RealGM

What's your ranking for the top 10 players only based on the nineties?

Possible list:
1. Michael Jordan
2. Hakeem Olajuwon
3. David Robinson
4. Karl Malone
5. Charles Barkley
6. Scottie Pippen
7. Patrick Ewing
8. Clyde Drexler
9. Gary Payton
10. Reggie Miller

I think Shaq did enough to be inside top 10, I'd definitely put him higher than Drexler for example.

Stockton could fight for the lower spots. Mutombo and Mourning as well.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Hakeem Olajuwon
3. David Robinson
4. Charles Barkley
5. Karl Malone
6. Scottie Pippen
7. Patrick Ewing
8. Shaq
9. John Stockton
10. Reggie Miller

If I was building a team in the 90s, I'd take Patrick Ewing over Charles Barkley pretty easily. Barkley was the flashy media personality and has the amazing efficiency numbers but Ewing's defense and leadership of those relatively weak Knicks teams is far more impressive to me than what Chuck did in Philly or even Phoenix, though Barkley did a good job of making those Suns teams work late prime (then was more of a distraction than a star in Houston at the end of his career).

Jordan
Hakeem
Robinson
Malone
Barkley
Ewing
Shaq
Pippen
Stockton
Miller

Narigo wrote:Jordan
Hakeem
Robinson
Malone
Barkley
Ewing
Shaq
Pippen
Stockton
Miller

Why Malone at 4 and Stockton at 9?

I think I’d say this:

I think the following guys are locks in some order (the below is roughly my ordering, but I could definitely waffle on some of the exact ordering):

Jordan
Hakeem
Robinson
Malone
Shaq
Barkley
Ewing
Pippen

After that, it gets a bit more difficult. Personally, I think Stockton should definitely be in there too, but I know that views on him are pretty wide-ranging. As for the final spot, I think it’s probably between Reggie Miller, Clyde Drexler, and Gary Payton. At the time, I don’t think Miller would’ve been the choice people would’ve made, but I am pretty high on him in retrospect. Payton was contemporaneously thought of as a top-tier player for the longest of those three guys, while Drexler actually had a year where he was seen as the 2nd best player in the NBA, and he did lead his team to two Finals in the decade. I think I’d probably go Payton, but I am very tempted to say Miller.

One final thing I’d note is that we should be cognizant to not give people credit for things they did in other decades. So, for instance, I tend to think the 1980s included a lot of Barkley’s best years, but I don’t think he should get credit for those years here. On the other hand, a guy like Robinson is relatively advantaged here, since the 1990s really did encompass all his best years.

IMO, There is a clear top 3:

1.Michael Jordan
2.Hakeem Olajuwon
3.David Robinson

Then the next 4 in some order:

Shaquille O'Neal (1 All NBA level, 3 weak MVP level, 3 MVP level)
Charles Barkley (3 weak MVP level, 3.5 All NBA level, 1.5 All Star level)
Scottie Pippen (2 all NBA level, 6 weak MVP level, 2 all star level)
Karl Malone (9 weak MVP level, 1 all NBA level)

I think I'd go:

4. K.Malone
5. Shaq
6. Pippen
7. Barkley

These 7 were perpetual top 5 players throughout the decade.

I'd add in John Stockton (8 all NBA level, 3 all star level) who was a top 10-15 player every year, Patrick Ewing (2 weak MVP, 4 all NBA level, 2 All Star level) and Reggie Miller (10 all NBA level) to round it out.

8. Ewing
9. Miller
10. Stockton

Drexler, Gary Payton, Dikembe Mutombo for the HM's.

1. Jordan
2. Hakeem
3. Robinson
4. Malone
5. Shaq
6-8. Barkley, Pippen, Ewing
9-10. Miller, Stockton