#20. Dwyane Wade
Resume
NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’06)
NBA All-1st Team: 2x (’09, ’10)
NBA All-2nd Team: 3x (’05, ’06, ’11)
NBA All-3rd Team: 3x (’07, ’12, ’13)
NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team 3x: (’05, ’09, ’10)
NBA All-Rookie 1st Team: 1x (’04)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (‘10)
NBA All-Star: 11x (05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)
NBA Points Leader: 1x (’09)
NBA PER Leader: 1x (’07)
NBA Top 10 Points: 5x (’05, ’06, ’09, ’10, ‘11)
NBA Top 10 Assists: 3x (’05, ’09, ‘10)
NBA Top 10 Steals: 3x (’06, ’09, ’10)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 4x (’06, ’09, ’10, ‘11)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 6x (’06, ’07, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12)
NBA Top 10 PER: 8x (’05, ’06, ’07, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13)
Best Player on One Champions: ’06 Heat
2nd Best Player on Two Champions: ’12 Heat, ’13 Heat
2nd Best Player on Two Runner-Ups: ’11 Heat, ’14 Heat
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 28th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 49th
Dwyane Wade’s two peaks are better than what most great players can do in their careers. The 2006 NBA Finals may have been heavily weighted in Wade’s favor (no hand-checking, refs calling everything for him), but that shouldn’t discount what he did to Dallas to win the 2006 Championship. 35 PPG, 8 REB including a 42-13 in a must win Game 3, a 36 point game in Game 4 to even the series, a 43 point game in Game 5 and and a 36-10-5-4-3 in the clincher. Wade’s 2006 Finals performance was one of the best over. It also can’t be forgotten that if he doesn’t get hurt in the 2005 Conference Finals, perhaps Wade adds another Finals appearance…and maybe ring…to his resume.
In 2009 and 2010, Wade became the best shooting guard in the league. In fact his 2009 season: 30 PPG, 5 RPG, 7.5 APG on 49% shooting was probably the best Jordan impression we ever got since Jordan.
He was so good in 2010 that when LeBron left Cleveland to join Wade in Miami, people thought Wade might have been the better player. Of course these problems led to some chemistry issues that were ultimately resolved when Wade got hurt and scaled back a little bit in 2012.
Speaking of which, Wade transformed into a great 2nd banana for LeBron as the Heat went to the Finals every year LeBron was there.
When Wade was healthy and in his prime, the Heat were either a title contender or a 20 win team that somehow made the playoffs. So why is Wade only 20th? Because he wasn’t healthy enough. The last four seasons? He missed 17, 13, 28, and 20 games. He also had injury problems earlier in his career.
It’ll take a late career surge for Wade to be considered any higher. But 20th is pretty good.
#19. Karl Malone
Resume
NBA MVP: 2x (’97, ’99)
NBA All-1st Team: 11x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ‘99)
NBA All-2nd Team: 2x (’88, ’00)
NBA All-3rd Team: 1x (’01)
NBA All-Defensive 1st Team 3x: (’97, ’98, ‘99)
NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team: 1x (’88)
NBA All-Rookie 1st Team: 1x (’86)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2x (’89, ‘93)
NBA All-Star: 15x (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ‘02)
NBA PER Leader: 1x (’97)
NBA Win Share Leader; 2x (’98, ’99)
NBA Top 4 Points: 13x (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ‘00)
NBA Top 10 Points: 14x: (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’02)
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 13x (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’00)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 14x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’03)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 13x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01)
NBA Top 5 PER: 13x ((’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01)
NBA Career Points: 2nd
NBA Career Rebounds: 6th
NBA Career Steals: 10th
NBA Career Win Shares: 3rd
NBA Career WS/48: 18th
NBA Career PER: 15th
Best Player on Two Runner-Ups: ’97 Jazz, ’98 Jazz
Role Player on One Runner-Up: ’04 Lakers
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 18th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 18th
Karl Malone makes it this high because of his gaudy totals and he was usually a top 5 to 10 guy in the NBA season after the season. But despite what seems to be a Top 10 resume there’s no way Malone can be that high. Everything worked in Malone’s favor other than Michael Jordan returning to the NBA in the late 90s. Season after season Malone led Jazz teams disappointed in the playoffs and when they finally made the Finals (see the John Stockton section for why they made it there) Malone’s Jazz never had a real chance to beat the Bulls. Malone had a prime chance to win the NBA Title in the lock-out shortened 1999 season where again everything lined up perfectly (no more Jordan, everyone came into the season out of shape because of the lock-out, NBA still with a super slow pace), only the Jazz surprisingly dropped a six game series to the up and coming Trail Blazers (with Malone giving an 8 point effort in the deciding game). I’m not even thinking about all the missed clutch free throws (Game 1 in the ’97 Finals and Game 7 in the ’96 Conference Finals immediately come to mind) or the fact that with the game on the line Malone lost the ball to Jordan before Jordan’s iconic ’98 Finals Game 6 shot. It should be pointed out Malone’s WS/48 takes a steep drop for his playoff career. Don’t even get me started on the fact that Malone had Stockton for his whole career. Karl Malone was great, but when push came to shove, he was always the one who lost.
