Best NBA player of all time?

Never numbers or game prowess like James has shown.

He's got the passing of Magic, with the leadership and vertical of Jordan. His jump shot has made a remarkable leap considering where he was last year.

Look at the year where Kobe decided it was time to be primetime. He put 20 lbs on and became a totally different player than his early years.

And no one was amazing in their second year like LeBron is....especially considering the gigantic amount of hype he's had to deliver on.

Obviously it's wayyyyy too early to make the call. But one thing I like about LeBron at this point is....he doesn't rely on a fade away jumper. Sure...Jordan could hit is better than anyone....but a turn around 15 footer is never a "good" shot to rely on. Driving and dishing out will always get you better looks at the rim.

Originally posted by whiteboy M.C
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.

Um.... no. You obviously don't know your basketball history. You claiming Larry Bird won 3 consecutive coach of the year awards is proof that you are making up crap in your head. He won it once for the 97-98 season. The very next year, Dunleavy won it for my Blazers (stupid organization fired him to use him as a scape-goat). Bird was great. Easily a top 10 in history. But better than Jordan? Come on. Jordan one six championships and had no where near the help Bird did.

About James.... I love him. Easily my favorite and I hope he becomes the best ever. He is 20 and averaging about 25, 7, and 7. Jordan did that once in his career. I'd say James is on track. Hmmm.... I don't think Bird ever did that.

You know, the most amazing thing about Jordan in my opinion is that he was able to just simply dominate the game at only 6'6 in height just like a big man like Chamberlain or Kareem would. Not since those, have I ever seen anyone take over games like he did and simply leave his own teammates and competitors in awe. Regardless of who your favorite player was Magic, Bird, whatever, you have to give it up to the guy.

Also like I said before, Lebron is definitely the future of this league. I know it's still real early but you can already start to notice it in his game, he's already being friendly with all the other players in the league as well just like Jordan did and he's also got that same squeaky clean image and good all around persona, like he could be a real ambassador of the game like Jordan was. All he needs to do now is develop a bit more confidence and that killer instinct that Jordan had and come out and just destroy his opponents in each game. Even in that Lakers game, although he played well, I still noticed some hesitation on his part, but I'm sure that will go away as time progresses.

actually near the end of the Lakers game...when LA was starting to mount a little come back...I believe it was LeBron who had the near alley oop layup and the pass off Odem's chest/ballfake/touch shot that prevented the comeback and sealed the game.

that was the part of the game that impressed me the most. And when he looked gassed earlier in the game I saw him take off faster than anyone on the court to get an uncontested fast break lay up.

He's got the mentality...but he's still a kid so it's not nearly as consistant as Jordan was.

Call me laking in common sense but my vote still goes with Jordan. Bird was a great player there is no doubt about that and considering he had none of the athletic gifts that Jordan had he was phenomenal. But Jordan overrated - come on man. Jordan could simply shut down the player he was guarding, still find time to drop in 50pts and hit the game winner. He accomplished everything a basketball player could dream of, i mean is there an award he hasn't won? (most improved player and 6th man not included). He was one of the fiercest competitors to play the game and improved his game every year he was in the league adding more and more weapons to his arsenal. So Jordan might not be your choice, but to call him overrated is just insane.
As for LeBron he is as Rza stated the closest thing to MJ as there is in the NBA. Not just his game but the way he behaves on and off the court, he is gracious and humble and there's not much of that left in the league. His game is out of this world when you consider this is his second year, he is dominating players with way more experience and is doing it in such an unselfish way it hard not to be on his side. He seems to enjoy passing like Magic and Stockton did and Kidd still does and that cant be taught. The way he is going in ten years (probably less) we will be looking at putting him top of the list.

Originally posted by Linkalicious
actually near the end of the Lakers game...when LA was starting to mount a little come back...I believe it was LeBron who had the near alley oop layup and the pass off Odem's chest/ballfake/touch shot that prevented the comeback and sealed the game.

that was the part of the game that impressed me the most. And when he looked gassed earlier in the game I saw him take off faster than anyone on the court to get an uncontested fast break lay up.

He's got the mentality...but he's still a kid so it's not nearly as consistant as Jordan was.

Agreed. 21 points in the second half. He only had 4 in the 1st half but he didn't take many shots in the 1st half. That too is like Jordan. Get the others involved early and then take over in the end. He owned Kobe. Kobe had 1 more point but worse fg% and every other stat in the game was lower than James. The pass off Odom was unintentional. It didn't hit his chest, it hit his hand that was in the passing lane. Despite it being unintentional, he still showed greatness by flowing with it and finishing the play.

