#23 NBA Player Of All-Time According to InsideHoops

[pauk]

Anyways, i vote for George Mikan.

[pauk]

Matt Geiger.

Seriously LeBron at #11 has turned this poll into more of a joke than it normally is.

11. LeBron James

Average age of voter: 13 years old.

[Kblaze8855]

I do kinda wonder how anyone votes for George mikan at all and only starts around this point. If you give any consideration to what he did....how is he not top 5? If you consider how good he appeared to be...how is he top 100?

You just mix the two and pull a number out of your ass?


There is no justification for ranking Mikan over David or Willis reed....or Cowens....or Dwight Howard. No justification that doesnt involve giving him a level of credit that should probably also put him over...everyone but Wilt, Mj, Bill, Kareem, and maybe Magic?

Just feels like one of those things that people kinda...throw a dart at a wall and decide "Yea this is the time" with no logic behind it at all.

If hes over Drob or Willis Reed....for his accomplishments...how are so many people he accomplished more than over him already?

How do you both disregard how good he was and disregard the fact that his feats are all time elite?

And dont you have to to both to even vote him top 100 OR not start voting for him at like #3 or 4?

How do you have it both ways? Just...decide 20 or so is about right because our numbers system goes in tens and 20 is a nice round number?

[Deuce Bigalow]

Are those player of the month awards?

[pauk]

I do kinda wonder how anyone votes for George mikan at all and only starts around this point. If you give any consideration to what he did....how is he not top 5? If you consider how good he appeared to be...how is he top 100?

You just mix the two and pull a number out of your ass?


There is no justification for ranking Mikan over David or Willis reed....or Cowens....or Dwight Howard. No justification that doesnt involve giving him a level of credit that should probably also put him over...everyone but Wilt, Mj, Bill, Kareem, and maybe Magic?

Just feels like one of those things that people kinda...throw a dart at a wall and decide "Yea this is the time" with no logic behind it at all.

If hes over Drob or Willis Reed....for his accomplishments...how are so many people he accomplished more than over him already?

How do you both disregard how good he was and disregard the fact that his feats are all time elite?

And dont you have to to both to even vote him top 100 OR not start voting for him at like #3 or 4?

How do you have it both ways? Just...decide 20 or so is about right because our numbers system goes in tens and 20 is a nice round number?

Excellent point and you answered your own question.... After #15 on the ranking list its always like this for me, i feel the few players that deserve that spot are ridicilously close whether it is in terms of accomplishments or individual talent/stats or both or any criteria.... and so i rank them almost randomly, but deep down i know i ranked them more something like =

#15.a
#15.b
#15.c
#15.d
#15.e

and so on... :)

[magictricked]

Kblaze, so true. That's the thing I have with these deals, it seems there are people that fail to look big picture in relationship to their votes. How ranking one player at place B effects c,d, e, f and g then they throw in a random player because he "has to go somewhere".

[Legends66NBA7]

Isiah is a tough one. Its like asking if Chris Paul is better than Dirk. It isnt in the numbers...but anyone who watched Isiah knows he wasnt really playing the kind of game best for his numbers.

I've seen this before too. It makes sense, because before the "Bad Boy" system was in effect, he was putting up 20/10 numbers, but the Pistons weren't getting far in the playoffs.

Like you mentioned, Zeke put up 16+ in a short period of time, but get ousted by Bernard King and co.

Dirk vs Isiah is kinda asking if you rather have an elite but not #1 point or elite but not #1 4....I wouldnt say its clear cut either way.

But I hate that Isiah has become his numbers to so many fans. I remember mini fro Isiah. Much more free.

Yeah, I get what your saying. Though, I think Dirk's been the best PF at times, at least from 06, and 09-11 circa.

I don't even think Zeke's numbers are that bad, they actually are pretty good. I would also blame injury for his numbers not being that great, not just different system.

Isiah is a guy who dropped 16 in 90 seconds to force OT. Scored like 43 in the finals much of it on one foot hopping around back when 40 was a lot....

He wasnt scoring 18 a game because he couldnt do better. He played a team game and let others shine quite a lot and it worked out. He was the unquestioned leader of those teams though.

Yeah, I like some of those examples. Also a nice clutch debate with Zeke and Dirk. Also finding the range in the 1990 Finals.

I think the most gutsy performance by him (maybe even more than the ankle game in the 88 Finals) was the game where Karl Malone elbowed his dome. Send stitches across his head, but still returned and attempted the last 2 game winning shots. He missed them both, but he gets a lot of respect for even being the game after that.

[rhythmic]

I do kinda wonder how anyone votes for George mikan at all and only starts around this point. If you give any consideration to what he did....how is he not top 5? If you consider how good he appeared to be...how is he top 100?

You just mix the two and pull a number out of your ass?


There is no justification for ranking Mikan over David or Willis reed....or Cowens....or Dwight Howard. No justification that doesnt involve giving him a level of credit that should probably also put him over...everyone but Wilt, Mj, Bill, Kareem, and maybe Magic?

Just feels like one of those things that people kinda...throw a dart at a wall and decide "Yea this is the time" with no logic behind it at all.

