ESPN NBA all time top ten players list

[Itsamazing777]

Bosh was not better than pau gasol no way

[lakerboy]

Bosh was not better than pau gasol no way

Bosh played his role.

[shadymcgrady]

Bosh was not better than pau gasol no way

When was Bosh on the court when the Lakers played the Celtics genius? Go back to the tj hockenson Roy call clown

[Itsamazing777]

When was Bosh on the court when the Lakers played the Celtics genius? Go back to the tj hockenson Roy call clown

Haha yes you buried me well done

[DOM-Ganador]

They should of kept James Posey

They absolutely wanted to. He got his ring and chased the $$$. As was his right to do so.
That team should have won 2, and the one they did win was the hardest of the 3 years.
I remember being pissed at Doc and to this day I don`t give him much credit for that ring.

[stevenash]

Bosh played his role.

He did pull down Lebron's bricked three pointer and made a perfect flip pass to a back pedaling Ray Allen to hit that miracle three pointer.

(props to Allen to for knowing the time left in the game situation and getting behind the arc.)

[rm18]

Bynum, Bryant, Meta, Pau... Bryant was on back end? He was best player on the court by far in that series. Durant himself said it after the series, "we couldn't stop him." How is someone averaging over 30 in a series on the back end of career?

Point here is Bryant's teams for b2b rings was TRASH. That's easily, very easily, in the modern NBA, the worst team ever to win b2b titles.

Lebron involved his teammates so much, he had to go join one of the greatest players in history (Wade) and one of the best PFs ever in Bosh to win his 2 rings. Bosh himself is a better player than Pau. Imagine if Kobe had Wade and Bosh? Would have won 4 straight rings easily.

Lebron against Dallas in prime (29 years old) of career? Lmao averaged less than 2 ppg in the 4th quarters of that series.

Buried.

Lakers were -450 to beat Dallas the year the Mavs won the title which means they would of been favored over Lebron.

[clockwise1965]

Jordan
Lebron
Bryant
Bird
Magic
Chamberlain
Duncan
Frazier
Iverson
Russell
Oliguwan
Ewing
Wilkensons
Worthy
McHale

Not necessary in that order.

[IBetYou]

Mavs were 3-1 vs the Lakers. But yeah, in spite of the promises of a dozen rings or whatever the HEAT had a rough season and weren't so well regarded in the playoffs. 2-1 on in the semi's and marginal favs in the finals.

[SteveKerrsJunk]

1.	Michael Jordan*	27.91
2.	Anthony Davis	27.52
3.	LeBron James	27.51
4.	Shaquille O'Neal*	26.43
5.	David Robinson*	26.18
6.	Wilt Chamberlain*	26.13
7.	Bob Pettit*	25.34
8.	Kevin Durant	25.20
9.	Chris Paul	25.09
10.	James Harden	24.75

Top 10 PER all time says no Kobe, Duncan, Hakeem, KG, Kareem, Magic, Bird, Stephanie etc.

[IBetYou]

1.	Michael Jordan*	27.91
2.	Anthony Davis	27.52
3.	LeBron James	27.51
4.	Shaquille O'Neal*	26.43
5.	David Robinson*	26.18
6.	Wilt Chamberlain*	26.13
7.	Bob Pettit*	25.34
8.	Kevin Durant	25.20
9.	Chris Paul	25.09
10.	James Harden	24.75

Top 10 PER all time says no Kobe, Duncan, Hakeem, KG, Kareem, Magic, Bird, Stephanie etc.

Isn't PER tantamount to usage rate? Has nothing to do with who's best. David Robinson was not top 100.

[spippen]

This is why The NBA has a 50 greatest players list. Too many great players. At least ESPN got Michael Jordan placement correct.

[rm18]

Isn't PER tantamount to usage rate? Has nothing to do with who's best. David Robinson was not top 100.

Per minute stats but you wont get a good PER if not efficient. Olajuwon is #1 all time in playoff PER which is more important i think.

[IBetYou]

Per minute stats but you wont get a good PER if not efficient. Olajuwon is #1 all time in playoff PER which is more important i think.

That makes sense. Olajuwon was a lone star on that first title run. Almost every play went through him, and he was the backbone of their defense.

[Goat Milk]

Good that you buried yourself after proclaiming Bosh one of the best PFs ever. Suitable punishment.

How many PFs have that many all star appearances and 2 rings? I'll wait for your answer.

