Greatest Blazers Ever Project: Overview

Post #1 » by **Moonbeam** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 2:16 am

Now that Summer League is over, I thought it would be a good time to spend the offseason ranking the greatest Blazers in history. There seemed to be some interest in this from another thread.

If you've seen the Top 100 players project in the Player Comparisons board (well worth checking out if you've got time and interest), it gives an idea of what I'm hoping to approximate here.

The idea is to have not polls, but threads where we discuss and vote on the best Blazers ever. In that project, participants had 48 hours to make a vote (with justification), and if there was no majority winner, a further 24 hour period would be used in a "runoff" vote between the top 2-3 candidates.

Does this time frame suit everyone?

Also, how many players should we look to include in total? I was thinking perhaps 50 (such that the project would run 100-150 days), although this is also something we can decide otherwise.

Have your say here and let me know what you think!

--------------------------------------EDIT------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Guidelines:

1. Each thread will be open for 48 hours. After 48 hours have passed, the thread will close if a single player receives a majority of the votes. If not, the top 2-3 candidates will enter a runoff period of 24 hours. During this period, you may switch your vote to one of the reduced list of candidates if you voted for someone else.

2. When making a formal vote, please include the player's name in bold. This helps me keep track. Please include a justification for your choice. It may be brief, but simply writing the name of your choice will not be a counted vote.

3. You may switch your vote, but please emphasize this in bold.

4. Please only consider each player's performance with Portland.

5. We all have our favorites, and we all have our own criteria. I believe the discussion and learning from this project will be more important than the placement of the individual players.

6. Have fun!

The List:

1. Bill Walton
2. Clyde Drexler
3. Brandon Roy
4. Terry Porter
5. Maurice Lucas
6. LaMarcus Aldridge
7. Rasheed Wallace
8. Arvydas Sabonis
9. Damian Lillard
10. Jerome Kersey
11. Buck Williams
12. Jim Paxson
13. Geoff Petrie
14. Cliff Robinson
15. Mychal Thompson
16. Sidney Wicks
17. Bob Gross
18. Damon Stoudamire
19. Wesley Matthews
20. Kevin Duckworth

RTG HD · Post #2 » by **RTG HD** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 2:54 am

Some people on that top 100 list are being disrespected to they point of it being absurdly disgusting. Horace Grant was great and all but better than Chris Webber? Rasheed Wallace was a hell of a talent but better than Shawn Kemp? I'm a Blazer fan and even I know that one is messed up. Chauncey Billups was obviously great, finals MVP and all but better than Dominique Wilkins? Oh and the one that should get every Blazer fans attention; Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley being listed ahead of Clyde Drexler? I might need to check the language rules again before responding to that because *@*##@#!
Ok, one last one. Ima pick a fight on this one. Michael Jordan, six time champion. MJ is obviously great but better than an 11 time champion, the all time scoring leader, and the guy who scored 100 points in one game and averaged over 50 points per game and 20 rebounds per game for an entire season? I say it is not close, Jordan does not deserve to be in the conversation for top 3.

skoharry · Post #3 » by **skoharry** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:04 am

Moonbeam wrote:Now that Summer League is over, I thought it would be a good time to spend the offseason ranking the greatest Blazers in history. There seemed to be some interest in this from another thread.

If you've seen the Top 100 players project in the Player Comparisons board (well worth checking out if you've got time and interest), it gives an idea of what I'm hoping to approximate here.

The idea is to have not polls, but threads where we discuss and vote on the best Blazers ever. In that project, participants had 48 hours to make a vote (with justification), and if there was no majority winner, a further 24 hour period would be used in a "runoff" vote between the top 2-3 candidates.

Does this time frame suit everyone?

Also, how many players should we look to include in total? I was thinking perhaps 50 (such that the project would run 100-150 days), although this is also something we can decide otherwise.

Have your say here and let me know what you think!

i was thinking more like 20 players. we could also maybe do it by position?

Daddy Forest · Post #4 » by **Daddy Forest** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 4:19 am

I like the idea of this.

For what it's worth though..

I do agree with Stockton and Pippen being ahead of Drexler.

Sheed ahead of Kemp and Grant ahead of Webber isn't right though.

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

RTG HD · Post #5 » by **RTG HD** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 4:44 am

Daddy Forest wrote:I like the idea of this.

For what it's worth though..

I do agree with Stockton and Pippen being ahead of Drexler.

Sheed ahead of Kemp and Grant ahead of Webber isn't right though.

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Portland had a better run than Utah and Stockton was the second best player on his own team. Clyde was the best player on the better team and Stockton was regularly outplayed head to head by Porter.

Masterfully · Post #6 » by **Masterfully** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:22 am

The Blazers have only had about 300 total players in franchise history. Here's a sortable list: http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/players.html

A top 50 will be stretching it pretty thin. But 20 seems too few. Maybe a top 25 or 30?

d-train · Post #7 » by **d-train** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:27 am

Charles Barkley was better than Clyde. Pippen and Clyde might be a tossup. Stockton is overrated by history. If Stockton was ever a top 5 PG in his era, it was only briefly. Clyde, Barkley, and Pippen were top 1-3 at their position for a decade or more.

