Oscar Robinson was a guard.

Biggest ommission is Duncan who has to be top 2 on the forward list

Top 5 Big Men
1. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Shaquile O'Neal
4. Bill Russell
5. George Mikan

Top 5 Forwards
1. Larry Bird
2. Tim Duncan (thanks to The Champ)
3. Elgin Baylor
4. Karl Malone
5. Julius Erving

Top 5 Guards
1. Michael Jordan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Oscar Robertson
4. Magic Johnson
5. Jerry West

Thanks for the feedback Champ, Do u agree to through him in above Magic? My Fav players is magic so it hurt me to put him above Magic

Duncan is a great player with success behind him so good thinking

O L A J U W O N !!!!!!

ESPN offers fans the chance to rank the best NBA players of all time...

Here is the link: http://linky.com.au/kp6j5

Once you have a crack...check out the results!

here is what ESPN has to say with peoples feedback


Points
1 Michael Jordan 1,233,553
2 Magic Johnson 1,024,894
3 Kobe Bryant 923,353
4 K. Abdul-Jabbar 867,758
5 Larry Bird 834,081
6 Bill Russell 830,214
7 Wilt Chamberlain 812,275
8 Jerry West 563,022
9 Oscar Robertson 517,745
10 Shaquille O'Neal 517,349
11 Julius Erving 509,164
12 Tim Duncan 446,162
13 Hakeem Olajuwon 431,823
14 George Mikan 302,707
15 Moses Malone 299,026

Lethal 5, I know Hakeem olajuwon was a Great centre would u place him over George Mikan???

He definetly wouldnt be higher then 5th tho

People dont understand what George Mikan did for the game He Revolutioned the centre position and helped create the future centresin this league including Olajuwon???

People thoughts?

I'm not sure Mikan revolutionised the centre position, he was just the first great player when the league started. Of course he was great. But, IMO, Olajuwon is one of the most skilled big men the league has ever seen. He's in my top 5 centres, I'm just not sure where! Remember, he tore Shaq a new one back in the '95 Finals (I know Shaq was young). He's up there for sure!

Mikan created the centre position by being the first real big man and i know u can argue that there was no one else in his time but he created the game he helped create the great game we love today

Then later down the track players play Russell, Chamberlain, Kareem, Olajuwon have redefined the position by adding there own foot print

David Robinson is awesome as well

Where would you rank him with Hakeem and Mikan?

Im assuming as well that there is no complaint with the top 4???

And its the 5th pick that could be different

Wow, i never realised just how under rated Hakeem was.....He is the best defensive centre of all time!! I'd have him before wilt, bill russell, mikan and shaq!For me Hakeem and Kareem are the top 2 centres all time.

Top 5 Centres:
Kareem Abdul-Jabar
Hakeem Olajuwon
Shaq O'Neal
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain

Top 5 Forwards:
Larry Bird
Tim Duncan
Elgin Baylor
Moses Malone
Karl Malone

Top 5 Guards
Michael Jordan
Oscar Robertson
Magic Johnson
Kobe Bryant
Jerry West

No deal, Have u just look at his stats of something?

No, i have seen more than just stats, should i assume your not as familiar with his career as you are with Shaq, Kareem etc?? But I guess thats the beauty of these types of discussions isn't it? I'm sure Lakers fans will say Kareem & Shaq are the greatest big men of all time, Celtics fans will have their case for Russell, Knicks fans will want Ewing in there somewhere.

Hey guys, I always really liked Olajuwon as a player, but I think you're overdoing it a bit to put him at #2 all time for centres. Of course it depends on what factors you value the most, but I think the number of titles and the degree of dominance you had over your peers is pretty important.

For that reason, I don't think you can go past Russell at #1. The guy was by far the most important player on a team that won 11 championships in his thirteen seasons!

Despite giving up a massive size advantage to Wilt Chamberlain, he always came out on top because he made his team mates better.

Mentally, he was probably the most dominant player of all time. He not only out-thought his opponents, he destroyed them psychologically.

I rate Abdul-Jabbar second because he did have 6 titles and was the most dominant centre in the NBA for about a decade.

I'd like to rate Olajuwon ahead of Shaq, but its tough to do that when the Big Aristotle has 2 more rings.

Olajuwon was on some good teams early in his career (going to the Finals in '86) but he wasn't able to lead his team to dominance until late in his career.

In the end, I'd put him on a par with Wilt.

Nice post beantown, like i said previously, everyone has their case for their favourite players.

I think its hard to read too much into how many championships a player gets. I totally agree that its a factor but you have to look at the teams those players were on to really rate how much that championship means to their ranking for the GOAT.

I think that a factor just as important as the number of championships is to look at the calibre of opposition each player came up against at their position throughout their careers.

No Deal, you nailed that list right on the head.

Thanks for the tallies "The Banker". I can't believe that Kobe polled 3rd.

