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Hes already in my top 20 for me

He's had a tough first round but if he keeps playing like tonight then he has a chance. I don't think the likes of Barkley, Wade, Nash, D-Rob and the Malones are completely out of reach for Paul but he'd need a pretty convincing run to make a case over all of them.

Already have him at #20

Have him in the 15-20 range.

No too many injured postseasons in his prime. He was basically injured every other year he even got injured this year but luckily the opposing team had an injured star too and he could survive the series being his team's 4th or 5th best player. His durability woes cost him from ever sniffing mine.

Wait until the end of playoffs, it's not like Paul never went past first round. Phoenix are still far from winning the title right now and Paul will have to stay healthy for another ~15 games.

He's a great player in his era but the guys ahead of him a also in theirs and just were that bit better.

GSP wrote:No too many injured postseasons in his prime. He was basically injured every other year he even got injured this year but luckily the opposing team had an injured star too and he could survive the series being his team's 4th or 5th best player. His durability woes cost him from ever sniffing mine.

This gets ignored by most. If he manages to somehow stay healthy through 4 rounds this year, it’ll likely be because his load is smaller than ever.

Jaivl wrote:Already have him at #20

On the spirit of the thread, if he continues at about the same level he's playing at now he'd land next to West and Erving on #17 to #19 (passing Curry again), which feels... weird as hell lol, because he's had two and a half years with postseason injuries. The other two would have the "tiebreaker" but still.

It's incredible this is even a discussion when he has played with losing, dysfunctional franchises for most of his career, with all types of injuries without being directly connected to any other HOF player. His talent alone carries his legacy.

He's been sent to all types of different teams and he just completely elevates them no matter what. That is more impressive than a championship.

I have him at 20 already.

I guess the real question is how does a title this year impact his legacy. I do think this year, even if you think it post-prime, has already helped because his leadership of that Phoenix franchise has taken a team that was not going anywhere before and made it a title contender. That goes to leadership which has traditionally been one of the knocks on Paul. The other key will be how well does he actually play? If he dominates Kyrie Irving and is a force in that title series, it's a different equation than if the opponent loses because of injuries or poor play and/or Ayton or Booker is the breakout star in the finals.

Oh yeah Championship this year solidifies Paul as one of the Goats.

With an FMVP he would be in the top 20 for me most likely, right now he is a bit below that like top 25.

I don't see CP3 gets a ring this year, but if he does, yes, he would be in my top 20.

falcolombardi wrote:i would have him top 20 or close to it regardless, 1 ring won paat his prime wont change my evaluation of his career any more that 2011 would for kidd or 2013 for ray allen

winning rings in smaller roles as a older star post prime doesnt move the needle much, valuable longevity does. ring or not

I mean, at the rate he's going, he'll end up getting like 16-18 ppg to go with 10 assists and 5 rebounds with impactful defense. You could *argue* that he's the best player on the Suns. If he won a chip, if you value those a lot, you have to give him a lot of credit.

falcolombardi wrote:i would have him top 20 or close to it regardless, 1 ring won paat his prime wont change my evaluation of his career any more that 2011 would for kidd or 2013 for ray allen

winning rings in smaller roles as a older star post prime doesnt move the needle much, valuable longevity does. ring or not

Is his role really smaller? Pretty much has the same role he always had, his team is just better constructed than what the Clippers were.

This will be like Garnett's ring.
Enough for the casuals to finally recognize hsi greatness.

frica wrote:This will be like Garnett's ring.
Enough for the casuals to finally recognize hsi greatness.

I agree and honestly I'm not really even much of a CP3 guy but I think to some degree people are downplaying what he has brought to Phx this year whether people want to consider him to still be in his prime or not. Though you do have to credit Booker for stepping his game up as well in the playoffs but I think the team's confidence going up as a whole has a ton to do with them having CP3 to quarterback them much like how Brady transformed the mindset of TB last year.