You guys know me, I am a man about lists! I have studied the history of the NBA, have had eye test since roughly 1977. Based on stats, PER, offensive and defensive tendencies, clutch play, dominance at true position, leadership, talent, overall wins, championships won, MVP's won, Finals MVP's won, longevity, and era played in I have came up with this by each position. I now also have my new top 10 of all-time overall. ERA played in is key because there were fewer teams in the Wilt/Russell era + teams only had to win 2 series up until 1966 to win a championship. Bill Russell only won 3 championships by having to win 3 series = 1966, 1968, and 1969.
Top 5 greatest pure PG's of all-time
1. Magic Johnson
2. Oscar Robertson
3. Steph Curry
4. Isiah Thomas
5. John Stockton - All-time leader in assists and steals. Doesn't have a championship but we know why lol. He faced Michael Jordan twice in the Finals.
-the tricky thing is, some want to say Steph Curry is a SG but his natural position is PG. He just happens to be a PG that is the best shooter of all-time. Jerry West played PG on the 1972 Lakers Championship team but experts and even people in here look at him as a SG. I have him listed as a SG.
Top 5 greatest pure SG's of all-time
1. Michael Jordan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Jerry West
4. Dwyane Wade
5. Reggie Miller - I will take Reggie over Clyde Drexler. 3 point shooting was the difference.
Top 5 greatest pure SF's of all-time
1. LeBron James
2. Larry Bird
3. Elgin Baylor
4. Julius Erving 'Doctor'
5. Kevin Durant - I think he has surpassed John Havlicek and is better than Scottie Pippen, JMO.
Top 5 greatest pure PF's of all-time
1. Karl Malone - We all know this is true. He might be a prick in real life but he as a basketball player was #1 at this true position, Duncan was a true Center.
2. Charles Barkley
3. Dirk Nowitzki
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
5. Kevin McHale - I didn't like the guy but he was better than Kevin Garnett.
-Tim Duncan was a Center, let me repeat, Tim Duncan is a Center at 7'0 tall and 250 pounds. After David Robinson retired in 2003, he played Center a lot. His last 10 years of his career he played Center full-time and won 2 championships in doing so from 2007-2016.
Here are my big fella's, top 5 greatest pure Centers of all-time
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Shaq O'Neal
4. Bill Russell
5. Tim Duncan, I mean Duncan by a hair because Hakeem Olajuwon was a bad man!
Top 10 players of all-time
1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. LeBron James
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Wilt Chamberlain
7. Larry Bird
8. Shaq O'Neal
9. Oscar Robertson
10. Bill Russell - in today's game he would probably be a PF. He was barely 6'10 but was way ahead of his time. Greatest defensive Center of all-time and averaged over 22 Rebounds a game for his career. He could still give you 16 points a game with ease but he was more of a team player, 11 Championships is 11.
Top 10 players in today's game as of May 16th, 2022
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Steph Curry
3. Nikola Jokic
4. Kevin Durant
5. Joel Embiid
6. Luka Doncic - Dude is like Dirk, how Cuban finds these gems is a miracle. That is why Cuban is a great owner!
7. LeBron James - yeah at 7 currently, still great but not top 5 IMO as of today.
8. Jason Tatum
9. Ja Morant - still can't get over how his knee injury was that bad by just being grabbed, but love his game.
10. Jimmy Butler - love his game, he is underrated.
My Top 5 all-time teams still remain = 1 team per same core to clarify
1. 1987 Lakers - Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Scott, Coop, AC Green, M. Thompson.
2. 1996 Bulls - Jordan, Pippen, Kukoc, Rodman, Kerr, Phil as coach.
3. 1986 Celtics - Bird, McHale, Parish, Walton, DJ.
4. 2001 Lakers - Shaq, Kobe, Horry, Phil as coach. - different core compared to 1987.
5. 2017 Warriors - Curry, Durant, Klay, D Green.
My Top 5 Coaches of all-time
1. Phil Jackson
2. Red Auerbach
3. Pat Riley
4. Gregg Popovich
5. John Kundla - Remember him with the Minneapolis Lakers and George Mikan at Center!
My Conference Finals picks:
Warriors 4-3 over Mavs in the West
Heat 4-3 over Celtics in the East (I hope anyway, man I am not sure about this pick). Heat have HCA is the only reason why I am picking this.
Send this book to the presses, Bill Simmons doesn't have shit on me . My first name is Mike, and I have a friend that calls me Mikey Simmons