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Peak is defined as one regular season and one playoff run occurring within a one-year period. Post-merger.

Kevin McHale ('86 playoffs + '87 regular season)
- 95 games (77 rs; 18 ps)
- 25.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.5 spg, 2.3 bpg, 2.6 topg
- 60.0% FG, 82.7% FT, 65.2% TS

Charles Barkley ('90 regular season + '90 playoffs)
- 89 games (79 rs; 10 ps)
- 25.1 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.6 bpg, 3.1 topg
- 59.3% FG, 73.0% FT, 65.2% TS

Karl Malone ('92 playoffs + '93 regular season)
- 98 games (82 rs; 16 ps)
- 27.4 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.5 spg, 1.1 bpg, 2.9 topg
- 54.7% FG, 75.3% FT, 61.3% TS

Tim Duncan ('03 regular season + '03 playoffs)
- 105 games (81 rs; 24 ps)
- 23.6 ppg 13.4 rpg, 4.2 apg, 0.7 spg, 3.0 bpg, 3.1 topg
- 51.7% FG, 70.1% FT, 56.7% TS

Kevin Garnett ('04 regular season + '04 playoffs)
- 100 games (82 rs; 18 ps)
- 24.3 ppg 14.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 2.2 bpg, 2.9 topg
- 49.0% FG, 78.8% FT, 54.1% TS

Dirk Nowitzki ('06 regular season + '06 playoffs)
- 104 games (81 rs; 23 ps)
- 26.6 ppg 9.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.9 bpg, 2.0 topg
- 47.8% FG, 39.3% 3PT, 90.0% FT, 59.0% TS

Anthony Davis ('18 regular season + '18 playoffs)
- 84 games (75 rs; 9 ps)
- 28.3 ppg 11.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.6 spg, 2.5 bpg, 2.2 topg
- 53.2% FG, 33.2% 3PT, 82.8% FT, 60.8% TS

Giannis Antetokounmpo ('21 playoffs + '22 regular season)
- 88 games (67 rs; 21 ps)
- 30.0 ppg 11.9 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.3 bpg, 3.2 topg
- 55.8% FG, 69.3% FT, 62.4% TS

I would think Duncan, Garnett and Giannis, maybe AD as well, have to top this from a defensive perspective. Got to at least think about McHale as well. Essentially, should be easy to wipe out Barkley from topping the list. Malone was pretty good at post defense, but not quite the same as some of those other guys, he never touched DPOY-level defense. It's a fairly large sin that Duncan doesn't have a DPOY and some of the guys from his era do, that was some grievous BS.

If you peel it down to ONLY offense, Barkley becomes interesting again, but without? Hard to give him shine here.

Kevin and Duncan aren't even in the discussion for 1 year peak. 25 PPG should be the minimum here, for sure, if we're talking all-0time peaks.

You didn't really define peak. How did you decide each player's peak year?

UglyBugBall wrote:Kevin and Duncan aren't even in the discussion for 1 year peak. 25 PPG should be the minimum here, for sure, if we're talking all-0time peaks.

That isn't a legitimate platform. Volume, particularly without attention paid to pace or efficiency, isn't really that important, particularly if we consider defense. Scoring fetishism goes only so far.

2013 LeBron?

EmpireFalls wrote:2013 LeBron?

Interesting, and valid, inclusion!

tsherkin wrote:

EmpireFalls wrote:2013 LeBron?

Interesting, and valid, inclusion!

I think he would be my runaway favourite here. No offense to the other guys as maybe he’s not a true 4 and thus it’s unfair to throw him in this conversation with the more traditional 4s of the past. But that is the best season by a “4” I’ve seen.

tsherkin wrote:

UglyBugBall wrote:Kevin and Duncan aren't even in the discussion for 1 year peak. 25 PPG should be the minimum here, for sure, if we're talking all-0time peaks.

That isn't a legitimate platform. Volume, particularly without attention paid to pace or efficiency, isn't really that important, particularly if we consider defense. Scoring fetishism goes only so far.

Sure, in a vacuum, but if we're talking all-time peaks then I think volume should be a factor.

EmpireFalls wrote:

tsherkin wrote:

EmpireFalls wrote:2013 LeBron?

Interesting, and valid, inclusion!

I think he would be my runaway favourite here. No offense to the other guys as maybe he’s not a true 4 and thus it’s unfair to throw him in this conversation with the more traditional 4s of the past. But that is the best season by a “4” I’ve seen.

It depends on how well you think of his defense relative to the DPOY guys, for sure.