#18. Charles Barkley
Resume
NBA MVP: 1x (’93)
NBA All-1st Team: 5x (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ‘93)
NBA All-2nd Team: 5x (’86, ’87, ’92, ’94, ’95)
NBA All-3rd Team: 1x (’96)
NBA All-Rookie 1st Team: 1x (’85)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (‘91)
NBA All-Star: 11x (’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ‘97)
NBA Offensive Rating Leader: 2x (’89, ’90)
NBA Win Share Leader: 2x (’98, ’99)
NBA Top 10 Points: 6x (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93)
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 9x (’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’93, ’96, ’98, ’99)
NBA Top 5 Steals: 1x (’86)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 11x (’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’95, ’97, ’99)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: (’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93)
NBA Top 10 PER: 14x (’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99)
NBA Career Points: 24th
NBA Career Rebounds: 18th
NBA Career Steals: 24th
NBA Career Win Shares: 13th
NBA Career WS/48: 9th
NBA Career PER: 11th
Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’93 Suns
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 19th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 20th
Just going by resume it seems like Malone should have a big edge over Barkley. But I’ll take Barkley for the following reasons.
I feel as if teams had a better chance to win with Barkley than Malone. We covered Malone’s inadequacies in his section. Barkley’s problem was that he thought he was better than he was and played that way. The difference is that it never worked in Malone’s case, where Barkley gave his ’93 Suns a legitimate chance in the 1993 NBA Finals.
Malone had Stockton his whole career. Barkley had no sense of stability ever and was still a dominate force. How great is Malone without Stockton? Impossible to tell.
Barkley was a historically great rebounder going by rebounding percentage. Malone was merely very good.
Barkley outshined Malone in the 1992 Olympics, becoming the team’s 2nd best player while Malone played a bench role.
Barkley’s career regular season WS/48 was .216 and in the playoffs it was .193, a reasonable drop (because you on average play tougher opponents in the playoffs). Malone went from a .205 to a .140. Ouch.
Malone took care of himself better and as a result had a longer career…but I’ll take Barkley any day.
#17. Julius Erving
Resume
NBA MVP: 1x (’81)
ABA MVP: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)
NBA All-1st Team: 5x (’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ‘83)
ABA All-1st Team: 4x (’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)
NBA All-2nd Team: 2x (’77, ‘84)
ABA All-2nd Team: 1x (’72)
ABA All-Defensive 1st Team: 1x (’76)
ABA All-Rookie 1st Team: 1x (’72)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2x (’77, ‘83)
NBA All-Star: 11x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86, ’87)
ABA All-Star: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)
NBA WS/48 Leader: 2x (’81, ’82)
NBA PER Leader: 1x (’80)
ABA Points Leader: 2x (’74, ’76)
ABA Win Shares Leader: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA WS/48 Leader: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA PER Leader: 4x (’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA Defensive Rating Leader: 1x (’76)
NBA Top 10 Points: 5x (’77, ’79, ’80, ’81, ‘82)
NBA Top 10 Steals: 3x (’80, ’81, ’82)
NBA Top 10 Blocks: 2x (’80, ’82)
NBA Top 10 PER: 6x (’77, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 6x (’77, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 6x (’77, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84)
NBA Top 10 Defensive Rating: 3x (’80, ’81, ’84)
ABA Top 5 Points: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA Top 5 Assists: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA Top 10 Rebounds: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA Top 10 Steals: 4x (’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA Top 10 Blocks: 4x (’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA Top 10 Win Shares: 5x (’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA Top 10 WS/48: (’72, ’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA Top 5 Offensive Rating: 1x (’76)
ABA Top 2 Defensive Rating: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)
ABA+NBA Career Points: 6th
ABA+NBA Career Rebounds: 33rd
ABA+NBA Career Steals: 7th
ABA+NBA Career Blocks: 22nd
ABA+NBA Career WS/48: 26th
ABA+NBA Career Win Shares: 13th
2nd Best Player on One NBA Champion: ’83 Sixers
Best Player on Three NBA Runner-Ups: ’77 Sixers, ’80 Sixers, ’81 Sixers
Best Player on Two ABA Champions: ’74 Nets, ’76 Nets
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 16th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 16th
Dr. J dominated the ABA. Absolutely owned it. If he had kept up that pace throughout his NBA Career we perhaps would have had a Top 10 player. But once the merger took place Dr. J was great, but not transcendent like he was in the ABA.
