Walton had basically 3 years of greatness, really barely more than 2 full seasons' worth (164 games played from the 75-76 through 77-78 seasons). He was great when healthy, but longevity matters. Many would argue he didn't even belong in the HOF, let alone on the top 50 list.
But he woulda had the refs not stole it from him. And he woulda done it as the cornerstone of his own team rather than as a role player on Paul Pierce's Eastern Conference team.
Agreed - but I'd still take him over KG. (Now that might be my hate showing through.) For me KG falls somewhere between Sheed and LA.
We'll agree to disagree on passing. KG wasn't near the passer Webber was numbers be damned. I also am not caring about convincing you or anyone else who would agree. Webber was robbed of maybe a couple of titles.
I liked this post for a hot second until I realized you called KG a role player... C'mon now... That's hating.
Role player--LOL! KG led that team in scoring, rebounding, and every cumulative advanced stat in the playoffs, not to mention being 2nd in both steals and blocks and 3rd in assists. He was easily the centerpiece of that team. But go ahead and keep hating.
I thought KG played like a 7' Pippen. Both in their primes. As far as PFs go, he and Duncan are in the debate for all time greatest.
He was the #1 player on a team that won a championship. That alone is worth more than someone that played 20 years and only won when he joined 2 other great players and he was not the best player on that championship team. How many players can say they were unequivocally the best player on a championship team since 77? Durant, Lebron, Curry, Kawhi(?), Dirk, Kobe, Pierce, Duncan, Wade, Billups, Shaq, Jordan, Hakeem, Isiah, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Moses Malone, Dennis Johnson?. Wes Unseld, Walton Now, I would accept that longevity matters, but sport medicine was nowhere near what it was in the 90s and 2000s when Walton played, nor should we forget than unlike KG's straight to the NBA - Walton actually went to college and won it all there. People (not just Blazers fans) are still talking about how great that '77 team played today - will anyone really sing the same songs about that 2008 Celtics team (definitely no-one that is not a Celtics fan, and I hope they sing it because this will be their last one) in 30 years?
So you're saying that Chauncey Billups is more deserving a hall of famer than Kevin Garnett. OK--that's all I need to know.
While longevity does matter, you can still ask if he was the great player he showed he was (when healthy) or if he was some sort of flash in the pan.
Really? Ray Allen? Paul Pierce? I like those guys. They were superstars. But they weren't better than a third of the players on that list, including Drexler.
No, because I am not even certain he was the best player on his team actually, it just felt like maybe he was - I should have really added a ? after his name the way I did for Kawahi and Dennis Johnson. You are right about that one. Missed that one. If we go back to the original "unequivocally the best player on a championship team since 77" list - the real list should be (after removing the question marks) Durant, Lebron, Curry, Dirk, Kobe, Pierce, Duncan, Wade, Shaq, Jordan, Hakeem, Isiah, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Moses Malone, Wes Unseld, Walton
Including Pierce on your list is disingenuous. He was not "unequivocally the best player" on his championship team, and I already detailed why (and why KG most definitely was) earlier in the thread.
Wait, time out, you're saying Weber is one of the best handful of PF's ever? (Yeah, I had to go there.) He was an underachiever much of his career, and even in Sacto (an underachieving team), he wasn't clearly the best player. I think you're confusing favorites with all-time greats. Holy crap, I just lost all respect for Pistol Pete. I absolutely hate playing HORSE with people who do nothing but stupid shots like that, knowing the other person hasn't practiced those specifics.
