Barkley, Giannis, Karl Malone, KG, Dirk who's highest on your all time list?

[NZB2323]

Giannis is the only one with 2 MVPs, 1 Finals MVP, and a DPOTY, and he’s still playing.

He’s much better defensively than Dirk or Barkley.

He’s much better offensively than KG.

He’s more clutch than Malone, and better on both sides on the ball.

We can compare Finals stats:

2021 Giannis: 35, 13, and 5, 65.8 TS%, 31.9 GmSc
1993 Barkley: 27, 13, and 6, 54.4 TS%, 23.4 GmSc
1997 Malone: 24, 10, and 4, 48.5 TS%, 16.8 GmSc
1998 Malone: 25, 11, and 4, 55.3 TS%, 18.5 GmSc
2011 Dirk: 26, 10, and 2, 53.7 TS%, 16.6 GmSc
2006 Dirk: 23, 11, and 3, 53.0 TS%, 16.2 GmSc
2008 KG: 18, 13, and 3, 47.0 TS%, 14.6 GmSc

[jimmybones]

It's hard to rank Giannis since we don't have the entire body of work yet. If he wins another ring, there's no debate. But even if he only continues to rack up all star starts and elite numbers, how is his end resume not the best? What other guy listed has 2 MVPs, finals MVP, DPOY, consensus top 2 at minimum player in the world at his peak?

It's a fun thought exercise but anyone ranking Giannis 4th or 5th either has an anti Giannis bias or is very nostalgic

[hippesthippo]

No idea your age. And Dirk played until he couldn't move at all due to his injuries. But Dirk in his 20's? Super athletic. Go watch highlights. Reason he played SF initially. And he was grabbing rebounds and taking it full court and yamming it on guys on the regular.

Old man Dirk settled into a skill game, but make no mistake this was an athlete. Not comparing him to Chuck or Mailman as their athleticism is so different. But he was a very good athlete for a 7 footer.

White guys can be athletic too.

Yeah, but... since when does being athletic mean you aren't a power forward? And who here thinks Malone and Barkley weren't amazing athletes?

Just a strange series of comments.

Huh? I never said Dirk wasn't a PF. I never said Chuck and Mailman weren't athletes.

Strange to respond to a post I didn't make.

Yeah, it was a quote before yours. It was too far back, so it wasn't embedded and my post seems strangely out of place lol

Malone and Barkley, IMO, are the only true PF's on this list.

KG, Dirk, and Giannis were/are able to play multiple positions at a level of athleticism that was not common in the late 80's and into the 90's.

[Sinceday1]

I got Timmy, Malone and then Dirk…

https://a1squad.com/best-power-forwards-in-nba/

[DimesandKnicks]

I really cannot understand why this board is so obsessed with Dirk. It’s like you all have an affinity for unauthentic white players. He was great at one thing meanwhile the other options where great at multiple aspects of the game

[Joshyjess]

KG
Dirk
Malone
Giannis
Barkley

[Chokic]

On my all-time ranking:

9. KG
17. Dirk
24. Malone
25. Giannis
28. Barkley

I expect Giannis to climb this list and get Malone. I'd be surprised if he caught Dirk or KG for me, but I still think it's possible.

How is kg so high? How is Karl Malone so low on this list?

[bledredwine]

I've got Barkley as most dominant player.
In terms of best series, I've got Giannis' finals, which was the most impressive I've seen since Shaq.
In terms of achievements, I've got KG.

I'll go with Chuck. He was an unreal scorer in the playoffs.

[dhsilv2]

I really cannot understand why this board is so obsessed with Dirk. It’s like you all have an affinity for unauthentic white players. He was great at one thing meanwhile the other options where great at multiple aspects of the game

He was an elite rebounder and one of the fastest decision makers ever. He had a season or two where his total time of possession per game was under a minute. That takes absolutely elite decision making and off ball play to do. Mind you I might have him last among this group...but he certainly belongs here and could be argued to be higher.

[ibraheim718]

kg
Barkley
giannis
malone
dirk

[ropjhk]

In terms of peak on court dominance at both ends of the court I have:

Giannis
Malone
Barkley
KG
Dirk

In terms of expected all time GOATness when Giannis retires:

Giannis
Dirk
Malone
KG
Barkley

Giannis is the only one who was considered the consensus best player in the league. At no point do I think the others ever achieved that status.

[DimesandKnicks]

I really cannot understand why this board is so obsessed with Dirk. It’s like you all have an affinity for unauthentic white players. He was great at one thing meanwhile the other options where great at multiple aspects of the game

He was an elite rebounder and one of the fastest decision makers ever. He had a season or two where his total time of possession per game was under a minute. That takes absolutely elite decision making and off ball play to do. Mind you I might have him last among this group...but he certainly belongs here and could be argued to be higher.

He was in no way shape or form an elite rebounder. Sure he averaged more in the playoffs but he was also playing over 40 minutes to be a double digit rebounder. It also helps that he wasn’t depended on to defend the rim or defender the other teams front court offensive threat which also should have made him a better rebounder. But he was not

[JayMKE]

Dunno how anybody doesn't have Giannis #1 here other than biased nostalgia, Dirk had a legendary finals run but he was never as dominant of player as Giannis who also had a FMVP where he dropped 50 in the deciding game after nearly destroying his knee the week or so before.