Erving averaged from 27-31 points per game around 11 rebounds per game (including 15.7 his rookie season) and around 5 assists per game in his ABA career. His first NBA season? 22-9-4. It’s not as if those are bad stats, but if you are putting Doc in your Top 10 and using his ABA career as the reason you need to acknowledge that the ABA was a weaker league.
With that being said, Dr. J still had a great NBA career. He got to the Finals four times (but needed Moses to actually get him the ring) and got close two other seasons. He won a MVP in 1981. He also was a solid player all the way through 1987, so longevity helps his case too.
Of course, Dr. J might be the most ground breaking player in NBA history, basically making dunking cool in basketball. That counts for something too.
#16. Oscar Robertson
Resume
NBA MVP: 1x (’64)
NBA All-1st Team: 9x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ‘69)
NBA All-2nd Team: 2x (’70, ‘71)
NBA Rookie of the Year: 1x (’61)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 3x (’61, ’64, ‘69)
NBA All-Star: 12x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72)
NBA Assists Leader: 6x (’61, ’62, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’69)
NBA Win Shares Leader: 1x (’65)
NBA Offensive Win Shares Leader: 4x (’61, ’64, ’68, ’69)
NBA Top 6 Points: 9x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67 ,’68, ’69)
NBA Top 7 Assists: 13x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ‘73)
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 1x (’62)
NBA Top 5 PER: 10x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 11x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 11x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71)
NBA Career Points: 11th
NBA Career Assists: 6th
NBA Career Win Shares: 9th
NBA Career WS/48: 16th
NBA Career Offensive Win Shares: 3rd
2nd Best Player on One NBA Champion: ’71 Bucks
2nd Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’74 Bucks
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 10th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 5th
To be honest, if it weren’t for one crazy statistical deal we probably wouldn’t even be talking about Oscar they way fans do. Like Wilt, Oscar’s reputation hinges upon that one statistical feat. We’ll get to Wilt soon. Oscar’s is that he averaged a triple double (with about 30 PPG no less) for the first five seasons of his career.
It’s arguably the most impressive stat on paper (even better than Wilt’s). 30-10-10 for five straight years? How could Oscar not be top 5 or at least top 10? Let’s break down why Oscar, while an impressive player, didn’t quite match his hype. His early teams during his statistical dominance admittedly weren’t as great as Russell’s or Wilt’s teams, but they had some talent. It didn’t stop Oscar’s Royals from being dispatched by a 37-43 Detroit team in the playoffs in ‘61, or the fact that he only led one team to 50+ wins in that span. He always lost to Russell’s Celtics or Wilt’s Sixers. Later Royal teams would outright miss the playoffs. Is this completely fair to Oscar? Yes and no. On one hand, it’s not his fault his team wasn’t as talented as others in a small league. On the other he never was able to rise to the occasion and pull off the big upset. This was despite those crazy statistics.
Speaking of which, sportswriters at the time didn’t seem to really respect those statistics either. Frank Delford stated that Oscar arrived at those numbers like a “.333 hitter who went 1 for 3 every game”. Heck, the Royals didn’t even want him near the end of his career, and he was traded for Charlie Paulk and Flynn Robinson. Paulk played 120 games. Robinson made one All-Star team.
Here’s Bill Simmons’ hypothetical: Imagine if 2009 Dwyane Wade played against Steve Blake and Jason Terry for 70 games and only in 12 did he play against an elite guy like Kobe and Pierce. Then add in that every power forward was 6’6” and there were only seven elite centers in a 30 team league. Lastly, imagine that there wer e8- rebounds available and 120 FG attempts every game. Would Wade average Oscar’s stats? Seems fair, right?