Once again... people are rating Kobe over the greats. I'm mean... Kobe over Bird?!

WTF mate.

Bill Simmons did a good job in his basketball book doing a top 100 rating (except for having Iverson so high), there were some things in there about The Big O not being a great teammate, and caring too much about numbers, etc.

That said I never saw him play, and I'm a big time Magic fan so my biased opinion would be to put magic ahead of Oscar.

That centre spot is tough, very objective. So many valid arguments for pushing certain players above others.

I'd be ready to push Lebron into the foward spot as he has already played in the finals, won mvps, and based on future projections (i'd push the mailman out).

Yeh i was torn on Lebron for my list....my thinking was that if he retired tomorrow where would he sit? probably just outside of the top 5....no doubt in 10 years time he will be right there for GOAT but its hard to put him there before he is even halfway through his career.

Im big for not being able to compare players from different positions so i dont have opinion on whether Bird is better then Kobe

I think its impossible to compare

I certainly do agree with No deal about Lebron still to early to put him top 5

I really cant argue with Beantown in regards to Bill Russell especially when the NBA named the NBA finals MVP after him

Just clarify, No Deal, I wasn't saying Russ is the GOAT. Just the #1 centre.

I agree that the players on your team and the opponents you face are very important. That is part of why I rate Russell. Russell is the #1 reason Wilt didn't finish with half a dozen or more championships.

Likewise, with Russell's team mates - a lot of very good players, sure - but without his defence and ability to start their fast break, IMO the Celtics of the 60s would have been lucky to win even one title.

I liken it to the current Celtics team. Even this season, with KG clearly diminished as a player, he was still the most important player on the team. Without him quarterbacking their defence, they'd be like they were in 2009 - a collection of gifted offensive players who can't get enough stops against good teams to win.

Centers definatley the hardest to rank those guys in order, but Russell would have to be 1st, then in my opinion it goes Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq, Wilt. Still think Magic is the best point guard ever and therefore would rank him 1 below Jordan, but above Kobe and Oscar. I remember reading something about Oscar's stats being completely misleading because of the differnet style and pace of the game back then when teams would take upwards of 120 shots a game. I remember the article did all these analytical stats and all that jazz about per whatever etc (haha, dont really know how it works) and then showed roughly what Big O's averages would be in todays game and it wasn't that impressive...and in relation...based on LeBron's per-whatever this rating was using his current stats, he'd be getting way above a triple double with at least 40 points

always kill me to see Mailman behind Duncan. He's definitely a better player than Duncan IMO

Earl 'The Goat' Manigault would be on the list if he stayed off the hard stuff!

Duncan is the players' player.

LA Boy, watch the 97 and 98 finals series and remind yourself why Duncan is always ranked ahead of Malone.

Anyone who thinks Karl Malone is a better player then Duncan obviously has a limited knoweldge of the sport of basketball and what makes a good player.

Instead of just saying Duncan is better then Malone can someone please give some reason to why they think so

In my mind they very simular player Both have a very good understanding of how basketball should be played, Both are great offensive weapons

Duncan has a great baseline post move shot and The mailman delievered very consistently from mid range.
Both players have benefited from having a talented point guard.(Stockton & Parker)

Both players had great mentor/coaches to help them grow until future Hall of Famer. (Sloan/Popovich)

What are the reason why people beleive Duncan is better then Malone?

Malone v Duncan Comparison

2 NBA MVP 2
13 All Star 12
11 NBA 1st Team 9
2 NBA 2nd Team 3
1 NBA 3rd Team 1
3 Def 1st Team 8
1 Def 2nd Team 5
2 All Star MVP 1

Career Averages

25 Points 21.1
10.1 Rebounds 11.6
3.6 Assist 3.2
1.41 Steals 0.8

This shows very simular but Duncan clearly is a better defensively then Malone but Malone is better offensively.

Other notetable difference is that Duncan has 4 NBA Rings and 3 NBA Finals MVPs
But remember Malone played in a few NBA Finals but he happened to come up against Jordan.

Easy..

Duncan wins

Malone choked.

Plus Duncan is one of the most fundamentally sound players in the game, Malone relied on strength, and could not dominate without Stockton putting the ball in his hands.

Duncan won with Avery Johnson FFS!

I tend to agree with DB5 on the the Malone vs Duncan debate.

I know Avery Johnson was no where near as good as Stockton but back in 98/99 season he averaged 7.4 ass a game and was the starting point guard in the NBA champions so he must have been an ok guard

Dont forget David Robinson was also on the team too!

And dont disregard Karl Malones style of play, relying on his strength got him to scoring more points then anyone else in the NBA besides Kareem Abdul Jabbar but Kareem played about 100 years in the NBA.

but i will agree that Duncan is better then Malone but Karl Malone is very close behind him

Johnson was good, but answer me this, would Malone have won if he was swapped for Duncan?
No, I think the Stockton to Malone factor is massive. Duncan has way more weapons to use.

