The Top 50 Revisited
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by user Batb
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www.boovaandthebeast.blogspot.com
Back in 1996 the NBA, in an attempt to honor those whose talent and dedication had led the league to prominence, decided to name a list of its 50 greatest players of all-time. Almost immediately, fans and media alike started wondering out loud the same two questions: "Did they get it right (read: Who got screwed?)?" and "How would players of the present and future change the list?".
While the first question was very relevant at the time, eleven years later it's not really worth debating anymore. The second question, however, becomes more and more pressing with every draft class that comes into the NBA. In an attempt to provide an answer, the NBA and TNT decided to release a list of the "Next 10" every ten years, essentially naming to the squad a combination of players who barely missed the cut the first time around and/or were not yet established at that time (First list: Duncan, Kobe, Nique, AI, McAdoo, KG, Reggie Miller, Connie Hawkins, Kidd, Payton). While most (including myself) think this idea to be perfectly appropriate, it's not nearly as much fun as the alternative: kicking people the hell off the list.
The NBA's original list can essentially be broken down into two very broad categories. First, there are the Untouchables. In other words, under no circumstances can any "greatest" list be compiled without the following names: Abdul-Jabbar (simply because he is the all-time scoring leader), Bird, Chamberlain, Dr. J, Frazier, Magic, Michael, Moses Malone, Shaq, the Big "O", Russell, West.
The other 38 names fall into the other category, those who can be replaced (calling them the Touchables just has a creepy Jack-O vibe to it). The names: Archibald, Arizin, Barkley, Barry, Baylor, Bing, Cousy, Cowens, Cunningham, DeBusschere, Drexler, Ewing, Gervin, Greer, Havlicek, Hayes, Sam Jones, Lucas, Maravich, Karl Malone, McHale, Mikan, Monroe, Hakeem, Parish, Pettit, Pippen, Reed, Robinson, Schayes, Sharman, Stockton, Isiah, Thurmond, Unseld, Walton, Wilkens, Worthy.
(Now, before anyone has a hissy fit, I realize that it is insane to try to lump these 50 into only two groups. For instance, is it fair to say that Charles Barkley and Karl Malone are equivalent to Dave DeBusschere and Hal Greer? Absolutely not. But the point is, if a dominant power forward came along in 40 years and won eight titles, and all lesser players on the list had been replaced, wouldn't you have to include said mythical player on the list? Absolutely.)
So, who in today's game (cut off at the Oden-Durant draft class) would be on the list, say, twenty years from now? And, more importantly, who would they replace? For starters, let's revisit that first addendum:
Tim Duncan over Bill Walton -- I know, I know, Walton was probably one of the five or six most talented big men of all time, but his career was about injuries as much as his MVP award, and players on the 50 Greatest List don't get points for being named Sixth Man of the Year. You won't see Mike Miller when this is all said and done either. Duncan's work speaks for itself, and he makes the jump into the Untouchables category.
Kobe Bryant over Nate Thurmond -- Pretty easy call here. Even though they didn't play the same position, both were surrounded by star players during stretches of their careers. Kobe won titles with Shaq, while Thurmond didn't while playing alongside Rick Barry and Jerry Lucas. Even my Cleveland bias won't let me keep Big Nate on the list, and Kobe takes his rightful place in the Untouchables alongside Duncan.
Jason Kidd over John Stockton -- Barring a trade in the next couple of years, Kidd and Stockton will go down as two of the greatest point guards to never win an NBA title. Both made their presence felt with their court vision and defense, but Kidd is a triple-double threat every time he takes the floor, so he gets the nod despite letting his then-crazy-bitch-of-a-wife nix a free-agency move to San Antonio that would have led to playing alongside Tim Duncan rather than Vince Carter.
