SI's 50 greatest players in NBA history

[Hadoop]

With the recent retirements of Duncan and Bryant I was wondering about their place in history when I came across this updated ranking of the 50 greatest players in NBA history from Sports Illustrated back in February (feel free to merge or delete if this has already been posted, though I couldn't find it anywhere). Here is the link to the article http://www.si.com/nba/2016/02/09/michael-jordan-lebron-james-stephen-curry-nba-greatest. The actual list is below (players who played this past season are in bold):

50. Paul Arizin
49. Kevin McHale
48. Dolph Schayes
47. Chris Paul
46. Bill Sharman
45. Allen Iverson
44. Jason Kidd
43. Kevin Durant
42. Dave Cowens
41. Hal Greer
40. Willis Reed
39. Patrick Ewing
38. Bob Cousy
37. Dirk Nowitzki
36. Dave Bing
35. Clyde Drexler
34. Kevin Garnett
33. Jerry Lucas
32. Bill Walton
31. Stephen Curry
30. John Stockton
29. Isiah Thomas
28. David Robinson
27. Rick Barry
26. George Gervin
25. Dwyane Wade
24. George Mikan
23. Scottie Pippen
22. John Havlicek
21. Walt Frazier
20. Charles Barkley
19. Elvin Hayes
18. Julius Erving
17. Karl Malone
16. Hakeem Olajuwon
15. Shaquille O’Neal
14. Moses Malone
13. Bob Pettit
12. Kobe Bryant
11. Elgin Baylor
10. Tim Duncan
9. Jerry West
8. Bill Russell
7. Larry Bird
6. Oscar Robertson
5. LeBron James
4. Magic Johnson
3. Wilt Chamberlain
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1. Michael Jordan

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[Voight]

Ok Curry is too high, yes the last two years he's been amazing but 31 is too much.

Dirk should be higher, IMO I'd have him higher than Wade.

LBJ is a too high too, he's top 10, as is Kobe who is too low at 12.

Ewing is too high as well.

Thats with a quick look.

 

[Deficient Mode]

Magic, Oscar, West, Bird too high; Lebron and Duncan too low. Garnett, Hakeem, and Shaq all WAY too low.

 

[Dominator13]

What Curry is doing and how he does it simply has no precedent. "Respecting the elderly" is the only reason why he's not higher on the list. He just needs consistency and call it quit after 35 years old to hit the top 10.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

What Curry is doing and how he does it simply has no precedent.

Having his teammates repeatedly carry their "star player" in the playoffs when other teams actually try hard and gameplan for GS?

 

[weastern bias]

Yeah, Curry is already probably the greatest pure shooter ever, but his game is too full of holes for me to buy him as a top 50 talent

He still should have a lot of years left to address these concerns, but I wouldn't put him there today

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Yeah, Curry is already probably the greatest pure shooter ever, but his game is too full of holes for me to buy him as a top 50 talent

He still should have a lot of years left to address these concerns, but I wouldn't put him there today

This isn't true, but I'd like to hear why you say this or what these holes are?

Ok Curry is too high, yes the last two years he's been amazing but 31 is too much.

Dirk should be higher, IMO I'd have him higher than Wade.

LBJ is a too high too, he's top 10, as is Kobe who is too low at 12.

Ewing is too high as well.

Thats with a quick look.

After what James just did in these finals, he is at worst, #3 to me. I have him at #2 and could make the case he is 2a/b along with KAJ.

 

[weastern bias]

This isn't true, but I'd like to hear why you say this or what these holes are?

His utter lack of physicality and lapses in awareness pile up and accumulate into issues that prevent me from considering him an all-timer

Even though he led the league in steals he leaves a lot to be desired defensively, he has trouble scoring inside when facing physical defenders if he can't get a foul call, and for as good of a playmaker as he is he makes a lot of errant passes and passes up open passes trying to get his shot off

He's an immense talent, and other than being small and easy to bully physically the holes in his game are mostly mental mistakes, but these are noticeable problems that the Cavaliers have exposed over the last two post-seasons, and the Thunder similarly did a good job of containing him in the WCF

But as I said, he still has several years to correct these issues and cement his place in history

 

[Halladay]

KG and Shaq need to be ahead of Kobe. Duncan should be no lower then 6th.

 

[darko]

Duncan is not top-10.

Glad West is in top-10

 

[Deficient Mode]

Curry is easily a top 50 player based on the past two seasons if you prioritize peak. Some of the players ahead of him had glaring weaknesses in their game too, but didn't have the same overwhelming strengths, or add as much value to their teams, or win back-to-back MVPs.

