NBA 2012-2013

[Blueintheface]

So Kobe is Scottie Pippen. Got it.

[Joe Public]

No. Neither is even in the top 5.

I won't run down his resume here, but I give Wilt a place in the discussion. That's based on statistics and commentary from others; he was before my time.

Which five do you definitively place above him?

[Donuthole]

I won't run down his resume here, but I give Wilt a place in the discussion. That's based on statistics and commentary from others; he was before my time.

Which five do you definitively place above him?

Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Russell and Kareem are the easy ones. I'd probably also place Magic, Bird and Shaq ahead of him, and potentially Duncan and Hakeem.

[The_Douger]

My point was that Kobe was much more than a role player in the 2001 and 2002 championship runs, not that Kobe as dominant as Shaq.

Saying he was a role player is silly, but it was Shaq's team.

[The_Douger]

No. Neither is even in the top 5.

Wilt is.

[Hypoplastic]

Saying he was a role player is silly, but it was Shaq's team.

No argument here.

[The_Douger]

Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Russell and Kareem are the easy ones. I'd probably also place Magic, Bird and Shaq ahead of him, and potentially Duncan and Hakeem.

You could go ask Kareem and Russell and they'd both tell you Wilt was better than them. Wilt averaged 30 ppg and 23 boards per game for his career. Nobody's even close to that. Could you imagine if they kept track of blocks then?

Kobe better than Wilt? LOL

The top three are Wilt, Lebron, and MJ.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Wilt Chamberlain doesn't belong in the discussion? Oscar Robertson doesn't belong in the discussion?

I would love to add them to the discussion in an effort to drop Bron Bron down a few notches, but unfortunately they are not in the discussion.

[MarkGrace]

I feel like any time the Big O's name comes up this needs to get bumped:

"Little-known fact: NBA stats are completely screwed up from 1959 to '67. Teams were running and gunning at a breathtaking pace. For instance, the 1960 Celtics scored 124.5 points per game and averaged nearly 120 shots a game, but since the shooters weren't as good back then (the Celts only shot 41 percent that year, which also led the league), they also averaged a whopping 80.2 rebounds per game. To put that in perspective, Phoenix [this season] led the league with 111.9 points and 85 shots per game, but they only averaged 44.1 rebounds per game because everyone can make a jumper now and it's not run-and-gun.

Take Oscar's first five years compared with Magic's first five years. From 1961 to 1965, Oscar averaged 30.3 points, 10.4 assists and 10.6 rebounds ... but he was the 17th-best rebounder in the league over that time (in an eight-team league) and the third-best rebounder on his own team (behind Wayne Embry and Jerry Lucas). Magic averaged 18.2 points, 10.3 assists and 8.0 rebounds ... he was the 36th-best rebounder in the league over that stretch (in a 23-team league) and the second-best on his own team (behind that ninny Kareem). Oscar's team averaged 69 rebounds a game 1961-65; Magic's team averaged 45 a game.

Not to infringe on Hollinger's territory here ... but if you prorated Magic's stats to the run-and-gun 1961-65 era, they would look something like this: 21 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds per game. Even if you transported the 1987-90 Fat Lever (18.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 19th-ranked rebounder), he would have matched all of Oscar's numbers except for the scoring. But if you brought Oscar to the modern era? His rebounding per game would have dropped into the 7-8 range and the "Who was the only NBA player to average a triple-double?" trivia question wouldn't exist. It's true."

[Maximus]

I would love to add them to the discussion in an effort to drop Bron Bron down a few notches, but unfortunately they are not in the discussion.

you cant help yourself, geesh.

[wapiti]

Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Russell and Kareem are the easy ones. I'd probably also place Magic, Bird and Shaq ahead of him, and potentially Duncan and Hakeem.

Wilt is top 4 with Jordan, LeBron, and Russell. Magic, Bird, Kareem, and Shaq are the next tier with Kobe, Duncan, and big O on tier 3.

I don't think history will be kind to Kobe's legacy. When his stat sheet lines up against the others on this list nothing stands out. Kobe landed in the ideal situation: coach, teammates, location, etc. Switch Kobe's situation with Dominique Wilkins and the results may have been similar.

[MarkGrace]

Kobomonique!

[YOhio]

The dunk contest is always lame, but for some reason I have to watch it.

[YOhio]

Jeremy Evans lost to a guy playing for a Canadian team.

[creekster]

Jeremy Evans lost to a guy playing for a Canadian team.

THe dunk over his own painting was sort of lame.