“Smoking on your top 5 tonight” all stars.

[Kblaze8855]

Who makes your list of players most consistently not ranked as all time elites most likely to outplay players on that level when in the same league playing in the same game? For an easy example….you’ve never seen Tmac ranked top 20. You put Tmac in his prime on the floor with Kobe, Duncan, Lebron, or any number of guys often in that range…and he outplayed them? Exactly nobody is shocked. They are…in the same league…comparable. Miles apart all time for lots of reasons. But prime for prime watching them in the same league they aren’t so different that him winning the matchup is seen as some kinda off game for the star or the game of Tmacs life. It’s a pretty foreseeable outcome in a matchup of somewhat similar levels of player. Tmac could in his day…take a long disrespectful drag of your top 5 to nobodies surprise.


To avoid hearing all the same names let’s go with guys not generally ranked top 15ish. Hakeem, Wade, and Durant can all smoke on your top 5 all time. But all of them get top 15 talk often enough they are close enough in all time status to the top 5 types to not really fit the discussion. Like Steph. Top 5 to most? No. But high enough that him going toe to toe with a prime version of Lebron, Bird, Kobe, Shaq or whatever wouldn’t be noteworthy.

I’m talking the less highly regarded stars who don’t have their own cheering section trying to get them into your top 5.

Im thinking widely seen as non elite players who you would expect to hold their own against and potentially roll up and smoke away on someone’s top 5. I’d imagine a number of injury plagued careers will come up but let’s see.



My entry to get us going?


Annoying ass Paul Pierce who is absolutely wrong to think he was better than Wade and similar to Lebron but…01-06 or so version?

One super league with all the goats in it?

Similar help?

Paul Pierce would puff away on a lot of peoples top 5 as a flat out basketball player not knowing who would go on to do what or being biased by legacy and perception.


Everyone ever just goes to play ball? If your top 5 list is Jordan, Lebron, Kobe, Kareem, and Magic or something like that? A possible top 5?


Paul might put ‘em in the air often enough to not be blown away when he does it.

[warriorfan]

Leonard

[Kblaze8855]

I don’t know if he’s too good to mention but he’s probably outside the top 20 to most fans now and with his style and what fans appreciate now he’ll be in the 30s soon if you polled people under 50 or so but….Moses Malone.


He smoked on 3 of your top 10 already though nobody cares.


Prime Moses one series vs anyone you’re likely to pick for your top 5


Real high chance they get

[Kblaze8855]

Leonard

Yes arguably. Peak Leonard could smoke on a good 4-5 of my top 10 without me raising an eyebrow about what happened.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Bill Walton

[Kblaze8855]

Bill is a tough one. He would over time help generate the chemistry and defense for his team to defeat a lot of top 5s but his individual performances wouldn’t leave fans with the perception that their top 5s had been ignited and inhaled for his enjoyment.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Peak Vince wasn't as good as McGrady put he fits the mold

[post]

first name that comes to mind is bernard king

a guy among many others for one reason or another i considered taking in the all time draft thread that i don't think anyone else even mentioned

[tpols]

Barkley, David Robinson, Jokic, Reggie, etc. there's a bunch of guys... We saw Kyrie smoke a UMVP in 2016. Kevin Johnson go toe to toe with Magic.

Anything is possible with anybody in the top 50 because at that point everybody is a true 1%er.

[Johnny32]

first name that comes to mind is bernard king

a guy among many others for one reason or another i considered taking in the all time draft thread that i don't think anyone else even mentioned

[Akeem34TheDream]

Jimmy Butler has become one imo.

[Kblaze8855]

Bernard King is a great one. Nobody under 40 gives a shit about that name but put him on the same floor as maybe half the top 10 and good chance he’s gonna

[eliteballer]

Grant Hill, Penny, Nique, Kemp, Larry Johnson, Ralph Sampson?

[jlip]

Kevin Johnson '89-'92ish

[SouBeachTalents]

Guys like T-Mac & Walton are too easy. Other ones I'd consider

Butler
Kyrie
PG
KJ