[ballzboyee]

Dunno how anybody doesn't have Giannis #1 here other than biased nostalgia, Dirk had a legendary finals run but he was never as dominant of player as Giannis who also had a FMVP where he dropped 50 in the deciding game after nearly destroying his knee the week or so before.

Giannis did all his damage in an era with ridiculous scoring inflation and with the rules designed to create easy buckets for superstars. Barkley had almost 60 points in the playoffs in an era when teams were averaging 90ppg. Barkley was a far more skilled hooper than Giannis in every way.

[JayMKE]

Dunno how anybody doesn't have Giannis #1 here other than biased nostalgia, Dirk had a legendary finals run but he was never as dominant of player as Giannis who also had a FMVP where he dropped 50 in the deciding game after nearly destroying his knee the week or so before.

Giannis did all his damage in an era with ridiculous scoring inflation and with the rules designed to create easy buckets for superstars. Barkley had almost 60 points in the playoffs in an era when teams were averaging 90ppg. Barkley was a far more skilled hooper than Giannis in every way.

As if Giannis wouldnt have been equally dominant back then, Giannis has more accolades and won a ring and was the consensus best player in the world. A genuinely dominant two way player, Giannis skillset back then would have been unfathomable. He'd be unguardable with man defense and only hard doubles.

[dhsilv2]

I really cannot understand why this board is so obsessed with Dirk. It’s like you all have an affinity for unauthentic white players. He was great at one thing meanwhile the other options where great at multiple aspects of the game

He was an elite rebounder and one of the fastest decision makers ever. He had a season or two where his total time of possession per game was under a minute. That takes absolutely elite decision making and off ball play to do. Mind you I might have him last among this group...but he certainly belongs here and could be argued to be higher.

He was in no way shape or form an elite rebounder. Sure he averaged more in the playoffs but he was also playing over 40 minutes to be a double digit rebounder. It also helps that he wasn’t depended on to defend the rim or defender the other teams front court offensive threat which also should have made him a better rebounder. But he was not

Dirk was at his peak a top 10 defensive rebounder in the league. Suppose if elite is top 2 or something he wasn't. But given the era and his competition, I"d consider a guy peaking at 5th in defensive rebounding to be elite. He wasn't a strong offensive rebounder and that sometimes leads people to think he wasn't as good a rebounder. But that had everything to do with this role on offense.

I'll add in he's 6th all time in defensive rebounds. Obviously, that stat wasn't measured for wilt and russell's era. But none the less, he stands out there.

I'll add I forgot to mention his incredible turnover percentages. Dude just never turned it over.

[dhsilv2]

Dunno how anybody doesn't have Giannis #1 here other than biased nostalgia, Dirk had a legendary finals run but he was never as dominant of player as Giannis who also had a FMVP where he dropped 50 in the deciding game after nearly destroying his knee the week or so before.

Well, because I think KG has a case to be as high as the 5th best player of all time. I think he's the best defender here by a margin. I think he's even by a further margin the best play maker here. He's second to Dirk in terms of his shooting being able to create space. This alone would make it almost impossible for me to not have him first. So him being just a solid volume scorer (maybe the worst here) doesn't really leave any room for him to not be first and first by a wide margin.

[JayMKE]

Dunno how anybody doesn't have Giannis #1 here other than biased nostalgia, Dirk had a legendary finals run but he was never as dominant of player as Giannis who also had a FMVP where he dropped 50 in the deciding game after nearly destroying his knee the week or so before.

Well, because I think KG has a case to be as high as the 5th best player of all time. I think he's the best defender here by a margin. I think he's even by a further margin the best play maker here. He's second to Dirk in terms of his shooting being able to create space. This alone would make it almost impossible for me to not have him first. So him being just a solid volume scorer (maybe the worst here) doesn't really leave any room for him to not be first and first by a wide margin.

KG in top 5 is hot af take, he was older than Giannis is currently when he joined the Boston superteam where he took a backseat offensively after only being out of the 1st round once in the 12 or 13 years he was in Minny. If you actually look at the numbers, the accolades, and their relative dominance to the rest of the league its not close for Giannis here.

[dhsilv2]

Dunno how anybody doesn't have Giannis #1 here other than biased nostalgia, Dirk had a legendary finals run but he was never as dominant of player as Giannis who also had a FMVP where he dropped 50 in the deciding game after nearly destroying his knee the week or so before.

Well, because I think KG has a case to be as high as the 5th best player of all time. I think he's the best defender here by a margin. I think he's even by a further margin the best play maker here. He's second to Dirk in terms of his shooting being able to create space. This alone would make it almost impossible for me to not have him first. So him being just a solid volume scorer (maybe the worst here) doesn't really leave any room for him to not be first and first by a wide margin.

KG in top 5 is hot af take, he was older than Giannis is currently when he joined the Boston superteam where he took a backseat offensively after only being out of the 1st round once in the 12 or 13 years he was in Minny. If you actually look at the numbers, the accolades, and their relative dominance to the rest of the league its not close for Giannis here.

I have and the stats indicate that KG might be the second best player to Lebron in the modern stats era. I tend to give the 5 spot to Duncan over KG, but it's based on bias. Not hard stats.

[scrabbarista]

Wow, nice to see some sense here with Dirk in first, though I know RGM skews a bit European.

I have Dirk highest but expect Giannis to pass him. Maybe I already said that. It's an old thread.

1. Nowitzki
2. Garnett
3. Malone
4. Antetokounmpo
5. Barkley

I stress this is career-wise. I do believe Giannis is the best player of the group and will end up highest on my list.