Man that Lakers Celtics finals was the last time teams really played defense and guys got mauled in the paint without fifty reviews. Just good old fashioned basketball.

Pierce always faked being better than Kobe which was an easy thing to do when he had prime Garnett in the paint on defense and ray Allen to prohibit him from getting doubled. Kobe had more responsibility as the star of his team and had to do more. That always bothered me no one brought it up. If Kobe had been allowed to simply do one or two thing that Pierce did he would have easily surpassed him in every facet of the game.

Can't believe no one mentioned gasol, he was the best player on the floor in game 7 despite artests big shot

Pau was great but Bryant was by far the best player in that game. Didn't shoot well and still averaged 1 point per shot attempt while playing lockdown d and grabbing a shit ton of rebounds. Grabbed like 15 rebounds, was double teamed literally every play. Pau was only that effective because KG and others were literally cheating off him on tons of plays to trap Bryant at the elbow area. Rewatch the game.

That's what I'm saying about Bryant's 2 finals without Shaq. Pau had never won a single playoff game before he joined the Lakers. Not 1. Then goes to 3 straight NBA finals....?

Bryant built Pau Gasol. Guy ran through his ass in the Olympics to send him a message and hung his gold medal in his locker at Lakers training camp.

Pau is only what he became because of the person Bryant morphed him into.

Ppl just don't undrstand.

[Goat Milk]

Bosh was not better than pau gasol no way

Can easily make the case that he was. I don't see much difference btween the two players. Bosh was a top 15-20 player in the league his entire career.... Just gets overshadowed cause played with two of the top 5 in the league yearly.

Liek I said, if Kobe had a player like D Wade, and Bosh--who was as good as Pau--he would win 4 straight rings.

Only player Bryant ever played with on Wade's level was Shaq. Next best was Pau? Laughable.

You think Bron would win b2b rings with him and Bosh and a bunch of role players? 0% chance.

Only won those rings because of Wade.

[IBetYou]

How many PFs have that many all star appearances and 2 rings? I'll wait for your answer.

Pau was great but Bryant was by far the best player in that game. Didn't shoot well and still averaged 1 point per shot attempt while playing lockdown d and grabbing a shit ton of rebounds. Grabbed like 15 rebounds, was double teamed literally every play. Pau was only that effective because KG and others were literally cheating off him on tons of plays to trap Bryant at the elbow area. Rewatch the game.

That's what I'm saying about Bryant's 2 finals without Shaq. Pau had never won a single playoff game before he joined the Lakers. Not 1. Then goes to 3 straight NBA finals....?

Bryant built Pau Gasol. Guy ran through his ass in the Olympics to send him a message and hung his gold medal in his locker at Lakers training camp.

Pau is only what he became because of the person Bryant morphed him into.

Ppl just don't undrstand.

That about sums you up. Your analysis is based entirely on stats and rings and all-star appearances. Can't look at a player as a scout would and sum him up.

Gasol was twice the player Bosh was. He was an elite low-post scorer -Bosh wasn't! He was a great passer -Bosh wasn't! He was a great rim protector -Bosh wasn't! Great 1 on 1 defender -Bosh wasn't! In the 2010 finals he was immense. Going against the cream of low post defenders; Wallace/ Perkins/ Garnett/ Davis in that order. He wore them out. Bryant meanwhile was his usual inefficient self all series.

Bryant may have had something to do with Gasol's improvement -he was indeed a softie through the early part of his career. But he was an immense talent, 2nd only to Tim Duncan as a 4-5 in his era.

[IBetYou]

People ask how did Gasol do in Memphis before Bryant? Well how did Bryant do post-Shaq before Gasol? As remember it he was getting burned in the 1st round and demanding a trade. Even without those two he still had Fisher/ Odom/ Bynum. What did Gasol have? Mike Miller???

[IBetYou]

And mighty mouse, Damon Stoudamire. Did well to get that team into the playoffs

[Goat Milk]

That about sums you up. Your analysis is based entirely on stats and rings and all-star appearances. Can't look at a player as a scout would and sum him up.

Gasol was twice the player Bosh was. He was an elite low-post scorer -Bosh wasn't! He was a great passer -Bosh wasn't! He was a great rim protector -Bosh wasn't! Great 1 on 1 defender -Bosh wasn't! In the 2010 finals he was immense. Going against the cream of low post defenders; Wallace/ Perkins/ Garnett/ Davis in that order. He wore them out. Bryant meanwhile was his usual inefficient self all series.

