Top 10 players IMPACT wise

[played0ut]

>By impact i mean impact only in the realm of winning/losing/controlling the game, and not TV contracts/viewerships/jersey sales/seats/influence
>Don't necessarily have to win, but players that almost singlehandedly makes/breaks a game
>Impact relative to the rest of the league of THEIR ERA.
>Consider more than their stats-- intangibles are of vital importance too
>Longevity isn't as important here


1) Bill Russell
2) Wilt Chamberlain
3) Michael Jordan
4) Shaquille O'Neal
5) Kareem Abdul Jabbar
6) George Mikan
7) Larry Bird
8) Lebron James
9) Magic Johnson
10) Oscar Robertson


-By sheer dominance I could've put Wilt on top. But Russell's intangibles (leadership, BBIQ, competitive drive) which led to so many wins made the decision for me. I know he had a much better team and Wilt did more 'relative' to his teammates, so I'd be ok if Wilt was put on top also.
-I was having trouble deciding between Lebron and Larry-- for a stint they both were considered the best in the NBA (3 MVPS IN A ROW for Bird, and 4 total for Lebron, who's still relatively young). But Bird's will to win and ability to make a play out of nowhere in the clutchest moments was the deciding factor.

(I was having trouble deciding Lebron/Bird/Magic)

[TylerOO]

Allen Iverson changed the game.

If you didnt have an Iverson jersey growing up and you're between the ages of 18-30, you a ******

[JohnFreeman]

Good list, no one left out.

[JohnMax]

I was hoping it would be CURRENT players

[Beastmode88]

Lebron over Magic? The celtic vs lakers rivalry was what put the nba in mainstream. Games were still being taped and they bought it to live. What has lebron james actually done to impact the league?

[played0ut]

Lebron over Magic? The celtic vs lakers rivalry was what put the nba in mainstream. Games were still being taped and they bought it to live. What has lebron james actually done to impact the league?

Not impact as in global impact/popularity. I mean impact in the game itself.

My reasoning is that Magic had a lot of great players while Lebron (at least during his stint in the Cavs) didn't have much. His numbers really are insane. Plus he makes the game easier for his teammates-- look at how everyone's FG% skyrocketed once he came in.

Though tbh i wouldn't be too upset either if Magic was put above Lebron. Better leadership/more dynamic/controls the flow of the game better than most.


*edit*
lol actually i could put Magic over Lebron

[played0ut]

I was hoping it would be CURRENT players

make a thread then

[Young X]

How do you know Wilt and Russell's impact if you haven't seen them play? (or maybe you have?)

[Kvnzhangyay]

>By impact i mean impact in the realm of the game, not TV contracts/viewerships/jersey sales/seats
>Don't necessarily have to win, but players that almost singlehandedly makes/breaks a game
>Impact relative to the rest of the league of THEIR ERA.
>Consider more than their stats-- intangibles are of vital importance too
>Longevity isn't as important here


1) Bill Russell
2) Wilt Chamberlain
3) Michael Jordan
4) Shaquille O'Neal
5) Kareem Abdul Jabbar
6) George Mikan
7) Larry Bird
8) Lebron James
9) Magic Johnson
10) Oscar Robertson


-By sheer dominance I could've put Wilt on top. But Russell's intangibles (leadership, BBIQ, competitive drive) which led to so many wins made the decision for me. I know he had a much better team and Wilt did more 'relative' to his teammates, so I'd be ok if Wilt was put on top also.
-I was having trouble deciding between Lebron and Larry-- for a stint they both were considered the best in the NBA (3 MVPS IN A ROW for Bird, and 4 total for Lebron, who's still relatively young). But Bird's will to win and ability to make a play out of nowhere in the clutchest moments was the deciding factor.

(I was having trouble deciding Lebron/Bird/Magic)

Bird has stunk it up when it mattered most just as much as Lebron, its just the social media didnt' really exist back then to capture it in all it's glory

[played0ut]

How do you know Wilt and Russell's impact if you haven't seen them play? (or maybe you have?)

Anecdotes, clips, quotes, essentially research, my good man. Not much different from school.

>Jerry West said he'd pick Bill Russell over anyone
>Wilt's team fed him everything-- more than anyone else before and after, he probably carried the biggest load of any player ever.
>The year Wilt's team changed coaches (New coach Hannum insisted on playing team ball [which they called 'Celtic Ball']) and Wilt finally won (with much lower numbers), Bill Russell commented:

[quote]As his team was about to lose a playoff series for the first time when he was fully healthy, Russell assessed:[B]

[Fire Colangelo]

Duncan?
Dirk?

All had their teams winning 50+ games for very long stretches...

Kobe?

Mikan

[played0ut]

Bird has stunk it up when it mattered most just as much as Lebron, its just the social media didnt' really exist back then to capture it in all it's glory

No player plays perfect, no matter how great. I can bring up Mr. Clutch (Jerry West's) bad 4th quarter performances too. But if you're comparing the two, Bird never had a slew of 4th quarter performances like Lebron (you know which ones i'm referring to).

There's also a reason why when asked who he'd pick to take a last shot, MJ replied, "Larry Bird," without hesistation. If you honestly take a second and think about it, I think you'd agree that overall, Bird is more clutch than Lebron, who's a fantastic player in his own right.

[played0ut]

Mikan

Brotha, he was the first unstoppable 'big man' of the league. They changed the rules to counter him. And read the OP-- impact relative to the rest of the league.

Mikan did seem to single-handedly overpower the rest of the league at times, so much so that the NBA tried to make it more difficult for him to score by expanding the width of the key, from 6 feet to 12 feet. The 24-second clock also came about because of Mikan. In a game in 1950 the Fort Wayne Pistons decided that the only way they could win was to hold onto the ball and not let the Lakers have it. They ended up winning, 19-18, in the lowest-scoring game in NBA history. The league implemented the 24-second shot clock a few seasons later.

Learn your NBA history, young buck!

[Kvnzhangyay]

No player plays perfect, no matter how great. I can bring up Mr. Clutch (Jerry West's) bad 4th quarter performances too. But if you're comparing the two, Bird never had a slew of 4th quarter performances like Lebron (you know which ones i'm referring to).

There's also a reason why when asked who he'd pick to take a last shot, MJ replied, "Larry Bird," without hesistation. If you honestly take a second and think about it, I think you'd agree that overall, Bird is more clutch than Lebron, who's a fantastic player in his own right.

Of course I agree, I just tend to dislike blanket statements. Although, I never watched Jerry West so I can't talk about him

Also sorry I'd still take MJ over Bird, pretty sure MJ was just being humble there

[NZStreetBaller]

ball distributors and playmakers generally have big impacts and Dominant defensive big men also have huge impact so i agree will russell being on the list.