Where do you rank Karl Malone with 3 MVPs and 2 titles + 2 FMVPs

[iamgine]

Had Jordan not come back from his first retirement, this could've easily happened.

[90sgoat]

I already rank Karl Malone in the top 15th.

He and Lebron are similar level players. If Malone had team hopped in his prime like Lebron, he'd have some more rings.

[ShawkFactory]

There's a lot of what-ifs you can pull with pretty much everybody. Karl Malone isn't far off from anyone who has ever played. Generally speaking, the guys that win more also have a certain level of luck involved. Whether that be situation, opponent, injuries, what have you.

But yes if Jordan didn't return and the Jazz won a couple titles then he'd probably be knocking on the door of top 10. Even with that though I don't know that he's better than guys like Hakeem or Duncan or Kobe. He's probably in that Dr. J and Moses range.

[90sgoat]

There's a lot of what-ifs you can pull with pretty much everybody. Karl Malone isn't far off from anyone who has ever played. Generally speaking, the guys that win more also have a certain level of luck involved. Whether that be situation, opponent, injuries, what have you.

But yes if Jordan didn't return and the Jazz won a couple titles then he'd probably be knocking on the door of top 10. Even with that though I don't know that he's better than guys like Hakeem or Duncan or Kobe. He's probably in that Dr. J and Moses range.

There's really only like a handful of players who really stand out in the game: MJ, Kareem, Bird, Magic.

That's just my opinion. Wilt, Russell, Duncan, Hakeem, Shaq, Lebron, Kobe, Malone, Barkley, Dr. J, they're all pretty much circumstancial and differs less in their impact vs each other than compared to those 4 mentioned above.

[SouBeachTalents]

There's really only like a handful of players who really stand out in the game: MJ, Kareem, Bird, Magic.

That's just my opinion. Wilt, Russell, Duncan, Hakeem, Shaq, Lebron, Kobe, Malone, Barkley, Dr. J, they're all pretty much circumstancial and differs less in their impact vs each other than compared to those 4 mentioned above.

Claiming there's no difference between Malone & LeBron/Shaq/Hakeem is extremely low IQ.

[ShawkFactory]

There's really only like a handful of players who really stand out in the game: MJ, Kareem, Bird, Magic.

That's just my opinion. Wilt, Russell, Duncan, Hakeem, Shaq, Lebron, Kobe, Malone, Barkley, Dr. J, they're all pretty much circumstancial and differs less in their impact vs each other than compared to those 4 mentioned above.

Even with Kareem though, what happens if the Lakers don't get Magic. He still has a ring and is still certainly one of the best ever but what separates him from Wilt then?

And then the Lakers getting very fortunate to have two #1 overall picks from 79-82 despite being one of the best teams in the league both years prior. Things may look differently for both Magic AND Kareem then.

[90sgoat]

Even with Kareem though, what happens if the Lakers don't get Magic. He still has a ring and is still certainly one of the best ever but what separates him from Wilt then?

And then the Lakers getting very fortunate to have two #1 overall picks from 79-82 despite being one of the best teams in the league both years prior. Things may look differently for both Magic AND Kareem then.

True, MJ is the only player that had a career that you could simply not argue against.

[ShawkFactory]

True, MJ is the only player that had a career that you could simply not argue against.

I don't really view acknowledging a certain luck factor as "arguing against" tbh. It's really to point out that not a lot separates these guys.

Even with MJ, those teams were built impeccably around him. With him you could say what if the triangle was never introduced and he played out his whole career doing the hero-ball thing. Still maybe the best player anyone has seen but I don't think he has anything near 6 rings like that.