[ThePundit]

As long as we're talking about Lebron possibly being an immortal, who are your top 10 ten players of the last 40 years? Mine are
(off the top of my head so I might be missing some - also not necessarily in this order):

1) Michael Jordan
2) Bill Russell
3) Kareem Abdul Jabbar
4) Magic Johnson
5) Oscar Robertson
6) Wilt Chamberlain
7) Julius Erving
Larry Bird
9) Jerry West
10)Tim Duncan

Honorable Mention: John Havlicek & Hakeem Olujuwan

[EmpireWF]

You forgot a name by the name of Shaq! lol

My top 10 of the past 40 would go a 'lil something like this...

1. Michael Jordan
2. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
3. Magic Johnson
4. Bill Russell
5. Shaq
6. Larry Bird
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Walt Frazier
9. Wilt Chamberlain
10. Jerry West

[cjg11582]

Everyone's list should be fairly similar, so i'll post mine:

1) Michael Jordan, its not even up for discussion ( Just scroll down to "Best random celebrity moment ever" for a great MJ story: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/060220 )
2) Bill Russell
3) Oscar Robertson
4) Magic Johnson
5) Larry Bird
6) Julius Erving
7) Wilt Chamberlain
Shaq
9) Tim Duncan
10) Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Honorable mention:
Hakeem Olajuwon
Jerry West
John Stockton
John Havilcek
Charles Barkley

[Wizard of Os]

Let's see, top ten of the last forty years...

1. His Airness
T2. Larry Legend
T2. Magic
T4. Wilt the Stilt
T5. Bill Russell
6. Oscar Robertson
7. Dr. J
8. Kareem
9. Shaq, probably, or maybe even the anti-Shaq, Kobe. Or both. We’ll see.
10.

Position number ten I’m going to leave open as a protest vote for George Mikan, who did not play in the last forty years, and is almost as forgotten these days as Jim Thorpe in the whirlwind of praising our modern-day cagers. Mikan was Wilt before Wilt, Shaq before Shaq. He habitually led the early NBA in scoring and once in rebounding. On another GoTeamsGo thread, Legend mentioned that Kareem was so dominant at UCLA that NBA rules came into effect before he went pro. Mikan? He’s the reason goaltending was invented.

Viva George Mikan!

[Jcomp]

1) Magic Johnson. I love Jordan as much as anybody, but when I'm thinking "best," I'm thinking who would I take as the first pick in a fantasy draft where every player in the history of the game was available. Magic has just one less championship than MJ, winning those titles in a more competitive era, and (the real kicker) he's the only guy in league history to prove he could play all five positions on a championship level. Game 6 of the Finals in his rookie season, the point guard steps up to fill the shoes of the injured starting center--who happens to be a future Hall of Famer and all-time scoring leader--and leads the team to victory. Only Magic.

2) Michael Jordan. All that said about Magic, Jordan is still the new face of the Association. They might as well change the logo. People keep talking about the "next Michael," as though his mold is so easily duplicated. Let's look at all of the ingredients in the forumla. The man was exciting to watch, his game was incredibly explosive and heavy on scoring points, that always attracts fans. He's articulate, intelligent and camera friendly. He was the best player in the league during his prime, no contest. Any year the MVP didn't go to him was becasue the league was trying to spread the wealth. Finally, he won six championships. That's a hard act to follow, both strictly in terms of accomplishments on the court and in his phenominal popularity.

No in depth explanation needed for the rest of the list.

3) Larry Bird
4) Oscar Robertson
5) Bill Russel
6) Wilt Chamberlain
7) Kareem
Julius Irving
9) Kobe Bryant (say what you will, this kid is a monster)
10) Jerry West

[Lefty Noob]

Welcome to the forum, JComp! Good to have you here, jumping into the debate!

I don't know if I necessarily agree with you about putting Kobe as one of the 10 best players of all time just yet, though. He may wind up there someday, but I'd say give him a few more years before we start talking about him being a better player than Jerry West, George Gervin, Pete Maravich, et. al.

[xdavidwattsx]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Pete Maravich, et. al.

I was about to say that not one person mentioned Pistol Pete....and that's a travesty.

All I know about the rest is that it's Jordan at number one and then everybody else.

It's too early to say on LeBron (He's got to figure out those clutch free throws) but I think he has what it takes to be among the immortals. He is the most complete player in the league today.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Okay Guys…Any NBA All-Time greats list is much, much to easy to come up with…how about a list of best NBAers to come out of Europe?...Now that’s a challenge...

Here’s what I got… In order of personal favorites…

• Detlef Schrempf
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Pau Gasol
• Rik Smits
• Peja Stojakovic
• Drazen Petrovic
• Vlade Divac
• Arvydas Sabonis
• Tony Parker

…And Just to stir the pot…Darko Milicic or Andris Biedrins…for the 10th spot…

[Jcomp]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Welcome to the forum, JComp! Good to have you here, jumping into the debate!

I don't know if I necessarily agree with you about putting Kobe as one of the 10 best players of all time just yet, though. He may wind up there someday, but I'd say give him a few more years before we start talking about him being a better player than Jerry West, George Gervin, Pete Maravich, et. al.

It's questionable, I'll definitely concede that. But 81 points really sold me on him. I know that just having one huge game doesn't automatically qualify someone as top 10 (Tom Chambers dropped 60 once, I doubt anyone lists him as a to 10 guy), but, especially in this modern era where scoring is down compared to years past, I just thought that was sort of a coronation for him.