Masterfully · Post #8 » by **Masterfully** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:29 am

Stockton was near the top for a looooong time. Longevity counts for something in my book. But rings count for more...

d-train · Post #9 » by **d-train** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 6:06 am

Masterfully wrote:Stockton was near the top for a looooong time. Longevity counts for something in my book. But rings count for more...

Stockton was not a top 5 PG for a looooong time. I don't see how being great but never among the best for a long time helps his case. Clyde, Barkley, and Pippen had longevity as the best players at their position and for a time top 5 players in the league.

Post #10 » by **Moonbeam** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:24 am

Maybe 50 is a bit ambitious. What do others think?

As far as the PC Board Top 100, there are always going to be guys who you feel are placed too low and others who you feel are placed too high. I linked to that list simply for the format, not to say that I agree with the order of all of the players.

I'm pretty high on Horace Grant, for what it's worth.

Post #11 » by **Moonbeam** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:30 am

I should add that I think we should rank players based on only their time with Portland. Sorry, Jermaine O'Neal.

Masterfully · Post #12 » by **Masterfully** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:59 pm

d-train wrote:
Masterfully wrote:Stockton was near the top for a looooong time. Longevity counts for something in my book. But rings count for more...

Stockton was not a top 5 PG for a looooong time. I don't see how being great but never among the best for a long time helps his case. Clyde, Barkley, and Pippen had longevity as the best players at their position and for a time top 5 players in the league.

Well, I don't want to say you're alone in your feelings about Stockton but the evidence is pretty strong. He made into Hall of Fame. Was an all-star 10 times. Made All NBA team 11 times (1st team twice) and made the All Defensive team 5 times. Plus he's the all time leader in assists and steals. Not too shabby.

Post #13 » by **The Sebastian Express** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 4:01 pm

Moonbeam wrote:Maybe 50 is a bit ambitious. What do others think?

As far as the PC Board Top 100, there are always going to be guys who you feel are placed too low and others who you feel are placed too high. I linked to that list simply for the format, not to say that I agree with the order of all of the players.

I'm pretty high on Horace Grant, for what it's worth.

I think we should do 45 in honor of our upcoming 45th season!

Also thanks for doing this Moonbeam.

PDXKnight · Post #14 » by **PDXKnight** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:03 pm

The Sebastian Express wrote:
Moonbeam wrote:Maybe 50 is a bit ambitious. What do others think?

As far as the PC Board Top 100, there are always going to be guys who you feel are placed too low and others who you feel are placed too high. I linked to that list simply for the format, not to say that I agree with the order of all of the players.

I'm pretty high on Horace Grant, for what it's worth.

I think we should do 45 in honor of our upcoming 45th season!

Also thanks for doing this Moonbeam.

I like the 45 idea in theory but the talent may be pretty thin at the bottom of that list. 25 would be a nice round number and might better encompass the first tier talent we've had but whatever you go with I look forward to participating in this one moonbeam!

d-train · Post #15 » by **d-train** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 7:58 pm

Masterfully wrote:
d-train wrote:
Masterfully wrote:Stockton was near the top for a looooong time. Longevity counts for something in my book. But rings count for more...

Stockton was not a top 5 PG for a looooong time. I don't see how being great but never among the best for a long time helps his case. Clyde, Barkley, and Pippen had longevity as the best players at their position and for a time top 5 players in the league.

Well, I don't want to say you're alone in your feelings about Stockton but the evidence is pretty strong. He made into Hall of Fame. Was an all-star 10 times. Made All NBA team 11 times (1st team twice) and made the All Defensive team 5 times. Plus he's the all time leader in assists and steals. Not too shabby.

Stockton was a great player and deserved all his accolades. That doesn't make him as good as the all-time best players. Barkley, Clyde, and Pippen are among the best all-time players. Stockton's teammate Karl Malone is among the all-time best players but Stockton is not.

DavidSterned · Post #16 » by **DavidSterned** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:34 pm

I'd be okay with a top 25 or top 30. I like the 45 idea but half of the list is going to be role players if that's the case.

a_sensei · Post #17 » by **a_sensei** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 11:44 pm

I like the idea of 45. There's no shortage of players. It's a good way to learn a bit about Blazer history as well.

Post #18 » by **kdawg32086** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 11:51 pm

I like the idea of 45. I guarantee we can find 45 players who fit into the list...

Post #19 » by **Moonbeam** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 12:06 am

Yeah, 45 does sounds like a great number. I don't care too much if we're anointing role players. As with the PC Board topic, the main benefit of this in my mind is the discussion and the learning rather than the explicit rankings. I'm very keen to learn about the 70s and early 80s Blazer teams.

Post #20 » by **Moonbeam** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:20 am

Interesting to see Walton go #1. He didn't make the PC Board's top 100 due to longevity concerns. I felt I was one of the bigger "peak" guys in that project, but I found myself more on the longevity end of the spectrum in the first thread. If that holds to form, I'd expect Roy and Lillard to do pretty well, and guys like Kersey not to do as well.