All right this isn't a cop out but I do have a 3-way tie. And i've put a lot of time into this - in fact it's practically all I ever think about. ANd yes, I do have a lot of problems, thank you.

Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan.

Having seen them all-the greatest basketball player of all time is Wilt Chamberlain. He didn't win as often as MJ or Russell but then he never had the players around him that Russell had or a team structured around him like MJ.


How good an athlete was he? the story goes that he was watching the track and field team practice and was teasing the coach who challenged him to try the decathalon. Wilt was incredibly strong and was a world class high jumper. Without practice and without training Wilt purported went through the ten events and supposedly his points would have exceeded the then world record.

MJ is the greatest NBA basketball player of ever.

I voted for MJ, but I hate that ****ing bastard!

John Stockton, who had 10 straight double-digit assist seasons (including a stretch of 14 per game, 14 per game, 15 per game, 14 per game, 14 per game), and with a career average of 10 per game, can't crack any of your top 3? That's outrageous, in my opinion. I never saw Cousey, though.

NICE lists.

Thoughtful, deep, historical, reverent.

You guys are obsessed and I approve.

OK, here are mine.

1st Team:

G - Oscar
G - MJ
C - Russell
F - Bird
F - Baylor

Oscar absolutely had it all. He was often a man playing among boys. To me he was a combo of Michael and Magic.

Russell to me defined and owned the center position. He's known as a winner, but there was a reason - he was as great as they come. I was very fortunate, I grew up in New England (well that part wasn't fortunate ) but I got to see Russell play in person a lot. He was as unbelievable a player as MJ, for very different reasons, but the same impacts on the game.

Baylor - is so known as a dunce now, but he wss unfreaking stoppable as a player. He was like Charles Barkley combined with Dennis Rodman and Dominique Wilkins!! Do you realize he once averaged 35 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists for a season? And that over 14 NBA seasons he averaged 27 points, 14 boards and 4 assists??? Good lord, what a load he was.

2nd Team:

G - Magic
G - West
C - Chamberlain
F - Bob Petit
F - Havlicek

Anyone who didn't see West play, you can believe any bit of folklore about him - he was so good you can't exaggerate his greatness, it's all true. Only MJ could have possibly bumped him off the 1st team all-time. Think of it this way - if Kobe had a brain and a heart - that would be West!! The man averaged over 30 points 4 different seasons, was over 7 boards 4 different seasons, hit a high of 9.7 assists. They didn't even keep stats on steals till his last year in the league when he was 35 years old and he averaged 2.6 that year!!!!!

Now Petit I'm sure I'll get plenty of pushback on, but in his day he was a monster, a forward who took on the centers, forwards, anyone. He was like Ben Wallace and Kevin Garnett together. Man's averages over 11 seasons were 26 points and 16 boards and he was the only man to interrupt Russell's title strings for a long time.

3rd Team:

G - Clyde
G - Cousy
C - Jabbar
F - Dr. J
F - Rick Barry

Cousy was the s**ts. He was the first and the best small point guard. Everything good that you think of aboiut Tiny, Zeke, Stockton, Cheeks, etc, you can trace back to Cousy. Stats weren't as crazy as some - 18 points, 8 assists, 5 boards over 14 seasons - but he just had a command of the ball, the court, the game. He F'd with people, as he pleased. Russell has referred to him as the greatest player he ever played with in his life.

Rick Barry, the man was a prick but a total baller. Over 14 years averaged 25 points, 7 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals. Clutch and crazy. And as selfish of a human being that he was, as a baller he managed to average over 6 assists as a forward 5 different seasons.

Posted by Marv:

All right this isn't a cop out but I do have a 3-way tie. And i've put a lot of time into this - in fact it's practically all I ever think about. ANd yes, I do have a lot of problems, thank you.

Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan.

Funny list, common thread. Russell was the ultimate winner becasue he was all about "team" first!

Oscar was never on good teams and racked up stats like crazy. Finally won in twilight when hooked up with Alcinder in Milwaukee!

Jordan became both a team player and stat gatherer and won 6 titles!