Who is the GOAT of the NBA?

Who is the GOAT of the NBA?

  • Michael Jordan

    Votes: 17 73.9%

  • LeBron James

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other

    Votes: 5 21.7%

  • Don't harass me with another stupid poll

    Votes: 1 4.3%
  • Total voters
    23
  • Poll closed .
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JimmyJamesMD

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I log into Facebook about once every two weeks, and there's always tons of suggested posts about this debate, just trying to pull me in. And sometimes it does.

So instead of debating on FB, figured I'd come on to my favorite message board and ask.

I say MJ. i try and frame it as who we have more success in the others era? I think Lebron would have a tough time with the physicality and hand checking of the 80's and 90's
 


Subjective as can be but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 6 Championships over 21yrs and unlike Mike, had to get by teams that were also loaded with talent. The Celtics, Reed's Knicks, Erving's 76er's, all won their own Championship(s). Though Jabbar was surrounded by a whole lot of talent himself.

Jordan? It could be him. Though he didn't have to play many other super teams in the playoffs. He wasn't surrounded by Lakers level talent but he didn't do it alone. Never won a championship without Pippin. The first year Jordan sat out, the Bulls won 55 games in the regular season and swept the Cavs before losing 4-3 to the Knicks in the Eastern Finals.

LeBron? Great talent but while he gets credit for having won 4 titles with 3 different teams, he should get downgraded a little for that too. Controversial I know, but when things didn't look good he went elsewhere to be surrounded by talent.
 

Iceland12 said:
Subjective as can be but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 6 Championships over 21yrs and unlike Mike, had to get by teams that were also loaded with talent. The Celtics, Reed's Knicks, Erving's 76er's, all won their own Championship(s). Though Jabbar was surrounded by a whole lot of talent himself.

Jordan? It could be him. Though he didn't have to play many other super teams in the playoffs. He wasn't surrounded by Lakers level talent but he didn't do it alone. Never won a championship without Pippin. The first year Jordan sat out, the Bulls won 55 games in the regular season and swept the Cavs before losing 4-3 to the Knicks in the Eastern Finals.

LeBron? Great talent but while he gets credit for having won 4 titles with 3 different teams, he should get downgraded a little for that too. Controversial I know, but when things didn't look good he went elsewhere to be surrounded by talent.
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That sky hook. Mmmmmm. Sweet
 



Ope3 said:
George Mikan.
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Yeah, great player. Shaq, Wilt, Russell and Kareem all credited Mikan with "creating" the big center position and establishing the NBA. Shaq, who paid for Mikan's funeral, famously said that without Mikan, "there'd be no Shaq".

Just too bad the city of Minneapolis couldn't find a place for the Lakers to play.
 

I suppose it depends on whether "winning championships" is part of the criteria for Greatest.

to me, Greatest Player is about talent and individual performance. how the team does depends on the surrounding cast.

I'm not going to rank them but my short list of the greatest NBA players in my lifetime:
Kareem
Oscar Robertson
Wilt
Bill Russell
Dr. J
Rick Barry
Jordan
LeBron

and I put Jordan and LeBron on the list somewhat grudgingly. I recognize their greatness, but I don't have the same personal feeling for them as I did for the others on my list.
 

Russell, Wilt and Oscar were before my time. We had no team when I was a kid so I migrated towards the Celtics with McHale on the roster. Bird was my idol growing up and I hated the Lakers for obvious reasons. Still do.

MJ is the only player I've ever made a point to watch on TV, especially at MSG, so he's my personal GOAT. Just imagine the stats he would've put up with no hand-checking.

Kareem and Magic would be 2A and 2B...just incredible players and I never rooted for them once. LeBron doesn't even crack my Top 10 and Duncan and Hakeem were the best fundamentally.
 

MJ, without hesitation.

I will say, no player in our lifetime has changed the game of basketball (arguably NOT for the better) than Steph Curry. He completely changed the type of offenses, shots, range, etc. of the entire NBA, and subsequently college and sadly youth basketball.

MJ is the greatest player ever to play, but kids couldn't "play like MJ" - but no player has changed the game more than Curry in our lifetime.

Howl Wolves!!
 




I remember watching MJ play, and thinking that he could score anytime he wanted, and there was not much the opponent could do. Curry is the greatest shooter of all time, and the Wolves passed on him twice. That is painful to think about.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
I log into Facebook about once every two weeks, and there's always tons of suggested posts about this debate, just trying to pull me in. And sometimes it does.

So instead of debating on FB, figured I'd come on to my favorite message board and ask.

I say MJ. i try and frame it as who we have more success in the others era? I think Lebron would have a tough time with the physicality and hand checking of the 80's and 90's
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I don’t doubt that the NBA was more physical in the 80’s and 90’s, but are we really acting like that wouldn’t have played to the benefit of Lebron, who is arguably the greatest physical specimen the game has ever seen?

