Where does LeBron James rank all time?
- Thread starter exzibit3
- Start date
Charles Way
OzCardTrader
I think MJ #1 - LeBron #2 - Wilt #3.
Kobe for me would be 4 or 5 all time with Bill Russell
No one will ever beat Jordan for the number 1 spot, (Even though my fav player of all time is LeBron) with Mjs stats and what he did for the game in the 80's and early 90's,
revolutioned the game to what we know it today
Kobe for me would be 4 or 5 all time with Bill Russell
No one will ever beat Jordan for the number 1 spot, (Even though my fav player of all time is LeBron) with Mjs stats and what he did for the game in the 80's and early 90's,
revolutioned the game to what we know it today
He could have said "one of the greatest Lakers players and basketball players, period, of all time" and wouldn't be wrong. I do think that Magic declaring Kobe the greatest Laker of all time would rub Kareem off the wrong way. Because that was the guy that Magic fought with in the trenches, the guy that won championships with Magic.
GarnettFan4Life
OZCT Supporter
Yeah I’d love to have seen Kareem’s reaction to that, didn’t think about it. Maybe Magic believes what he said though and just came out and said it!
GarnettFan4Life
OZCT Supporter
I think (hope) in 20 years a lot of the Top 20 all time won’t be there any more. And that's the way it should be. Continually updated if someone ends up having a better career than someone on the list and not just leave people ranked high for sentimental reasons.
sgt_pepper
Amatuer Footballer
but it cant all be just about career stats and thats the difficulty of an all time list i think. you have to judge players impact on the game over different eras/conditions. i'd agree that pretty much any 'great' from at least the pre 70s era (apart from wilt) would have a tough time dominating in todays game, but they would also be different kinds of players if they were playing today, so who knows?
and if the list changes every 20 years (which it subjectively could), can it still be considered an 'all time' list? if youre the best player in your era wouldnt that make you eligible?
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Yeah, definitely difficult to rank players especially with total stats because of how different each era is. Defensive schemes would be less sophisticated in the early era, and then peak in the early 90's, and now it's the era of the space and run game with inflated scoreboards. Players have access to better training, more knowledge on injury prevention and recovery, more analytics. Aren't Wilt's stats really just a product of him being a giant amongst men?
I truly believe that eventually we will have an adjusted stats system that will take into account pace of play, defensive ratings and other analytics that we will be able to extrapolate and have a more comparable and fairer method of statistical comparison over decades. And from that, maybe have the best average of 10-12 years of a player's career. Like Kobe, his stats are pretty amazing but when you adjust it back for the number of years he's played, he may not even be as good as Jerry West (arguably). West averaged more points, rebounds, assists, steals* and blocks than Kobe per game.
I truly believe that eventually we will have an adjusted stats system that will take into account pace of play, defensive ratings and other analytics that we will be able to extrapolate and have a more comparable and fairer method of statistical comparison over decades. And from that, maybe have the best average of 10-12 years of a player's career. Like Kobe, his stats are pretty amazing but when you adjust it back for the number of years he's played, he may not even be as good as Jerry West (arguably). West averaged more points, rebounds, assists, steals* and blocks than Kobe per game.
GarnettFan4Life
OZCT Supporter
Yeah you might have a point there, that does make the all-time list super difficult and I might actually agree with keeping some there with like an “adjusted for modern era” or some kind of factor for the time they played/the competition around them etc. good point.
OutlawNinja
Dom Wilkins Collector
Could any of these guys have stopped AI at his prime, HELL NO !
sgt_pepper
Amatuer Footballer
only larry bird...
GarnettFan4Life
OZCT Supporter
Bird v AI.....mannnnnn can you imagine the profanities
AI woulda stopped himself, the guy was a huge volume shooter and only made 42% of his shots. I loved AI growing up but that was more to do with his heart, hustle and persona. The entire Sixers offense was basically clear out, and rebound his misses. I would even say that Kyrie has got more moves, finishes better with either hand and shoots better than him.
sgt_pepper
Amatuer Footballer
yeah, i see kyrie as a better all round player and he has more skills i think aswell, but there was just something about AI...just exciting to watch.
GarnettFan4Life
OZCT Supporter
Chris Broussard Top 10 All Time on his podcast yesterday
10. Tim Duncan
9. Larry Bird
8. Bill Russell
7. Kobe Bryant
6. Shaquille O’Neal
5. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Magic Johnson
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. Lebron James
1. Michael Jordan
What do you think?
10. Tim Duncan
9. Larry Bird
8. Bill Russell
7. Kobe Bryant
6. Shaquille O’Neal
5. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Magic Johnson
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. Lebron James
1. Michael Jordan
What do you think?
Charles Way
OzCardTrader
Yep, looks pretty good, my top ten for sure, but just changed a little...
Pending: Kevin Durant...
10. Tim Duncan
9. Larry Bird
8. Shaquille O’Neal
7. Magic Johnson
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Bill Russell
4. Kobe Bryant
3. Wilt Chamberlain
2. Lebron James
1. Michael Jordan