We didn’t even get into the fact that Oscar terrified his teammates, nevermind the idea of trying to make them better.
He makes it this high because you can’t ignore those stats either and he became a solid #2 guy for Kareem on the ’71 Bucks. It’s also worth going into the heavily racist history Oscar went through In college. It’s sadly horrifying.
#15. Wilt Chamberlain
Resume
NBA MVP: 4x (’60, ’66, ’67, ‘68)
NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’72)
NBA All-1st Team: 7x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’64, ’66, ’67, ’68)
NBA All-2nd Team: 3x (’63, ’65, ’72)
NBA Rookie of the Year: 1x (’60)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (‘60)
NBA All-Star: 13x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’71, ’72, ‘73)
NBA Points Leader; 7x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66)
NBA Rebounds Leader: 11x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’71, ’72, ’73)
NBA Assists Leader: 1x (’68)
NBA PER Leader: 8x (’60, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68)
NBA Win Shares Leader: 8x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’66, ’67, ’68)
NBA Top 3 Points: 9x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69)
NBA Top 2 Rebounds: 13x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’71, ’72, ’73)
NBA Top 7 Assists: 4x (’64, ’66, ’67, ’68)
NBA Top 10 PER: 11x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’71)
NBA Top 4 Win Shares: 13x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’71, ’72, ’73)
NBA Top 7 WS/48: 12x (’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’72, ’73)
NBA Career Points: 5th
NBA Career Rebounds: 1st
NBA Career Win Shares: 2nd
NBA Career WS/48: 3rd
NBA Career Offensive Win Shares: 2nd
NBA Career Defensive Win Shares: 3rd
Best Player on One Champion: ’67 Sixers
Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’64 Warriors
2nd Best Player on One Champion: ’72 Lakers
2nd Best Player on Three Runner-Ups: ’69 Lakers, ’70 Lakers, ’73 Lakers
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 6th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 2nd
Think about this. Isn’t it the greatest coincidence of all time that both Oscar and Wilt put up their crazy stats in the same era?
Chamberlain’s the greatest statistical player of all time. No doubt. But despite having Hall of Fame players with him (guys like Greer, who we covered earlier) Chamberlain often fell short in the playoffs. He routinely put up absolutely insane statistics (a 100 point game, a 55 rebound game) against inferior competition. An example. In 1962 he scored 50.4 PPG in 48.5 MPG on 50.6% FG. In the playoffs that year? Same 48 MPG, but 35 PPG on 46.7% FG. In fact, Chamberlain wouldn’t win the title until the first season he took less than 25 shots a game (he took only 14). He later went on a statistics kick and went out of his way to lead the league in assists. This included passing to teammates and ignoring wide open shots.
There was also the no foul outs streak (so he’d stop playing defense if he had five fouls), his crappy FT% that actually cost his team the game (because in the famous Havlicek steals the ball moment, he said he knew the pass was never going to Wilt because he was afraid to get fouled in big moments) or most famously, the time Willis Reed limped out in MSG with a broken leg and still hit a shot despite Chamberlain being the opposing center.
Like Oscar, he dominated those he could dominate and struggled against those who could beat him. Yes, he’s great, but he’s nowhere near as great as his statistics say.
#14. Kevin Garnett
Resume
NBA MVP: 1x (’04)
NBA All-1st Team: 4x (’00, ’03, ’04, ‘08)
NBA All-2nd Team: 3x (’01, ’02, ‘05)
NBA All-3rd Team: 2x (’99, ‘07)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 1x (’08)
NBA All Defensive 1st Team: 9x (’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’08, ’09, ’11)
NBA All Defensive 2nd Team: 3x (’06, ’07, ’12)
NBA All Rookie 2nd Team: 1x (’96)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (‘03)
NBA All-Star: 15x (’97, ’98, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ‘13)
NBA Points Leader: 1x (’04)
NBA Rebounds Leader: 2x (’04, ’05)
NBA PER Leader: 2x (’04, ’05)
NBA Win Shares Leader: 2x (’04, ‘05)
NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (’04)
NBA Defensive Rating Leader: 2x (’08, ’12)
NBA Top 10 Points: 4x (’00, ’03, ’04, ‘07)
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 9x (’98, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07)
NBA Top 10 Blocks: 3x (’97, ’98, ’04)
NBA Top 10 PER: 9x (’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ‘08)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 7x (’00, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ‘08)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 7x (’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’08, ‘09)
NBA Top 10 Defensive Rating: 9x (’04, ’05, ’06, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13)
NBA Career Points: 15th
NBA Career Rebounds: 9th
NBA Career Assists: 46th
NBA Career Steals: 16th
NBA Career Blocks: 17th
NBA Career Win Shares: 8th
NBA Career WS/48: 32nd
NBA Career Defensive Rating: 23rd
NBA Career Defensive Win Shares: 7th
Best Player on One Champion: ’08 Celtics
Starter on One Runner-Up: ’10 Celtics
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 22nd
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 30th
Garnett over Wilt and Oscar?
