NBA 50 Greatest - who should be added - past/present players

[mdardy]

Remember the NBA 50 Greatest players that came out a few years back. I would like to know who you feel should be added to this list to make it like NBA 75 greatest or 25 more or something. You can name past and present players.

Here are some of mine:
Kobe Bryant(passion for the game unrelentless)
Allen Iverson(maybe best little man ever, great scorer and heart)
Bob McAdoo(underrated - former MVP, 3 time scoring champ)
Bob Lanier(big shoes, big man, 20-10 career)
Tim Duncan(may supplant Karl Malone as greatest pf ever)
Tracy McGrady(similar to Garnett as far as team but incredibly versatile, long and can score anytime he wants)
Kevin Garnett(never led his team but will go down as maybe the most versatile)
Dennis Rodman(I know there will be some arguments here but look at the impact,rebounding, and championships)
Dirk Nowitzki(Great shooter, athletic big man that can put it on floor)
Reggie Miller(one of the best shooters and clutch players ever)
Gary Payton(The Glove locks them up and scores 20 a night)
Jason Kidd(best pg's ever)
Joe Dumars(leader, defensive wizard)
Chris Mullin(great shooter and passer)
Alonzo Mourning(great heart and determination every night)
Chris Webber(despite choking, still a consistent 20-10 man)
Vince Carter(sky high)
Dikembe Mutombo(great defender,rebounder)
Dominique Wilkins(didn't get props he deserved, played in wrong era:Isiah, Bird, Magic, Jordan)
Grant Hill(injuries aside, should be honored. Think Bill Walton)
Bernard King(filled it up on some sorry teams)
Dennis Johnson(great defender, played on mult. champ. teams)
Alex English(prolific scorer, overlooked)
Adrian Dantley(another prolific scorer and difficult to guard)
Tim Hardaway(killer crossover, 5-time All Star, injuries slowed down a good career)

[Old School Fool]

LeBron James



If you dont believe than you SUCK

[Vins15]

LeBron James



If you dont believe than you SUCK

i mean how would u know he could be a bust.... ur just like Lebron James/Jason Duncan...at least Lebron James/Jason Duncan is a bit more resonable then u...

and Nash should be added too...cuz he's been pretty good for the last two years...and showing he's one of top pgs in the league...i'd add Baron in too..cuz just cuz last year he was injured doesn't make him an all-star he's great...also Van Exel he was awsome the first few years at Denver..and talk about showtime with him and Jones..who also derserves to be on the list...although he's not the best now..despite of age..he could still contribute not to mention he was a all-star when he was with the Lakers...

[magius]

1. shaqille o'neal - he should be and he will be

2. tim duncan - already a back to back mvp, he will be

3. tracy mcgrady/kevin garnett/kobe -- they are all at the same level, but still at midpoint of careers, one or two or three good seasons doesnt equate top 50 ever. 90% sure they will be, but hey, things happen. even if they downslide from hereon they probably will be because they were the faces of the nba the past few years.

4. allen iverson -- best scoring little man ever? probably. debatably the quickest as well.

5. jason kidd -- one of the top 5 point guards ever? probably. my list would go: magic, kidd, isiah, stockton, and if oscar robertson is a point move him to 2nd and shove kidd to 3rd, etc..

these are the only players in the modern era that i think are a shoe in, there are a lot of players on the verge of course, but as i said, they're still young and can still be disproven or prove more (e.g. consistently good seasons, ability to eleveta teammates play, and most importantly championships) heres my list of on the verge:


1. dirk nowitzki -- arguably changed the nba, because he opened their eyes wider to the european talent pool and also because of his small forward/shooting guard skills in a big man frame.

2. chris webber -- im not really a fan, but he has had a brilliant career statistically and some competitive if maybe dissapointing playoffs

3. stephon marbury -- if he can stay a 20 and 8-9 player theres no reason he shouldnt be, what he needs to force the issue is a competitive and rememberful playoffs. he can still improve in my opinion as well since this off season he had his ankles cleaned out, and he played at a 20 and 9 rate injured last season.

3. paul pierce -- playoffs playoffs playoffs

4. steve francis -- mucho talent, mucho potential, lets see if he can stay the course.

5. jemraine o'neal/elton brand -- when i hear their name i just dont think 'dominating' and thats the knock. plus their playoffs (or in brands case lack thereof) have been somewhat average.

6. alonzo mourning/grant hill -- very debatable because of injuries, but if they had won championships before injury i'd say shoe in.

