RealGM Top 100 List #95

[penbeast0]

Criteria: Take into account both peak and career play, era dominance, impact on the game of basketball, and how well their style of play and skills would transcend onto different eras. To be more exact, how great they were at playing the game of basketball.

Voting Will End In 2 Days -- Please vote and nominate

NOTE: PEOPLE HAVE NOT BEEN POSTING DISCUSSION FOR THEIR CHOICES RECENTLY. LISTS WITHOUT DISCUSSION WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE FINALS VOTE

Mitch Richmond

3x 2nd Team All-NBA
2x 3rd Team All-NBA
2002 NBA Title (Lakers)
1989 Rookie of the Year
6x All-Star


Chris Mullin

1x All-NBA 1st
2x All-NBA 2nd
1x All-NBA 3rd
5x All-Star

Dave DeBusschere

Hall of Fame 1983
1x All-NBA 2nd Team
2x NBA Champion
6x All-Defense 1st Team
8x All-Star

Bill Laimbeer

2x NBA Champion
4x All-Star


Brad Daugherty

1x NBA 3rd Team
5x All-Star


Jerry Lucas

3x All-NBA 1st team
2x All-NBA 2nd team
1 NBA Championship 1973
Rookie of the Year 1964
7x All-Star

[penbeast0]

Lucas is easily the most valuable of these players. A GOAT candidate rebounding forward (behind only Rodman and Pettit), an excellent shooting stretch the floor 4 like Dirk, and the main big on one of the most consistently top 3 offensive squads in NBA history as well as an extremely smart and coachable player who changed his style to become a defensive minded role playing center for NY to help win a championship. He was a HOF vote by those who saw him over the likes of Willis Reed (who made it 2 years later) and clearly better than anyone remaining.

VOTE JERRY LUCAS

Similarly Shawn Marion brings a lot more to the table than anyone left unnominated. An excellent man defender at the 3 as shown by the job he did on LeBron in last year's finals (very clutch defense there), one of the all time greatest help defending non-centers able to put up great block and steal numbers while not sacrificing man defense, a 20ppg scorer both before and after playing with Steve Nash (more efficient with Nash) and playing with Nash, his 2006 season is better than anyone close -- except possibly Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant who have less than 5 years between them, one of the best all-time rebounding 3's, just a guy who can do everything and did for a long time.

NOMINATE SHAWN MARION

[Dr Positivity]

I couldn't get onto RealGM yesterday but I'm fine with the Hardaway vote

Vote Bill Laimbeer

Building from the inside out with this choice. Laimbeer is a unique player in that he can defend and rebound while spreading the floor with his shooting. Somehow killed it on the offensive glass despite playing on the outside offensively. Sacrificed a bit offensively on the winning title teams, otherwise could be a legit 17ppg+ guy. Is good for a decade vs a shorter career for a guy like Daugherty or Debusschere

Nominate Lou Hudson

Basically has a Chris Mullin esque career and for as long. Elite shooter at 25ppg+ levels, great character guy, will fit anywhere. Would want him on my team.

[lukekarts]

Vote: Dave DeBusschere.

Stellar career. His era's Dennis Rodman - versatile defender, undersized but an excellent rebounder - supremely valuable to a 2 x Championship winning Knicks team, coming up with some big performances such as limiting Wilt Chamberlain in the 1970 Finals.

[jewellalw]

Vote: Dave DeBusschere.

Stellar career. His era's Dennis Rodman - versatile defender, undersized but an excellent rebounder - supremely valuable to a 2 x Championship winning Knicks team, coming up with some big performances such as limiting Wilt Chamberlain in the 1970 Finals.

Yes,it is!

[samhuang]

Vote: Dave DeBusschere.

Stellar career. His era's Dennis Rodman - versatile defender, undersized but an excellent rebounder - supremely valuable to a 2 x Championship winning Knicks team, coming up with some big performances such as limiting Wilt Chamberlain in the 1970 Finals.

