Greatest BBall player EVER

[GreenMonster]

No Love for Bill Russell..

13 years in the league, he won 11 titles.. 5 years he was the MVP, although he could have been the MVP every year.. Dominated on both sides of the ball and no doubt the greatest defender in NBA history.. Jerry West may be the Logo but the Championship trophy should look like Bill Russell.. Should be in everyones top 5..

"There are two types of superstars. One makes himself look good at the expense of the other guys on the floor. But there's another type who makes the players around him look better than they are, and that's the type Russell was." Don Nelson

 

[Samphin]

gretzky best pro athlete ever....look at his numbers..i doubt anyone ever sniffs them

Wily Chamberlin woke up one morning and ran a marathon, without even training. He was a pro beasketball and volleyball player and even completed 100 mile ultra marathons. The man was just physically untouchable by anyone, including Gretzky. I love Gretzky, I do. I am a L.A. Kings fan and got to see a lot of him gowing up. But he doesn't even sniff Wilt for greatest athlete ever.

For me, Wilt is the best B-baller and athlete ever.

 

[TerryTate]

When it all comes down to it...there are two men that are head and shoulders above everyone else. That is Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Michael is #1, not only in my eyes...but ESPN's SportsCentury when they ranked the 50 greatest ATHLETES of all time.

Just look at the numbers....

5-time season MVP
6-time NBA Champ
6-time Finals MVP
10-time Scoring leader
9-time All-NBA First Team
1 Defensive POY
14-time All-Star
3-time All-star MVP
Rookie of the Year
10 Scoring Titles

Michael being at 6'6" still managed to make everyone else around him better. Scottie Pippen would not be on the list of the NBA's 50 greatest players without him. As mentioned before, guys like Bill Wennington, (let me throw a few more in there), Luc Longley, and Steve Kerr were all made better because of Michael.

 

[PressCoverage]

He blew past the Bird/McHale led Celtics once he got some playoff experience.

Ummm... if i may take exception here.. The Bird/McHale/Parish era was long long past it's prime by the time Jordan was winning championships... Sorry.... Please don't give him credit for toppling the 34-yearold Bird and the 37-yearold Parish by 1991... Put the 1986 or 1984 Celtics up against the best Bulls teams, and there'd likely be a different story told...

Regardless, Jordan is by far the best individual player the NBA has ever seen...

 

[Boik14]

Ummm... if i may take exception here.. The Bird/McHale/Parish era was long long past it's prime by the time Jordan was winning championships... Sorry.... Please don't give him credit for toppling the 34-yearold Bird and the 37-yearold Parish by 1991... Put the 1986 or 1984 Celtics up against the best Bulls teams, and there'd likely be a different story told...

Regardless, Jordan is by far the best individual player the NBA has ever seen...

It was still a hurdle MJ had to clear. Its no one's fault that Bird/McHale/Parrish were older by the time Jordan had something resembling a supporting cast.

 

[Boik14]

were not talking about the greatest player in another era...were talking about the greatest player man. Note not the greatest scorer or I would of said Wilt...greatest player that did everything was west

This has already been put to rest. Jordan dominated in the era that produced the most talent and best defenses. And even playing in an era with better competition his stats are still better than west's.

And as far as Wilt being the greatest scorer...It would be a pity for him not to have averaged more PPG over his career for the simple fact that, like I said before, the only other player over 6'9" he ever played against was Bill Russell who owned Wilt's ***. If wilt played during Jordan's era wilt would have found himself against Hakeem, Ewing, Shaq, Robinson, Duncan (early years), Mourning, etc...all players who were more athletic than wilt was.

 

[Dolphin1184]

MJ. Even at 40 years old he singlehandly took a garbage Wizards team and made them better. It was a pleasure to see him play for one more year. I remember a highlight of him making a shot at the buzzard and the announcer saying "HE DID IT AGAIN! HE DID IT AGAIN!"

 

[Samphin]

This has already been put to rest. Jordan dominated in the era that produced the most talent and best defenses. And even playing in an era with better competition his stats are still better than west's.

