Forget the fact that you just said LeBron and Barkley are on the same level... You didn't mention Kareem!
I'm going to go ahead and say that you can't be the greatest of all time until you've retired....Lebron isn't done yet but he's in the top 5 of great players so far from my view. People forget how great Wilt or Oscar Robertson were...Jordan...Dr J....there have been some amazing greats in the game..Magic and Bird were no slouches....Lebron didn't dominate the finals early in his career. Didn't show loyalty to Cleveland and went ring shopping with his buddies before going back and getting one for the hometown...he's as talented as anybody to play the game, that's for sure.
Better than Duncan? Hell, at the time they played, Malone was considered better than Barkley. Malone averaged > 25 ppg 11 straight seasons (12 total). Barkley did it 4 straight season (5 total). Barkley was a better rebounder. Passing was about equal. Malone was a much better defender. Malone: 1st Team All NBA = 11 times 1st Team All Defense = 3 times MVP = 2 Barkley: 1st Team All NBA = 5 times 1st Team All Defense = 0 times MVP = 1 BNM
I think Jordan, James, Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain are probably my short-list candidates for best ever. The next tier would probably consist of Russell, Olajuwon, Shaq, Magic, Bird, Robertson
All of what I posted was "non-Westbrook/Harden division" obviously. There is no touching those two guys.
Especially in the post season where none of the guys you mentioned come close matching Harden and Westbrook. BNM
It wasn't a lucky bounce. Bosh grabbed an offensive rebound and passed it to Ray Allen. People forget that. Bosh made it happen. No. Tim Duncan. Then Malone. Then Barkley though don't forget about Dirk and McHale. Ummm Tim Duncan???
Jeez.. I thought I was going crazy for a moment.... Ummm... http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/nbarankPFs/ranking-greatest-power-forwards-nba-history
I think Garnett belongs up there with Duncan, honestly. If the Spurs had had Garnett instead of Duncan (assuming KG had begun his NBA career at the same time), I don't think the Spurs would have been less successful.
Lebron has something going for him that can't be said about any other player in the league, maybe ever. In his prime you could play lebron at the 1,2,3,4, and at stints at the 5 and he will not only be the best player on the court but he will be the best player in the league at that position on both sides of the court, save center, and he can switch onto any player on D. Lebron can bring it on both sides of the court like he could a few years ago but he is unstoppable when he wants to be. Lebron is 44-7 all time in the first round of the playoffs, never missing the second round of the playoffs his entire career. He lead the Cavs, before he left, to the finals with one of the worst rosters I have ever seen in the NBA finals. The Cavs never did a great job of surrounding Lebron with great talent and he still found a way to dominate the east every single year. No player has ever had the expectations that sports media has put onto Lebrons shoulders and he still finds a way to surpass those expectations on a regular basis.
Well said. I like the part about the media pressure, Jordan and players before him never had it like Lebron, social media being a newer trend.
Duncan, Garnett and Moses Malone are just outside my top-ten. It's hard to exclude anyone I put ahead of them.
