<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> 1. Tim Duncan, San Antonio: It will be interesting to see how revered Duncan is 20 years down the road. Unquestionably, he's one of the top five players to grace the game over the past decade, in the same class as Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Karl Malone, two of the best ever at their positions. But because he doesn't get all up in your face and demand a constant spotlight, there are those that take his greatness for granted. Some even dismiss him as boring. Memo: Fundamentals and going about things the right way, expertly, should never be trivialized. 2. Kevin Garnett, Minnesota: Because he has revolutionized the power forward position, it's hard to imagine Garnett looking up at anyone. Still, his team comes off its worst season in almost a decade, failing to make the playoffs a year after reaching the Western Conference finals for the first time. Garnett played with an abandon and desire that's a rarity for most mega-stars. That has to earn your respect, but ultimately, when the team fails, he'll take the blame. He wouldn't have it any other way. 3. Shaquille O'Neal, Miami: Now 33, O'Neal signed a five-year extension that almost certainly guarantees he'll end his career in South Florida. He passed on an additional $25 million dollars in order to ensure the Heat would be able to surround him with a better supporting cast to chase a championship. As long as he stays healthy and in shape, that goal will always be in reach. 4. Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers: Phil Jackson has stated that Bryant is eager to recapture his previous status as an All-NBA first-teamer and should benefit from playing the same role in the triangle offense that Michael Jordan thrived in for so long. 5. Tracy McGrady, Houston: McGrady can drain 40-foot jumpers like they're going out of style, get to the rim at will and finish at his whim. He has been doing all that the past few seasons, but last year, becoming the leader of the Rockets under demanding Jeff Van Gundy, he grew into a complete player. For maybe the first time in his career, he cut no corners on defense, which became hard not to notice when he frustrated Dirk Nowitzki into poor outing after poor outing in the first round of the playoffs. Yes, he has failed to win a series, with his teams blowing substantial leads in his past two appearances, but to point the finger at him is not only short-sighted but simply far-fetched. Expect him to help push Yao Ming into the next stage of his development, while guiding the Rockets to heights that haven't been reached since the days of "Dream." Houston is his town now, and he represents it well. 6. LeBron James, Cleveland: This is the year we'll see him blossom, armed with a truly dangerous supporting cast for the first time, two years of excellence under his belt. He's the truth, and eventually we'll see him routinely rack up triple-doubles in addition to his ever-lasting presence on nightly highlight films. He's the new generation Michael Jordan/Magic Johnson, and you'll find few in the league who would disagree. But he's still in a developmental stage, fighting his way through the grind and improving to get that 'J' down consistently. Hey, it took M.J. a while to perfect his craft, too. 7. Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix: During last year's playoffs, no one was more impressive. He took it to Tim Duncan in the Western Conference finals, dominating all facets. Considering his jumper is coming along, he'll soon be unguardable, combining imposing physicality with finesse skills. Nasty. Best of all, the kid has the special gift of doing whatever it takes to come out on top, extending his ceiling when necessary. The Suns will miss him dearly over the season's first three months. 8. Steve Nash, Phoenix: Expect him to score more than he did last season because of the departures of Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson and Stoudemire's injury. He has at least three more seasons left in him as a dominant playmaker, consistently leaving everything he has out on the floor. You can't teach heart, and his is immense. 9. Allen Iverson, Philadelphia: Speaking of tickers and expending every ounce of energy -- Iverson's collective body of work makes him a cinch for the Hall of Fame. While he indeed monopolizes the basketball, he has averaged more than five assists per game in six of his nine seasons and, after setting a new career-high in that department while leading the league in scoring, he appears to be aging gracefully now that he's reached 30. 