How come Kareem isn't GOAT?

[Odinn]

What was Kareem the "greatest" at?

Wilt has the 70+ scoring records
Russell has 11 rings
Mike has the best combo of rings/records

I can't see where Kareem fits in? He's not the best at any particular thing and as a jack of all trades he'll always come second to Jordan.

Kareem has 6 MVPs. Record.
Kareem scored 38387 points. Record.
Kareem has 19 All-Star selection. Record.
Kareem scored 5762 points in the playoffs. 2nd.

Kareem definetely had the best longevity.

[PTB Fan]

What was Kareem the "greatest" at?

Wilt has the 70+ scoring records
Russell has 11 rings
Mike has the best combo of rings/records

I can't see where Kareem fits in? He's not the best at any particular thing and as a jack of all trades he'll always come second to Jordan.

Kareem's resume and accomplishments are second to none...longetivity as well (sorry for the bad spelling).

[The Iron Fist]

What was Kareem the "greatest" at?

Wilt has the 70+ scoring records
Russell has 11 rings
Mike has the best combo of rings/records

I can't see where Kareem fits in? He's not the best at any particular thing and as a jack of all trades he'll always come second to Jordan.

He was the greatest at winning and being dominant at every level.

3 straight NYC titles at Power Memorial
3 straight NCAA titles at UCLA 3 time Most Outstanding Player
6 NBA titles with Bucks and Lakers 6 time MVP

[Pointguard]

He had an inspiration problem before Magic?

Before Magic
9 time all star
5 time MVP
Finals MVP
9 time all NBA
8 time all defensive
5 time most field goals made
2 time most total rebounds
3 times most blocks
3 time most points
2 time most points per game
4 time most blocks per game
8 time highest PER * for the geeks who love this stat

You're going to have to actually do some research if you truly believe that Kareem had a problem with inspiration.

Its odd that you mention Kareem needed Magic, when its Magic who never won without Kareem in the NBA.

Nooo, you need to do your research, or simply gain more understanding.

First you need to understand that accomplishments and inspiration are not parallel as you suggest. The game came easy for Kareem. He was easily the best player during his time. But I was way more impressed by the inspired play of Rick Barry, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld and Dave Cowens and who won more impressively than Kareem did. The 70's was the only decade when anybody could win it all - a truly weak era. There were no dominant teams and Kareem was proof that there was no franchise player (please prove me wrong). Then the 80's come and now you got super teams and Magically, Kareem can all of a sudden be like a franchise player in the toughest era in the sport after his ppg are down ten and his rebounds are down by 6 per game.

He's now pumping his fist, he now knows when to exert his energy, he now knows how to be important at crucial times. A guy whose career lacked a winning punch in a weak era, now has a winning swag in a great era, after he has obviously lost a step?

Once again, had you seen Kareem play before Magic you could see he had great ability but never put his foot hard on the pedal and would drift into long periods when he didn't play with a sense of purpose. ohhh, and what Magic did the year after Kareem was gone, was more impressive than Kareem's 9 or 10 years before Magic simply because of the number of franchise players contending when Magic made it to the finals again. No way does Magic come out of the 70's with only one ring.

[Big164]

Kareem has 6 MVPs. Record.
Kareem scored 38387 points. Record.
Kareem has 19 All-Star selection. Record.
Kareem scored 5762 points in the playoffs. 2nd.

Kareem definetely had the best longevity.

You do realize mj and wilt have pages of world records right? Kareem is nOt even close, no one is. Kareems reads more like John stocktons list of records than the goat.

Stockton dished out 15806 assists record
Stockton grabbed 3265 steals record
Stockon has 1839 assists in the playoffs...2nd

Stockton definitely had longevity because he played the most games in NBA history with a single team blah blah blah

Stockton and Kareem became participation jocks because they had no chance of matching peak-magic or peak-wilt respectively. I always laugh when I see Kareem in his 15th season celebrate a record wilt accomplished in 13 seasons.

Stat-wise wilt blows Kareem out of the water in scoring rebounding.

Russell blows Kareem away in championship rings

Mj was the alpha dog in all 6 of his titles while Kareem was sidekick/role player for 2, and did not play in the final game of another.

Kareem is more of a participation jock like Stockton and parish, not a goat like Russell mj and wilt.

Kareem is the p

[D-Wade316]

You do realize mj and wilt have pages of world records right? Kareem is nOt even close, no one is. Kareems reads more like John stocktons list of records than the goat.

Stockton dished out 15806 assists record
Stockton grabbed 3265 steals record
Stockon has 1839 assists in the playoffs...2nd

Stockton definitely had longevity because he played the most games in NBA history with a single team blah blah blah

Stockton and Kareem became participation jocks because they had no chance of matching peak-magic or peak-wilt respectively. I always laugh when I see Kareem in his 15th season celebrate a record wilt accomplished in 13 seasons.

Stat-wise wilt blows Kareem out of the water in scoring rebounding.

Russell blows Kareem away in championship rings

Mj was the alpha dog in all 6 of his titles while Kareem was sidekick/role player for 2, and did not play in the final game of another.

Kareem is more of a participation jock like Stockton and parish, not a goat like Russell mj and wilt.

Kareem is the p

As much as I think Kareem is slightly overrated, you're going way too far. First, he was the best player of the '70s. Second, his accomplishments are second to none. Third, of all the his longevity in the game shows just how dedicated he was to the game.

But again, he wasn't as dominant as many people think. Compare Wilt's competition to his. Wilt put the greatest dynasty of all-time on the ropes many times. Kareem? 8 years of disappointment before Magic, and that was on perhaps the weakest era in terms of competition. Stat wise, Kareem has simply no case over Wilt. In terms of domination, Kareem again has no case over Wilt.

How about Russell? Russell is simply the greatest winner and the most accomplished player of all-time. In terms of domination, both are equally the same. Kareem was primarily an offensive player. Russell was a defensive player. Both dominated the era in which they played, but I'll take Russell over him simply because of Russell's will to win.

With all that said, we must take a look at both sides carefully. He is absolutely top-5 of all-time. He is one of the most accomplished players in basketball history. However, the 8 years of disappointment is what really taints his career. He should have dominated that era.

[millwad]

What was Kareem the "greatest" at?

Wilt has the 70+ scoring records
Russell has 11 rings
Mike has the best combo of rings/records

I can't see where Kareem fits in? He's not the best at any particular thing and as a jack of all trades he'll always come second to Jordan.

Wilt has 70+ scoring records while Kareem is the all-time scoring leader. Kareem won 6 MVP's, Wilt won 4. Kareem won 6 championships while Wilt only won 2 while not being the leading scorer of those championshipteams.