7. ben wallace -- defensive king show us a few more seasons of your greatness.

8 gary payton -- i somehow think 20 years from now no one will remember who he is.

[Andrew]

Shaq was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players.

Some guys who were left off that team, who probably could have replaced some of the guys who were on the team:

Dominique Wilkins
Bernard King
Bob McAdoo
Joe Dumars
Chris Mullin
Alex English
Adrian Dantley
Bob Lanier
Mark Aguirre

From more recent times:

Tim Duncan
Kobe Bryant
Grant Hill (Agree on the Walton point)
Allen Iverson
Jason Kidd
Kevin Garnett
Tracy McGrady
Vince Carter

Some others:

Tim Hardaway
Reggie Miller
Mitch Richmond
Dennis Rodman
Gary Payton
Alonzo Mourning
Dikembe Mutombo
Dennis Johnson

Along with the 50 Greatest, that makes 75.

[bballer22]

ok, all thoses player u named are all great players and every generation has great players, but obviosly top50 is looking for somehting els as just great players!! some will be added for sure but the rest are just plain good players! and u can almost put one player form every team on top 50 just coz they are good!

[GloveGuy]

I agree a lot with what SLAM did in their 75 Greatest Players Of All Time.

Gary Payton, in his prime, is better than Jason Kidd in my opinion. Kidd's good, but without a ring, I don't think he'll crack the top 50.

Many of these guys you guys mention are great players, but they just aren't top 50 material.

[Vins15]

well i'm not even sure that Scott Pipen should be on the 50 greatest player list..he's good but not superawsome...so he shouldn't be in the 50 greatest player list...all the champions Bulls won itz mostly won by Mike...

[Jackal]

well i'm not even sure that Scott Pipen should be on the 50 greatest player list..he's good but not superawsome...so he shouldn't be in the 50 greatest player list...all the champions Bulls won itz mostly won by Mike...

Have you seen Pip play in his prime? They only won because of Mike? I dont think you get it man, Pip was MJ's Robin...Pip was a very good player in his prime, Pip deserves to be a top 50 Players, he's great. Just because he played along side MJ in his prime, to some ppl his greatness didnt show up. Pip was still kind of is, a very very very good all around player. Score, Rebound and Dish, I totally dont agree with you. Did you SEE pippen play?? !!

[GloveGuy]

I agree. Pippen took the Bulls too the Conference Finals without MJ(which doesn't degrade MJ as a player). He was the Bulls best defensive player and certainly one of the best of all time.

1. shaqille o'neal - he should be and he will be

He IS on the list, not should or will be. He was on the Top 50 Greatest Players list(he got booed) and was #9 on SLAM's most recent list.

5. jason kidd -- one of the top 5 point guards ever? probably. my list would go: magic, kidd, isiah, stockton, and if oscar robertson is a point move him to 2nd and shove kidd to 3rd, etc..

He's great and all, but I just don't see him getting on it. Definitiley top 7 or 10 point guards ever, but I wouldn't call him top 50.

1. dirk nowitzki -- arguably changed the nba, because he opened their eyes wider to the european talent pool and also because of his small forward/shooting guard skills in a big man frame.

2. chris webber -- im not really a fan, but he has had a brilliant career statistically and some competitive if maybe dissapointing playoffs

3. stephon marbury -- if he can stay a 20 and 8-9 player theres no reason he shouldnt be, what he needs to force the issue is a competitive and rememberful playoffs. he can still improve in my opinion as well since this off season he had his ankles cleaned out, and he played at a 20 and 9 rate injured last season.

4. steve francis -- mucho talent, mucho potential, lets see if he can stay the course.

5. jemraine o'neal/elton brand -- when i hear their name i just dont think 'dominating' and thats the knock. plus their playoffs (or in brands case lack thereof) have been somewhat average.

7. ben wallace -- defensive king show us a few more seasons of your greatness.

Great for their eras, but not for all time.

8 gary payton -- i somehow think 20 years from now no one will remember who he is.

I'll remember him as the best ballhawk of his era, and definitely one of the best guard defenders of all time, the 1995-1996 Defensive Player Of The Year, the two time Olympic Gold Medalist, tied for most Defensive First Team selections(with Michael Jordan) and definitely guarded Michael Jordan better than most players.

You guys are basically mentioning all the stars of today. Only a select few of them will make the top 50, and will be classified as great players of the all time.

[Robby]

well i'm not even sure that Scott Pipen should be on the 50 greatest player list..he's good but not superawsome...so he shouldn't be in the 50 greatest player list...all the champions Bulls won itz mostly won by Mike...

