Moses had a better career than Garnett

[HeartBreakKid]

I don't think there was really a period of time when Moses was considered the best player in the league (for a prolonged time to clarify). MVP doesn't mean best - I do not think he was ever the popular choice over Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Bill Walton. Moses got the 79 MVP because Walton's foot died and did not play not because he was seen as superior for example.


I'm not sure if Moses was widely considered the best player for more than a year. Basically a lull when players from the 70s dropped off and the players in the 80s were not in their peaks yet.

Moses was not that popular of a player. There were still people who thought old Dr.J was better than him much less the prime versions . Larry Bird was way more liked even by 83 and definitely had "best in the world" taglines attached by then. The NBA was never "Moses league", and while there are other unpopular players like Duncan, Olajuwon and Kareem I do not think Moses was ever seen the same way.

There is a reason why Moses Malone having 3 MVP's is seen as a trivia fact among NBA fandom. Everyone else who has that many MVPs are seen as having eras to themselves and undoubtedly the best player. I do not think people thought that about Moses, fairly or not.

Well I think there was a period where Moses, Dr. J and Kareem were the established names while Magic and Bird were the up and comers but Kareem's prime I think ended by 81 and on top of that Moses took a 41 win team and beat Kareem/Magic so I think he did earn best player in the league status from 81-83. Opinions and all that obviously weren't nearly as connected and debated to the degree that they are now back then. Things just were and that's how it was. So there wasn't necessarily a lightbulb that went off among nba fans but I think we can look back now and see how he stood out for a period of time. Am I sitting here arguing that Moses>KG because of that? no. I'm just looking at it from a legacy perspective.

But I don't think Moses legacy is very great. He almost feels like a one time MVP type of player the way he is remembered.

When people cite Moses has 3 MVPs it is almost always as a reminder. Like "isn't it weird this guy has 3 mvps and no one cares?".

It probably has to do with the way media was back then but he feels like a forgotten player.

[migya]

I don't think there was really a period of time when Moses was considered the best player in the league (for a prolonged time to clarify). MVP doesn't mean best - I do not think he was ever the popular choice over Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Bill Walton. Moses got the 79 MVP because Walton's foot died and did not play not because he was seen as superior for example.


I'm not sure if Moses was widely considered the best player for more than a year. Basically a lull when players from the 70s dropped off and the players in the 80s were not in their peaks yet.

Moses was not that popular of a player. There were still people who thought old Dr.J was better than him much less the prime versions . Larry Bird was way more liked even by 83 and definitely had "best in the world" taglines attached by then. The NBA was never "Moses league", and while there are other unpopular players like Duncan, Olajuwon and Kareem I do not think Moses was ever seen the same way.

There is a reason why Moses Malone having 3 MVP's is seen as a trivia fact among NBA fandom. Everyone else who has that many MVPs are seen as having eras to themselves and undoubtedly the best player. I do not think people thought that about Moses, fairly or not.

Well I think there was a period where Moses, Dr. J and Kareem were the established names while Magic and Bird were the up and comers but Kareem's prime I think ended by 81 and on top of that Moses took a 41 win team and beat Kareem/Magic so I think he did earn best player in the league status from 81-83. Opinions and all that obviously weren't nearly as connected and debated to the degree that they are now back then. Things just were and that's how it was. So there wasn't necessarily a lightbulb that went off among nba fans but I think we can look back now and see how he stood out for a period of time. Am I sitting here arguing that Moses>KG because of that? no. I'm just looking at it from a legacy perspective.

But I don't think Moses legacy is very great. He almost feels like a one time MVP type of player the way he is remembered.

When people cite Moses has 3 MVPs it is almost always as a reminder. Like "isn't it weird this guy has 3 mvps and no one cares?".

It probably has to do with the way media was back then but he feels like a forgotten player.

Anyone with 3 mvps had a great legacy, particularly in any era with the alltime stars his had.

[Dutchball97]

I don't think there was really a period of time when Moses was considered the best player in the league (for a prolonged time to clarify). MVP doesn't mean best - I do not think he was ever the popular choice over Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Bill Walton. Moses got the 79 MVP because Walton's foot died and did not play not because he was seen as superior for example.


I'm not sure if Moses was widely considered the best player for more than a year. Basically a lull when players from the 70s dropped off and the players in the 80s were not in their peaks yet.

Moses was not that popular of a player. There were still people who thought old Dr.J was better than him much less the prime versions . Larry Bird was way more liked even by 83 and definitely had "best in the world" taglines attached by then. The NBA was never "Moses league", and while there are other unpopular players like Duncan, Olajuwon and Kareem I do not think Moses was ever seen the same way.

There is a reason why Moses Malone having 3 MVP's is seen as a trivia fact among NBA fandom. Everyone else who has that many MVPs are seen as having eras to themselves and undoubtedly the best player. I do not think people thought that about Moses, fairly or not.

Well I think there was a period where Moses, Dr. J and Kareem were the established names while Magic and Bird were the up and comers but Kareem's prime I think ended by 81 and on top of that Moses took a 41 win team and beat Kareem/Magic so I think he did earn best player in the league status from 81-83. Opinions and all that obviously weren't nearly as connected and debated to the degree that they are now back then. Things just were and that's how it was. So there wasn't necessarily a lightbulb that went off among nba fans but I think we can look back now and see how he stood out for a period of time. Am I sitting here arguing that Moses>KG because of that? no. I'm just looking at it from a legacy perspective.