Also Robinson won nothing until he got Duncan and he could play second fiddle.

How did Malone go with the '04 stacked Lakers team? ah that's right...more interested in Kobe's wife ha ha.. : )

I actually dont see why a starting lineup of

David Robinson
Karl Malone
Sean Elliot
Mario Ellie
Avery Johnson

wouldnt win the NBA championship, That was equally as good or even better then the lineup with duncan in it

in 98/99 Malone was better then Duncan easily,
yes robinson was nothing without duncan

but Jordan was just another 25+ scorer until Pippen arrived

Shaq was nothing until Kobe grew into a superstars

Im a massive lakers fan and im more interested in Kobes wife!

A team that stacked with players who demand the ball was never going to win, they were constantly running into each other, they are lucky they made it to the NBA finals

Lineup looks good, my comment was more about Malone scored so well, because Stockton put it on a platter for him in his favourite scoring positions. Stockton was also a 20ppg player from memory. Malone would not be as high a scorer without Stockton (unless he played wth Nash or Kidd). Put him with John Paxson, and see what he scores!

in 98/99 Malone was better then Duncan easily

Statistic show that duncan was better but i actually was meaning in understanding of the game

Malone was well into his career and duncan was in his 2nd year i think

Karl Malone was a far better basketballer at that time, Duncan was still learning all the things that made him the smartest big man in 2000's.

Stockton stats for 98/99 was 11.1 points and 7.5 ass so he was slightly better then avery Johnson in that year

so yes if malone played for spurs he still gets 24 points but his rebound numbers are up to close to 11

because stockton didnt give him rebounds besides missed shot but we all avery johnson missed his fair share of shots

and david robinson just starts blocking more shots

After some more thinking here is my updated top 5

Top 5 Big Men
1. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
2. Bill Russell
3. Shaquile O'Neal
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Hakeem Olajuwon

Top 5 Forwards
1. Larry Bird
2. Tim Duncan
3. Karl Malone
4. Elgin Baylor
5. Julius Erving

Top 5 Guards
1. Michael Jordan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Magic Johnson
4. Oscar Robertson
5. Jerry West

Very Close to be on the lists are George Mikan, Moses Malone & Bob Cousy

No love for Pip?

Career averages of 16p 6r 5a 2s 1b per game over 16 seasons?
6 rings, 7 all star appearances..

I may be slightly Bulls biased though..

Pip had a very succesful career and he will never be forgotten but no love pippen in the top 5!

lol, fair enough. Would be close between him and Dr J though IMO.

Moses Malone is a certain all time great centre

Charles Barkley is another
Kevin Garnett would not be far off
Lebron James is another player in the future you would think would be on that list

my top ten overall players

1-jordan
2-magic
3-bird
4-kobe
5-oscar
6-malone
7-duncan
8-drexler
9-shaq
10-wilkins

I have a question for all of you.

Why isn't Isiah Thomas being recognised?
I haven't seen him name mentioned.

Why is he missing?

Please give your opinion on this.

Who would you drop from the guards to fit in the "team killer"?

Pippen was an 8-Time all defensive team player, and 3 time All-NBA. Deserves consideration on any best SF of all time discussion.

Probably the best on-ball defender ever

The Banker - I think Duncan's dominance in Finals series, particularly 2003 and 2005, put a gap between him and Malone. Malone had his chance in 97 and 98, and couldn't get it done. For all of his supposed strength, he took fadeaways all series.

thedoctor, that is what I was thinking yesterday, hard to drop DR J from that list though.

My Picks

Centre

1. Kareem Addul-Jabbar- dominated for 20 years+
2. Wilt Chamberlin- Incredible athlete for his era.
3. Bill Russell- shot block and Mr Defensive
4. Hakeem Olajuwon- Brilliant skills for a centre
5. Shaq O'Neal- Huge physique and dominates the paint.

Forward

1. Larry Bird
2. Tim Duncan
3. Elgin Baylor
4. Julius Erving
5. Karl Malone

Guard

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Isiah Thomas
4. Clyde Drexler
5. Jerry West

Isiah Thomas was a spectacular gaurd and would be in the top 10 guards of all time, It was difficult to leav him out along with Bob Cousy but i went with jerry west instead.

Same deal with Drexler it was a great player but there were just player who were better then him in my opinion

Pippen would be in the top for SF but in this discussion we have including PF as well so thats where pippen get knock back to the next group of 5 but im happy to agree that he porbably is the best on ball defender ever. If he was paired with anyone else except MJ we would probably be comparing everyone to Scottie Pippen instead of Jordan but as history showed he got caught some what living in the shadow of MJ.

There is No way DR J leaves the top 5 Forwards of all time ive seen so much footage of Dr J and he was ahead of his time Athletically and his understanding of the game was unmatched for the 1st half of his career

We could probably get him a little higher maybe above Elgin Baylor