KG and Shaq need to be ahead of Kobe. Duncan should be no lower then 6th.

Agreed completely.

Duncan is not top-10.

Glad West is in top-10

How is Duncan not top 10? He has everything: championships, dominant peak, longevity. Borderline top 5 imo.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Curry is easily a top 50 player based on the past two seasons if you prioritize peak. Some of the players ahead of him had glaring weaknesses in their game too, but didn't have the same overwhelming strengths, or add as much value to their teams, or win back-to-back MVPs.

Speaking of which, Steve Nash isn't on the list for some reason. It's not an accident that teams Nash was on had the most efficient offense in the league 9 years in a row.

And Weastern Bias covered Curry's weaknesses pretty well. Curry is likely the best 3-point shooter ever and one of the best jump shooters inside the arc, and his incredibly quick release allows him to be a threat from anywhere. However, the only other skill he has at an elite level is dribbling, which isn't honestly that important to being a good basketball player.

He is an average at best defender as he isn't that quick or strong for a PG, and the Cavs went after him as often as they could late in the finals to great success.

While his regular season numbers on layups gave the appearance of him being an elite finisher at the rim, many of these came from screens and back-cuts in the flow of the Warriors offense, leading to many more uncontested layups than his peers. When teams decided to play defense and study the Warriors offense (i.e not the regular season with a few exceptions- SA, OKC, BOS), those open looks at the rim disappeared and Curry found it difficult to finish over defenders at the basket.

Also, he doesn't read the game particularly well, especially for a point guard. He does make some good passes when he drives in but at the same time makes some head-scratching decisions where he will pass the ball to the other team or bite on a fake on defense and leave someone wide open. One thing that isn't often noted is how bad the accuracy of his passes are. Many will be at his teammates knees and or behind them and won't get them the ball in shooting position. Not to mention his behind the back pass to Klay Thompson in game 7 which ended up in the stands. That is a pass that high school PG's should be able to make, or at least get closer to his target. Hell, I can consistently hit someone in the hands from that distance behind the back and I'm definitely not in the NBA.

 

[darko]

How is Duncan not top 10? He has everything: championships, dominant peak, longevity. Borderline top 5 imo.

Because there are 10 other players better than him.

Jordan, Wilt, Kareem, Bron, Magic, Robertson, Russell, Bird, West, Shaq, Kobe. That's 11 (in no particular order).

 

[Deficient Mode]

Because there are 10 other players better than him.

Jordan, Wilt, Kareem, Bron, Magic, Robertson, Russell, Bird, West, Shaq, Kobe. That's 11 (in no particular order).

Looking at all their numbers I find it impossible to argue for Kobe, West, Bird, or Robertson ahead of him.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Speaking of which, Steve Nash isn't on the list for some reason. It's not an accident that teams Nash was on had the most efficient offense in the league 9 years in a row.

And Weastern Bias covered Curry's weaknesses pretty well. Curry is likely the best 3-point shooter ever and one of the best jump shooters inside the arc, and his incredibly quick release allows him to be a threat from anywhere. However, the only other skill he has at an elite level is dribbling, which isn't honestly that important to being a good basketball player.

He is an average at best defender as he isn't that quick or strong for a PG, and the Cavs went after him as often as they could late in the finals to great success.

While his regular season numbers on layups gave the appearance of him being an elite finisher at the rim, many of these came from screens and back-cuts in the flow of the Warriors offense, leading to many more uncontested layups than his peers. When teams decided to play defense and study the Warriors offense (i.e not the regular season with a few exceptions- SA, OKC, BOS), those open looks at the rim disappeared and Curry found it difficult to finish over defenders at the basket.

Also, he doesn't read the game particularly well, especially for a point guard. He does make some good passes when he drives in but at the same time makes some head-scratching decisions where he will pass the ball to the other team or bite on a fake on defense and leave someone wide open. One thing that isn't often noted is how bad the accuracy of his passes are. Many will be at his teammates knees and or behind them and won't get them the ball in shooting position. Not to mention his behind the back pass to Klay Thompson in game 7 which ended up in the stands. That is a pass that high school PG's should be able to make, or at least get closer to his target. Hell, I can consistently hit someone in the hands from that distance behind the back and I'm definitely not in the NBA.

nonsense. He arguably just had the greatest season in NBA history as the games best offensive player en route to a GOAT regular season from his team.

These things don't happen when your starting point guard 'doesn't read the game well'.

His handles and rim finishing ability are only second to Kyrie Irving IMO.

He's an elite facilitator as well.

And no ones mentioned him off the ball. He's the best off the ball player in the league.

