Best NBA player of all time?

Why did you randomly say "Jordan rules baby!" if you refuse to acknowledge him as the best?

I think WuTa was talking about the book "The Jordan Rules".

someone wrote a book on the jordan rules?...i meant rules as in rules not slang for cool.......the detriot bad boys of the late 80s and early 90s used a stradegy called the jordan rules...it was similar to the stradegy they used on kobe in the finals except the bad boys were alot rougher and would make jordan pay everytime he drove the lane

Ah, got ya.

Top 12 Players All-Time

1) Wilt Chamberlain
2) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3) Michael Jordan
4) Tim Duncan
5) Hakeem Olajuwan
6) Kevin Garnett
7) Shaquille O'Neal
8) Magic Johnson
9) Kobe Bryant
10) Larry Bird
11) Karl Malone
12) Julius Irving

Top 5 Players Currently

1) Tim Duncan
2) Kevin Garnett
3) Shaquille O'Neal
4) Kobe Bryant
5) LeBron James

You people have to understand something. Size is the most important thing in basketball. It is the key to versatility. Big men can make long-range jumpers consistently the way perimeter players do (look at Tim, Kevin and Dirk), but inversely, perimeter players cannot post up down low and score at will the way the elite big men can.

Big men rule. Always have, always will.

Jordan, the best perimeter player of all time, was good enough to sneak up into top 5 territory.

I figured I'd justify my choices with some stats and interesting facts.

1) Wilt Chamberlain
Most versatile player ever; seven-footer who once led the league in assists just to prove he could do it; tied with Jordan in career points per game.
2) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Insanely versatile center; rank 1 in total points all time.
3) Michael Jordan
Best perimeter player ever.
4) Tim Duncan
Best power forward all time; first-team All-NBA every year that he's played (something no other player has ever done); first-team All-Defense all but one year he's played; recorded a triple-double and 8 blocks in the winning game of the 2003 Finals; a unique personality who changed the game in favor of fundamentals in an era of attitude and athleticism.
5) Hakeem Olajuwan
Third best center of all time; invented many popular low post moves.
6) Kevin Garnett
Insanely versatile power forward; rival to Tim Duncan, but not as good a clutch performer, not as good in low post, not a winner. (Still at #6 on all-time list; the positives are given.) Started the high school to NBA movement (may or may not be the best thing in many cases including his own).
7) Shaquille O'Neal
Fourth best center of all time; heaviest superstar of all time.
8) Magic Johnson
Second best perimeter player of all time; perhaps even a better passer than Jordan.
9) Kobe Bryant
Third best perimeter player of all time; perhaps even more athletic than Jordan.
10) Larry Bird
Insanely versatile small forward and rival to Magic Johnson, but he fell deeper in love with the jumpshot. Granted he was the best at it, but Magic and Michael could've been just as good at pure shooting had they taken more outside shots. The difference is, they got to the paint more because they knew that was the key to the game.
11) Karl Malone
Third best power forward of all time; rank 2 in total points all time.
12) Julius Irving
Insanely versatile guard; invented many popular dunks.

Do not even consider adding LeBron James to this list until he proves he can do what he's doing for 8-12 years and gets his team deep into the playoffs.

There's no limit to how high he can soar, but already the clock is ticking. I honestly don't see him making this list.

13) Oscar Robinson
Rank 1 career triple-doubles.
14) Pete Marovic
Michael Jordan looked up to him.
15) Nate Archibald
Another great all-around player.

Then I'd get into Charles Barkley, David Robinson, James Worthy, Bill Russell, etc. I don't feel like ordering them, though.

There was no one more dominant that Jordan in his prime. If you ever saw him play live, you wouldn't even think twice about who to vote for.

In my eyes it's Jordan. I am not a stat man and have not watched the NBA for long. My reason for choosing Jordan is because he made me think, "what is this basketball rubbish all about?" As I'm sure he was with most of the NBA's current world-wide audience.

Also I saw him win the NBA champs series vs Stockton and Malone's Jazz, in Utah, with the flu, with the last shot of the game. I dunno what's more clutch than that?

I saw Jordan play live.

Either way, it is hypocritical to say that you "had to see Jordan play live," because none of us have seen Chamberlain play live (unless you're the age of my dad).

If Jordan played in the 60's, would he still be as highly regarded as he is? I often wonder if people overrate him because they lived through his era and not the others.

Elgin Baylor averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds for his career, and he was an inch shorter than Jordan.

Anyway, my vote goes to Wilt Chamberlain. His numbers are staggering.

My favorite was Magic.
The best was Jordan.
That being said, the future is Lebron and I think if we ask this question again in the future the general consensus of who's the best will probably be different.

You guys are all crazy. Larry Bird is the the greatest. He could do more than just shoot. That's why he was a POWER FORWARD. He should be ranked #3 all time. No doubt Wilt "the stilt" Chamberlain definetely up at the top, althogh I think and most basketball fans or anyone with common sense would agree that MICHAEL JORDAN IS EXTREMELY OVERRATED. Larry "Legend" Bird is better than him and karrem-abdul jabbar. He also won 3 consecutive coach of the year award with the pacers. Visit this website to see what I mean.

Larry Bird was great, but not better than Jordan except in shooting. Jordan was faster, a better deffender and a more complete player in all the fields, except shooting. Really, to say that Jordan is extremaly overrated is non sense. Only see how he could rule the entire game, it was amazing.

Did anyone catch the Lakers vs. Cleveland game this weekend?

LeBron still has a long way to go and a lot of learning ahead of him. But seriously....that guy will be better than Jordan.

I've never seen someone able to take it to the hoop as strong as him, and he makes ALL of his players better just like Jordan did.

The kid is 20 years old averaging 25 pts, 7 reb, 7 assists. Imagine what he'll be like in 5 years.

I repeat, Lebron James is a amazing , fantastic player with a lot of future in front of him. But its very early to compare him with Jordan.To get the name and all the things that Jordad got is very hard, we have still to wait. I have have seen many and many players who were amazing in their starting and then, they werent anything.