carlos710

For me its:

1) Duncan
2) Malone
3) Pettit


I think this will be clarer when duncan's carrer is over. But i still give him the edge right now.

xray

Malone gets a lot of credit as (one of) the best ever, but Stockton made a lot of those points for him much easier - I saw that from the mid '80s on.

Duncan is indeed the big fundamental, but athletically there are others that fit in better with other systems as kflo mentioned.

__________________
------------(__)
------------(oo)
__/----------v
_/--l-------l l
*---l l------l l
----^^----^^

OneBadLT123

IMHO, that is just an excuse people use to levy against him. You still have to get the ball in the hoop. Not only that, Malone had one of the most amazing jumpshots, and the way he finished with power and finesse was also included in his arsneal. Not only that, he was a great rebounder and defender.

__________________
-
OneBadLT123's favorite 07-08 Rockets Videos:
41 Years of Rockets Tradition
Game # 22 in a Row Won
Saluting the Rockets
OneBadLT123's All-time Favorite Rockets Videos:
The Best Hakeem Mix
Hakeem Owning Robinson 95
Hakeem Owning Robinson Again
Post Game 95 Finals
Johnson At The Buzzer!
Tmac 13 in 33
Random Vids:
NBA on NBC Memories
Vince Carter 2000 Slam Dunk Contest

xray

Being from Dallas, I'm still bitter about Draft '85.

__________________
------------(__)
------------(oo)
__/----------v
_/--l-------l l
*---l l------l l
----^^----^^

Ryoga

My top5:
1) Duncan
2) Duncan
3) Petitt
4) Duncan
5) Malone

seriously, in my huble opinion there should be no debate at all, Duncan is so much better than Malone and achieved much more in half the time.

__________________
[LeBron] was banging those little boys around in high school, but once he goes against the men, they're going to beat his butt and make him cry.
ESPN's Charley Rosen

JPSeraph

Duncan is a center. See how he fares when compared with Shaq, Kareem, Wilt, and Olajuwon!

__________________
On a given day, in a given circumstance, you think you have a limit...

jericho

Duncan is the most decorated power forward ever, although Pettit runs him a close second. Pettit, Malone and Barkley were all more impressive statistically, in many respects.

I agree with kflo that the "best" is determined somewhat by the style of play. It's also determined by what attributes you value most. Also by whether/how you translate between eras. Pettit, while as tough as anyone, would be overmatched physically today and might be a step slow. He wouldn't dominate like he did in a bygone era...unless you assume that he'd have benefited from the same superior conditioning and nutrition programs and strategic evolutions in the game that more modern players have enjoyed.

So, do you consider who's The Best in a straight-up comparison, imagining them all playing against each other in some mega-All-Star game? Or are you counting stats (which are affected by eras and systems), individual awards (which are affected by guys like Wilt, Kareem and Jordan who were generally going to gobble up MVPs in their prime regardless of who else was playing), or titles (all sorts of variables at work here)? Who was capable of the most vs. who actually accomplished the most? Who did the most despite a poor supporting cast vs. who catapulted their supporting cast to new heights?

Personally, I try to consider all the above, and probably look at it all through the lens of styles and personalities I narrow-mindedly prefer (team-oriented rather than grandstanding, for example).

In terms of sheer talent and dominance, within the context of his era, I tend to rank Duncan below Pettit, Malone and Barkley. Not far below, especially because he's probably the best defender of the bunch by a good margin. But a shade below, since he's been the least dominant scorer of that elite group.

But if we're talking about "The Best," then his individual and team accomplishments come into play and I rank Duncan (for now) just behind Pettit.

__________________
BadBaronRudigor's All-Time League Draft:

C - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Nate Thurmond
PF - Charles Barkley/Bob McAdoo
SF - Julius Erving/Larry Nance/Billy Cunningham
SG - Alvin Robertson/Ray Allen/Pete Maravich
PG - Jason Kidd/Isiah Thomas

Pioneer10

Duncan is the best 4 ever but he's more of a 5 then any other top PF I've seen play

__________________

Minstrel

I think Malone has Duncan both in peak (barely) and career value. Therefore, I'd place Malone at the top of the heap in terms of power forwards. Subjectively, Malone was the prototypical power forward: huge, fast, athletic, dominating, tough to move on defense and a very good passer for the position.

After Malone, Duncan could be next, but I have a hard time putting him ahead of Barkley. Barkley was prototypical of nothing, but he was outrageously effective.

Right now, if I were buildng a team and had to select a power forward, I'd pick:

1. Karl Malone
2. Charles Barkley
3. Tim Duncan
4. Kevin Garnett
5. Bob Pettit

__________________
Nothing ever burns down by itself
Every fire needs a little bit of help
Give the anarchist a cigarette.

#1

__________________

jericho