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The Greatest Basketball Player of All Time


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Go Braves!

I'm a retirement actuary. Nothing about my comments is intended or should be construed as investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Occasionally, but not all the time, it might be reasonable to interpret my comments as actuarial or consulting advice.

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Bill is the only contender to Kareem. Maybe Wilt controls Bill on paper, but Bill controlled Wilt on the court.

My starting 5:

Kareem

Bill

Jerry (West)

The Big O

Dr. J

first off the bench, probably Elgin

(Wow, this guy is really old.) :lol:

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It depends. Are we talking about entire career, or only pro career, or only college career?

(For example, Dr. J is excluded if the focus is on college career.)

College career: DT, Big O, Lew Alcindor, Elgin, West.

(Wow, this guy is also really old. :lol: )

If you don't know who DT is, shame on you.

I'm a retirement actuary. Nothing about my comments is intended or should be construed as investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Occasionally, but not all the time, it might be reasonable to interpret my comments as actuarial or consulting advice.

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Mike:

You make a great point. If championships are the sole meausre, Bill would be greatest center. But straight up, prime in prime, Bill would be number three. He isn't tall enough or physical enough to battle Kareem and Wilt.

Kareem would shoot over him. Wilt would kill him in the blocks.

My guess is that Bill would confuse Wilt to no end and find a way, straight up, to shut him down.

Kareem was a smarter player than Wilt so he would just smile as he shot over Bill, but I think Bill played a game that was more physical than what Kareem wanted to play, and he would wear him down as well.

Bottom line is that Bill is, in my opinion, the smartest of the bunch and physical enough so that, one on one, over a long enough period, Mr. Russell would rule.

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Shot in the Dark:

You are wrong. You clearly are too young to have seen year after year of Bill Russell against Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA games and championships. However, I am not. Russell's athleticism overcame Chamberlain's height advantage. While Wilt was on the court, they cancelled each other out. However, Russell stayed on the court longer because he fouled less. Of course Russell was in better shape because he didn't have sex with over 10,000 women.

With Russell, the Celtics were NBA champions in 1957, '59, '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '68, '69. Russell was the NBA MVP in 1958, '61, '62, '63, '65. Chamberlain was NBA champion in 1967 and '72) and was NBA MVP in 1960, '66, '67, '68.

I am not a Celtics fan, but I know BS when I see it: "He isn't tall enough or physical enough to battle Kareem and Wilt."

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Bill is the only contender to Kareem. Maybe Wilt controls Bill on paper, but Bill controlled Wilt on the court.

My starting 5:

Kareem

Bill

Jerry (West)

The Big O

Dr. J

first off the bench, probably Elgin

(Wow, this guy is really old.) :lol:

When talking about the best team, don't you want team players? You've just got to eliminate Dr. J. and put Magic in that slot. And Oscar wasn't nearly as accurate as Larry, so I'd have to make that change, too. A team without Michael makes no sense, so one of Kareem or Bill has to go, too, and that would be Kareem, arguably the best "off the bench" player in history.

So, my team looks like:

Bill

Larry

Michael

Jerry

Magic

Can you imagine anybody employing a full court press against these guys? Not a chance.

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My vote:

Win Wilfong

Bevo Nordmann

Chuck Share

Rudy LaRusso

Hot Rod Hundley

Dave Piontek

Gene Conley*

Dick Ricketts*

Chuck Connors*

*for their contribution to the diminution of major league baseball

with an assist to Nathanial Clifton because you just got to love the moniker, "Sweetwater"

Finally, it was announced today that Buckwheat, of Our Gang fame, has converted to the Muslim faith and changed his name to Kareem of Wheat.

The material provided and the opinions expressed in this post are for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as the basis for any action or inaction. You should obtain appropriate tax, legal, or other professional advice.

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When talking about the best team, don't you want team players? You've just got to eliminate Dr. J. and put Magic in that slot.

We had a joke amongst ourselves that went, "Team player Magic Johnson drives toward the basket and shoots." I would probably have him coming off my bench, but Big O runs my team. And obviously, I'd start Kareem at whatever level, pro, college, or high school.

Anyone else have Pistol Pete on their bench?

And AtA, that seems a little harsh on Gene Conley. He had some good days, way better than Mr. Conners. But I digress.

Thanks for all the opinions. Nice to see Elgin on another team. He doesn't get a tenth the attention he deserves.

