The new Athletic nba player poll on GOAT, most overrated, best defender, mvp, and ect

[ImKobe]

So basically, objective numbers and metrics as well as testimonials of his contemporaries point to Jokic being a good defender. Is it just casuals at this point who think he’s average at best?

EPM says he was in the 53rd percentile on defense this year (bad). Jokic can defend well 1 on 1 in the post and he can gamble and get his deflections, but his slow lateral movement makes him a liability in a lot of situations. If he truly was as good on D as some people claim then the Nuggets would have a much better defense. Jokic does not rotate on a lot of plays, he just kind of stays near the paint to get the DREB and tries to get into the passing lanes but best believe he gets cooked on so many plays. It's obvious when you watch the game with your focus on his individual defense.

[RRR3]

What did you think? Of course a good deal of people around the world have Kobe as their personal GOAT. He had so much impact on this current generation. Stat nerds will try to disqualify him always because he wasn't the most efficient player, but winning 5 and having the run he did from '00-'13 makes him one of the GOATs by default. Worst part about it is that he wasn't even inefficient, but he'll always be hated by the MJ, Duncan, Shaq and Lebron stans because for a period of time ('06-'10) he was more loved and more popular than all of them.

KB pissed off so many fanbases so there's always going to be a divide when it comes to online discourse. Most disrespected top 10 GOAT out of all of them.

Kobe was never more loved than MJ, stop it. And I'm far from an MJ fan.

[SouBeachTalents]

Kobe was never more loved than MJ, stop it. And I'm far from an MJ fan.

He wasn't as loved, but he was as good.

[RRR3]

Dear life? Jordan's been ranked over Lebron for the 21 years that Lebron's been in the league. Jordan was called the GOAT about 9 years into his NBA career when he was going for his 3rd ring. What has Lebron done since his 2016 championship that would tilt the scales in his favor? No one cares about the longevity records or the bubble championship in a GOAT debate. Jordan had the better peak and Jordan was the better Playoff performer and Jordan won more. If your Lebron argument is "Well, he didn't win as many MVPs or championships or even have a winning record in the Finals, but he played 20+ years at a high level!" then even you don't really believe the shit that you're typing.

You can scream LeBron isn't GOAT as much as you want, but it's clearly happening in terms of public perception and you're just going to have to deal with it.

[SATAN]

Kobe was never more loved than MJ

lol@at him using a 4 year time frame. Way more people don't like Kobe than don't like Jordan lol. Half of it is because his hardcore fans are so ridiculously delusional and toxic...

[ImKobe]

Kobe was never more loved than MJ, stop it. And I'm far from an MJ fan.

Yes he was, you forget how much they hyped him in the late 2000s. Jordan and Bron stans pushed back on it but those decade polls showed you how big of a gap there was between Kobe and everyone else in the league at the time. Him doing Jordan things while also playing for the most popular franchise in the league boosted his popularity there's no denying that.

[ImKobe]

You can scream LeBron isn't GOAT as much as you want, but it's clearly happening in terms of public perception and you're just going to have to deal with it.

Once he retires and the hype machine stops people will start looking back on their careers objectively. Bron had the chance to pass Jordan but I think that ship has sailed unless he has a title run as the best player in year 21+ which is something you could point to has never been done by anyone ever. Anything short of that I don't wanna hear it.

[Wally450]

Paul Pierce being 5th GOAT. Hold this W Pierce.

[ralph_i_el]

Mvp explanations
SGA voters
• “No one expected the Thunder to be what they are this season, and he’s the head of that snake. And he’s consistent every single game — same numbers, and they’re incredible numbers. And he plays on both ends of the floor.”

No one...but me

[ralph_i_el]

Paul Pierce being 5th GOAT. Hold this W Pierce.

I think players give him credit for being not THAT athletic. He's a guy you can emulate.

[kawhileonard2]

Curry and Pierce got votes but not Kareem nor Russell nor Shaq nor Kawhi?

[Naero]

I think players give him credit for being not THAT athletic. He's a guy you can emulate.

I don't know if it's players plural; it sounds like Pierce only had one vote, in which case . . . the voter's rationale is anyone's guess. There is always some fringe GOAT candidate in these polls (Allen Iverson was previously one of them, iirc), which naturally happens when there is only a sample size of votes.

Not to mention, players generally have outlandish takes, especially when it comes to all-time rankings. They're not necessarily right or wrong—everyone's entitled to their own criteria—but they typically don't reflect that well on the general public's opinions.