Bryant may have had something to do with Gasol's improvement -he was indeed a softie through the early part of his career. But he was an immense talent, 2nd only to Tim Duncan as a 4-5 in his era.

1. Bryant averaged 29, 8 and 4 in that series, while getting smothered from every angle. Your argument is making it seem like Gasol is better than Bryant. if that were the case, Rivers wouldn't be doubling Bryant every game, every night. Fool. Gasol averaged 19 and 11.

2. Gasol was not a good defender at all. Wtf are you smoking. "Bryant MAY have had something to do with Gasol's improvement?" Lmfao. Look up Pau Gasol on google. Literally every quote you'll hear him talk about is "Kobe this and Kobe that," and those quotes are even before Kobe passed away. Kobe morphed him. Pau has said it, Phil Jackson has said it. And you are saying "Maybe" he did. Proves you're a hater, and not looking at facts.

3. Bosh was immense in both titles he won, and he went to 4 straight NBA finals... You think Wade and Lebron would have won those rings without Bosh? 0 percent chance. Bosh had some of the clutchest plays during those runs.

4. The more you hate on Kobe the more I realize what a moron you are. In a team full of stars on the USA olympic team, with Lebron, Wade, Bryant, Bosh, Paul, all these guys in their absolute primes, who took the ball and said get the fukk out of the way in the most important games? Bryant. Who led the team from a leadership perspective? Bryant. Who set the tone? Bryant. Who was the best player on the floor? Bryant.

Bryant is one of the smartest players you'll ever see. When he ran through Pau Gasol and then didn't help him up, you don't think he was sending him a message? That was a huge message. Bryant played jedi-mind tricks like that all the time.

When Bryant was in game 7 against the suns where he averaged 36 a game that year, carrying Smush Parker and Kwame Brown and Luke Walton to the playoffs, Bryant scored 23 points in the first half. In the second half, he shot the ball 3 times because there was a rumor of the team being upset that he didn't pass. Lakers went on to lose. You think Bryant didn't do that on purpose? He wanted to show the owner, "you don't want me to shoot? Watch what happens to this team." And they got murked. Then they went on to win 2 titles in the next like 4 years.... Bryant THREW that game, on purpose, because he had a vision for the future... That's how fukkin brilliant he was. He knew that getting through the Suns meant nothing, while to the Suns, they were popping boners when they beat Bryant. Bryant only cared about winning rings, not a meaningless first round series that would result in a 2nd round exit.

Bryant was a basketball savant the fact that you're using these types of adjectives to describe him shows how little you know about what happens behind the scenes of your effective field goal percentage numbers.

[IBetYou]

Nice essay there

[Bcatswin]

Now that's true he never had the luxury of a deep bench, but the amount of eight foot bunnies he missed in the '94 playoffs were astounding.

I lived in the East Village in NYC in '94, I (we) didn't miss an entire second of those playoffs.

By the way, Starks, Oakley, Anthony Mason, although not Hall of Famers were not exactly chopped liver.

Agreed, but Starks couldn't even make a FT or a shot with the game on the line. Otherwise like you said he wasn't chopped liver, very good shooting guard during those times.

[IBetYou]

re Gasol, who turned Nowitzki from a softie into a champion? Or did he do it himself as a natural progression? Always felt these things were overblown by the media. Reality is you go through the wars and you become battle hardened. Don't care what Bryant or Jackson or Gasol himself said, too much evidence of it being routine.

[Bcatswin]

This is why The NBA has a 50 greatest players list. Too many great players. At least ESPN got Michael Jordan placement correct.

whats the top 100 of FB, sure they got one out there. would like to talk about that or hell, the MLB

[IBetYou]

3. Of course they needed Bosh to play well. Spurs were an elite team. But he's not on the level of Gasol, not by a long shot. Gasol shut down Duncan in multiple playoff series, that's why I say he was a strong 1 on 1 defender. Bosh never had much defensive ability at all.

[Bcatswin]

I mean i just don't like the list, it's to skewed. Where are the older players that made the game what it is today, made it grow. Of course guys more stronger, athletic today. But come on.

[Goat Milk]

3. Of course they needed Bosh to play well. Spurs were an elite team. But he's not on the level of Gasol, not by a long shot. Gasol shut down Duncan in multiple playoff series, that's why I say he was a strong 1 on 1 defender. Bosh never had much defensive ability at all.