Yes ah, this is right.

[ronnymac2]

Vote: Mitch Richmond

Nominate: Shawn Marion

I'm voting Mitch because I think he's a bit more dynamic than Mullin was offensively. He was also a solid defensive guard. MJ said he was a handful on both ends and gave his best every night. Dude could do it all offensively, from slashing to shooting to using his strength to bully defenders. Honestly, if he was on a team like the Bad Boys, he'd get more love than Dumars does now.

I'm nominating Matrix because somebody needs to get nominated, and I'm much more lenient with nominations than with voting. I don't break my voting principles for anybody, but I'll sell out on nominations.

I like Amar'e over Marion overall, but he's obviously not getting any traction with such a low turnout here. Marion is solid at least. He's a very good defender with elite rebounding for a 3, he can play the 4, and he was a 20 ppg scorer for much of his prime with solid efficiency and an ability to spread the floor with a passable 3-point shot. Not a bad piece to have.

[therealbig3]

Wow, this might be the slowest thread of the project so far.

Vote: Chris Mullin

Great offensive player and shooter overall...injuries shortened his career unfortunately, but he was one of the few guys who averaged 25/5/5 (in 89)...great scorer with excellent efficiency, solid playmaker, solid rebounder, and one of the greatest shooters of all time. Came reasonably close to having a 50/40/90 season on multiple occasions (90, 97, 98, and 99).

Nominate: Bob Dandridge

Compared many times throughout the project to guys like Worthy and Marion. I brought him up a few times before, which was a probably a little early, but it's a probably a little late now. He was actually more of a 2nd option than Marion or Worthy, who were more 3rd option players than Dandridge was. Dandridge begins as a 3rd option behind Kareem and Oscar on some fantastic Bucks teams, including the 71 championship team. In fact, he's the 2nd leading scorer on the team in the 71 playoffs.

After Kareem leaves in 75, Dandridge takes over as best player on the team, and he actually leads them to an identical record from the previous season, and a playoff berth. Then in 78 and 79, when Dandridge is in Washington, he plays 2nd option to Elvin Hayes, and the Bullets win the championship in 78. You could actually make the argument that Dandridge is the best scorer on the team. In fact, in the 79 playoffs, Dandridge goes for 23/7/6 on 53% TS (the Bullets make the Finals this year), compared to Hayes's 23/14/2 on 47% TS, and Unseld's 10/13/3 on 52% TS.

Overall, Dandridge is a very good scorer and rebounder (around 10% TRB as a swingman), and he proved throughout his career that he can fit on excellent teams and give them a legitimate 2nd/3rd option scorer, and he was even the 1st option scorer on a playoff team.

[therealbig3]

I actually really would consider changing my vote for the sake of moving this vote along, since it's a 5-way tie by my count, but to be honest, I don't have any of the other 4 guys in my top 100, so I really can't in good conscience be the reason they get voted in.

[penbeast0]

I feel the same way . . . I'd vote Marion over any of the other named candidates for that matter. Hopefully one of our other voters will throw in a late vote. Midterms week next week so I'm not checking in that often.

Vote:

Jerry Lucas – penbeast0

Bill Laimbeer – Dr Mufasa

Dave DeBusschere – lukekarts

Mitch Richmond – ronnymac2

Chris Mullin – therealbig3

Nominate:

Shawn Marion – penbeast0, ronnymac2

Lou Hudson – Dr Mufasa

Bob Dandridge – therealbig3

[Doctor MJ]

I'll break the tie:

Vote: Jerry Lucas

To say a little more: Lucas is a guy who I think here is in danger of becoming "so overrated he's underrated". I think it's clear that him being a Top 50 player is overrating him, but he still had an excellent career despite most definitely not being dropped into a rookie situation which let him maximize his all around star skills.

[penbeast0]

Thanks, now we can move on . . . almost to the end for all the faithful Top 100 voters!