[aznzen]

i know we cant list just 1 player in a span of a decade, but who do you think carried that "best player" mantle majority of the time within the last 10 years?

[Idunkonyou]

Duncan.

[DaRizzle]

Shaq, dominant for all 10 years, unstoppable for 3+ years

[aznzen]

damnit. i should;ve put iverson there instead of carter.

[DaRizzle]

How can Lebron even be on this list??? He is just finishing his 5th season. Not being there for 1/2 of the 10 years eliminates him no matter how good you think he is

[aznzen]

i want to say shaq.


he put up dominating #'s just like jordan and has 3 rings and 3 finals mvp.



duncan has more but his stats are not best player status

[Idunkonyou]

Actually now that I think about it, a tie between Shaq and Duncan is the only route you can go. They have both won 4 championships a piece in the 9 years after the Bulls/Jordan years. Don't look now, but we could be entering the Kobe years. The Shaq and Duncan years IMO are almost done.

[aznzen]

Originally Posted by DaRizzle

How can Lebron even be on this list??? He is just finishing his 5th season. Not being there for 1/2 of the 10 years eliminates him no matter how good you think he is

i was thinking that, but lebrons #'s the past 3 yrs has been off the hook. thats jordan like.


plus he led his team in the finals single handidly. i think he has shown the best case of a one man show since mj retired.

[Tragedy]

While it is a virtual tie between Shaq and Duncan, Shaq gets the edge for his raw dominance, and the fact that he won three straight titles. While Duncan has just as many as Shaq, they were scattered about.

[JonMatrix]

Finals since Jordan left Chicago:
1999: Spurs over Knicks -Duncan
2000: Lakers over Pacers -Shaq
2001: Lakers over Sixers -Shaq
2002: Lakers over Nets -Shaq
2003: Spurs over Nets -Duncan
2004: Pistons over Lakers -Shaq
2005: Spurs over Pistons -Duncan
2006: Heat over Mavericks -Shaq
2007: Spurs over Cavs -Duncan

Every single finals featured either Tim Duncan or Shaquille O'Neal. That's 9 finals, and in 8 of them, they were on the winning team. (2004 Pistons the only exception with an upset win against a heavily favored Lakers team)

2006 was possibly coincidence because although the Mavericks choked and Dwayne Wade was unstoppable, Shaq was a key contributor during that run even if his stats weren't great during that particular series.

Its tough to say who could take the reigns in coming years, but the void is already forming as Shaq is a shell of his former self and Duncan is showing signs of decline.

As for who could take over:

Tony Parker/Manu- Could take the Spurs into a transition where they step up as dominant players and allow Duncan to settle in as a roleplayer when he eventually enters the twlight of his career like Duncan did for David Robinson and like Wade did for Shaq in 2006. Saw signs of this against the Cavs last year.

Steve Nash- Fast-paced ball doesn't win in the playoffs, and the last ditch effort of getting Shaq did not help. Window is closed for him.

Baron Davis- Typically injury prone, despite his good health..it is a contract year. Nellieball isn't consistent enough to win, plus who knows when Nellie will leave.

Joe Johnson/Josh Smith- good players who need better coaching, but unlikely to become that dominant.

Wade- Team around him stinks right now plus he is injury-prone.

Carmelo Anthony/Iverson- Melo plays no D, and the team follows his lead, cannot get out of the first round. Can't question Iverson's will to win, but his will to play solid D and practice (sorry couldn't help it) is questionable.

Tracy Mcgrady/Yao Ming- Injury prone, with a healthy season they could make a run.
Dirk Nowitzki- Needs another dominant scorer next to him.

Deron Williams- His team seems to back down when they play a physical team that is better than they are. However, Williams still plays well for the most part and the team is relatively young so they will likely only get better in coming years.(see last year's dismantling against Spurs and this year against Lakers)

Chris Paul- tough to argue against what he is doing right now with the Hornets, but they are young and have depth issues. Seems to be able to will his team to victory like few in the history of the game have been able to.

KG/Pierce/Allen- Depth issues on their team, age will prevent them from being dominant long term. (4+ years from now)

Billups/Rip/Sheed- Getting older, seem to get complacent.

Kevin Durant- Light years away from making a winning impact, let alone a playoff or championship impact.

Greg Oden- Hasn't played a game but expectations are huge for him. If he lives up to them, then he very well could wind up being that dominant force the league craves.

Dwight Howard- Young team around him, but a possibility as he gains more experience.

Lebron- Inconsistent teammates, needs another playmaker next to him, plays for a poor offensive coaching staff.

Kobe- Seems to have a legit chance right now, good team, great coach. Will his newfound maturity stick around once the Lakers make a deep playoff run?

There are guys like Michael Beasely and Derrick Rose coming in the draft this year with a ton of hype and there could be other guys who aren't being talked about that could make a huge impact. While everyone realized Chris Paul and Deron Williams would be good someday, I don't think anyone expected them to be quite this good this early in their careers. So there could be some players like that in the draft.