I'm not really an NBA fan, but I've always been a sports fan in general and have always known the "big names" of the day, at least for the last 25 years or so. That said, I was completely shocked that Larry Bird didn't end up in the top 15 of any category at the end of his career.
Or Charles Barkley. Or Elgin Baylor. Says something about the danger of relying too much on statistics, which recognize Mookie Blaylock and Shawn Bradley, over performance.
That's really not an accurate statement at all. Statistics accurately portray a number of things. Mookie Blaylock was, by far, a better defender than Larry Bird -- without question. Just because Larry Bird was a better all-around player and a legend, doesn't mean that the statistics are misleading. I'm not taking anything away from Bird. He was certainly one of the all-time greats, but, as far as steals go, Blaylock was, for his time, second only to Gary Payton for defensive point guards. .. Same thing goes for Bradley, he was one of the top shot blockers in his day. ... Bird wasn't an on-the-ball defender, nor was he a shot blocker. Faulting statistics for Bird not being on the list is like saying that baseball's ERA is misleading because Willie Mays isn't in the Top 15 of any major pitching stat.
The 3-point line is in the same spot today as it was when Bird was playing. Bird's main reason for not appearing on these lists is the short length of his career. Per game, he posted an incredible 24.8/10/6.3 stat line with 1.7 steals to boot.
Bird retired because of lower back issues, not because he planned to do so. He had a disk replaced, otherwise he would have retired some years earlier.
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I'm somewhat surprised far fewer people got Moses Malone than Karl Malone. Why didn't they just type "Malone?' Also surprised about Alvin vs. Oscar Robertson--fewer people got the latter, but he's the one I was aiming for when I typed "Robertson." I used to be into basketball--not so much now, but Oscar Robertson is a legend.
Who's the best? I was surprised Dennis Rodman didn't make it. If you look at the number of rebounds players have had divided by the number of minutes they have been on the court, Rodman is #5. But #1 is Bill Russell, who is 2nd on the above list. Russell made over 1 rebound for every two minutes that he spent playing. The only guy to even come close to that was Chamberlain, and he also shows up on the above list. So who do you think is the best?
Makes me kind of happy that LeBron isn't in any of these! It also seemed funny how each player's personality seems to have an impact on their category - like Duncan, Nash, and Johnson, 3 of the most widely-considered "nice" guys in the NBA to be assist leaders. :)
First of all, LeBron is the 3rd greatest player of all time. Hes 2 rings away from #1 all-time. Right now he is 11th All-Time in scoring. He is on track to become #1 all time. Right now he is also 18th All-Time assists. He is on track to become at least 10th all time. He is also 24th in steals. He is on track to become top 15 in those also.
At the start of next season you will have to swap out Havlicek because Paul Pierce is only 79 points away from him, he will probably move up to at least 11th scoring all-time this year, thats only 600 points away.
Seconded. The same thing bothered me with counting Schmidt when we typed in Smith on baseball quizzes, but at least there, it's not *not* counting some other Schmidt. And I think you recently rectified that situation to boot.
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I hated Larry Bird as much as any self-respecting Lakers fan, but the idea that he was somehow overrated is nuts.
Bird could do it all. As a rookie, he went to a team that had finished with the 2nd-worst record in the NBA and led them to the best record in the NBA. Three NBA Championships, 3 League MVP awards, 12 All-Star Game appearances and 10 All-NBA selections followed.
If you look at the all-time Top 50 in Rebounds-per-Game, the all-time Top 50 in Assists-per-Game and all-time Top 25 Points-per-Game, 15 players in NBA history appear in at least 2 of those lists. But only 1 player appears in all 3. Care to guess who that is? I'll give you a hint: you think he's overrated. SMH.
And if you add in the all-time Top 50 in Steals-per-Game, 3 players appear in at least 3 of all 4 lists. But only 1 appears in all 4. Guess who? Here's another hint: he's from French Lick, IN.
Yeah, per-game statistics are more telling than aggregate statistics. Bird didn't play enough to amass the numbers these guys did, but he outpaced just about everyone in the games he actually played.
Your quiz is broken. Lonzo Ball didn't work for any of these categories. I was told that he was the greatest basketball player ever. By his father (and ESPN).
Lots of players can specialize in one area and make one of the categories on this list. However, it takes a truly rare talent to make more than one of the categories. I only see one player listed on four of the five lists-- Olajuwon. Maybe he doesn't get the credit he deserves...
Had a hard time with the blockers... the ones I got happened to be rebounders (bigger names).
Bird could do it all. As a rookie, he went to a team that had finished with the 2nd-worst record in the NBA and led them to the best record in the NBA. Three NBA Championships, 3 League MVP awards, 12 All-Star Game appearances and 10 All-NBA selections followed.
If you look at the all-time Top 50 in Rebounds-per-Game, the all-time Top 50 in Assists-per-Game and all-time Top 25 Points-per-Game, 15 players in NBA history appear in at least 2 of those lists. But only 1 player appears in all 3. Care to guess who that is? I'll give you a hint: you think he's overrated. SMH.
And if you add in the all-time Top 50 in Steals-per-Game, 3 players appear in at least 3 of all 4 lists. But only 1 appears in all 4. Guess who? Here's another hint: he's from French Lick, IN.