He’s the thing. Unlike Wilt and Oscar, Garnett was great in an era where his position as loaded with talent. Throughout Garnett’s career he faced off with Barkley, Malone, Duncan, Nowitzki, Webber, Gasol, Bosh and Kemp. And those are just the power forwards. He often had to deal with the opponent’s center as well. Despite this, he put up numbers during his peak that only few have accomplished in their career, and those who did do it never did it later than 1976. Garnett’s MVP season? 24-14-5. No one’s touched that since 1976. And the players who touched that were Wilt in the 60s, Baylor in the 60s, and Kareem in the 70s. Despite being 7 foot he could guard all five positions in his prime, and could even play all five if he really needed to.
Garnett never had any real help until 2004. His beat teammates were a selfish Stephon Marbury, Wally Z (who never did anything without Garnett), a past his prime Terrell Brandon, and before his prime Chauncey Billups and Tom Gugliotta. When he finally got help, a past his prime Latrell Sprewell and the underrated Sam Cassell, Garnett put up his MVP year and the T-Wolves won 58 games and made the Conference Finals. Any thoughts of KG not being clutch were put to rest in the 2004 playoffs when he finished off the Kings in his first Game 7 ever with a 32 PT, 21 REB, 4 STL, 5 BLK game shooting 12 for 23. Unfortunately, Cassell went down in the Conference Finals and despite playing some point guard, it wasn’t enough to get the Wolves past the Lakers.
Garnett’s career hit a crossroads here. While he still put up huge numbers, his prime was wasted as Sprewell got worse and Cassell stayed hurt. The Wolves made some more terrible moves…adding Ricky Davis for example and Minnesota missed the playoffs three straight years, twice having win totals in the low 30s. Garnett’s dedication to Minnesota resulted in him never demanding a trade, but luckily for his career one happened anyway when he was sent to Boston.
You can make a great argument that Garnett deserves the 2008 MVP. His stats were way down because he played less minutes…and also become the single most important defensive player in the league. He transformed the career of Rajon Rondo. He helped Paul Pierce become a winner. He brought to Boston a sense of teamwork and intensity that showed that Garnett could be a Championship level player. Only two players have ever had a season with at least an 118 offensive rating and a least a 94 defensive rating. 1992 David Robinson and ’08 Garnett. While Garnett at times looked bad in the playoffs, he still came through with some big performances (26-14-4 to clinch the title).
Garnett hung around a few more years in Boston, anchoring a top defense each year and helping Boston nearly win another title in 2010. But all that stuff about helping teammates and coming through in the clutch and such, well, you’d never hear that about Wilt or Oscar.
