RealGM Top 100 List #28
Posted: Tue Sep 9, 2014 1:28 am
CENTERS
Artis Gilmore or Dwight Howard are the next greatest 2 way centers but Artis seemed to lose his competitive fire when he came to the NBA and Dwight has not been the same dominant player since Orlando. Alonzo Mourning and Mel Daniels are the other 2 candidates that came to mind, very similar players in many ways; plus probably Dikembe Mutombo is a candidate as the most impactful defender left (and not a complete disaster offensively). The numbers clearly say Artis, but I'm just not as high on him as I used to be.
FORWARDS
Baylor, McHale, Havlicek, Rodman, and even Kevin Durant. Interested to see who starts getting support. Baylor seemed to have efficiency issues even for his day, McHale is super efficient but worked against single teams in the post more than any great post scorer in history and was a mediocre defensive rebounder (though the presence of Larry Bird that gave him so many single teams also stole some rebounds from him). Havlicek seems to have nerves (and lungs) of steel but was even more inefficient through the mid 70s than Baylor. Rodman is the GOAT rebounder, but also a disruptive force and barely above the Ben Wallace level offensively. The more I think about it, the more I like Kevin Durant in this spot.
GUARDS
I see Walt Frazier pretty clearly over Payton, Kidd, or Isiah for his scoring efficiency and superior all around game. The main competition for me is Chris Paul who, like Artis, has spectacular numbers but I'm just not sure that his numbers don't overstate his impact.
So, Artis for peak and longevity, Durant for scoring and dominance, or Frazier for all around play. Based on his finals heroics, the way his teams in NY (of all places) ran like well oiled machines with almost no ego problems, superior durability, and the fact that as a fan, I feared facing him more than I did any of the others, I will cast my vote for:
WALT FRAZIER
Artis Gilmore or Dwight Howard are the next greatest 2 way centers but Artis seemed to lose his competitive fire when he came to the NBA and Dwight has not been the same dominant player since Orlando. Alonzo Mourning and Mel Daniels are the other 2 candidates that came to mind, very similar players in many ways; plus probably Dikembe Mutombo is a candidate as the most impactful defender left (and not a complete disaster offensively). The numbers clearly say Artis, but I'm just not as high on him as I used to be.
FORWARDS
Baylor, McHale, Havlicek, Rodman, and even Kevin Durant. Interested to see who starts getting support. Baylor seemed to have efficiency issues even for his day, McHale is super efficient but worked against single teams in the post more than any great post scorer in history and was a mediocre defensive rebounder (though the presence of Larry Bird that gave him so many single teams also stole some rebounds from him). Havlicek seems to have nerves (and lungs) of steel but was even more inefficient through the mid 70s than Baylor. Rodman is the GOAT rebounder, but also a disruptive force and barely above the Ben Wallace level offensively. The more I think about it, the more I like Kevin Durant in this spot.
GUARDS
I see Walt Frazier pretty clearly over Payton, Kidd, or Isiah for his scoring efficiency and superior all around game. The main competition for me is Chris Paul who, like Artis, has spectacular numbers but I'm just not sure that his numbers don't overstate his impact.
So, Artis for peak and longevity, Durant for scoring and dominance, or Frazier for all around play. Based on his finals heroics, the way his teams in NY (of all places) ran like well oiled machines with almost no ego problems, superior durability, and the fact that as a fan, I feared facing him more than I did any of the others, I will cast my vote for:
WALT FRAZIER