Best players of 00s?

[durantbird]

Possible list ranking players according to their cumulative value in the 2000s decade alone, 99-00 season to 08-09:

1. Tim Duncan
2. Shaquille O'Neal
3. Kevin Garnett
4. Kobe Bryant
5. Dirk Nowitzki
6. Steve Nash
7. LeBron James
8. Dwyane Wade
9. Jason Kidd
10. Manu Ginobili
11. Paul Pierce
12. Chauncey Billups
13. Tracy McGrady
14. Ray Allen
15. Allen Iverson
16. Tony Parker
17. Ben Wallace
18. Chris Webber
19. Vince Carter
20. Chris Paul

I might off with some of those guys, please do correct. Didn't include Dwight, Carmelo, Bosh, Amar'e, Marion, Yao, Peja, Brand, Pau, Jermaine.

What's your list?

[Doctor MJ]

So if I use a simple approach just based on my personal POY shares, here's what I get:

1. Tim Duncan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Kevin Garnett
4. Shaquille O'Neal
5. LeBron James
(tie) Steve Nash
7. Dirk Nowitzki
8. Manu Ginobili
(tie) Dwyane Wade
10. Reggie Miller
(tie) Ben Wallace

Not that aside from the coarseness of such an approach generally - which will tend to knock guys who were regularly just outside of the Top 5 (Jason Kidd), it also tends to favor guys who are on contending teams based on what we end up remembering about the playoffs and the legacy that creates for players. So, while I think Garnett was better at basketball than any of these other guys (other than LeBron by '09), he slides behind two guys with incredibly good luck in what they were surrounded by.

[1993Playoffs]

Shaq not Duncan imo.

[Doctor MJ]

Possible list ranking players according to their cumulative value in the 2000s decade alone, 99-00 season to 08-09:

1. Tim Duncan
2. Shaquille O'Neal
3. Kevin Garnett
4. Kobe Bryant
5. Dirk Nowitzki
6. Steve Nash
7. LeBron James
8. Dwyane Wade
9. Jason Kidd
10. Manu Ginobili
11. Paul Pierce
12. Chauncey Billups
13. Tracy McGrady
14. Ray Allen
15. Allen Iverson
16. Tony Parker
17. Ben Wallace
18. Chris Webber
19. Vince Carter
20. Chris Paul

I might off with some of those guys, please do correct. Didn't include Dwight, Carmelo, Bosh, Amar'e, Marion, Yao, Peja, Brand, Pau, Jermaine.

What's your list?

Won't say I'm "correcting", but just some thoughts beyond what I expressed in my other post:

- I think having Shaq this high kinda smacks of trying to place him where it seems like he should go based on his best decade-long period rather than how the '00s actually went for him. I have Shaq as my Player of the Decade from '93-03 and from '94-04, but he's long in the tooth (and wide in the waist) in the latter half of the '00s.

- I'd favor Nash over Dirk to this point, with Dirk gaining the career edge with his accomplishments to come. While it's true that Dirk had the edge through the end of Nash's Mav years, I think Nash has a pretty decisive edge from '04-05 through '09-10.

- Wade's "decade" here is really just a few quality years due to his late start and injuries.

- Somewhat similar with Paul who joined the NBA even later.

- A number of guys here are guys who had solid decades but in general weren't quite good enough (top 5) to rack up POY Shares. Each particular debate is worthwhile, but there are many of them.

- I think TMac is too high and tends to get too much credit. His peak in '02-03 was very nice, but mostly he spent his time as an inefficient volume scorer that wasn't really conducive to high ceiling teams.

- Webber's style of play fit a bit better on great teams, but he was very replaceable. As I've said elsewhere, I don't think people should be thinking of Webber as a clearly more effective player than fellow big teammates Divac & Miller.

- I'd favor Pau over both those guys pretty clearly.

- Marion as always is a tricky case. He fits better on quality teams than guys like TMac or AI but let's his ego convince himself he'd be better off not in Phoenix. Him going back to being a tertiary guy in Dallas, and winning a chip, tends to make us remember Marion better, but to me he'll always be a guy who in his best years was not satisfied with the job he was actually suited for.

- Howard's tricky because by '08-09 he really was an MVP level player, but he spent most of the decade either not yet in the NBA, or still being pretty green.

[MiamiBulls]

Based on accumulative value:

1. Duncan
2. Bryant
3. Garnett
4. O'Neal
5. Nowitzki
6. Nash
7. LeBron
8. Pierce
9. Allen
10. Ginobili

For me Kobe & Garnett are interchangeable at no. 2

Shaq at no. 2 is too high, he wasn't even an All Star level player past 2005/2006 Season.

Wade at no. 8 is ridiculously too high; for Wade he was injured in 2004, injured in the Conference Finals in 2005, injured in 2007, injured in 2008. Wade being Top 10 in the '00s on the back of just 3 Seasons? Absolutely not, that isn't better cumulative value than what Pierce brought forth from 1999-2009

Also Rasheed Wallace would be Top 15 if it's based on accumulative value.

