I'm coming out of my NBA Closet Magic's the best ever part 1
I have been torn between many things on basketball, Like not likeing shaq for the longest time to finalling realizing he is the best center ever,or Karl Malone and Charles Barkley being way over rated, which is true, and to holding onto a belief that magic was the best ever, becuase he did so much more on the court then Jordan did, but finally being swayed the other way because it seems like everyone won't except an arguement besides Jordan siteing his 6 championships, and his total demolation of the league for 6 years, but i've had enough Magic Johnson is the single greatest player that has ever graced this planet. I came to this conclusion the other day watching NBA TV, which i'm absolutely hooked on. I came to this realation in a two part process, I was watching the 87 lakers play a radom regular season game without Kareem who's sky hook not Jordan's fade away is the greatest single weapon of any player in the history of the game. Magic dropped 46 on the Nuggets just like jordan did so many times, but the thing about it was Magic did it becuase he had too becuase karem was out. Magic aveaged something like 35 points for 20 or so games without Kareem i believe proving if he wanted to score like Jordan did he could have average between 28 and 35 a game for god's sakes he's a 6'9 point gaurd. At the end of show about the 87 lakers they showed the lakers dropping 141 in four quarters on the Celtics, On the celtics it wasn't like Jordan beating up on an overrated ewing and starks this was Bird, Parish, Mchale, Ainge, Walton, Dennis Johnson. I decided then that i would rather have a guy who's was a constant triple double threat that lead the attack of team who could get 141 points in 48 minutes then Jordan who could score 50 but the team would only get 100. The second thing that made me come to this conclusion was 1979 Magic in the finals without Kareem, played center and won the deciding game six out of postion, Sorry Jordan you couldn't have done that, you were a 2 or 3, you couldn't have played all five positions and been sucessful. America's attention span lasts about one year, in a what have you done lately media driven frenzy, if magic had played mainly in the nineties and jordan in the eighties Jordan would be number 2 not number 1. Also i think Jordan loses out becuase the stars of his generations don't compare to Magics, or even today. Let's say yout put together a team of 12 guys we remember from the eighties Two from each postion meaning 2 pg and so on even adding 2 wildcard guys from each decade and then number them 1 through six on who's the best, meaning low score played in the greatest decade. MVP, finals appeacnes, stats, and team achievementy apply.
PGs 80'sMagic 1 Isiah 2 90's Stockon 4 Payton 6 00's Kidd 4 Nash 5
SGs 80'sDr. Jay 2 Dom Wilkins 4 90's Joradn 1 Drexler 5 00's Iverson 3 Mcgrady 6
SFs 80'sBird 1 B. King 6 90's Pippen 3 Barkley 4 Kobe 2 Dirk 5
PFs 80's Mchale 4 Walton 5 90's Malone 3 Skinny Kemp 6 00's Duncan 1 Garnett 2
C 80's Kareem 2 Parish 4 90's Hakeem 3 D. Robsion 5 00's Shaq 1 Ming 6
WC 80's Worthy 1 Macadoo 4 90's Ewing 5 Richmond 6 00's Wade 2 Lebron 3
Total please
all 80's team had 36
All 90's team had 50
All 00's team had 39
Meaning Magic for right now played in a way better era than Jordan who's competetion is over rated. Depending on how careers pan out the 00 might end up better
Some of you are wondering how i came to these rankings Magic number 1 no brainer, Isiah right after because he won two titles and until iverson was the greatest under 6 foot player, kidd three becuase he's like second or third in triple doubles, plus he's seasons with nets winning with Jefferson and martin look better than Stockon who owns the assist record and could shoot the three but had Karl Malone who is way better than martin, Nash fifth becuase of his two mvps over the glove.
shooting guards Jordan is the best but not light years ahead of Dr. Jay, iverson might be pound for pound the best ever too bad he's only 6'0" and 160 pounds,Wilkens, Drexler, and Mcgrady are all scorers but Wilkens seems to me the best of the bunch, Drexzler over Mcgrady becuase he has a ring and Mcgrady last because of playoff failures so far but Mcgrady can take over the forth spot before his career is over.
Small Fowards, Larry the legend is the best, plain and simple, Bryant second becuase he's only 28 and is in the conversation has the best ever, if he wins a ring with out shag he might leap frog Bird,Pippen and Barkley are interchangeable but i like pippen's game better, Dirk and King are the same player different eras but Dirk has been to the finals.
Power fowards, Tim Duncan is simpley the best ever no question, i put Kevin Garnett second becuase i personally believe if you switch Tim and Keven's location Kevein has all the rings, the man is a 7 footer who can gaurd any body in the L at any postion and might possibly have ahd the worst supporting cast of all time. Karl Malone 3rd becuase of all the points he scored but he never took over the L. Mchale forth because of his pedigree and Grit walton fifth becuase of his passing skills, play in the early eighties, and if not for his bad feet he'd be number 2, and Skinny shawn Kemp the man was a beast but filtered out if he didn't screw up his life he would have won a title against one of those late Joradn teams nad surpassed Malone has a better poward foward.
Center Shaq the man avergae something like 35 and 25 in finals who does that, Kareem is more like 1A than 2 but you can't go wrong with Kareem, Hakeem demolished the L for two years, and i wish i would have seen him against a jordan lead team. Parish Forth because he again like Mchale battle on grit and guts, Robison Fifth because he could never get over the hump until Timmy came to town, and Ming because there is really no other established center, yoa might rise in the rankings or get replaced by Dwight Howard
The Wild Cards this was the hardest to judge becuase there's no telling how good Wade and Lebron can get Wade might end up the second greatest point guard of all time, or settle into the a shooting guard role and end up number two there, or go down as the greatest ever, Lebron as well could subplant every small foward on the list and even surpass Magic and Jordan,meaning the Two thouseands would be the hardest era ever, and i left of Vince Carter becuase he's not better than Any of the 2 or 3's except maybe dirk in some people's minds. I put Big games james first but i think he's only keeping the spot warm, wade 2nd becuase he had a ring when he was top dog, and lebron 3rd but one could argue that If lebron had Shaq, Macadoo was one hell of a scorer and even one an mvp, EWing was basically the 3rd best center in the nineties but just wasn't good enough, and Richmond was dimed the 2nd best by Jordan himself who's to argue.
Jordan play by far in the worst decade of basketball yet he's the best, i just don't see it my top ten of players i have seen would go like this. Dr. Jay being left out becuase while i know he's better than iverson i only remember the Dr. jay who got burnt by bird.
1magic
2Jordan
3Bird
4Shaq
5Duncan
6Kareem
7 Hakeem
8Iverson
9 Bryant
10 Isiah Thomas
In part two i will show how magic's teams were the best out of these ten meaning i'll take the best era's from these guys greatest seasons and see who i would think would come out on top. even giving Jordan two teams becuase if two great runs leaving out combining Kareem's teams with Magic and Shag and Kobe.
Meaning Magic teams from 87 to 89 back to back titles are in
Jordans Teams from 91 to 93 and 95 to 98 being the other
Bird's 86 team
Shaq' three peat team,
Duncan's last two titles teams, first one don't count lock out season
Kareem's back to back teams from the ninities
Isiah back to back title teams
No iverson team they never won a title
every thing is a work in progress, and don't pack it away like your a squirell saving nuts for winter, share it with everyone
jp
posted by The hipster Cedar rapids @ 9:04 AM
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