Most talented player of all time - Vote for #1

[pancakes3]

talent, by definition, as acknowledged above, is innate, natural-born skills. can't teach tall, and all that.

for me, the question is basically asking if you took a player who'd never played basketball before, and put him on the court, how would he do? kind of like Hakeem. so yeah, size, speed, strength, stamina, coordination (overall athleticism) are the foundations of "talent." from some accounts, court vision could qualify - some people see the court better than others just naturally. to get more ephemeral, some players just have a good "feel" for the game - lots of people and former players reference T-Mac for this. Jordan pulling off crazy reverse triple pump layups is probably "feel" at play, he probably doesn't take 500 crazy layups after practice to hone that skill. Harden being able to feel the defenders and get a shot up might also count as "feel." or Rodman and rebounds.

zion is low skill (relative to the rest of the NBA) but he's thriving.

obviously there's a requisite level of skill, but this question is playing the GM game of looking at prospects and thinking "ok, i can work with this. we can teach him to shoot. we can coach him up on defense. but the raw talent is there."

and yeah, this favors big men over guards, but that's not a diss on guards. skill matters. just not for the context of this question.

[Ambrose]

I don't view talent and skill as anywhere near the same thing. I view talent as put anyone in that persons body with their gifts and see what happens. My answer for most talented is Shaq.

[GSP]

Wilt could've been the best scorer, passer, rebounder, or defender in the league at his position in any given moment. Easily the most talented player ever imo.

U could say the same for Lebron.

Theyre clearly 1 and 2 IMO

LeBron was never even close to being the best rebounder and he's a great defender but was never the best.

U said at this position tho. Unless Im missing someone who was clearcut a better rebounder at the 3 than Lebron during his time?

[70sFan]

U could say the same for Lebron.

Theyre clearly 1 and 2 IMO

LeBron was never even close to being the best rebounder and he's a great defender but was never the best.

U said at this position tho. Unless Im missing someone who was clearcut a better rebounder at the 3 than Lebron during his time?

Not exactly the same years, but Marion was definitely better rebounder than James.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Wilt Chamberlain

[E-Balla]

U could say the same for Lebron.

Theyre clearly 1 and 2 IMO

LeBron was never even close to being the best rebounder and he's a great defender but was never the best.

U said at this position tho. Unless Im missing someone who was clearcut a better rebounder at the 3 than Lebron during his time?

I'd say tons of guys were. Melo for example averages 1.7 ORBs a night while LeBron averages 1.2 for his career. At no point was he better than Melo at rebounding or even really close. Bron is pretty average at rebounding for a F.

[Colbinii]

U could say the same for Lebron.

Theyre clearly 1 and 2 IMO

LeBron was never even close to being the best rebounder and he's a great defender but was never the best.

U said at this position tho. Unless Im missing someone who was clearcut a better rebounder at the 3 than Lebron during his time?

I don't think LeBron was consistent enough as a rebounder to be the best.

[Brooklyn_Ball33]

Jordan is the most talented player of all time. Talent includes not only physical gifts/abilities, but also natural feel for the game, creativity etc. Jordan, being the most creative player of all time with one of the top 2 abilities to read defenses ever (along with Bird), had this in spades.

[kendogg]

KG in this conversation is a joke. He's not even that good of an athlete for a superstar. Has a pretty weak jumpshot. Not much of a post game. Not much of an ISO game. All he does in that position is stand in the high post and shoot a crappy jumper or pass it to a semi-open teammate. And he's also soft...has let more athletic guys bully him. And his mental is that he's bad chemistry on pretty much any team without enough vets to ignore his bull or call him out on it.

Physically it's Wilt with some argument for LeBron. Pure skills I think Jordan or Bird actually.

[LakerLegend]

[70sFan]

KG in this conversation is a joke. He's not even that good of an athlete for a superstar. Has a pretty weak jumpshot. Not much of a post game. Not much of an ISO game. All he does in that position is stand in the high post and shoot a crappy jumper or pass it to a semi-open teammate. And he's also soft...has let more athletic guys bully him. And his mental is that he's bad chemistry on pretty much any team without enough vets to ignore his bull or call him out on it.

Physically it's Wilt with some argument for LeBron. Pure skills I think Jordan or Bird actually.

I recommand you watching a few prime KG games. Saying that he didn't have post game or that he wasn't athletic is ridiculous.

[Colbinii]

KG in this conversation is a joke. He's not even that good of an athlete for a superstar. Has a pretty weak jumpshot. Not much of a post game. Not much of an ISO game. All he does in that position is stand in the high post and shoot a crappy jumper or pass it to a semi-open teammate. And he's also soft...has let more athletic guys bully him. And his mental is that he's bad chemistry on pretty much any team without enough vets to ignore his bull or call him out on it.

Physically it's Wilt with some argument for LeBron. Pure skills I think Jordan or Bird actually.

This is the worst analysis of Kevin Garnett I have ever read.

I'm sorry for whatever reason you "hate" a sports figure to the degree you do with Kevin Garnett.

[kendogg]

KG in this conversation is a joke. He's not even that good of an athlete for a superstar. Has a pretty weak jumpshot. Not much of a post game. Not much of an ISO game. All he does in that position is stand in the high post and shoot a crappy jumper or pass it to a semi-open teammate. And he's also soft...has let more athletic guys bully him. And his mental is that he's bad chemistry on pretty much any team without enough vets to ignore his bull or call him out on it.