And as far as Wilt being the greatest scorer...It would be a pity for him not to have averaged more PPG over his career for the simple fact that, like I said before, the only other player over 6'9" he ever played against was Bill Russell who owned Wilt's ***. If wilt played during Jordan's era wilt would have found himself against Hakeem, Ewing, Shaq, Robinson, Duncan (early years), Mourning, etc...all players who were more athletic than wilt was.

Ok, NONE of these guys are more "athletic" than Wilt. Wilt would run circles around anyone of those guys. The only one that might give him trouble would be Shaq, but even then, Wilt would have been able to get around it.

The problem with Wilt is that a lot of his games weren't televised. In fact, the game where he scored 100, there was no cameras like they have today. I guarentee you that if Wilt's every move was recorded on video tape like it is today, people's eyes would be open.

 

[Amars]

Tie- Micheal Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.
2 different era with 2 different styles.

 

[phunwin]

OK, the question of "greatest" can be interpreted two different ways. The first is, "if you were starting a franchise and could pick any player in his prime to build around, who would it be?" And the other is "if you were choosing sides for a pick-up game with your life on the line, who would be the first pick?"

If it's the first question, you'd better take Wilt Chamberlain. If the second, you'd better take Michael Jordan.

Interesting story about these two, recounted by Bill Walton. When the NBA was having their 50th anniversary celebration, and they had the 50 greatest players in league history together, MJ and Wilt got to talking. And of course, since both have massive egos, they got to arguing about who was better. They went back and forth for awhile, before Wilt came up with the topper: "when I played, they changed the rules to make it harder for me. When you played, they changed the rules to make it easier for you."

And while we're at it, the all-time team:
PG - Magic
SG - MJ
SF - Bird
PF - Duncan...even though he's really a center. Anyone arguing for Karl Malone will be shot at sunrise.
C - Chamberlain

 

[nick1]

why is this an arguement? It's Michael Jordan without a doubt

 

[Samphin]

why is this an arguement? It's Michael Jordan without a doubt

And that is why there is an argument.

 

[PressCoverage]

Ok, NONE of these guys are more "athletic" than Wilt. Wilt would run circles around anyone of those guys. The only one that might give him trouble would be Shaq, but even then, Wilt would have been able to get around it.

The problem with Wilt is that a lot of his games weren't televised. In fact, the game where he scored 100, there was no cameras like they have today. I guarentee you that if Wilt's every move was recorded on video tape like it is today, people's eyes would be open.

And yet he could never seem to handle Russell... Hmmmm...

 

[phunwin]

And yet he could never seem to handle Russell... Hmmmm...

That's not true. The story of their rivalry was that Wilt would win the battles, but Russ would win the war. Chamberlain's individual numbers against Russell were quite impressive, yet in terms of wins and losses, it was more one-sided than the Christians vs. Lions rivalry. That's a direct result of Russ playing with a bunch of future Hall of Famers, and playing for the greatest coach of his era, not of Russell being a better player.

 

[Buddwalk]

OK, the question of "greatest" can be interpreted two different ways. The first is, "if you were starting a franchise and could pick any player in his prime to build around, who would it be?" And the other is "if you were choosing sides for a pick-up game with your life on the line, who would be the first pick?"

If it's the first question, you'd better take Wilt Chamberlain. If the second, you'd better take Michael Jordan.

Interesting story about these two, recounted by Bill Walton. When the NBA was having their 50th anniversary celebration, and they had the 50 greatest players in league history together, MJ and Wilt got to talking. And of course, since both have massive egos, they got to arguing about who was better. They went back and forth for awhile, before Wilt came up with the topper: "when I played, they changed the rules to make it harder for me. When you played, they changed the rules to make it easier for you."

And while we're at it, the all-time team:
PG - Magic
SG - MJ
SF - Bird
PF - Duncan...even though he's really a center. Anyone arguing for Karl Malone will be shot at sunrise.
C - Chamberlain

duncans not a center...he hasnt played center since highschool...hes been a pf since entering the nba

You guys need to all get tape on west and actually watch them before you say MJ is the best. MJ is hyped to be the best hes marketed to be the best you see his name everywhere.