If you want to say MJ is better, fine, there’s plenty of evidence to back you up, but this whole narrative that Lebron would struggle in a more physical league is ridiculous.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Before the NBA came back to Minnesota, I was a Knicks fan. I loathed Jordan and the Bulls. But Jordan is pretty easily the best player ever for me. It'd be easier to sell me on LeBron if he won a title during his first stint with Cleveland.
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What team would MJ have won a championship with if he had that same first stint in Cleveland?

Those teams were "KG with the timberwolves" bad.
 



kg21 said:
What team would MJ have won a championship with if he had that same first stint in Cleveland?

Those teams were "KG with the timberwolves" bad.
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Seriously. Look up the roster of that 2007 cavs team that a 22 year old lebron took to the finals and tell me that wasn’t borderline heroic. I don’t recall MJ having a roster like that that made it anywhere
 


Jordan. Jordan, Tiger, Ali, Phelps/McEnroe on Mt. Rushmore of "must watch" athletes.
 
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Wilt was the most dominating player by far.
Russell was the greatest winner.
Kareem was the best mix of those two, so he gets the nod with the bigs.

Dr.J was the coolest player ever but his career started in the ABA, so that hurts and only one NBA title takes him out of the running.

Bird was mister clutch. He and Magic saved the league. Both careers cut early.

Labron can do it all and is still doing it. Best ever at guarding/playing multiple positions.

MJ (with his many titles)is the best two-way player ever, so he gets my vote.

Robert Horry won 7 titles, so he gets my vote for best non-star player ever.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
People forget how horrid the East has been for a very long time.

MJ brings that team to the Finals and gets smashed in the Finals.
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Oh yeah. Remember Allen Iverson taking the 76ers to the Finals? He got 31pts a game that year. The second leading scorer, Theo Ratliff, had 12.4.
 

for benefit of younger fans:

Dr. J was Jordan before Jordan. I used to watch a lot of ABA games because they were more fun than the NBA at that time. Dr. J was insanely athletic. a lot of kids my age went out and bought those red-white-and-blue ABA basketballs because of Dr. J.

as far as teams, they may not have been the best of all time, but if I had to pick a favorite team,
I would go with the 69-70 Knicks. Willis Reed, Clyde Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Barnett at shooting guard. Phil Jackson was on that team, but was hurt most of the season.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
for benefit of younger fans:

Dr. J was Jordan before Jordan. I used to watch a lot of ABA games because they were more fun than the NBA at that time. Dr. J was insanely athletic. a lot of kids my age went out and bought those red-white-and-blue ABA basketballs because of Dr. J.

as far as teams, they may not have been the best of all time, but if I had to pick a favorite team,
I would go with the 69-70 Knicks. Willis Reed, Clyde Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Barnett at shooting guard. Phil Jackson was on that team, but was hurt most of the season.
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Dr. J was the ABA in a lot of ways.
Career ABA stats: 28.7 points. 12.1 rebounds. 4.8 assists.
 


Slim Tubby said:
"Rock the baby" has to be one of the best NBA calls of all time. Moses, Julius, Bobby Jones, Cheeks, Toney and Iavaroni were a hell of a squad in the 80's.
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My favorite team! As soon as Dr. J retired, I stopped caring about Philly.
 


For most of my life, I have answered this question instinctively with Jordan as the response, but over the last few years, I really think Abdul Jabbar has been short changed in this conversation (especially as the Jordan vs. LeBron argument has been pushed). All-time leading scorer until James broke the record, 6x champ, 6x MVP, 19x All Star, legend from HS to UCLA to NBA. I think he’s overlooked because his peak years were when the NBA was really struggling, he didn’t endear himself to the media and by the time the NBA hit its golden period he was a bald, goggles wearing, awkward looking elder statesman with his effervescent point guard stealing the spotlight (deservedly so-watching Magic highlights reminds me why I fell in love with the game). I think Abdul Jabbar gets the nod over Jordan by a slight edge.
 

coolhandgopher said:
I think he’s overlooked because his peak years were when the NBA was really struggling, he didn’t endear himself to the media and by the time the NBA hit its golden period he was a bald, goggles wearing, awkward looking elder statesman.
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KAJ was no matinee idol but Granville Waiters from Ohio State made him look like James Dean. To this day, I swear Waiters was actually in his 40's when he played in college. When he matched up against Ewe Blab from Indiana, many fans were temporarily blinded.
 

Slim Tubby said:
KAJ was no matinee idol but Granville Waiters from Ohio State made him look like James Dean. To this day, I swear Waiters was actually in his 40's when he played in college. When he matched up against Ewe Blab from Indiana, many fans were temporarily blinded.
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Paul Mokeski, Brad Lohaus, and Tyrone Hill would like a word.
 


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