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jeffajufo · 10-11-2007, 08:57 PM

Dirk does not belong on this list. You won't find a bigger Dirk fan than me, but he simply hasn't done enough compared to the others to even be in the convo. And if he did, you wouldn't have to use the accolades he received playing in EUROPE for an ALL-TIME NBA team.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar to me is the greatest big man of all, and It's really not close in my opinion. He scored like Wilt did(Career All Time Leading Scorer) and he played great defense like Russell(10 ALL NBA Defensive Teams). His ability to play BOTH ends of the court with the collective brilliance that Russell and Wilt played with is what makes him the best center ever. I wouldn't hold the fact that Russell won 11 titles against Kareem. While Russell certainly anchored those defensive teams, you can make the argument that he wasn't necessarily the best player,or MVP of the team during ALL 11 titles, Just like you can say Kareem wasn't the MVP of the finals every time he won a title. If we were to put people ahead JUST on number of rings without any regard to their individual brilliance in relation to their opponents/leaguewide team competitive strength, it would be impossible to make a list like this at all. Robert Horry has 7 titles. Does that make him a greater player than Charles Barkley?

The trouble with saying a guy revolutionized a game,and citing rule changes as evidence, is that it doesn't always speak to the level of greatness of a player, and it unfairly penalizes another athlete simply because he was a generation late? Roy Williams had a rule changed after him, and I wouldn't put him as the all time greatest safety if I were to do a list like that for football.

Karl Malone revolutionized the PF position, not Dirk. Power Forwards used to be nothing more than blunt instruments, setting screens and getting rebounds, and putting an elbow in somebodys face. Nothing more. They were the fullbacks of the NBA. People forget that Malone had an excellent medium range fallaway to complement his inside game. It was very uncommon for a PF to be a scoring threat,much less the focal point of an entire offense. I think KG and Dirk represent the continuing evolution of the PF position, very similarly to the way Shockey, Gonzales,Witten,Vernon Davis,Gates, and Ben Olson are continuing the increasing versatility and resourcefulness of the TE position in the NBA.

10-11-2007, 08:57 PM	#25
jeffajufo Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 22	Dirk does not belong on this list. You won't find a bigger Dirk fan than me, but he simply hasn't done enough compared to the others to even be in the convo. And if he did, you wouldn't have to use the accolades he received playing in EUROPE for an ALL-TIME NBA team. Kareem Abdul Jabbar to me is the greatest big man of all, and It's really not close in my opinion. He scored like Wilt did(Career All Time Leading Scorer) and he played great defense like Russell(10 ALL NBA Defensive Teams). His ability to play BOTH ends of the court with the collective brilliance that Russell and Wilt played with is what makes him the best center ever. I wouldn't hold the fact that Russell won 11 titles against Kareem. While Russell certainly anchored those defensive teams, you can make the argument that he wasn't necessarily the best player,or MVP of the team during ALL 11 titles, Just like you can say Kareem wasn't the MVP of the finals every time he won a title. If we were to put people ahead JUST on number of rings without any regard to their individual brilliance in relation to their opponents/leaguewide team competitive strength, it would be impossible to make a list like this at all. Robert Horry has 7 titles. Does that make him a greater player than Charles Barkley? The trouble with saying a guy revolutionized a game,and citing rule changes as evidence, is that it doesn't always speak to the level of greatness of a player, and it unfairly penalizes another athlete simply because he was a generation late? Roy Williams had a rule changed after him, and I wouldn't put him as the all time greatest safety if I were to do a list like that for football. Karl Malone revolutionized the PF position, not Dirk. Power Forwards used to be nothing more than blunt instruments, setting screens and getting rebounds, and putting an elbow in somebodys face. Nothing more. They were the fullbacks of the NBA. People forget that Malone had an excellent medium range fallaway to complement his inside game. It was very uncommon for a PF to be a scoring threat,much less the focal point of an entire offense. I think KG and Dirk represent the continuing evolution of the PF position, very similarly to the way Shockey, Gonzales,Witten,Vernon Davis,Gates, and Ben Olson are continuing the increasing versatility and resourcefulness of the TE position in the NBA.