#13. Dirk Nowitzki
Resume
NBA MVP: 1x (’07)
NBA All-1st Team: 4x (’05, ’06, ’07, ‘09)
NBA All-2nd Team: 5x (’02, ’03, ’08, ’10, ‘11)
NBA All-3rd Team: 3x (’01, ’04, ‘12)
NBA All-Star: 13x (’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’14, ‘15)
NBA Win Shares Leader: 2x (’06, ’07)
NBA WS/48 Leader: 3x (’05, ’06, ’07)
NBA PER Leader: 1x (‘06)
NBA Top 10 Points: 11x (’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’12, ‘14)
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 3x (’02, ’04, ‘05)
NBA Top 10 PER: 11x (’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ‘14)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 11x (’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ‘11)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 10x (’01, ’02, ’03, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’10, ’11, ’14)
NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 6x (’01, ’02, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’14)
NBA Career Points: 7th
NBA Career Rebounds: 35th
NBA Career FT%: 14th
NBA Career Win Shares: 7th
NBA Career WS/48: 19th
NBA Career Offensive Rating: 23rd
Best Player on One Champion: ’11 Mavericks
Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’06 Mavericks
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 39th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 55th
What a crazy career we have here! Nowitzki early on seemed like nothing more than a lanky German kid who would be deemed too soft. He quickly became one of the best offensive forwards we’ve ever seen, perhaps the best since Bird. With Garnett’s career stuck in Minnesota, Nowitzki tried to lay claim…and came close…to taking that “best power forward alive” title from Duncan from 2005 through 2007. Nowitzki led the Mavericks to 60 wins in 2006 and got to face off with the Spurs in Round 2. Dallas prevailed in seven games, with Nowitzki putting up performances of 27-15 on nine shots, 28-9 on 12 shots, 31-10-4, 26-21-5 and, in the clincher, a 37-15. He added to Steve Nash’s misery in the Conference Finals, putting up a 50-12 in a crucial Game 5 that helped the Mavericks get to the NBA Finals. Dallas took a 2-0 lead on the Heat, then everything seemed to change for the worse.
You can blame Dallas’ failure in the 2006 NBA Finals on a lot of things that didn’t involve Dallas: the referees, Wade going bonkers, the huge coaching mismatch (Pat Riley vs. Avery Johnson). And while all of that is true Dallas still blew the series. They had a 9 point lead late in the 4th that would have given them a 3-0 series lead. Nowitzki fell apart. 2 for 14 with 16 points in Game 4. Only 8 for 19 shooting in a one point Game 5 loss. While he had a strong Game 6 it wasn’t enough as Miami stole the title. For a while though, things still seemed fine. Nowitzki had a great 2007. While we all mocked him for his MVP (and I did too), once we saw Stephen Curry eight years later and appreciated advanced metrics some more we realized Dirk really was the MVP that year. But then the Golden State series happened. The Warriors six game upset of the Mavericks was one of the most surreal playoff series I’ve ever seen, with Golden State doing whatever they wanted to Dallas. Nowitzki shot 38% for the series and took less shots than Josh Howard. And we all read about the toll this took on Nowitzki. While still quite good for the next three years Dallas fell into the 50-55 win range, losing in the early rounds of the playoffs. It seemed clear that Nowitzki’s chance to be a top guy on a title team was over.
And then 2011 happened. When Dallas had their best team in years, a 57-25, 3rd seeded team, no one still gave them a chance. When they went against a tough Portland team in Round 1, many pegged that to be the upset series (including Bill Simmons, who felt Portland had four of the best five guys in the series). Nowitzki trashed them with 27 points per game. Next up were the defending champs, and Nowitzki led to an at the time shocking sweep, with big games in 1 and 3. Next up were the up and coming Oklahoma City Thunder, with young superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Once again Dallas wasn’t given a chance. Nowitzki averaged 32 a game in the series on 56% shooting, including a beautiful 48 point opener on merely 15 shots, as the Mavericks easily won the series in 5. Lastly, the ultimate test. Nowitzki was given a chance to get revenge on the Heat from five years ago. This time the Heat not only had Wade, but LeBron and Bosh as well. Nowitzki averaged a 26-10 for the series and won the Finals MVP.
Nowitzki’s has continued to be a strong player since, even nearly leading Dallas to an upset of the 2014 San Antonio Spurs in the first round (no one else remotely touched San Antonio in those playoffs). Once a disappointing MVP, Nowitzki became the player that we failed to recognize earlier because of our lack of understanding advanced metrics. He more than proved himself in 2011 and has been the reason that the Dallas Mavericks became one of the premier franchises in the NBA.