UglyBugBall wrote:Kevin and Duncan aren't even in the discussion for 1 year peak. 25 PPG should be the minimum here, for sure, if we're talking all-0time peaks.

Thats...thats a bad take...

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I think Duncan would have the crown for 03 considering he won MVP, the championship, and Finals MVP and beat Kobe/Shaq with a 37 year old David Robinson, a 20 year old Tony Parker, and a rookie Manu Ginobili.

Others may have him beat with volume scoring, but 97-04 is the lowest scoring in NBA history since the shot clock, and he was great defensively.

But if we count Duncan as a power forward in 2003, do we count Hakeem as a power forward for 1986? Lebron for 2013?

Tier 1) Duncan, KG, Bron if included

Tier 2) Schayes, Pettit, Hayes, Barkley, K. Malone, Dirk, Dray, AD, Giannis, Tatum

Tier 3) McHale, P. Gasol, Bosh et al

tsherkin wrote:

EmpireFalls wrote:2013 LeBron?

Interesting, and valid, inclusion!

Okay but what's the real case for Lebron being the power forward on the 2013 Heat? Yes, I know bballref lists him there but we do all realize that they list Udonis Haslem as the small forward in those lineups, right?

That's without even getting into Shane Battier's defensive role when he's on the floor. He was specifically there to do power forward grunt work, freeing Lebron to roam, and do that cool Miami perimeter inverted rim protection (Lebron and Wade swooping into the paint while Bosh and Haslem/Battier defend the matchups).

In the playoffs, Bosh and Haslem started. Birdman and Battier also played rotation minutes. In the regular season, Bosh/Haslem is the starting frontcourt as well, though there were stretches where Battier or Mike Miller were the starter. I'm fine with Lebron being named the power forward in those specific lineups, if you want.

2006 Elton Brand should be there.

For that year he was right there with KG, Timmy, and Dirk.

sidney wicks - rookie year

24.5, 11.5, 4.3
blocks and steals not recorded in '72

I recently rewatched the 1986 NBA Finals and was surprised at how many times McHale blocked Hakeem. Kevin was a very good defender; don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

His 1986 Playoffs were quite remarkable, on both ends. He locked down Woolridge in the first round, blocking him about a million times. Held him to 40.3% FG (-9.2) and 45.9% TS (-10.1). He then shut down Dominique better than I've ever seen anyone in the ECSF.—39.8% FG (-7.0) and 49.4% TS (-4.2). After that, it was Terry Cummings in the ECF; Kevin held him to 40.3% FG (-7.1) and 43.9% TS (-6.4).

And to finish off, he made life hell for Ralph while helping out in spurts on Hakeem. Sampson shot 43.8% FG (-5.4) and 48.7% TS (-2.9) while Olajuwon did 47.9% FG (-4.7) and 52.6% TS (-3.4).

Numbers in brackets indicate how much below their 1985-86 RS average.

Here are some GIFs of good defensive plays he had on Olajuwon:

8' wings
9'7 standing reach

he could prolly give a wrecking ball a great big bear hug

UglyBugBall wrote:
Sure, in a vacuum, but if we're talking all-time peaks then I think volume should be a factor.

A factor, sure. The only factor, surely not. I would agree that it is Giannis or Duncan here most likely. Scoring volume, scoring efficiency, defensive value, rebounding, playmaking, health, and leadership all come into play and as these are bigs, defensive value is a stronger factor than if they were guards.

FrodoBaggins wrote:I recently rewatched the 1986 NBA Finals and was surprised at how many times McHale blocked Hakeem. Kevin was a very good defender; don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

His 1986 Playoffs were quite remarkable, on both ends. He locked down Woolridge in the first round, blocking him about a million times. Held him to 40.3% FG (-9.2) and 45.9% TS (-10.1). He then shut down Dominique better than I've ever seen anyone in the ECSF.—39.8% FG (-7.0) and 49.4% TS (-4.2). After that, it was Terry Cummings in the ECF; Kevin held him to 40.3% FG (-7.1) and 43.9% TS (-6.4).

And to finish off, he made life hell for Ralph while helping out in spurts on Hakeem. Sampson shot 43.8% FG (-5.4) and 48.7% TS (-2.9) while Olajuwon did 47.9% FG (-4.7) and 52.6% TS (-3.4).

Numbers in brackets indicate how much below their 1985-86 RS average.

He was always a very good defender, not particularly a strong defensive rebounder, a player who created his own shots, nor good at passing, but scoring efficiency and post defense were his strengths and he was capable of guarding out on the floor, enough that they had him cover for Bird on 3s at times.