All the GOAT Rankings of Credible InsideHoops Posters (2016)

[andgar923]

^ Agree, especially the Hakeem part. In terms of pure 2 way skillset he's one of the best I've ever seen.

I'm not sure where to rank Lebron yet. Alot of this 'he's number 3' narrative started after ESPN's list, which people at the time thought was a joke that Bron was already third best. Some would say this year's title validated that ranking, I don't, but I also think there's not really much separation between Shaq, Duncan, Bird, Magic, and Lebron. To me, he's on that tier. If Hakeem had a little more team success outside of the back to backs I would put him on that tier as well. To me, if we're accepting MJ and Kareem as 1 and 2, between 3 and 8 is very, very close in my books.

[COLOR="Red"]The thing is, when people crowned MJ GOAT it wasn't because of 'one' specific thing, it was a combination of skills, individual and team achievements, stats. It's not like people were saying 'oh, if MJ wins his 5th title THEN he's GOAT!' On this board, I see things like 'if Lebron does *this*, then he's number on!' That's not how we crowned MJ, so I'm not sure why Lebron is being judged in this context.[/COLOR]

yup

[Lebronxrings]

Jordan
Lebron
Kareem
Magic
Duncan
Shaq
Bird
Russell
Wilt
Hakeem
West
Kobe

[Mr Feeny]

Jordan
Lebron
Kareem
Magic
Duncan
Shaq
Bird
Russell
Wilt
Hakeem
West
Kobe

Good list!

[Uncle Drew]

Jordan
KAJ
Russell
Duncan
Bird
Magic
Shaq
Bron
Wilt
Hakeem

[Im Still Ballin]

You guys can keep denying it but there's no actual realistic argument against LeBron anymore

Accolade wise he hangs with anybody not named Jordan

Statwise he's in a class of himself and Michael

Subjective analysis; He passes better than anyone not named Jordan

The only ones denying LeBron top 5 are old school fans who don't want to believe it yet..

But everything is there in stone... You simply can't put him outside the top 5... He has EVERYTHING on his resume

I'm sorry but it is simple blasphemous to rank LeBron outside the top 5 as it is to not rank Jordan the GOAT... We're at that point now.

Beating a 73 win team coming back from 3-1 down putting up GOAT numbers confirms this

[NBAGOAT]

NOTE: Any listing of LeBron outside the top 5 is a clear red flag for no credibility

NOTE: Any listing of Kobe lower than 8 or higher than 12 is a clear red flag for no credibility

NOTE: Any listing of MJ lower than 2 is a clear red flag for no credibility

the hell this makes no sense. Don't u mean higher than 8 or lower than or more simply Kobe should be in the 8-12 range.

[feyki]

You guys can keep denying it but there's no actual realistic argument against LeBron anymore

Accolade wise he hangs with anybody not named Jordan

Statwise he's in a class of himself and Michael

Subjective analysis; He passes better than anyone not named Jordan

The only ones denying LeBron top 5 are old school fans who don't want to believe it yet..

But everything is there in stone... You simply can't put him outside the top 5... He has EVERYTHING on his resume

I'm sorry but it is simple blasphemous to rank LeBron outside the top 5 as it is to not rank Jordan the GOAT... We're at that point now.

Beating a 73 win team coming back from 3-1 down putting up GOAT numbers confirms this

In Insidehoops ;



In Reality ;

[Im Still Ballin]

the hell this makes no sense. Don't u mean higher than 8 or lower than or more simply Kobe should be in the 8-12 range.

8-12 range for Kobe

Yes I see what you mean but this always gets me.. It can be higher or lower depending on how you put it into context

Just semantics/phrasing

[inclinerator]

i only make top 3 lists

jordon
kareem
lebron

[Quickening]

Some posters still have Bird ranked higher than Lebron?

[Dragonyeuw]

yup.. good post.. I remember reading that Jordan got GOAT talks after only his first or second championship.. he had no holes.. where as Bron has a a few that have landed him in situations MJ never fell to.. which is why hes left making up ground now with the ring counting like you said.

same thing happened with Kobe after 2010 tbh.. polls showing him top 3-5 all time, constant fighting with MJ fans on this board between the two.. but as time passed people just accepted reality and he slid back into proper place.