But I don't think Moses legacy is very great. He almost feels like a one time MVP type of player the way he is remembered.

When people cite Moses has 3 MVPs it is almost always as a reminder. Like "isn't it weird this guy has 3 mvps and no one cares?".

It probably has to do with the way media was back then but he feels like a forgotten player.

Has to be because his period as an elite NBA player was so short. He got his first All-NBA votes in the same year as his first MVP in 79 and then after 83 there also wasn't a lot to write home about anymore. 84 was a massive disappointment and 85 was kind of his last hurray as a top player with an All-NBA 1st team selection and a 3rd place in the MVP race (although the award was dominated by Bird and everyone else wasn't even close).

[migya]

Well I think there was a period where Moses, Dr. J and Kareem were the established names while Magic and Bird were the up and comers but Kareem's prime I think ended by 81 and on top of that Moses took a 41 win team and beat Kareem/Magic so I think he did earn best player in the league status from 81-83. Opinions and all that obviously weren't nearly as connected and debated to the degree that they are now back then. Things just were and that's how it was. So there wasn't necessarily a lightbulb that went off among nba fans but I think we can look back now and see how he stood out for a period of time. Am I sitting here arguing that Moses>KG because of that? no. I'm just looking at it from a legacy perspective.

But I don't think Moses legacy is very great. He almost feels like a one time MVP type of player the way he is remembered.

When people cite Moses has 3 MVPs it is almost always as a reminder. Like "isn't it weird this guy has 3 mvps and no one cares?".

It probably has to do with the way media was back then but he feels like a forgotten player.

Has to be because his period as an elite NBA player was so short. He got his first All-NBA votes in the same year as his first MVP in 79 and then after 83 there also wasn't a lot to write home about anymore. 84 was a massive disappointment and 85 was kind of his last hurray as a top player with an All-NBA 1st team selection and a 3rd place in the MVP race (although the award was dominated by Bird and everyone else wasn't even close).

He was really good until 1989.
20 and 12, 116OR, 105DR, .178ws/48. Better numbers than many seasons by some alltime stars.

[Dutchball97]

But I don't think Moses legacy is very great. He almost feels like a one time MVP type of player the way he is remembered.

When people cite Moses has 3 MVPs it is almost always as a reminder. Like "isn't it weird this guy has 3 mvps and no one cares?".

It probably has to do with the way media was back then but he feels like a forgotten player.

Has to be because his period as an elite NBA player was so short. He got his first All-NBA votes in the same year as his first MVP in 79 and then after 83 there also wasn't a lot to write home about anymore. 84 was a massive disappointment and 85 was kind of his last hurray as a top player with an All-NBA 1st team selection and a 3rd place in the MVP race (although the award was dominated by Bird and everyone else wasn't even close).

He was really good until 1989.
20 and 12, 116OR, 105DR, .178ws/48. Better numbers than many seasons by some alltime stars.

He was still good untill 89 but not especially relevant to the brand of the NBA at that point. Even in 1980, which was the second season Moses was a star, the narrative was already shifting to Magic vs Bird with Kareem and Dr J also still being bigger stars.

If you take a deeper look at Moses' career you'll notice he was already good in his ABA years and like you said was still great till around 89 but his time on top was limited. When talking about all-time rankings/GOAT lists I wouldn't take star power into account but I do think it becomes more important when talking about legacy.

[migya]

Has to be because his period as an elite NBA player was so short. He got his first All-NBA votes in the same year as his first MVP in 79 and then after 83 there also wasn't a lot to write home about anymore. 84 was a massive disappointment and 85 was kind of his last hurray as a top player with an All-NBA 1st team selection and a 3rd place in the MVP race (although the award was dominated by Bird and everyone else wasn't even close).

He was really good until 1989.
20 and 12, 116OR, 105DR, .178ws/48. Better numbers than many seasons by some alltime stars.

He was still good untill 89 but not especially relevant to the brand of the NBA at that point. Even in 1980, which was the second season Moses was a star, the narrative was already shifting to Magic vs Bird with Kareem and Dr J also still being bigger stars.

If you take a deeper look at Moses' career you'll notice he was already good in his ABA years and like you said was still great till around 89 but his time on top was limited. When talking about all-time rankings/GOAT lists I wouldn't take star power into account but I do think it becomes more important when talking about legacy.

Relevance isn't about how popular one is. The nba needed a resurgence and Magic and Bird were the main ones in that happening as large as it did. That doesn't change how good Moses was and in comparison to his colleagues.

Garnett wasn't relevant most of the time he was in Minnesota. They didn't win and there were always better players who were more popular and marketable. His intense attitude got him some attention. He was very different to Moses in that regard.

[70sFan]

I think Moses top years were in 1979-86 period (he just got injured before 1986 playoffs) and I'd say he was weak-ish all-nba level player until 1989, so it's not like his longevity was poor or anything. I agree that his post-1985 career was a bit underwhelming though.