10. Dwyane Wade, Miami: He still lacks a 3-point shot, but there are few as explosive getting to the rim. What he lacks in size (he's closer to 6-3 than 6-4), he makes up for in hops and fearlessness going up among the trees. His midrange game is becoming increasingly fine-tuned, which just leaves the deep perimeter shot for him to perfect to become completely unguardable. The Heat would love for him to cut down his turnovers and increase his playmaking ability. 11. Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana: Now that he has had all summer to rest that ailing shoulder, he'll be back to being the dominant post presence he has been since joining the Pacers. O'Neal did more wincing than anyone else over the latter part of last season and had some uncharacteristically horrendous shooting nights during the playoffs. Rest was the only remedy, and it was a luxury Indiana couldn't afford. In the East, only the other O'Neal is more effective inside. 12. Jason Kidd, New Jersey: His court vision has been on par with the all-time greats for about a decade now, and he seems to have made it through complicated knee surgery just fine. If Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson help out like they should, he might just regain his status as the league's top assist man. He's still not the greatest shooter, but his ability to fill a stat sheet and get the most out of those around him overrrides that. 13. Baron Davis, Golden State: What he did for the Warriors after leaving New Orleans was phenomenal. He has to prove he can stay healthy, something he has failed to do the past two years, but there's no question the 26-year-old is among the most feared playmakers in the game, especially since he packs the outside shot to balance his game out. 14. Ray Allen, Seattle: He's the Clyde Drexler of his era -- unquestionably a superstar, but a quiet one playing in a less-than-major market. It would be interesting to see what happens if the Sonics, who locked him up in the offseason, ever become a legitimate championship contender; Allen is engaging, smart and outspoken, the perfect blend needed to cash in on endorsements. 15. Vince Carter, New Jersey: After seeing his star fade faster than Kurt Warner's and Wesley Snipes', Carter re-emerged following a midseason trade to the Nets. He is a candidate for this year's scoring title, looking every bit the beast he was before the injuries hit and his rep as a malcontent emerged. If he can put together a full season, this could be the winningest season of his career. </div> http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/8979041 I think the top 10 was really accurate, but then after that it starts to fall apart. Guys like Chris Bosh and Kenyon Martin are far to high, while guys like Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony are far to low. What do you guys think of this list?
That list is garbage. The top ten was pretty good but it really falls apart after that. And, Joe Johnson, Kirk Hinrich and Zach Randolph rated ahead of Carmelo??? Please. Carmelo should be top 25 at least. Not happy with that list at all.
Overall, I think Ai has accomplished more than trace macgrady and always will have acomplished more than Mcgrady and Kenyon Martin # 24 are you kidding me?
That is just whack. How is Baron Davis number 12? And Yao, at number 31, are you kidding me? He is definetly a top 20 guy. He hasnt reached his abilities, but he is still one of the top players in the league. Wow, this stuff is crazy, how do you get vince carter so high?
lol i laugh at yao being 31,and i laff at kirk hinrich and joe johnson being ranked better then Melo. har har har
Another case of a national writer who doesn't know jack about small market teams. Telling us Pierce was not a complete player because of "defensive shortcomings" has to be right around the biggest crock I've heard in some time. Us Boston fans may be small-minded, but we know when somebody's trying to fleece us, and this boy tries it here.
the list isn't the best, but I do agree with him unlike many of you that melo is highly overrated... ok fine maybe he is a bit too low on the list, kirk hinrich too high but JJ is in my opinion most underrated player out there... z.randolph is too high Yao is way too low billups too high i
Nash top ten? AK47 over Dirk and Brand? Zach Randolph over Bibby, Yao and so on? My daugther could do a better list and I don't even have one.
How can RJ not be on the list? He's easily top 30. Baron Davis is too high, AI should be above Tmac and Lebron and Amare. I'd even say Allen is pretty high for a guy that can only shoot, averages around 24 and can't play D to save his life. Yao is a little low, CB and Martin are about right IMO, Ben and Chauncey should be higher and Melo got absolutely screwed.
Am I the only one who thinks Amare>LeBron>Wade>Carmello? Wade is also too high on the list. How can he be rated higher then Ben Wallace, Ron Artest and Dirk Nowitski? Obviously the list is hard to make when you have 50 players, but surely they missed a trick or two.
