Not that it matters, but I'd switch out Klay for Westbrook. Sure Russ has put up insane stats and is one of the best run jump athletes the league has ever seen, but he's also a choker in crunch time, has a game that doesn't mesh well with others & is a royal prick on the court. If sports is in the entertainment business, he's one of the most painfully entitled watches I've endured. He'll typically physically dominate lesser talents (and then flex on them) while screaming all night long at the refs, but then always royally spits the bit in the big game... seriously why celebrate that? Conversely Thompson seems to be the super competitive yet cool cucumber/assassin type . He's one of the best catch and shoot players ever with uber efficiency, a high release point and range. As a premier spread the court player, his game compliments any style of play and contributes to winning hoops (see rings). Though the skills are different, I put him as a top shelf Robin along side Pippen, McHale & Worthy. His well above average D puts him ahead of shooters Pierce, Reggie & Ray for me too, but Westbrook... see ya. I would have had to take a hiatus from Blazer fandom if he'd spent his career here. I'm actually pleased that he's finishing up back home. STOMP
For Manu to make the basketball hall of fame yes that is impressive. For him to make the NBA best 75 all time.... no, international ball is irrelevant. I still believe his NBA only resume is clearly above Westbrook. The problem is some people value empty stats for losing teams.
He was the 4th best player on a team that lost an NBA finals. Should Mikal Bridges make the team too?
And I don't hate Westbrook. He's was entertaining as heck with his physicality in his 20s. But that doesn't mean he was a championship level winning basketball player. When he tried to show up Dame it was basically free points he gave the Blazers and let them easily win in 5 games. I'd much rather have had Tony Parke if I was constructing a team to win an NBA finals. He'll even Terry Porter, or a dozen PGs not on the top 75 list.
Case for Dame besides overall numbers: Had three 60 point games in one (shortened) season. Has the record for most 3s made in a playoff game. In that game, it was maybe the greatest individual playoff performance of all time. People don’t go off for 55 & 10 in playoff games while shooting like that. Maybe Jordan’s 63 point game? Hit 2 iconic playoff series winning buzzer beaters. Only Jordan has matched that and one of them isn’t that memorable. McGrady, Hill, and Carter pale in comparison….
I think Dame is in the same category as Reggie Miller. You look at what they actually achieved for their team and it's a little hard to justify. But there's definitely a "fun factor" with some of these guys. Dwight Howard wasn't selected because he was kind of obnoxious and was easy to dislike. Same with Vince Carter and the way he exited Toronto. Everybody who saw it remembers how fun it was to see Reggie go against New York, and although I can't stand him he's obviously loved by many for his broadcasting. Every single NBA fan associates Dame with series-winning shots against Houston and the Thunder. He's charismatic and his brand is all about loyalty and being real, and that matters. It's fun watching him hit from the logo, and Dame Time is must watch TV. The reason the league didn't just go with an algorithmic system in picking the best of the best was because there should be an element of entertainment value included. Not the most important factor, but certainly a factor when you get around the 70th spot. Sports has always been that way. When playing pickup, if two guys are pretty close, you always picked the guy you liked more, didn't you? Isiah Thomas was clearly an elite player, but not a top 3 player. He got left off the Dream Team because he just wasn't liked. Jordan was an even bigger asshole, but he was of course on the team because he was Jordan. I don't care how tight I am with my best friend, I'm not picking him first at the Y if there's 3 other guys who are vastly superior. Personality should count around the margins, but talent matters far more. I think that's one of the big appeals of sports. In real life you can often get by on personality quite a bit and talent matters at the margins. That guy who sucks up to the boss gets the promotion, even if he's a fuckup behind the scenes. But at least the NBA is a true meritocracy, right? Nope. Even the NBA has wiggle room. The list reflects that. And I can definitely see how it pisses some off, because we all are entertained for different reasons, and some of us feel it should be strictly about merit.
If you watched the Suns vs the Lakers last night you now understand why Dwight Howard was left off that list. There is more to basketball and being considered a great player than being named DPOY three times.
They didn’t. My fault. Howard got them all the way to the championship series, another thing Lillard hasn’t done.
It's your profile pic. He's talking about your profile pic. He likes when you reply to things because it's another reason to see it.
I just popped in to post the ESPN article about that... https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...-klay-thompson-snub-nba-75th-anniversary-team I personally don't see Klay as being on that [top-75] level. Elite shooter, versatile defender, but not much more than a catch-and-shoot guy. Can't really create offense for himself and is lousy around the basket. He'd be a great addition to any team, but you don't build a team around him.
