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Originally Posted by SeriousSummer
I'll give you Reggie Miller--he only really strikes me as one of 20-25 players that you can argue slides into the last couple of slots.
But the big O was incredible. I only remember him from playing with Milwaukee--and that's like knowing Jason Kidd only from the time he played with the Mavs. He averaged a triple double in 1961-1962 and just missed doing so in 1963-1964. He was a great scorer and shot .485 during a time when shooting percentages were much lower. Oscar was an excellent defender. He was on the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks NBA champions and the finals team in 1974 when the Bucks lost a seven game series.
But besides all that, my memory of the Big O is that even in his final years he had the same impact on controlling the game that Jason Kidd does, but Oscar was a much better defender and a better scorer. I don't remember O from the 1960s, but even watching him in his 14th year in the league, you could see what he must have been like when he was younger.
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Oscar was an amazing player, no question. But a lot of people he was always a stats guy and played in a sometimes "me first" way that was detrimental to his teams. His only won one ring with a beastly Kareem. I think he's top 12 easily, but I struggle to see him ahead of Magic, Bird, Russell, and Shaq.