First of all, AI should not be ahead of Lebron. Amare Stoudamire shouldn't be ahead of Jason Kidd. There is no way. we'll see how important Stoudamire is to the suns, considering he'll start the season injured. As i've posted in other parts of this forum, jason kidd is by far the most dominant complete point guard we've seen since Magic.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">First of all, AI should not be ahead of Lebron.</div> He's not, and I don't why. He should be over LeBron, Amare, Nash and even McGrady. 1. Shaquille O'Neal 2. Tim Duncan 3. Kevin Garnett 4. Kobe Bryant 5. Allen Iverson 5a. Jason Kidd 6. Tracy McGrady 7. LeBron James 8. Dwyane Wade 9. Amare Stoudemire 10. Dirk Nowitzki
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Avery:</div><div class="quote_post">He's not, and I don't why. He should be over LeBron, Amare, Nash and even McGrady. 1. Shaquille O'Neal 2. Tim Duncan 3. Kevin Garnett 4. Kobe Bryant 5. Allen Iverson 5a. Jason Kidd 6. Tracy McGrady 7. LeBron James 8. Dwyane Wade 9. Amare Stoudemire 10. Dirk Nowitzki</div> Amare has only recently earned the right to be in the top 10. No way Lebron or Wade should be after only one superstar season. Other than that I agree with the first six picks.
What happened to Dirk lol, 17th? Please, since when is Nash better than Dirk. I know Nash was the MVP, but Nash has a very good team, I wouldn't be able to say that Nash would win as much with the same talent as Dirk would BIG almost always > SMALL. Then their's Baron over Allen, Vince, and Dirk, I love Baron, but he needs to stay healthy, and play to his strengths more before I put him up there. The list is really not that bad, but the Top 20 has some interesting decisions there, with Dirk being the most noticable one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">38. Michael Redd, Milwaukee: One of the league's best shooters, he's not worth the $90 million the Bucks dished out to keep him. But they can be assured his work ethic won't disappoint; that hefty paycheck was earned through constant improvement after falling to the second round and sitting on the bench his entire rookie year. The payoff will come if he can help lead Milwaukee back to the playoffs. </div> I bet hes cringing about his list right about .... now. 38th is ridiciolous. Obviously there is going to be disagreement, and arguement when making a list that goes 50 deep. The 10 players should just about be set (of who is in, and who is out). But then on out its almost a worthless debate. I see no pattern to this list anyways, its starts off good... but then it turns into a value to team to whose althetic or not? Dirk 17th is just a lil retard, defensivly challenged or not.
Redd had 2 great scoring games. I love Redd, but that's not that far from where he should be ranked. People need to go easy on making assumptions from little samples, Redd will not average 30 PPG. At the end of the year, he should be at about 21-22 PPG, 4-5 RPG, 2 APG, and about 45% FG and 37% 3PT. Basically the same as previous years, he's in the high 20's to low 30's range in terms of league rank.
1. Tim Duncan 2. Kevin Garnett 3. Kobe Bryant 4. Lebron James 5. Shaq 6. Amare 7. Wade 8. McGrady 9. Dwyane Wade 10. Steve Nash 11. Dirk Nowitzki Hmm Its hard but this is my list I hope I didnt forget somone!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">Redd had 2 great scoring games. I love Redd, but that's not that far from where he should be ranked. People need to go easy on making assumptions from little samples, Redd will not average 30 PPG. At the end of the year, he should be at about 21-22 PPG, 4-5 RPG, 2 APG, and about 45% FG and 37% 3PT. Basically the same as previous years, he's in the high 20's to low 30's range in terms of league rank.</div> I would take Redd over Kenyon Martin, Manu Ginobili, Rasheed Wallace, Antwan Jamison, Zach Randolph, Larry Huges, Rashard Lewis, Mike Bibby moving him up at least 8 spots. Why? A lot of these guys are 2nd, and even 3rd options on the team. The man is a scorer - and number one scorer on a playoff caliabler team. He is only going to get better with a point as valuable as TJ Ford - which in my mind raises his value.