Kevin Garnett over Dave Cowens -- This decision comes down to your definition of "great". If you value titles more than skill and numbers, then Cowens is your man. If you like individual accolades, the obvious choice is Garnett. Both played into and through their prime with the team that drafted them, with the difference being Cowens landing on the greatest franchise in basketball history and KG ending up in freaking Minnesota where Kevin McHale has surrounded him with the likes of Latrell Sprewell, Ricky Davis and Wally Sczerbiak. KG is in due to the fact that he possesses one of the most complete games ever seen in a big man, and if he wins a title late in his career it's not even debatable.
Allen Iverson over Lenny Wilkens -- Again, it's probably best described as a generational thing. Wilkens thrived as a team player and a great passer of the basketball. Allen Iverson is a shoot-first point guard who is viewed as Basketball Satan by anyone over the age of forty. While AI's plight is another column in itself, I will say this: he is the most misunderstood athlete in the history of professional sports, and I pray to god he somehow finds a way to win a title to shut his critics up. The bottom line is his lack of post-season success can be attributed to the lack of talent surrounding him throughout his career, and not to his neck-tattoos or rap music. I'll take Iverson any day.
While AI, KG, Duncan, Kidd and Kobe are established NBA stars and (save Kobe) starting the downside of their careers, there are undoubtedly others in today's game that would be included on any list 20 years from now. Some are in their primes as I write this, some haven't even begun to realize how great they can be. While it's too early to predict what they will do in the next 10-15 years, I'm confident the following changes would be made to the 50 greatest in the future as long as a few things happen...
LeBron James and Dwayne Wade over Scottie Pippen and James Worthy -- This is where the decisions get infinitely tougher. Pippen had Jordan, Worthy had Magic. Wade has Shaq on the downside of his career, LeBron has nobody and won't until he bolts Cleveland in three years. That being said, as long as James starts playing defense and Wade just holds the course, both would be locks to be included. Pippen is out due in large part to the fact that the list should never include somebody who asks out of a game because they aren't getting their way. Worthy...he's out because we can only include 50.
Nash and Nowitzki over Bill Sharman and Robert Parish -- Nash and Dirk only get in if they win titles. Sharman only gets knocked out by another position-defining point guard with a title. The Chief...I probably should have kicked him off sooner, or maybe thrown him down the stairs like he did to his ex-wife, allegedly.
With those four, I'm comfortable putting them on and also pointing out who they would replace. For the next few, it's possible, but it's going to take some major convincing for various reasons.
Carmelo Anthony -- Needs a title and to play defense Chris Paul -- Needs a new team or some drastic changes to his current one Tracy McGrady -- Needs acupuncture and a miracle Yao -- Needs a title and 8-10 more healthy years Chris Bosh -- Needs to get the F#$% out of Canada Gilbert Arenas -- Needs therapy Dwight Howard -- Needs health and a more complete offensive game Kevin Durant -- Needs a lottery fix Greg Oden -- Needs to develop and play with a great point guard
So, without further ado, your 50 Greatest in 2027:
Kareem, Tiny, Arizin, Barkley, Barry, Baylor, Bing, Bird, Kobe, Wilt, Cousey, Cunningham, Clyde the Glide, DeBusschere, Duncan, Dr. J, (gulp) Ewing, Clyde Frazier, KG, Gervin, Greer, Hondo, Hayes, AI, LeBron, Jordan, Magic, Sam Jones, Jerry Lucas, Jason Kidd, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Pistol Pete, McHale, Mikan, Monroe, Nash, Dirk, Olajuwon, Shaq, Pettit, Reed, Oscar, David Robinson, Russell, Schayes, Isiah, Unseld, West, and D-Wade.
--Beast
Sorry, I would never ever ever take Kidd over Stockton. Stock was a better passer (see: #1 on All-Time assists) a better shooter (by FAR) and a much better defender. Stockton EARNED his consecutive losses by winning the very dominant Western conference then barely lost to the greatest team of all time, Kidd got in his consecutive Finals by default and never sniffed victory. Kidd is a better rebounder, I'll give you that (but would Kidd NEED to rebound with Mailman on his team?)
Pippen is top 50. His body of work is too great to boot for Wade (6 rings vs 1).