The same Tim Duncan that you're saying had a better career than Bryant....was shut down by the likes of Pau Gasol? LMFAO.

Done with your nonsense.

Tim Duncan who averaged 19 and 11 for his career better than Kobe Bryant.

Lmfao!

Ur done.

[Goat Milk]

I mean i just don't like the list, it's to skewed. Where are the older players that made the game what it is today, made it grow. Of course guys more stronger, athletic today. But come on.

You have to appreciate Bryant as one of the few guys on the list who actually studied every single player who can before him. There are many interviews with him saying he studied Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, he studied Dr. J, he studied Scottie Pippen, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, he called all these guys and asked question after question.

Tell me one player in history who has ever done that, been a student of the game on that level. No one. No one from ANY ERA. That's why all these old timers were devasted when Kobe passed away. He came to them to seek out knowledge and studied them like no one else.

That's what made Kobe Bryant so great.

Did Tim Duncan ever do that? No, that's why he's no where near top 10.

Gasol? Pierce? Pippen? KG? None of those guys actually sat there and watch tape after tape of Baylor and West playing basketball. Bryant was doing that when he was like 13-years-old.

Fukkin G.

[ThaTopMoron]

1. Bryant averaged 29, 8 and 4 in that series, while getting smothered from every angle. Your argument is making it seem like Gasol is better than Bryant. if that were the case, Rivers wouldn't be doubling Bryant every game, every night. Fool. Gasol averaged 19 and 11.

2. Gasol was not a good defender at all. Wtf are you smoking. "Bryant MAY have had something to do with Gasol's improvement?" Lmfao. Look up Pau Gasol on google. Literally every quote you'll hear him talk about is "Kobe this and Kobe that," and those quotes are even before Kobe passed away. Kobe morphed him. Pau has said it, Phil Jackson has said it. And you are saying "Maybe" he did. Proves you're a hater, and not looking at facts.

3. Bosh was immense in both titles he won, and he went to 4 straight NBA finals... You think Wade and Lebron would have won those rings without Bosh? 0 percent chance. Bosh had some of the clutchest plays during those runs.

4. The more you hate on Kobe the more I realize what a moron you are. In a team full of stars on the USA olympic team, with Lebron, Wade, Bryant, Bosh, Paul, all these guys in their absolute primes, who took the ball and said get the fukk out of the way in the most important games? Bryant. Who led the team from a leadership perspective? Bryant. Who set the tone? Bryant. Who was the best player on the floor? Bryant.

Bryant is one of the smartest players you'll ever see. When he ran through Pau Gasol and then didn't help him up, you don't think he was sending him a message? That was a huge message. Bryant played jedi-mind tricks like that all the time.

When Bryant was in game 7 against the suns where he averaged 36 a game that year, carrying Smush Parker and Kwame Brown and Luke Walton to the playoffs, Bryant scored 23 points in the first half. In the second half, he shot the ball 3 times because there was a rumor of the team being upset that he didn't pass. Lakers went on to lose. You think Bryant didn't do that on purpose? He wanted to show the owner, "you don't want me to shoot? Watch what happens to this team." And they got murked. Then they went on to win 2 titles in the next like 4 years.... Bryant THREW that game, on purpose, because he had a vision for the future... That's how fukkin brilliant he was. He knew that getting through the Suns meant nothing, while to the Suns, they were popping boners when they beat Bryant. Bryant only cared about winning rings, not a meaningless first round series that would result in a 2nd round exit.

Bryant was a basketball savant the fact that you're using these types of adjectives to describe him shows how little you know about what happens behind the scenes of your effective field goal percentage numbers.

oh man i need to watch the video of the 2nd half of that lakers suns game 7

[SteveKerrsJunk]

How many PFs have that many all star appearances and 2 rings? I'll wait for your answer.

Pau was great but Bryant was by far the best player in that game. Didn't shoot well and still averaged 1 point per shot attempt while playing lockdown d and grabbing a shit ton of rebounds. Grabbed like 15 rebounds, was double teamed literally every play. Pau was only that effective because KG and others were literally cheating off him on tons of plays to trap Bryant at the elbow area. Rewatch the game.

That's what I'm saying about Bryant's 2 finals without Shaq. Pau had never won a single playoff game before he joined the Lakers. Not 1. Then goes to 3 straight NBA finals....?

Bryant built Pau Gasol. Guy ran through his ass in the Olympics to send him a message and hung his gold medal in his locker at Lakers training camp.

