Top 10 Greatest NBA Players of all-time

[Jay]

I think using a 5 year Shaq prime vs. an 11-year Kareem prime is fairly unfair.

Look at their best ever single seasons... Kareem's is incredible.

[T Dog]

The Sky Hook...that is all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPcniUfKRlU

[Windigo]

I think using a 5 year Shaq prime vs. an 11-year Kareem prime is fairly unfair.

Look at their best ever single seasons... Kareem's is incredible.

Boston Shaq..................................

[Andrew3737]

I think using a 5 year Shaq prime vs. an 11-year Kareem prime is fairly unfair.

Look at their best ever single seasons... Kareem's is incredible.

Oh so now we are using single seasons? Make up your mind, is it career, prime or single season? Not my fault Kareem's prime lasted 11 years, while Shaq's lasted 5. All I did was take Shaqs best years and Kareem's best. Stop shifting the goal posts.

[Jay]

I think using a 5 year Shaq prime vs. an 11-year Kareem prime is fairly unfair.

Look at their best ever single seasons... Kareem's is incredible.

Oh so now we are using single seasons? Make up your mind, is it career, prime or single season? Not my fault Kareem's prime lasted 11 years, while Shaq's lasted 5. All I did was take Shaqs best years and Kareem's best. Stop shifting the goal posts.

In my little spreadsheet I've got "prime" numbers being a player's best regular season. Never said anything about a 5 or 11 year span... Not changing the goal posts at all, have been consistent from the start.

Still not sure how you can value a stat like eFG and TS over basic stats like points, rebounds and assists. PER and WS are ok because they take into account a player's entire game but eFG and TS just measure efficency in their scoring. How about all the other meaningful stats? Because I certainly rate rebounding and shot blocking for big men much higher than their effective FG%...

[Andrew3737]

Prime is not best single season...... No idea how you come up with that. TS% and eFG% are huge for an offensive big man. If Prime = best single season, CP3 is up there among the best and KG is top 10. LBJ is already top 3, Tracey McGrady is a top 10 player too.

[Jay]

Prime is not best single season...... No idea how you come up with that. TS% and eFG% are huge for an offensive big man. If Prime = best single season, CP3 is up there among the best and KG is top 10. LBJ is already top 3.

Why isnt it? I've got my lovely spreadsheet with regular season numbers, playoff numbers and best statistical season numbers + their MVPs/Rings... Using points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, TS, PER and WS/48... Makes sorting out a top 10 pretty clear (although, everyone should have some element of an opinon involved rather than just being a stat junkie).

I'm not using best single season as the sole measure for my top 10, but it plays a part if 2 guys are hard to split...

You telling me that eFG and TS are more important stats than rebounding, assists, steals and blocks? Just because it is in the advanced section, doesnt make it more useful. Advanced stats have a wide range of haters too, their results arent the be all and end all!

Not sure how eFG even comes into it when comparing Shaq + Kareem... eFG is simply taking into account that 3's are worth more to a player so their FG% is adjusted to account for this... Last time I checked, Shaq and Kareem werent raining threes, so the stat is close to worthless.

[Andrew3737]

So thats why eFG is so low because its adjusting for the whole 2 3 pointers in their careers.

Look. EFG and TS is huge because when a dominant big man is dominant, he scores at will, which is what he does. Shaq had a higher % because no one could even stop him. Thats even with Kareem's sky hook.

You know Shaq has a higher rebounding % anyway right? Points is really a showerty way to look at it as well. Somone can score 35 points a game (Kobe) and not even make the playoffs.

Prime has ever ever been just a single season. Like I said above, if it was, then so many players will be above others in nthis top 10.

For instance a top 10 would like this

1. Michael Jordan 87-88
2. LeBron James 08-09
3. David Robinson 93-94
4. Kareem 71-72
5. Shaq 99-00
6. Dwayne Wade 08-09
7. Tracey McGrady 02-03
8. Chris Paul 08-09
9. Connie Hawkins (lol) 68-69
10. Kevin Garnett 03-04

Se how flawed only going on a single season looks? You need to go overall prime, if you want to do prime. Which for most people is a 5 year spell. Jordan was like 7-8, Kareem as said, 11 or so.

[Jay]

You know bball is a two-way game? Sure, Kareem wasnt elite defensively but he still affected more shots than Shaq ever did. If Shaq could hit FTs maybe this wouldnt even be a discussion haha. Shaq had noticeable weaknesses man...

I'd argue that Lebron has never been better than he was last season, but thats beside the point.

Single-season prime was just an extra bit of info I chucked in there. Its interesting to look at when comparing MJ to Kobe, Bird to.Lebron etc.

[Andrew3737]

Kareem was actually very good defensively. I still have Kareem>Shaq, but if we just take in primes, Shaqs is better. As a career, because Kareem's longetivity on peak outweighs Shaq's peak, Kareem is the better player because of his output.

[Jay]

Well we agree then :P

Cant see how there is any controversy at all by having Kareem @ 2, Shaq @ 6.

[Andrew3737]

Because Magic>Kareem, remember ;)

[Jay]

Because Magic>Kareem, remember ;)

Its a toss-up man! :P

[Cookie Monster]

Wouldn't Kareems prime be better because he did it for 11 years an Shaq only went for 5?

no matter the stats being in your prime for 11 i think is being in your prime for 6 more years than Shaq's 5?

[Andrew3737]

Wouldn't Kareems prime be better because he did it for 11 years an Shaq only went for 5?

no matter the stats being in your prime for 11 i think is being in your prime for 6 more years than Shaq's 5?

This is why I keep saying Kareem>Shaq.