Quote:
Originally Posted by sike
Solid post...I was especially intrigued by the following...
If you give me the choice of all three in their prime and I'm starting my franchise...that is a very, VERY simple pick.
Shaq hands down.
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Same here. If I'm picking a player to build a franchise around in any era, for me Shaq is right behind MJ. Really the only reason I have Magic and Bird ahead of Shaq is for historical importance (and yes, I know by that logic I should have Russell higher on the list, but like I said, it's my list damnit!)
The NBA was in very serious danger of fading into oblivion in the late 70's. Magic and Bird not only saved the NBA, but catapulted it into the modern era. The NBA as we know it might very well not exist today if not for those two players, and that alone puts both of them in the top 5 for me. There's of course other reasons much less abstract than that.
Magic has to be there simply on his career accolades. That Lakers team went to the finals
nine times in eleven years and won five championships. And, unlike that old Celtic dynasty of the 50's-60's, this was during arguably the most competitive era in the history of the league. That's friggin insane. I think most of us are familiar enough with Magic's game that I don't need to describe it in detail. The greatest floor general ever in the body of a 6'9 power forward.
Bird is of course also high on the list for his simple career accolades as well, but there's another reason I have Bird ahead of someone like Shaq (who's own individual accomplishments you could argue surpass Bird's.) Bird might not have been the
best player of all time, but in my humble opinion he was the most
skilled and
talented player in the history of the game. No other player has ever possessed his mastery over every single aspect of the game. Pretty much everyone knows that he was one of best pure shooters ever, maybe even the best as well as a terrific rebounder. What some people tend to forget is that he was also lethal in the low-post, more than capable on the defensive end, and
the best passing forward ever. His passing, more than any other part of his game, is what continues to amaze me to this day. Simply incredible. I'll throw this out there for everyone to chew on; Bird was every bit as good a passer as Magic was. As good as the game has ever seen. He very easily could've been a 6'9 point guard like Magic was, but he was far more lethal as a catch-and-shoot as well as post-up scorer, that playing point guard would've detracted from his phenomenal scoring abilities (also he lacked the footspeed to consistently beat smaller, quicker guys off the dribble.)
Notice I make the distinction between "most talented" and "best." Bird had the most virtuosic and complete skillset of any player, but Magic was about three times more athletic than Bird, and Jordan was probably about a thousand times more athletic than either of them. Even by the standards of the early 1980's, Bird was not a particularly good "athlete."