Pau is only what he became because of the person Bryant morphed him into.

Ppl just don't undrstand.

6-24 0-6 from 3 11-15 FT with 2 assists/4 turnovers in a game 7. Brutal. His game score was 9.9 compared to Pau Gasol's 10-13, 18 boards, 9 O-boards, 4 assists/1 turnover 2 blocks with a 20 game score...22 missed shots for Kobe Bryant, he could've built a house with all those game 7 bricks.

[johnnyvegas13]

Seems like they didn’t like kobeee or shaqqq at 9 and 10

[IBetYou]

You have to appreciate Bryant as one of the few guys on the list who actually studied every single player who can before him. There are many interviews with him saying he studied Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, he studied Dr. J, he studied Scottie Pippen, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, he called all these guys and asked question after question.

Tell me one player in history who has ever done that, been a student of the game on that level. No one. No one from ANY ERA. That's why all these old timers were devasted when Kobe passed away. He came to them to seek out knowledge and studied them like no one else.

That's what made Kobe Bryant so great.

Did Tim Duncan ever do that? No, that's why he's no where near top 10.

Gasol? Pierce? Pippen? KG? None of those guys actually sat there and watch tape after tape of Baylor and West playing basketball. Bryant was doing that when he was like 13-years-old.

Fukkin G.

No I don't have to appreciate that. I don't have to lap up some guys intense PR efforts. Always telling people what a great student he was, how tough he was, what a great teacher he then was. Lot of hot air. Americans are mostly a gullible lot, tell them something about yourself enough and in time they will believe it. Same thing with that penetrating sellout Rodman (free spirit indeed!).

Yes Gasol was a rough matchup for Duncan. Length too much to deal with. But Bryant also had nightmare matchups including Battier with his methodical tactics, Wade with his speed & strength, T.Allen etc...

[SteveKerrsJunk]

That about sums you up. Your analysis is based entirely on stats and rings and all-star appearances. Can't look at a player as a scout would and sum him up.

Gasol was twice the player Bosh was. He was an elite low-post scorer -Bosh wasn't! He was a great passer -Bosh wasn't! He was a great rim protector -Bosh wasn't! Great 1 on 1 defender -Bosh wasn't! In the 2010 finals he was immense. Going against the cream of low post defenders; Wallace/ Perkins/ Garnett/ Davis in that order. He wore them out. Bryant meanwhile was his usual inefficient self all series.

Bryant may have had something to do with Gasol's improvement -he was indeed a softie through the early part of his career. But he was an immense talent, 2nd only to Tim Duncan as a 4-5 in his era.

Yup Kobe was so lucky to have a GOAT like Shaq to carry him the first 3 peat.

Vs. Indiana
Game 1: Shaq 43/19/4/3 Kobe 14/5/3/2
Game 2: Shaq 40/24/4/3 Kobe 2/1/4/1 (injured)
Game 3: Shaq 33/13/2/2 Kobe DNP
Game 4: Shaq 36/21/2/2 Kobe 28/5/4/2
Game 5: Shaq 35/11/3/2 Kobe 8/5/3/2
Game 6: Shaq 41/12/1/4 Kobe 26/10/4/2 8-27 fgs.

One could even argue Shaq made Kobe everything he is. All the pressure was on Shaq, opened everything up for Kobe. The same way everyone had to overreact to MJ letting Pippen feast.- Phil even said it in the locker-room after a close lose in Seattle in 01 that without Shaq Kobe wouldn't be the same player.

[SteveKerrsJunk]

Vs. Iverson
Game 1: Shaq 44/20/5/1 Kobe 15/3/5/3
Game 2: Shaq 28/20/9/8 near quadrouble double Kobe 31/8/6/2
Game 3: Shaq 30/12/3/4 11-20 fgs Kobe 32/6/3/2 13-30 fgs
Game 4: Shaq 34/14/5 Kobe 19/10/9/1
Game 5: Shaq 29/13/2/5 Kobe 26/12/6/1 38% fg

It was rumored that Kobe thought he was a better player than Shaq. Shaq had to make a diss track and diss him asking him tell him how his ass tastes, showing that he is not only superior on the basketball court but in the playground rap battles as well completely and utterly destroying Kobe's career trajectory and putting him rightfully 1 spot below Tim Duncan on the all time great players list.

[stevenash]

How can you compare Kobe to Shaq?

One was a down low center the other was a small forward/shooting guard hybrid.