Physically it's Wilt with some argument for LeBron. Pure skills I think Jordan or Bird actually.

I recommand you watching a few prime KG games. Saying that he didn't have post game or that he wasn't athletic is ridiculous.

Or maybe you just need to read a little better. I said he's not that great of an athlete for a superstar. Which is absolutely true. He is not a LeBron/Giannis level athlete. He's not a great sprinter or leaper. Good yes, not great. He's doesn't have great strength either, nor does he have great explosion. He does have a decent handle for a big man, but that is a skill not an athletic trait. You can say he's more coordinated than most big men sure, but raw athleticism? Not for the company he's being placed in. The only athletic trait he excels in is being tall for his position, and that's a stretch to say he's a great athlete because he's tall.

I watched KG's entire career and nobody on this board is more overrated, except possibly Draymond Green.

[Dr Positivity]

The deadline for this thread will tomorrow be the time it was made (1:48), normally it will be 24 hours if there’s enough votes, but Kobe delayed things a bit

[70sFan]

KG in this conversation is a joke. He's not even that good of an athlete for a superstar. Has a pretty weak jumpshot. Not much of a post game. Not much of an ISO game. All he does in that position is stand in the high post and shoot a crappy jumper or pass it to a semi-open teammate. And he's also soft...has let more athletic guys bully him. And his mental is that he's bad chemistry on pretty much any team without enough vets to ignore his bull or call him out on it.

Physically it's Wilt with some argument for LeBron. Pure skills I think Jordan or Bird actually.

I recommand you watching a few prime KG games. Saying that he didn't have post game or that he wasn't athletic is ridiculous.

Or maybe you just need to read a little better. I said he's not that great of an athlete for a superstar. Which is absolutely true. He is not a LeBron/Giannis level athlete. He's not a great sprinter or leaper. Good yes, not great. He's doesn't have great strength either, nor does he have great explosion. He does have a decent handle for a big man, but that is a skill not an athletic trait. You can say he's more coordinated than most big men sure, but raw athleticism? Not for the company he's being placed in. The only athletic trait he excels in is being tall for his position, and that's a stretch to say he's a great athlete because he's tall.

I watched KG's entire career and nobody on this board is more overrated, except possibly Draymond Green.

I can read just fine and KG is one of the best athletes ever in NBA. He's fast as hell for his size, he's very quick on his feet and he doesn't lack verticality either. The only relative weakness for him is strength, but he was still above average compared to other PFs, just not strong for a center.

I won't even touch his skillset, but when I see someone arguing that KG was not great athlete, then I am almost sure that either he didn't watch him in Minny at all or he don't remember these times well.

[Mazter]

Well, in the end you need a certain talent to be able to develop a skill. I mean, no matter how many hours Shaq would spent at the arc, he would not become a top 3-point shooter. In that sense, strength or speed aren't really basketball talents, unless you use it for a certain basketball skill. So having the highest bench press or deadlift or being the fastest sprinter doesn't really matter if you can't utilize it on the court. That's why I didn't really choose Shaq or Wilt.

[LKN]

I'd say Wilt or Shaq.

Imagine if Shaq had the work ethic of a MJ, Kobe or Lebron? He was kind of lazy and didn't always take care of his body and he still was insanely dominant. Shaq was just so insanely quick for his size - imagine if he had just got himself to say 65% or 70% from the line?

If I tilt this a bit less towards pure size I'd go with MJ. He was just such a natural at almost everything basketball related. Lebron is up there too, but I'd give MJ the nod because he's a much better shooter. Lebron, for all his talent has never been a great outside shooter (it's a testament to his work ethic that he's made himself at least a marginal 3 point threat)

Gun to my head I'd vote MJ (with Shaq 2nd)

[Dr Positivity]

I'd say Wilt or Shaq.

Imagine if Shaq had the work ethic of a MJ, Kobe or Lebron? He was kind of lazy and didn't always take care of his body and he still was insanely dominant. Shaq was just so insanely quick for his size - imagine if he had just got himself to say 65% or 70% from the line?

If I tilt this a bit less towards pure size I'd go with MJ. He was just such a natural at almost everything basketball related. Lebron is up there too, but I'd give MJ the nod because he's a much better shooter. Lebron, for all his talent has never been a great outside shooter (it's a testament to his work ethic that he's made himself at least a marginal 3 point threat)

Need a clear pick for your vote to count

[LKN]

I'd say Wilt or Shaq.

Imagine if Shaq had the work ethic of a MJ, Kobe or Lebron? He was kind of lazy and didn't always take care of his body and he still was insanely dominant. Shaq was just so insanely quick for his size - imagine if he had just got himself to say 65% or 70% from the line?

If I tilt this a bit less towards pure size I'd go with MJ. He was just such a natural at almost everything basketball related. Lebron is up there too, but I'd give MJ the nod because he's a much better shooter. Lebron, for all his talent has never been a great outside shooter (it's a testament to his work ethic that he's made himself at least a marginal 3 point threat)

Need a clear pick for your vote to count

I guess I'll go MJ.

With Shaq/LBJ close behind

[Sublime187]

If Wilt is choice then how is Shaq not right there? I honestly feel if we're talking talent only which IMO is not size and athleticism then this is Kobe. He could shoot, pass, ball handling, defense, IQ, best foot work ever. I just think he had everything talent wise.