Greatest players of all time (number 11)

[Luke]

Y'all know the drill. Votes are counted in the poll and discussion is encouraged.

So far we've got

1.) Jordan
2.) Wilt
3.) Magic
4.) Kareem
5.) Russell
6.) Bird
7.) Shaq
8.) Duncan
9.) Hakeem
10.) Kobe
11.) ?

[Marcus13]

The Big O

[PauloCatarino]

Jerry West.

[OneBadLT123]

Moses Malone or Jerry West. I picked Malone though

[e-monk]

Moses now then West - Oscar is still too soon, Bron and Doc are up before him too and maybe Clyde (who should be on this list as well)

[PauloCatarino]

Originally Posted by e-monk

Moses now then West - Oscar is still too soon, Bron and Doc are up before him too and maybe Clyde (who should be on this list as well)

Moses was a stat-padder who was a black whole on offense and didn't commit on defense.
As great as he was, i don't see how he can be regarded as being greater than The Logo.

[ChrisWoj]

Jerry West
Dr. J
Moses Malone
Karl Malone
David Robinson

Those are the five names I'm debating between. I feel like my keeping K.Malone and Robinson on my list is more my familiarity with them over Moses, Erving, and West. So, someone convince me. Swing my vote. Moses is the leader in the clubhouse for me. And no one can convince me to vote for Oscar yet - his complete and utter contempt for his own teammates disqualifies him for at least 5-6. He quite literally submarined his own greatness by turning his teammates and his teams against him.

[MemphisX]

LeBron

[e-monk]

Originally Posted by PauloCatarino

Moses was a stat-padder who was a black whole on offense and didn't commit on defense.
As great as he was, i don't see how he can be regarded as being greater than The Logo.

how do you figure any of that?

his usage was never overwhelming and his peak efficiency was usually better than league average so no to stat padding and black hole and he was twice all nba team D so not sure where you get the D comment either

regardless of whether you put him ahead of Zeke from Cabin Creek or not your criticisms lack merit

[Dee-Zy]

Logo vs Moses Malone.

Who you got and why?

I'm leaning towards Moses.

[Luke]

I could see West, Oscar, Moses, Dr. J, or LeBron here. I'm torn.

[PauloCatarino]

Originally Posted by e-monk

how do you figure any of that?

his usage was never overwhelming and his peak efficiency was usually better than league average so no to stat padding and black hole and he was twice all nba team D so not sure where you get the D comment either

regardless of whether you put him ahead of Zeke from Cabin Creek or not your criticisms lack merit

From a quick search using "Moses Malone stat padding"

http://bfc.sfsu.edu/cgi-bin/unwritte...._-_Basketball

"And don't make a career out of padding your stats. A veteran NBA scout swears Moses Malone missed hundreds, possibly thousands, of shots on purpose so he could get his own rebound and put the ball back in, thus getting points and rebounds on the same possession. -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer"

I've heard/read about this many times regarding Mo.

On the other hand, he most be the greatest Non-Passer Center of the Great Centers. Considering he must have been douple-teamed plenty in the post, he sure didn't give the ball back.

Regarding defense (and i hope i'm rememberring correctly) i've read Moses taking pride on his 1,046 consecutive games without fouling out. And he is probably the Worst blocker of the Great Centers.

[jericho]

I've got Moses here. Yes, he had flaws, but in basketball terms his greatest crime was being built like too much of a tugboat to be a shotblocker like most of the other elite centers. He was an efficient and effective inside scorer, so a) why pass out for someone else to take a lower percentage shot? and b) why try to miss in order to set himself up for a rebound? He wanted to win. He carried an otherwise wretched Rockets squad to the NBA Finals, and was the Missing Piece who put the 76ers over the top. He wasn't gifted with the court vision of, say, Walton or Russell or Cowens, and was such a relentless offensive rebounder that it didn't make sense to put him in areas of the floor from where he'd have naturally piled up bigger assist totals.

Great defender? No. Good defender? Yes. Won three MVPs.

Not as gifted as Lebron, but achieved more (assessing at this point in Lebron's career). Not as charismatic as West, or as dramatic in his style of on-court play, but again he arguably achieved more. (West is probably next on this list for me, by the way).

[PauloCatarino]

Originally Posted by jericho

I've got Moses here. Yes, he had flaws, but in basketball terms his greatest crime was being built like too much of a tugboat to be a shotblocker like most of the other elite centers. He was an efficient and effective inside scorer, so a) why pass out for someone else to take a lower percentage shot?

That sould be said about almost any Great Center in NBA history.
And, between all of them (i didn't quite check every one of them, just going by memory!), Mo was the least able passer.
Oh, and his FG% wasn't exactly elite between Greatest Centers.

and b) why try to miss in order to set himself up for a rebound?

I don't know. But many people have said that regarding Mo.

He wanted to win. He carried an otherwise wretched Rockets squad to the NBA Finals,

That he did. Although the team they faced in the WCF was more wretched

and was the Missing Piece who put the 76ers over the top.

Also true. But keep in mind that team was STACKED.

He wasn't gifted with the court vision of, say, Walton or Russell or Cowens, and was such a relentless offensive rebounder that it didn't make sense to put him in areas of the floor from where he'd have naturally piled up bigger assist totals.

Addressed above.

Great defender? No. Good defender? Yes.

Still not sold on his defense.

Won three MVPs.

Moses was great.
I remember reading about Larry Bird's first rookie game and a coach saying: "He (Bird) wasn't extraordinary. Only Moses is extraordinary".

Not as gifted as Lebron, but achieved more (assessing at this point in Lebron's career). Not as charismatic as West, or as dramatic in his style of on-court play, but again he arguably achieved more. (West is probably next on this list for me, by the way).

I'm partial to West, eventhough he didn't have the MVPs. But West played in the Time Of Giants...

[Luke]

I'm leaning Moses here but still not positive.