Bleacher Report Top 100: 12be becomes 11be

[ELITEpower23]

Nice work Kobe.

Giannis, KD and Joker will push you to 14be soon.

[SouBeachTalents]

The last couple rankings posted here have been surprisingly respectable. While I obv don't agree with every rank, the ones that really jumped out to me were

Too high: Iverson, McHale, Walton, Schayes, Maravich

Too low: Pettit, Reed, Cowens, Butler, Parker

Walton should get an honorable top 100 spot due to how insane his peak was, but the guy legitimately had like elite seasons, absolutely absurd for him to be anywhere near the top 50.

On the flipside, its crazy how disrespected Butler gets on these lists, he has a borderline top 50 resume at this point and he's not even making the top 75-80.

[1987_Lakers]

Sidney Moncrief should have made the list.

[L.Kizzle]

Nice work Kobe.

Giannis, KD and Joker will push you to 14be soon.

Where the list at?

[Phoenix]

The last couple rankings posted here have been surprisingly respectable. While I obv don't agree with every rank, the ones that really jumped out to me were

Too high: Iverson, McHale, Walton, Schayes, Maravich

Too low: Pettit, Reed, Cowens, Butler, Parker

Walton should get an honorable top 100 spot due to how insane his peak was, but the guy legitimately had like elite seasons, absolutely absurd for him to be anywhere near the top 50.

On the flipside, its crazy how disrespected Butler gets on these lists, he has a borderline top 50 resume at this point and he's not even making the top 75-80.

Jimmy Butler is kind of hard to rank for me, because his playoff performances are so far above his seasons in some cases, its like if he played that way all season long he should have been in a few MVP conversations( as in, at least a handful of top 5 finishes), and probably more all-NBA teams. I agree that he's underrated, especially if he is being ranked as low as 75, but I'm not sure where to put him. Some players you could remove from the original top 50, but the league isn't going to do that. Some names in reality have long been passed over by more modern players. Like, I need a good explanation for why someone like Lenny Wilkins should be in the top 50 or ranked higher than Butler if the league actually evolved the list as the years go on( he's not the only name, he just comes to mind at the moment).

I have no clue what's a fair ranking for Kawhi either( though at least Kahwi has a few legit MVP level seasons and a couple of FMVPs to legitimize his play).

[L.Kizzle]

The last couple rankings posted here have been surprisingly respectable. While I obv don't agree with every rank, the ones that really jumped out to me were

Too high: Iverson, McHale, Walton, Schayes, Maravich

Too low: Pettit, Reed, Cowens, Butler, Parker

Walton should get an honorable top 100 spot due to how insane his peak was, but the guy legitimately had like elite seasons, absolutely absurd for him to be anywhere near the top 50.

On the flipside, its crazy how disrespected Butler gets on these lists, he has a borderline top 50 resume at this point and he's not even making the top 75-80.

How is Schayes too high, he should be higher.
He was the 2nd best player for the entire 1950s. Led team to the Finals as well.

Weird ranking.
75 Manu
86 Tony Parker

[Tavr]

I mean, this was composed by a bunch of bloggers (aka "staffers" of BR) just like anyone posting here. Not sure why people put so much credence into these random lists lol.

Anyway I wouldn't put Curry over Kobe. Although I'd possibly consider ranking Curry and Kobe over Hakeem and Bird.

[tpols]

The number 11 constitutes the notation 1.1.

That means Kobes not just number 1 or the best... that signifies an Uber GOAT.

The GOAT of GOATs.

[Phoenix]

In any case, here's the top 30 per the website. If someone wants to do the rest of the list knock yourself out.

1) MJ
2) Lebron
3) Kareem
4) Magic
5) Russell
6) Shaq
7) Duncan
8) Bird
9) Wilt
10) Steph
11) Kobe
12) Hakeem
13) Durant
14) Oscar
15) West
16) KG
17) Jokic
18) Dirk
19) Admiral
20) Dr.J
21) Moses
22) Mailman
23) D.Wade
24) Giannis
25) Barkley
26) Baylor
27) Isiah
28) Pippen
29) Stockton
30) CP3

[1987_Lakers]

If people are going to rank Magic ahead of Bird, they should have the same consistency and rank Jerry West ahead of Big O.

Big O probably had the better peak, much like Bird did over Magic.

West had better longevity and was clearly the better player when both were in their 30's.

[3ba11]

It's impossible for two top 5 guys to be on the same team and have a weak Finals record like Magic & Kareem..

So that means one of them isn't top 5, and it's obviously the ball-dominator

[ShawkFactory]

It's impossible for two top 5 guys to be on the same team and have a weak Finals record like Magic & Kareem..

So that means one of them isn't top 5, and it's obviously the ball-dominator

5-2 in the finals I think.

[SouBeachTalents]

Jimmy Butler is kind of hard to rank for me, because his playoff performances are so far above his seasons in some cases, its like if he played that way all season long he should have been in a few MVP conversations( as in, at least a handful of top 5 finishes), and probably more all-NBA teams. I agree that he's underrated, especially if he is being ranked as low as 75, but I'm not sure where to put him. Some players you could remove from the original top 50, but the league isn't going to do that. Some names in reality have long been passed over by more modern players. Like, I need a good explanation for why someone like Lenny Wilkins should be in the top 50 or ranked higher than Butler if the league actually evolved the list as the years go on( he's not the only name, he just comes to mind at the moment).

I have no clue what's a fair ranking for Kawhi either( though at least Kahwi has a few legit MVP level seasons and a couple of FMVPs to legitimize his play).

Even if you removed his playoff history completely, he would still have a resume of

5x All-NBA
6x All-Star
5x All-Defense

That's definitely comparable to guys like Pierce, Allen & Reggie, who are all in the top 50-60 range. Then when you factor in his playoff resume, two trips to the Finals, a shot away from a 3rd, multiple superstar and even historically great playoff performances and series. The one part he really comes up short is his longevity/counting stats, as he's a good 8-10,000 points away from those 3. But factoring in everything else, he should at least be in the same tier with those guys imo.

[SouBeachTalents]

5-2 in the finals I think.

Yep, Kareem was retired by '91, and you'd have to be a fakkit to include '89 when Kareem was 42 and Magic played 75 total minutes.

The fact they went 5-2 with Kareem being a shell of himself those last 2 Finals is ironically a testament to Magic.

[3ba11]

Even if you removed his playoff history completely, he would still have a resume of

5x All-NBA
6x All-Star
5x All-Defense

That's definitely comparable to guys like Pierce, Allen & Reggie, who are all in the top 50-60 range. Then when you factor in his playoff resume, two trips to the Finals, a shot away from a 3rd, multiple superstar and even historically great playoff performances and series. The one part he really comes up short is his longevity/counting stats, as he's a good 8-10,000 points away from those 3. But factoring in everything else, he should at least be in the same tier with those guys imo.

Imagine parsing players by media awards - i.e. letting Rachel Nichols, Skip Bayless and the group think of a few dozen journalism majors decide who is good at a sport they never played.

Just look at ACTUAL PERFORMANCE to determine who is good.. if a guy never dominated, then he isn't that good regardless of his media accolade... In Butler's case, he's obviously underrated because we saw him reach that top level of perimeter dominance many times in the playoffs