#12. Jerry West
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NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’69)
NBA All-1st Team: 10x (’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’70, ’71, ’72, ‘73)
NBA All-2nd Team: 2x (’68, ‘69)
NBA All-Defensive 1st Team: 4x (’70, ’71, ’72, ’73)
NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team: 1x (’69)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’72)
NBA All-Star: 14x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ‘74)
NBA Win Shares Leader: 1x (‘70)
NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (‘65)
NBA PER Leader: 2x (’69, ‘70)
NBA Top 10 Points: 8x (’62, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’70, ’71, ‘72)
NBA Top 10 Assists: 10x (’62, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ‘73)
NBA Top 10 PER: 12x (’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ‘73)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 9x (’62, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’69, ’70, ’71, ‘72)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 11x (’62, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ‘73)
NBA Career Points: 20th
NBA Career Assists: 27th
NBA Career Win Shares: 19th
NBA Career WS/48: 10th
Best Player on One Champion: ’72 Lakers
Best Player on Eight Runner-Ups: ’62 Lakers, ’63 Lakers, ’65 Lakers, ’66 Lakers, ’68 Lakers, ’69 Lakers, ’70 Lakers, ’73 Lakers
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 9th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 11th
It’s not really fair that Oscar gets credit for his averaging a triple double, but things that would have helped West (a three point line, more All-Defense team recognition), didn’t exist. West averaged 30 a game anyway. Year after year he carried his teams to the Finals just to get beat by Russell’s Celtics, and yes, perhaps if the Lakers had won at least one of those series West would get pushed to the Top 10. He actually had his own brand of jaw dropping statistics as well, only no one talks about them because they aren’t as catchy as “triple double” or “100 points in a game”. But in 1966, West finished in the Top 10 in nine different categories ranging from points per game to percentages, something no one has ever done. In the ’65 playoffs he averaged 46.3 PPG in the first round to carry the Lakers without Baylor, and averaged 40.6 PPG the entire playoffs. So yes, he had his “holy shit” stats too.
He was called Mr. Clutch, and Russell himself that West’s Game 1 in the 1969 Finals was “the greatest clutch performance ever against the Celtics”. He had 53 and 10 that game. He was so good in that series, a seven game loss for the Lakers, that the first ever Finals MVP, a trophy named after Bill Russell today, didn’t go to Russell but went to the losing West. Of course, when the ’72 Lakers were rolling, led by West, they won a record 33 games in a row, a record that still stands today and won the title.
Also, there was a time when the Warriors offered Wilt for West and LA said no. That’s worth something, right?
#11. Moses Malone
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NBA MVP: 3x (’79, ’82, ’83)
NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’83)
NBA All-1st Team: 4x (’79, ’82, ’83, ’85)
NBA All-2nd Team: 4x (’80, ’81, ’84, ‘87)
NBA All-Defensive 1st Team: 1x (’83)
NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team: 1x (’79)
NBA All-Star: 12x (’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86, ’87, ’88, ’89)
ABA All-Star: 1x (’75)
NBA Rebounds Leader: 5x (’79, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’85)
NBA Offensive Rebounds Leader: 8x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’90)
ABA Offensive Rebounds Leader: 1x (’75)
NBA Win Shares Leader: 2x (’82, ’83)
NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (‘83)
NBA PER Leader: 2x (’82, ‘83)
NBA Top 10 Points: 7x (’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’85, ’86)
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 13x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86, ’88, ’89, ‘90)
ABA Top 10 Rebounds: 1x (’75)
NBA Top 10 Blocks: 2x (’77, 83)
ABA Top 10 Blocks: 1x (’75)
NBA Top 10 PER: 8x (’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ‘87)
ABA Top 10 PER: 1x (’75)
NBA Top 4 Win Shares: 6x (’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’85)
ABA Top 4 Win Shares: 1x (’75)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 6x (’79, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’85, ‘87)
NBA Career Points: 8th
NBA Career Rebounds: 5th
NBA Career Offensive Rebounds: 1st
NBA Career Win Shares: 14th
Best Player on One Champion: ’83 Sixers
Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’81 Rockets
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 13th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 15th
Moses’ peak is so great that he was able to knock on the door of the Top 10, but couldn’t quite get in. Despite Magic and Bird coming in, Moses remained the top dog in the NBA in the early 80s, leading a flawed Rockets team to the ’81 Finals (where they lost to the Celtics) and dominating the 1983 season and taking the Sixers to the Finals.
Moses Malone is one of the greatest rebounders of all time, and his pairing with Charles Barkley in the mid-80s could have been the greatest rebounding duo of all time. For some reason Philly traded him I guess to build around Barkley, but they didn’t get enough in return. For whatever reason, Moses didn’t match what he was doing in Houston and Philly. He was still quite good, but he wasn’t nearly as dominant.
Nonetheless, if you surrounded him with a quality supporting cast, Moses Malone guaranteed you an NBA title no matter what. Even if he had to face Kareem to do it (26-18 for Moses in the ’83 Finals, 24-8 for Kareem).