RealGM

I was thinking about reed and cowens and trying to decide who was better. I'd take reed, personally. Then i read somewhere that cedrick maxwell, who played with both cowens and mchale, said mchale was the better player. I disagree and think cowens was better. So what do you guys think? How would you order reed, mchale, and cowens? Who was the best out of the three?

McHale was the most talented off the bunch. Reed was 2nd. Cowens was a distant third.

BUT Cowens and Reed are the ones with the MVP's.

IMO has far as who was the best player, I'd actually go with McHale.

Willis reed

I love all players, but I gotta go with:

1. McHale
2. Reed
3. Cowens

To start if off, every one is a legit HOF player. Reed was a clutch jump shooter, Cowens was the ultimate hustle guy, and McHale was disgusting in the low post. In terms of talent, McHale > Reed > Cowens, but in terms of being a team leader, Cowens > Reed > McHale.

Good and tough comparison. I take the versatile McHale, but I would take anyone of them gladly.

Inside scoring: clearly McHale, then Reed, then Cowens the other two were good post scorers (particularly Reed), McHale was excellent.

Outside shooting: Cowens, then Reed, McHale is well behind the other two (but when you are as successful down low as he was, who wants you outside?)

Passing: Cowens, then Reed, then McHale. Cowens's numbers blow the others away with Reed's statistical line claiming he wasn't much of a passer though memory says he was.

Rebounding: Cowens and Reed are about even, both outstanding. McHale was one of the weakest rebounding big men of his day, it was his major weakness as a player.

Defense: All three are excellent defensive players. Reed was the best help defender, Cowens the quickest and best in the passing lanes, McHale has the edge as a man defender. Hard to call.

Durability: McHale lasted the longest, though he spent some early years as a 6th man and played less minutes. Cowens would be second. He was generally healthy except for one major injury, but he soured on basketball late in his career and wasn't the same player (admittedly this was a lower paid and less prestigious NBA than in McHale's day which was one of the NBA's glory periods). Reed had far more physical ailments.

Intangibles. Reed and Cowens were both leaders, McHale was always a complementary player. Clear edge to the centers, particularly Reed, a man whose nickname was "the Captain."

Overall: Peak/Prime I'd take Reed for his leadership, scoring, and rebounding. With the injuries and over a career it is closer among the three but still probably Reed, then Cowens, then McHale . . . the weak rebounding and lesser role on his team are more important than the greater team success since they were all NBA champions.