That dunk that LeBron did over Damon Jones last week made me scream like a little girl. 😆

If any of you look in the NBA record book, you will see the name of Wilt Chamberlain still there after more than 40 years. Anyone who thinks that Jordan is better than Wilt just hasn't bothered to look at the facts. Lifetime scoring average is about even, but almost everything else goes to Wilt. People's opinion is one thing, but the record book doesn't lie. Jordan is gone from the league and he didn't even come close to Wilt. As for Shaq - when he grows up, he wants to be Wilt....someday. Bill Russell isn't even close either - just a very good team player, but not all that good by himself. Larry Bird was great in his time, but not among the top 5. LeBron James has the most potential of all the players now - could be the next great player if he continues to improve.

How long did Wilt Chamberlain play? What was the level of competition then and now?

It's apples to oranges.

and scoring points is not everything. Leadership means everything.

What did Wilt Chamberlain ever do to improve the game of the other players on his team? All he ever did was get the ball and shoot it.

Wilt played the best of his time, just like Michael did in his time. Wilt played for 13 seasons, leading the league in ASSISTS in the 67-68 season. When did Jordan ever lead the league in assists? He improved the other players for the most part by blocking alot of shots, leading to fast breaks and easy points for the rest of the team. His teammates could take chances on defense, knowing that Wilt would be there to stop the player if he drove to the basket. He would change the shots of everyone who came close to the basket, making them miss some close shots. The level of competition now might be weaker than it was in Wilts' time. We have too many teams that are weak, easy games for the real teams to win. Wilt was the team captain most of the time, giving them leadership on the court. Don't forget that he is still the all-time leader in rebounds, far above the players of our time. Even the over rated Russell could not beat Wilt at rebounding. There are many players taller than Wilt was, but none of them can match his rebounding/scoring abilities. Assists: Wilt had 4.4 per game, Jordan had 5.3 per game. Being great at rebounding and almost as good as Jordan at assists shows that Wilt did much more than just score, even though he was the best at that, too.

Excellent Job Paul...truly fabulous backing of your opinion.

I still contend that no big guy will ever be "the best player" to ever play the game because they have the obvious height advantage, lack of range, and inability to handle the ball.

Playing defense face up on the perimeter is more difficult than playing it down by the rim in my opinion.

But I highly respect your belief that Wilt is the best...you put forth a great arguement.

Yeah i agree Link. All the footage I've ever seen of Wilt he is absolutely dwarfing the opposition. His stats are amazing there is no doubt about that, i dont think we'll ever see anyone averaging 50 pts in a season or scoring 100pts in a game. Im not saying Wilt couldnt play defense but i would say its easier to swat away shots from players that are probably alot smaller than it is to shut a player down on the perimeter as Jordan was known to do. There will never be a clear cut winner because everyone has their own opinions but if we go on Statistics alone Wilt would probably come out on top. On a side note i'm sure Wilt holds the record for the most cheerleaders. naughty

When you look at records you get tied down to statistics. that is a long road of confusion and arguments. for everything this player has done, this player has done. I dont look at records and statistics. Not for a question like who is the greatest NBA player of all time. I look at who has done more for the game. In this case micheal jordan is in a league of his own. The bulls won 6 championships. would they have won 6 without jordan? it is possible , but it is much more likely and factual that they won 6 championships with jordan.

Originally posted by ragesRemorse
would they have won 6 without jordan? it is possible , but it is much more likely and factual that they won 6 championships with jordan.

Actually it wasn't possible.

He left...they didn't win.

he came back...they won again.

jordan of course

what about pistol pete? dude never repeated the same move twice, and david thompson is it actually true he could get a quarter from the top of the backboard?

I heard the same about LeBron. 😕

Originally posted by Jard_Dooku
what about pistol pete? dude never repeated the same move twice, and david thompson is it actually true he could get a quarter from the top of the backboard?

I thought that was Earl "the Goat" Manigull

Yo!!!!!
Where the hell is Carmelo and Lebron.
WTF?!?!?!
How can u have ''Greatest NBA player'' without those two and Mcgrady and Ben Wallas(mispelled)

Those guys have got a way to go before being mentioned in the same breath as Jordan, Magic, Bird and co. Notice to that all the players in the poll are retired and hall of famers or future hall of famers.