. Duncan

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/lists/T...photo=30219324

Those 10 are mostly the players every has in there 10...I think KAJ should of been at the 2 spot, I also think Oscar should of been 10 or 11....List is from 12', but it basically gives you what the general perception is of the top 10....

Great post. It's literally only on message boards have I seen Kobe ranked out of the top 10. Do you have ESPN's rankings of the top 10 players of all time? I think they had him at 7.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Amazing how overrated Kobe is. Nothing more than a scoring sideshow without the best frontcourt in the league. Also a sidekick and rapist. Lost a Finals series playing with 3 hall of fame teammates

[Electric Slide]

Great post. It's literally only on message boards have I seen Kobe ranked out of the top 10. Do you have ESPN's rankings of the top 10 players of all time? I think they had him at 7.

further proof he is overrated then.

[KG215]

Because he didn't deserve 7 or 8 of those Finals MVPs. There was a vast majority of those Finals where he was either the 4th or even 5th most productive player on offense. Obviously he had the defense on lock, but being great on one side of the ball exclusively isn't enough justification for me. People want to rank him that high because of the 11 rings. It's just his insanely stacked team and the fact that his HOF teammates rarely get mentioned, or that they played in an era with 8 teams. Where is the mention of the impact of Cousy? I just find ranking Russell difficult. Plus, all I've done is read about him. Haven't gotten to see a whole lot of him.

I wish I knew a little more about those Celtic teams and the era in general, but I get the feeling you're underrating and don't truly appreciate the things Russell brought to the table. From what I've read and learned over the last few years (granted, a lot of it has been from posters here providing quotes from players and coaches at the time, quotes from books, newspaper articles, etc.) his impact offensively goes beyond his pedestrian looking scoring numbers, and obviously he had an enormous defensive impact. I could be wrong, but after Cousy retired, the Celtics even ran a lot of their offense through Russell at the high post, and he was averaging 5-6 APG.

Finals MVP only existed one season of Russell's career, 1969, and that year it went to Jerry West on the losing team. However, in his other 10 championship seasons, if the award existed, I can't imagine him not reasonably deserving to win 7-8 Finals MVP's.

[fpliii]

I understand why others value him. I understand his impact on the history of the game as well.

Well there was no Finals MVPs in his era. And if there was, he didn't deserve 7 or 8 of those Finals MVPs. From what I've read, and seen there was a vast majority of those Finals where he was either the 4th or even 5th most productive player on offense. Obviously he had the defense on lock, but being great on one side of the ball exclusively isn't enough justification for me. People want to rank him that high because of the 11 rings. It's just his insanely stacked team and the fact that his HOF teammates rarely get mentioned, or that they played in an era with 8 teams. Where is the mention of the impact of Cousy? I just find ranking Russell difficult. Plus, all I've done is read about him. Haven't gotten to see a whole lot of him.

I almost feel there should be separate lists. The top ten of the pre modern era game (pre 180) when the game was in it's infancy and developmental stages. That way players like Mikan and others don't get the shaft. Then have a separate top ten for the modern game. Because the game has changed a lot up until around the mid / late 70's. Since then it's been pretty consistent as the recognizable finalized sport we know it as today.

• He likely doesn't win in 57, 64, 68, and we know he didn't in 69. The rest are definitely his (there have been many posts on this forum going into that).

• The teams had mediocre-to-poor offensive efficiencies, they won with their defenses. Cousy, Sharman and a great offensive center in Ed Macauley did nothing of note before Russ joined the team.

• 1980 is kinda arbitrary, since the 3 wasn't used very often. Why not 76 (post-merger) if you want to exclude the guys from 54-55 through 73-74 (namely Russell, Wilt, Oscar, West)? It's your rankings, so you can do what you want.

EDIT: Why does one have to be great offensively? No guards ever have enough of an impact on the other end to put them in the class of top defensive centers, and even Pippen comes up short (though he's the closest non-big). That's not even taking into account rebounding, which you can't take for granted (or compare to playmaking/ball handling, which are why point guards and wings have an advantage on offense).

[longtime lurker]

further proof he is overrated then.

you want to log in with your other account and try again?

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Lebron and/or Hakeem should be in most top 10 lists.

[branslowski]

Amazing how overrated Kobe is. Nothing more than a scoring sideshow without the best frontcourt in the league. Also a sidekick and rapist. Lost a Finals series playing with 3 hall of fame teammates

Best frontcourt:

Bynum 6ppg 3reb

Artest 11ppg 4reb 39%fg

Odom 9ppg 9reb




Only Gasol was solid, put up David West numbers.

[Fresh Kid]

LMAO at Kobe at #8. Guy should be lucky to be in the top 15.

[SamuraiSWISH]

[QUOTE=fpliii]