MJ was even getting 'GOAT' talk whispers back right before he won in 91, at least as an individual talent. In retrospect it seems a bit silly and premature, but that was the kind of buzz he was generating at the time. MJ, as you said, was perceived as having no obvious holes in his game and the narrative of 'he was an average 3point shooter' wasn't there because the 3point shot was in its relative infancy during his prime, so it really wasn't a 'weakness' to be exploited, and he learned how to use it 'when he needed it' as time went on especially in the playoffs. It's not like how certain teams have played Lebron, where his inconsistent mid-range game has actually led teams to specifically give him that shot and make him beat you. You didn't 'give' MJ anything in his prime and hoped to get some strategic edge from it.

Lebron is an interesting case because he's had some of the most incredible highs( 48 points, 27 str8 vs Pistons playoffs 2007, 45-15 vs Celtics 2012 on edge of elimination, the end to 2016 finals) which really clash with lows at the most confusing of times( a spectacular 2011 playoffs then crashed in the finals, mediocre for most of the 2013 finals till the last few games), the PR hit taken from multiple team-hopping during his prime and it leaves you really struggling whether he's as high as 3, as low as 9th, or somewhere in the middle.

Truthfully speaking, we do tend to romanticize some of the moments we grew up watching and forget that Bird lost HCA a few times, Magic crashed and burned in 84, etc etc. In the narrative of where we rank these players, it's getting to the point where their failures, and most importantly how they failed, plays a huge role in how they we rank them as much as counting rings and MVPs.

[Papaya Petee]

1.) Jordan
2.) Kareem
3.) Bill Russell
4.) LeBron
5.) Magic
6.) Shaq
7.) Duncan
8.) Bird
9.) Kobe
10.) Wilt


HM- Hakeem

[Im Still Ballin]

MJ was even getting 'GOAT' talk whispers back right before he won in 91, at least as an individual talent. In retrospect it seems a bit silly and premature, but that was the kind of buzz he was generating at the time. MJ, as you said, was perceived as having no obvious holes in his game and the narrative of 'he was an average 3point shooter' wasn't there because the 3point shot was in its relative infancy during his prime, so it really wasn't a 'weakness' to be exploited, and he learned how to use it 'when he needed it' as time went on especially in the playoffs. It's not like how certain teams have played Lebron, where his inconsistent mid-range game has actually led teams to specifically give him that shot and make him beat you. You didn't 'give' MJ anything in his prime and hoped to get some strategic edge from it.

Lebron is an interesting case because he's had some of the most incredible highs( 48 points, 27 str8 vs Pistons playoffs 2007, 45-15 vs Celtics 2012 on edge of elimination, the end to 2016 finals) which really clash with lows at the most confusing of times( a spectacular 2011 playoffs then crashed in the finals, mediocre for most of the 2013 finals till the last few games), the PR hit taken from multiple team-hopping during his prime and it leaves you really struggling whether he's as high as 3, as low as 9th, or somewhere in the middle.

Truthfully speaking, we do tend to romanticize some of the moments we grew up watching and forget that Bird lost HCA a few times, Magic crashed and burned in 84, etc etc. In the narrative of where we rank these players, it's getting to the point where their failures, and most importantly how they failed, plays a huge role in how they we rank them as much as counting rings and MVPs.

The problem is your inability to objectively analyze the "lows"

Losing in the finals isn't as low as losing in the first round

Fact

[Uncle Drew]

Some posters still have Bird ranked higher than Lebron?

The impact Bird had on the NBA is far greater than anything LeBron could ever do.

[Dragonyeuw]

The problem is your inability to objectively analyze the "lows"

Losing in the finals isn't as low as losing in the first round

Fact

The very nature of rankings are subjective. If you've convinced yourself that Lebron is 3rd best based on your own arbitrary criteria, then no-one is going to convince you otherwise. The difference is, while I have MJ as GOAT I'm more than willing to entertain arguments that people like Wilt, Russell, Kareem have cases based on the criteria being argued. Narrow-minded posters like you spend your days creating thread after thread 'LEBRON IS TOP 3' as if it's objective fact.