You guys really need to think before you post and if you don't know anything about a subject (like Scottie's greatness) then go look it up before making yourself look like an idiot.

Michael Jordan said the best player he ever played against was Scottie Pippen. I think that comment alone makes Scottie worth a top 50 selection since Michael doesn't exactly praise other players. Also, Scottie would have won MVP of the 98 Finals had it not been for his back injury which he got due to drawing charges from Karl Malone and the rest of the Jazz. This kind of play makes Scottie great and those people who know the game of basketball realize Scottie's greatness while the superficial viewers like you think that the only reason Chicago won championships was because of Jordan.

If I had to pick an all time starting five, I would pick Scottie Pippen over any other small forward, and that includes Dr. J and Larry Bird. Scottie was the best defender ever at his postion. Without him the Bulls don't even win their first chamionship since Magic was picking apart Chicago's defense and when Scottie switched over to Magic, the Lakers stumbled. Socttie did the same type of thing against guys like John Stockton, Kevin Johnson, Mark Jackson, and many others. Without Scottie, the Bulls don't even win a single championship.

[Jackal]

This kind of play makes Scottie great and those people who know the game of basketball realize Scottie's greatness while the superficial viewers like you think that the only reason Chicago won championships was because of Jordan.

Don't worry bout it Robby, I doubt these guys have seen Scottie play when he was in Chicago, I think Vins15 based his opinion on seeing Pippen's play in Portland where he was just a mediocre player. They heard "ooh pippens good". When Pippen played in Portland, people expected him to be the great player they heard he was in Chicago and in Houston. They in a way feel he is overhyped based on his play in Portland.
Still if this is the way they see it, they should get their facts straight because its not like that.
Pippen is one of the best the NBA has, he was an awesome defensive player AND he was an awesome offensive player. Pippen was just as important as Jordan on that Bulls team.

The Bulls' success was a combination of many things, it was one of the best assembled teams in history of the NBA, the rings dont lie do they?

MJ, Pippen and Rodman were the core of the team. It was a beautiful team. I'm still to come across a team with as many talented players as the Bulls had. Not every player was an All-Star, but they all had their area's of specialty. They were good on paper, and they were even better on the court as a team.

Pippen not be in the top fifty has still got me laughing my ass off...Pippen doesnt deserve to be on the list but guys like Nowitzki are, damn thats just too much to handle.

Payton also deserves to be on the top fifty, he is very known for his defense, but people tend to downplay his offensive game. He can also get 20 points per game at will. Payton & Pippen deserve to be on the list.

[Robby]

Yeah, you're right. It just bothers me when people post stuff about which they have a strong opinion but they don't bother to check up on facts and end up making fools of themselves. It's just like people who for some odd reason think Michael Jordan made a three pointer to win Game 6 of the 98 Finals.

Another example is maguis who posted that Shaq should be on the list when he was on the list. Although Shaq did get booed by the Cleveland fans because he didn't attend the 97 All Star game half-time show because of his knee injury.

I thought the original 50 greatest players list was fine except for one thing. I thought Dominique should have been on the list instead of Shaq because Shaq had only played four years in the league at that point while Dominque at the time had a more decorated resume. Obviously, today Shaq would be taken over Dominque but back in 97 I think the Dominique deserved to be put on the list instead of Shaq.

[airtsinelas]

My biggest problem of having Shaq on that 50 Greatest Players list was he hasn't yet established himself as one of the greats of the NBA. Payton, Nowitzki, T-Mac, or even Kobe still hasnt established themselves, but maybe on the 75 team, they can be included.

However, why was Dominique and McAdoo were left off on those lists. Nique established himself as the human highlight film while McAdoo was a big guy who was unstoppable, can score in any night. Those guys earned their greatness, until they ended their playing careers and still at present.

[Dramacydal]

dr. j gotta be on there, he was the greatest till jordan came, and hes one of the 10 best players ever

[.]

dr. j gotta be on there, he was the greatest till jordan came, and hes one of the 10 best players ever

he was one of the 50 greatest players

[Dramacydal]

who you feel should be added to this list

oops sorry didnt read rite, thought it was one of those best-players-ever-threads...my bad

[Andrew]

However, why was Dominique and McAdoo were left off on those lists. Nique established himself as the human highlight film while McAdoo was a big guy who was unstoppable, can score in any night. Those guys earned their greatness, until they ended their playing careers and still at present.

Simple - they were underrated, same as Bernard King.