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Nice to see Elgin on another team. He doesn't get a tenth the attention he deserves.

No one but no one had a sweeter touch than Mr. Baylor.

The material provided and the opinions expressed in this post are for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as the basis for any action or inaction. You should obtain appropriate tax, legal, or other professional advice.

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Guest Sieve

How about a full team of 12 (+1):

Abdul-Jabbar

Baylor

Bird

Chamberlain

Cousy

Erving

Johnson

Jordan

Maravich

Petit

Robertson

Russell

West

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How about a full team of 12 (+1):

Abdul-Jabbar

Baylor

Bird

Chamberlain

Cousy

Erving

Johnson

Jordan

Maravich

Petit

Robertson

Russell

West

Thank you for recognizing Bob Petit plus a Hawk first round draft choice, Bill Russell, who was traded for Ed McCauley and Cliff Hagen.

The material provided and the opinions expressed in this post are for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as the basis for any action or inaction. You should obtain appropriate tax, legal, or other professional advice.

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How about a full team of 12 (+1):

Nice list, Sieve. I never finished a full 12 picks.

If I needed a Celtic forward, I'd pick Havlicek (sorry, Larry, and sorry, Larry).

I'd probably go with Shaq or the Admiral in place of Wilt.

And I haven't sorted out whether to include the Ice Man, Clyde Frasier, or Dischinger (50.6% from the field).

Ya, I'd keep Petit.

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I think of Havlicek more as a shooting guard than a forward. He actually switched between 2 and 3 positions.

The list of 13 is well-reasoned. I'm not sure that Bob Petit belongs on it; the problem is that there isn't much difference between the 11 and 12 and the next 30 greatest players of all time. Can we leave out the NBA all-time career leader in both assists and steals? (John Stockton)

Preston's starting 5 are all wonderful players, but it seems to me that you can't start both Russell and Abdul-Jabbar at the same position.

I love Oscar and Jerry, but ahead of MJ and Magic? Back in the days of the ABA Dr. J had moves that seemed humanly impossible. He was a solid pro in the NBA when he was older, but as a young man he was truly amazing. I also loved watching Pistol Pete do things nobody else has ever done (before or since). He scored 52 points one night, mostly from outside, before the NBA adopted the three-point shot. If fact it was argued at the time that Maravich was the reason the league waited so long to adopt the rule.

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"Pogo Joe" Caldwell was Dr. J before Dr. J was Dr. J.

I'm a retirement actuary. Nothing about my comments is intended or should be construed as investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Occasionally, but not all the time, it might be reasonable to interpret my comments as actuarial or consulting advice.

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Preston's starting 5 are all wonderful players, but it seems to me that you can't start both Russell and Abdul-Jabbar at the same position.

Which is why Kareem isn't in my five.

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Havlicek was all-around great, and he could jump.

Stockton deserves a lot of consideration.

Russell starts as a power forward or twin tower. And coming back down the floor against Bill and Kareem, you better be hitting from outside.

Nothing compares to Dr. J.

but people ought to know about Pogo Joe, both his skills and the NBA indignities he endured.

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I think of Havlicek more as a shooting guard than a forward. He actually switched between 2 and 3 positions.

The list of 13 is well-reasoned. I'm not sure that Bob Petit belongs on it; the problem is that there isn't much difference between the 11 and 12 and the next 30 greatest players of all time. Can we leave out the NBA all-time career leader in both assists and steals? (John Stockton)

Preston's starting 5 are all wonderful players, but it seems to me that you can't start both Russell and Abdul-Jabbar at the same position.

I love Oscar and Jerry, but ahead of MJ and Magic? Back in the days of the ABA Dr. J had moves that seemed humanly impossible. He was a solid pro in the NBA when he was older, but as a young man he was truly amazing. I also loved watching Pistol Pete do things nobody else has ever done (before or since). He scored 52 points one night, mostly from outside, before the NBA adopted the three-point shot. If fact it was argued at the time that Maravich was the reason the league waited so long to adopt the rule.

Exclude Bob Petit? Boo, hiss. An insult to the great Southern State of St. Louis -- the western most state for professional baseball and basketball until 1955 (provided you exclude the Minneapolis Lakers). Okay, if you exclude Petit, then you must concede it would be unjust to include Woody Sauldsberry.

The material provided and the opinions expressed in this post are for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as the basis for any action or inaction. You should obtain appropriate tax, legal, or other professional advice.

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