Which player would you prefer to build a franchise around?

[RealGM Polls]

1. Giannis
2. B. Simmons

[AirCanadaMouse]

It's really easy to say Giannis now, i'm sure some would change their tone when Simmons plays a year or two more.

[ball_dont_lie23]

thats a tough one, all depends on how Simmons jump shot progresses

[Camping Fan]

It's really easy to say Giannis now, i'm sure some would change their tone when Simmons plays a year or two more.

Simmons is the best rookie this year - so that's not too hard right now

[AirCanadaMouse]

It's really easy to say Giannis now, i'm sure some would change their tone when Simmons plays a year or two more.

Simmons is the best rookie this year - so that's not too hard right now

Okay? and... ?

I'm saying Simmons hasn't played that much yet so people don't know how to judge him right now as compared to Giannis, who they have seen more of his work, and therefore would trust to pick him.

[chipchipperson]

I'm shocked this poll isn't 99-1 in favor of giannis... And I've loved what I've seen from ben simmons.

[GeorgeMarcus]

I'm shocked this poll isn't 99-1 in favor of giannis... And I've loved what I've seen from ben simmons.

Why would it be that slanted? Giannis is better now, sure, but the question is about building a franchise around one of these guys. Simmons is having one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time and was already speculated to be a generational talent.

[macNcheese3]

give me either one!

[Pennebaker]

I'm shocked this poll isn't 99-1 in favor of giannis... And I've loved what I've seen from ben simmons.

Shouldn't be shocked. Ben Simmons as a rookie is already so advanced. The rookie Giannis was very raw and now in his 5th year he still has trouble leading a team to .500 and still relies so much on his physical gifts more than anything else.

It probably boils down to the fact that elite court vision = better basketball IQ and you want to build around the higher IQ guy that still has a ton of natural ability.

[SenseJr]

ben simmons because he runs the point

[Harry Garris]

It's worrying to me how that Bucks team is so bad when Giannis has been playing like the second best player in the league this year. I know he's still young, but he doesn't seem to have that Lebron effect where his presence alone is enough to turn even a terrible roster into a good performing team. I see more potential for that type of effect from Simmons than I do from Giannis, even though Giannis is definitely the better player right now. So I'll take Simmons because I want Lebron 2.0. Even though that's an extremely unrealistic expectation.

[Donnyxc]

If Giannis can learn how to shoot 3s, he could be the best ever. He does everything else well.

Simmons also could be great. His first year has been incredible so far. But right now you can play Hack-A-Simmons with him at the end of games. He needs a lot of work on his shot.

[asad71025]

Chris Broussard puts Wilt Chamberlain as the 5th greatest player of all time, and it is hard to disagree with. Broussard brings up the stats that Chamberlain would put up and these numbers are insane. Chamberlain throughout his career would average roughly 22 rebounds a game, that is more than 3x the average NBA player averages in a single game. Chamberlain`s scoring statistics show the same story, He scored 50 points in a game 118 times, 87 more than the next closest player. He scored 60 point or more 32 times while the whole NBA in history has only seen 28 other games where an individual scored over 60 points (Broussard). He also had the iconic 100-point game, a mark that very few have ever come even close to eclipsing. This Los Angeles Laker and Philadelphia 76er has the stats to be easily the greatest player of all time but the one thing holding him back is the number of championships. Chamberlain only won 2 in his career and many see this the only blemish in Chamberlain`s illustrious career. 2 Championships pails into comparison to other people on this list who have 5 or even 6.
Next Chris Broussard puts Magic Johnson as the 4th best player of all time. Looking at Magic`s career, he made his career very differently than how someone like Wilt Chamberlain did. Magic didn’t have the stats to back up his play, not to say he had bad stats but one can look at his stats alone and question why he would be on of this list. It was the impact that he had on the game that puts him on this list. Prior to Magic, passing was never a essential part of basketball but Magic showed the NBA world how passing could be such a big advantage to a team, as it would end up changing the game forever. In a 22-minute highlight reel, you don’t see Magic shooting a shot until the seventh minute mark (Broussard). Nowadays it is required by the Point Guard (Magic`s position) to be able to facilitate and get the ball to the playmakers. Prior to Magic this was never a necessity for Point Guards to do (Brown). He changed the rhetoric of the game on how the game was played forever and doing this earned 5 championships and 3 time MVP of the league. Next at 3rd Broussard puts LeBron James. LeBron James has had the microscope on him ever since he was in high school, all NBA scouts fell in love with LeBron James potential. Everybody knew that he was going to be great in NBA to the point where LeBron decided to skip college and enter the league at the age of 18. As a high school senior in 2003, the CEO of Reebok, Paul Fireman met with 18-year-old LeBron James and offered him 10 million dollars and all he had to do to get the money is to promise not to talk to other big names companies like Nike, Adidas, Under Armor (Davis). So much pressure has been put on LeBron and it is safe to say that he has lived up to the estimated pressure. LeBron James in his career up to this point has won 3 Championships and has won MVP 4 times. One must also consider that LeBron is still playing right now in the league, even though this number don’t compare with Magic`s, we have no idea how many more championships LeBron will win. To compare LeBron, Broussard illustrates a notion of thinking of a Magic Johnson who could score. LeBron can run an offense almost as efficiently as Magic Johnson could but LeBron had the athleticism that Magic never had (Magic was very athletic however). Broussard talks about how there is not a person in the NBA that can guard LeBron. LeBron combination of size and speed combined is unfair. In terms of athleticism, LeBron might be the greatest pound for pound athlete of all time. If someone is big enough to handle LeBron, LeBron is quicker than them and if someone is quick enough to handle LeBron, they are no way big enough to handle him.
At number 2 Broussard puts Kareem Abdul Jabbar as the second greatest player of all time. The six time MVP, and six time Champion has had a career that anyone would look in awe too. Only one person has won more Championships than Kareem and no one has won more MVP awards. Broussard talk about thinking of Kareem as a Wilt Chamberlain that won more championships. A biggest thing an athlete can do to their resume is win Championships, in any sports and winning a championship is the number one thing people look at. Kareem winning 6 championships equates him for being at number 2. Also as a bonus, Kareem leads the NBA in total points and total rebounds, no one has more points or has collected more rebounds than Kareem. Finally, at number one Broussard puts Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player to ever live. It is very hard to debate other wise says Broussard. The 5 time MVP and the 6-time champion has an illustrious career that speaks to itself. The only individual to win 3 Champions in a row twice and never lost a NBA championship and would never play a game 7 ever. Michael averaged 30 points a game and averaged a career shooting percentage of roughly 50. This was unheard of for a shooting guard, usually these percentages run around 45-42. When Jordan was on court and was healthy and was young, there was no one who could stop him and unlike Magic or Kareem who had each other for most of their career`s, Michael achieved the 6 rings with only Scottie Pippen (ranked 25th best player of all time). No disrespect to Pippen, however he is not a top 5 player all time while Magic and Kareem are 2 and 4. Not to mention that Michael Jordan lost about 3-4 prime years due to a decision to play baseball.
Though ranking these players from top to bottom is subjective, with the facts that Broussard has provided, I can say that he has done a good job in placing these men into appropriate places. The question who are top 5 greatest NBA players has no real answer and vary from individual to individual, it is really difficult to to put one man`s accomplishment over another`s. All in all, when given the facts, Broussard did a fantastic job in bringing in details and explaining how they fit into each of his arguments.