It's strange how talented athletes can achieve so much yet still go unnoticed and unheralded. I think Nique was written off as being flashy but unable to lead his team deep into the playoffs. He was seen as someone you could always count on for a highlight, but not as a player who could carry his team to a title.

Bob McAdoo just didn't get the exposure. His teams were never among the NBA's elite, and by the time he was on a championship team he had settled into a backup role. Individual success is often undermined by a lack of team success.

Take the MJ vs Wilt debate for example. Wilt scored 100 points and averaged 50.4 ppg, but despite his dominance his teams didn't win - by the time the Stilt was winning two titles, he was no longer a dominant offensive force, at least not statistically. MJ not only scored a lot of points, he did so while being a part of six championship teams. That by no means settles the debate, but it's a common argument in a lot of discussions. Individual success is made all the more greater by team success.

[Jackal]

Individual success is made all the more greater by team success.

At the end of the day, basketball is a teamsport, if you're team isnt winning, whats the use of averaging 50 sumthing points per game?

I agree about Dr. J, till today he is known "only" as an extremely good dunker.

[GloveGuy]

Adrian Dantley definitely deserves to be on that list. He averaged 24 points throughout his career, and 30 points in four seasons. He was short for a shooting guard, and the ROY in '77. He also had an amazing FG%, .540.

[Robby]

Individual success is made all the more greater by team success.

At the end of the day, basketball is a teamsport, if you're team isnt winning, whats the use of averaging 50 sumthing points per game?

I agree about Dr. J, till today he is known "only" as an extremely good dunker.

I kind of agree with the team-success being a factor but I don't think it should be as big of a factor as people make it out to be. To me, if a guy averages 50ppg on a lower seeded playoff team and another guy puts up 25ppg on a championship team, the guy with 50ppg is the better player even though he couldn't take his team very far.

One thing I believe the list should have done was not reward potential but rather actual accomplishments. If this were true, then Bill Walton and Shaq would'nt be on the original 50 greatest players list and guys like Dominique and Bod MaCadoo would be.

[air gordon]

well i'm not even sure that Scott Pipen should be on the 50 greatest player list..he's good but not superawsome...so he shouldn't be in the 50 greatest player list...all the champions Bulls won itz mostly won by Mike...

You guys really need to think before you post and if you don't know anything about a subject (like Scottie's greatness) then go look it up before making yourself look like an idiot.

Michael Jordan said the best player he ever played against was Scottie Pippen. I think that comment alone makes Scottie worth a top 50 selection since Michael doesn't exactly praise other players. Also, Scottie would have won MVP of the 98 Finals had it not been for his back injury which he got due to drawing charges from Karl Malone and the rest of the Jazz. This kind of play makes Scottie great and those people who know the game of basketball realize Scottie's greatness while the superficial viewers like you think that the only reason Chicago won championships was because of Jordan.

If I had to pick an all time starting five, I would pick Scottie Pippen over any other small forward, and that includes Dr. J and Larry Bird. Scottie was the best defender ever at his postion. Without him the Bulls don't even win their first chamionship since Magic was picking apart Chicago's defense and when Scottie switched over to Magic, the Lakers stumbled. Socttie did the same type of thing against guys like John Stockton, Kevin Johnson, Mark Jackson, and many others. Without Scottie, the Bulls don't even win a single championship.

great post. don't let pip's past few years overshadow his greatness. the guy has been in the playoffs every year in his career and played on 2 olympic teams. it's obvious all those minutes logged are catching up with him but he can still make a positive impact on a team (see blazers record when he was in the lineup. sorry don't know the stat off hand)

and i also agree that slam's 75 list was good

wilkins definitely belongs in the top 50

[LeBron James]

tim duncan(unstopable),jason kidd(best pg ever)and vince(human highlight film 2)
those players must belong to 50 greatest players of all time.

[VCFAN]

I dont understand How the NBA 50 greatest players work. So if someone gets inducted into the 50 greatest players than does someone who is already on the list get kicked off. Because technically there would be 51 players and it would continually get bigger and bigger if no one ever got kicked off.

[Robby]

During the 96-97 season (the NBA's 50th season), the league came up with a list of it's 50 greatest players of all time. Then, during the all-star game in Cleveland, at halftime, the 50 greatest players were introduced to the crowd. I think all of them were there except for Shaq (injured), Jerry West (don't know why he wasn't there), and Pistol Pete (who died a decade ago but was represented by his two sons). Ever since then, there have been lists made like Slam's 75 greatest players but there was only one official 50 greatest players list made by the NBA.