[ceoofkobefans]

when i rank 2000s players i generally go

1. Kobe Bryant
2. Tim Duncan
3. Shaquille O'Neal
4. Kevin Garnett
5. LeBron James
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Steve Nash
8. Dwyane Wade
9. Jason Kidd
10. Allen Iverson?

some other guys you can throw in there are Paul Pierce Ben Wallace Tmac maybe like manu or billups maybe melo. would include cp3 and dwight for the peaks but they just dont have enough HQ years to get over like Kidd or AI

[One_and_Done]

when i rank 2000s players i generally go

1. Kobe Bryant
2. Tim Duncan
3. Shaquille O'Neal
4. Kevin Garnett
5. LeBron James
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Steve Nash
8. Dwyane Wade
9. Jason Kidd
10. Allen Iverson?

some other guys you can throw in there are Paul Pierce Ben Wallace Tmac maybe like manu or billups maybe melo. would include cp3 and dwight for the peaks but they just dont have enough HQ years to get over like Kidd or AI

How can you be player of the decade when you weren't even player of the year once in that decade?

[carlquincy]

Duncan Kobe would be a easy top 2.

Shaq-Nash-KG-Dirk to fight for the top 5 slots.

[ceoofkobefans]

when i rank 2000s players i generally go

1. Kobe Bryant
2. Tim Duncan
3. Shaquille O'Neal
4. Kevin Garnett
5. LeBron James
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Steve Nash
8. Dwyane Wade
9. Jason Kidd
10. Allen Iverson?

some other guys you can throw in there are Paul Pierce Ben Wallace Tmac maybe like manu or billups maybe melo. would include cp3 and dwight for the peaks but they just dont have enough HQ years to get over like Kidd or AI

How can you be player of the decade when you weren't even player of the year once in that decade?

good thing for kobe he was the player of the year for a third of the decade and wouldve been for half of it if it wasnt for that spawn of satan from akron

[SlimShady83]

Shaquille O'Neal
Tim Duncan
Kobe Bryant
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James
Steve Nash
Allen Iverson <>deserves some love
Dirk Nowitzki
Kevin Garnett
Paul Pierce
Vince Carter
Jason Kidd
Manu Ginobili
Chris Webber
Chauncey Billups
Tracy McGrady
Ben Wallace
Ray Allen
Tony Parker
Chris Paul

[Hook_Em]

when i rank 2000s players i generally go

1. Kobe Bryant
2. Tim Duncan
3. Shaquille O'Neal
4. Kevin Garnett
5. LeBron James
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Steve Nash
8. Dwyane Wade
9. Jason Kidd
10. Allen Iverson?

some other guys you can throw in there are Paul Pierce Ben Wallace Tmac maybe like manu or billups maybe melo. would include cp3 and dwight for the peaks but they just dont have enough HQ years to get over like Kidd or AI

How can you be player of the decade when you weren't even player of the year once in that decade?

I have him as the best player in 08’. You could argue 05-07’ however idk how he can be over Duncan for the decade.

[One_and_Done]

He wasn't even the 3rd best player in 08.

[lessthanjake]

During this decade, at least one of Duncan, Shaq, or Kobe were stars in 9 of the 11 title-winning teams in seasons that were at least partially in the 2000s. In that sense, those three players defined the decade and have to be top 3 for me in some order (probably with Duncan 1st, and probably Shaq next for being a better player, but Kobe could get 2nd for being relevant for longer).

After that, I think Garnett is an easy 4th place, as a top-tier player throughout the decade, who also starred on one title team.

After that, we get to guys like LeBron, Dirk, Nash, and Wade. LeBron was the best of those players, but wasn’t a factor for like half the decade, while Dirk was, so Dirk could arguably go above depending on approach. I loved the Nash Suns, so I’d love to put him ahead of those two but he probably shouldn’t be. Wade would be below these guys IMO except that the 2006 title run happened, so he could plausibly be above the other three or below all of them, depending on how you weight that title run. I could try to order those four but I’d probably change my mind every time I thought about it.

After that there’s a big drop off. I’d probably round out the top 10 with Ginobili and Kidd, but don’t feel strongly. Ben Wallace has a shout here too.

[ceoofkobefans]

He wasn't even the 3rd best player in 08.

youre right he was the best player

[One_and_Done]

He wasn't even the 3rd best player in 08.

youre right he was the best player

KG, CP3, and young Lebron were all better to start with.

[ceoofkobefans]

He wasn't even the 3rd best player in 08.

youre right he was the best player

KG, CP3, and young Lebron were all better to start with.

lol

[SlimShady83]

I have him as the best player in 08’. You could argue 05-07’ however idk how he can be over Duncan for the decade.

Don't feed him bruh his not worth It, his fixation on Kobe Is real, you never going to win.

[SlimShady83]

youre right he was the best player

KG, CP3, and young Lebron were all better to start with.

lol

[kcktiny]

Andrei Kirilenko - one of the very best non-C defenders of the decade.

[f4p]

Duncan seems like an easy #1 because it's basically his entire prime and he's better than Kobe. Shaq is at least top 3 just based on the first 3 years, as Dirk and Nash have too many negatives and non-dominant starts to the decade to keep up. I don't know if 2000 or 2010 is the year that doesn't count. If it's 2010, I probably put Dirk 4th after the top 3, if 2010 counts I probably go LeBron 4th.