NBA Arguments Tangent Thread

Four nights ago I was eating pork chops and listening to meatloaf.  I read this whole thread.

It was beautiful, man.  Beautiful. :smokin

 
Let's revive this thread to talk about my Warriors and how Steph Curry is finally being elevated to the all-time great discussion.

I would also take this opportunity to admit I'm reconsidering my view on Kevin Durant's greatness. Still an unprecedented talent, but not a leader and not a true winner, hence not as "great." 

And his teammate, Kyrie Irving? Jesus that dude has talent but wow......his brain is destroying his legacy. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
Let's revive this thread to talk about my Warriors and how Steph Curry is finally being elevated to the all-time great discussion.
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I don't know if there can be any argument about Curry being one of the greatest shooters in history.  Probably the greatest.  And, by extension, one of the greatest players ever.

Guy Chamberlin said:
I would also take this opportunity to admit I'm reconsidering my view on Kevin Durant's greatness. Still an unprecedented talent, but not a leader and not a true winner, hence not as "great." 
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I'd agree on Durant.  Exceptional talent, but a notch down from the greats.

Guy Chamberlin said:
And his teammate, Kyrie Irving? Jesus that dude has talent but wow......his brain is destroying his legacy. 
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A couple of fries short of a Happy Meal.

 
Mavric said:
I don't know if there can be any argument about Curry being one of the greatest shooters in history.  Probably the greatest.  And, by extension, one of the greatest players ever.
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I think a lot of people were willing to give him the greatest shooter title, but kept him out to the Top 20 discussions because they still considered him one-dimensional, and/or the beneficiary of Kevin Durant's two title years. Can't say I entirely disagreed, but the way he stepped up to win his fourth NBA title really did make a statement. 

 
In 1996, just before the beginning of the 96-97 season, the NBA announced their "50 Greatest Players."

I think they've updated that list a few times, but I'm posting the original. I haven't really watched the NBA since Jordan retired. 

Aside from Kobe, LeBron and (apparently) Curry, what players would you consider adding to this list? This list covered the NBA's first fifty years, and there's been another 25 since it was published. There have to be a dozen guys worthy of being added, right?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Nate Archibald
Paul Arizin
Charles Barkley
Rick Barry
Elgin Baylor
Dave Bing
Larry Bird
Wilt Chamberlain
Bob Cousy
Dave Cowens
Billy Cunningham
Dave DeBusschere
Clyde Drexler
Julius Erving
Patrick Ewing
Walt Frazier
George Gervin
Hal Greer
John Havlicek
Elvin Hayes
Magic Johnson
Sam Jones
Michael Jordan
Jerry Lucas
Karl Malone
Moses Malone
Pete Maravich
Kevin McHale
George Mikan
Earl Monroe
Hakeem Olajuwon
Shaquille O’Neal
Robert Parish
Bob Pettit
Scottie Pippen
Willis Reed
Oscar Robertson
David Robinson
Bill Russell
Dolph Schayes
Bill Sharman
John Stockton
Isiah Thomas
Nate Thurmond
Wes Unseld
Bill Walton
Jerry West
Lenny Wilkens
James Worthy

 
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Tim Duncan 

Kevin Durant 

Allen Iverson

Dirk Nowititzki

Kevin Garnnett

Dwayne Wade 

Jason Kidd

Steve Nash

We're still in the middle of Giannis Antetokounmpo's career, but I think he makes the list. 

John Stockton straddled the eras. A lot of NBA greats say he's under-rated

Kawhi Leonard could or should be on this list, but he's disappeared from the game too many times

Some folks will make the case for Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, but I just can't do it. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
Wait a minute. They already did this. And apparently they didn't listen to me.

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75th-anniversary-team-announced
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Picking a Top 20 from that group is pretty tough.  But if I had to take a stab at it, I'd go:

Kareem, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, Kobe, Wilt, Cousy, Duncan, Dr. J, LeBron, Magic, Jordan, Moses Malone, Maravich, Shaq, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Stockton, Walton, West

Which I know is only 19.  But I'm not sure who would be my 20th.  Candidates for the last spot would probably be Curry, Frazier, Havlicek, Hayes, Karl Malone and Earl Monroe.  So I guess that would be my Top 25.

Shaq pains me some because he's far from the most skilled but definitely one of the most dominant.

I do think Stockton is underrated.  Still the all-time assist leader and it's not close.  Still the all-time steals leader and it's not close.

 
Every time I see there's a new post in the Shed I think there's something interesting going on. Instead you guys are just in here sniffing each other's fingers

 
Mavric said:
Picking a Top 20 from that group is pretty tough.  But if I had to take a stab at it, I'd go:

Kareem, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, Kobe, Wilt, Cousy, Duncan, Dr. J, LeBron, Magic, Jordan, Moses Malone, Maravich, Shaq, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Stockton, Walton, West

Which I know is only 19.  But I'm not sure who would be my 20th.  Candidates for the last spot would probably be Curry, Frazier, Havlicek, Hayes, Karl Malone and Earl Monroe.  So I guess that would be my Top 25.

Shaq pains me some because he's far from the most skilled but definitely one of the most dominant.

I do think Stockton is underrated.  Still the all-time assist leader and it's not close.  Still the all-time steals leader and it's not close.
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Thanks for mentioning Moses Malone. He gets left off a lot of lists but was my favorite player for years.

 
Whenever I watched Jordan he was pretty much always the best player on the court. And it was pretty obvious. 

I just can't say that about LeBron or Curry or any of these guys.  Maybe Kobe.

Curry is pretty much always the best shooter, but Jordan was an elite defender as well.

 
The Dude said:
Curry is pretty much always the best shooter, but Jordan was an elite defender as well.
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I originally started a different post about Curry and how great of a shooter he is. 

Then I looked at this year's stats.  He was #59 in the NBA this year in 3-point percentage.  I was pretty shocked by that.  Now, his average distance probably leads the league.  But that means he's probably taking a lot of not-very-good shots.  But he takes so many there's always plenty for the highlights.

 
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