Intimidating question, I know. I put him on the brink of that list. In the Kidd, Payton, Isaiah Thomas ilk Definitely my favorite Blazer ever and in the top 10 of clutch shooters
Man I don’t know… Dame has been a horrible defender. I think he’s in the conversation though. These are just dudes that I watched play. Magic Stockton Chris Paul Gary Payton Steph Curry Jason Kidd Steve Nash Isiah Thomas Tony Parker Then there’s guys like Oscar Robertson, Dave Bing, Walt Frazier, Tiny Archibald, Jerry West, Pistol Pete….
It’s so tough to really puzzle together. I kind of want to give some the guys who balled out on defense an advantage over him. At the same time all those guys had success while playing with other hall of Famers
If you look at basketball.realgm.com, they break down the Top 75 players from the NBA's 75th anniversary list by position. It's interesting that guys like Dame, Steph, Earl Monroe and Iverson, who were/are all big scorers, are listed as "G" rather than "PG". It's hard to compare these types of players with the traditional PG role of pure distributor/play-maker. Dame would certainly make the top-10 of the G classification, but there are just so many deserving guys if you also include the PGs.
In his interview with Dan Patrick this week Dan said to Dame, "You're a shooting guard right?" Dame shook his head and said, "Nah, point guard." Then I think there was a back and forth where Dan said, "Point guard?" and Dame nodded saying, "Point guard." Then I think they just moved on.
I love Dame, he's my favorite NBA player of all time. There are definitely 10 PGs better than him. You can't make a sixth position because only 5 guys play at a time. If there was an AI type of small scoring lead guard list... I think Dame would be top ten on that but that's not how shit works in my opinion. Positions are hard to define but you have to say that Dame is either a 1 or a 2. If Dame was considered a shooting guard then he would likely be top 10. When you look at those lists Clyde is on them and Dame is better than Clyde was IMO, Reggie is on there and Dame is better than Reggie was IMO... Vince and Ray Allen are on there and I think Dame would be in front of them too. Maybe I'm biased though. That being said Dame defines himself as a point guard and he just isn't on that top 10 list. Dame is a top 20 PG and PG is definitely the most populace position in the top 75 players of all time.
Dame is pretty good at running the pick and roll. Honestly I think people would think of him as a better point guard if he didn’t play with so many dudes that bricked wide open shots.
I love Dame but I don't think he makes top-10 all time I'd take Parker off that list, but I'd put Oscar, Frazier, West, and Iverson on the list. Can't forget Bob Cousy either
He isn't top 10 but that's okay. I'd put him in the top 30 all-time, probably top 20, but he hasn't even made it to the finals, let alone won a championship. I feel like, if you're the leader of your team, shitty front office or no, you have to have made it to the dance at least once to qualify for Top 10 in your position.
I’d say probably not, although I’m not thinking too hard into it. I can just name a bunch of guys outside of Magic/Steph/Isiah/Oscar like Stockton, Payton, Kidd, Nash, CP3, AI that have more career accomplishments. Some oldheads might but guys like Cousey/West in there. All of those guys have a case before Dame does.