 

[Deficient Mode]

Speaking of which, Steve Nash isn't on the list for some reason. It's not an accident that teams Nash was on had the most efficient offense in the league 9 years in a row.

And Weastern Bias covered Curry's weaknesses pretty well. Curry is likely the best 3-point shooter ever and one of the best jump shooters inside the arc, and his incredibly quick release allows him to be a threat from anywhere. However, the only other skill he has at an elite level is dribbling, which isn't honestly that important to being a good basketball player.

He is an average at best defender as he isn't that quick or strong for a PG, and the Cavs went after him as often as they could late in the finals to great success.

While his regular season numbers on layups gave the appearance of him being an elite finisher at the rim, many of these came from screens and back-cuts in the flow of the Warriors offense, leading to many more uncontested layups than his peers. When teams decided to play defense and study the Warriors offense (i.e not the regular season with a few exceptions- SA, OKC, BOS), those open looks at the rim disappeared and Curry found it difficult to finish over defenders at the basket.

Also, he doesn't read the game particularly well, especially for a point guard. He does make some good passes when he drives in but at the same time makes some head-scratching decisions where he will pass the ball to the other team or bite on a fake on defense and leave someone wide open. One thing that isn't often noted is how bad the accuracy of his passes are. Many will be at his teammates knees and or behind them and won't get them the ball in shooting position. Not to mention his behind the back pass to Klay Thompson in game 7 which ended up in the stands. That is a pass that high school PG's should be able to make, or at least get closer to his target. Hell, I can consistently hit someone in the hands from that distance behind the back and I'm definitely not in the NBA.

I agree about Nash. Compares favorably to AI. Borderline top 30 player imo.

Disagree about Curry. He had an inconsistent finals, but the talent is still very much there, and there hasn't been nearly enough evidence to pull out the "he can't do nearly as much when defenses tighten up in the playoffs" narrative.

 

[Halladay]

Walton is way too high. For example, Dave Cowens had a better career was arguably the better player.

 

[Voight]

Magic, Oscar, West, Bird too high; Lebron and Duncan too low. Garnett, Hakeem, and Shaq all WAY too low.

LeBron is just fine where he's ranked.

KG and Shaq need to be ahead of Kobe. Duncan should be no lower then 6th.

No shot. Maybe Shaq.

What Curry is doing and how he does it simply has no precedent. "Respecting the elderly" is the only reason why he's not higher on the list. He just needs consistency and call it quit after 35 years old to hit the top 10.

Curry has been great since 2013 but he doesn't have the multiple sustained seasons of peak performance like Dirk, A.I or KG. He will likely get that in the coming years but he doesn't have that right now.

As for the OP, they have Russell too high.

 

[Voight]

Speaking of which, Steve Nash isn't on the list for some reason. It's not an accident that teams Nash was on had the most efficient offense in the league 9 years in a row.
.

Agreed. It's a straight embarrassment that he isn't on this list. Undisputed best PG 2005-2010 and S.I even named him the best PG of 2000's.

 

[Avs_19]

These lists are always subjective so I don't get too worked up over placement of certain players.

I'm just glad we've now reached the point where most reasonable people put LeBron above Bird and consider him the greatest SF of all-time. I had him there even before the latest championship but now I don't think it's even arguable. LeBron has all the numbers and hardware to back him up and probably has at least 2-3 more elite years left in him.

 

[Deficient Mode]

LeBron is just fine where he's ranked.


No shot. Maybe Shaq.

I don't understand how people still deny that Lebron is a top 5 player all-time with all he's done, and how all his numbers compare to the guys in the 6-10 range.

The difference between KG's defense and Kobe's defense was bigger than the difference between Kobe's offense and KG's offense, so I put KG ahead of him.

 

[MMC]

Kobe is way better than Duncan come on now.

 

[BostonBob]

Bill Russell # 8.

 

[sparxx87]

I'm not old enough to make an informed argument about a lot of these guys, but Kobe seems to be pretty low. He'll always have his detractors, but what he was able to do on the court, to me, places him above at least a few of these guys. Ring number 5 in particular.

Also think Magic is 2, maybe 3... Bill Russell should also be higher then 8. I've only ever watched documentaries and old film, but both guys were exceptional at running an offense and making good teammates look great.

Always wish I was a little older as a basketball fan. I didn't start watching a lot until the mid 90's. I missed the Bird/Magic days and Jordans earlier years. I started watching Jordan and was too young to really appreciate what I was seeing at the time.

 

[Halladay]

Kobe is way better than Duncan come on now.

Please elaborate.