If hes over Drob or Willis Reed....for his accomplishments...how are so many people he accomplished more than over him already?

How do you both disregard how good he was and disregard the fact that his feats are all time elite?

And dont you have to to both to even vote him top 100 OR not start voting for him at like #3 or 4?

How do you have it both ways? Just...decide 20 or so is about right because our numbers system goes in tens and 20 is a nice round number?

You have to consider their place relative to their era, that's where the shade of grey comes in and I completely agree with you.

It is very difficult to assemble these lists and at some point it becomes to difficult to properly compare two players from completely different eras.

To answer your question, I'd personally rank Mikan somewhere in the top fifteen because he was a pioneer and because he won a lot in a very short time span.

[chips93]

I do kinda wonder how anyone votes for George mikan at all and only starts around this point. If you give any consideration to what he did....how is he not top 5? If you consider how good he appeared to be...how is he top 100?

You just mix the two and pull a number out of your ass?

why does it have to be so black and white? cant people just put their own weights on these two aspects and reasonable place him in the 20s?

its not like you have to either think he played against scrubs, or just dominated his era and ignore it, why cant you just land somewhere in the middle?

[pauk]

Are those player of the month awards?

Sorry to say, the most in NBA history....

POTM is not something super significant but its about the very context, it gives extra insight on how good the player was. How? Player of the Month is rewarded by KIA MVP, it has the same criteria & requirements (team success + individual performance). The player that won the most POTM in a season also won the MVP that season............

Having that many POTM and especially at such a short time explains 3 things:

1. The player probably ended up with many MVPs.
2. If the player didnt win the MVP then he probably was a top 2-10 votegetter all the time.
3. The player was maybe the best player in the NBA

In Lebrons case, all those 3 points are accurate.

[ganja0710]

Sorry to say, the most in NBA history....

POTM is more about the context, it gives extra insight on how good the player was. How? Player of the Month is rewarded by KIA MVP, it has the same criteria & requirements (team success + individual performance). The player that won the most POTM in a season also won the MVP...

Having that many POTM and especially at such a short time explains 3 things:

1. The player probably ended up with many MVPs (Yes, Lebron has 3 at the age of 27)
2. If the player didnt win the MVP then he probably was a top 2-10 votegetter all the time (Yes, Lebron always was).
2. The player was maybe the best player in the NBA (Yes)

[pauk]

Excuse me? Care to use your braincells and express how you feel...

[pauk]

Didnt think so...

[Kblaze8855]

Im just waiting to see when people bring up Joe Fulks leading a title team and leading the NBA in scoring several time and ignore that he shot like 28% on 30 shots a game to do it and at times in his prime might go 6-35 and be praised for it. Being a poineer(one of the first jump shooters) and a dominant player...and a winner? Great. But where is Neil Johnston then? He might not make the top 100....look into what he did in those days. Anyone giving a ****?

Because you have hear George Mikans name more often he gets the credit for the entire era and guys who were right next to him get...what?

We tell the truth about them? Is Mikan beyond the truth being told?

Far as why it must be black and white....

Because if it isnt....its pretty much nonsense. You just cant give him credit for all he did and call him a top 20-25 player and not top 5-6....and you cant admit what he was and give him top 100. finding a happy medium is just bullshitting to get an easy answer you can live with.

Its just...pulling an umber out of your ass. Thats what it is. There is no "Well...he would probably be a 5 time MVP and he won such and such rings and built the brand of the NBA" and saying hes worse than Dirk or KG.

Either the things he does count or they dont. What...you deciding how many rings count? you giving him 20% credit? Who are you to judge what titles you never saw footage of him winning are worth?

And if you dont count all of them....what makes him better than Cowens or Reed with multiple titles while just...being better?

You almost have to find a cutoff point where you give guys a spot of honor as pioneers....or just pull a number out of your ass that you cant justify without disrespecting them and everyone else.

Cant tell Mikans era "your ring is only a 10th of a ring...." and act like youre showing them respect by ranking George top 25. You just disregarded what he actually did. where is the respect in that?

And you cant just say "Sorry Willis Reed....I know you had to contend with Wilt, Kareem, Russell, Lanier, and so on and got 2 rings and 2 finals MVPs along with an MVP....but Mikan is better...even if he isnt...because he did more...even though im not counting all he did based on the nothing I know about it".

Someone comes out disrespected.

[Kblaze8855]

Oh and player of the months? Saying someone has the most ever? When they started in the early 80s and at the time only one was given out per month not one for each conference?

And you have guysl ike Kelvin Ransley, Freeman williams, and so on winning over Moses malone, Bird, Magic, and Kareem? And Jordan in a 67 win season doing disgusting numbers loses out to Hornacek, Rodman, Detlef, and Glen Rice so on? Mike puts up 39/5/5 one month on a 50 win team and loses to Fat Lever for player of the month? shaq puts up 36/13 and loses to Payton? Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, and Cedric Ceballos winning over Jordan, Drob, Hakeem, Shaq, and company?

Its fairly clear here that this isnt or at least wasnt a "Best player" thing.

It is better than all star game MVP though........