Bill Simmons does not have KG and Curry for Best Player Belt in nba history

[dygaction]

Always thought him as a homer, but he is open to Luka and no mention of Tatum depending on the result of the finals. Do you think he is right?

From Bill Russel retire,
vacant for a year
71 Kareem
72 Wilt
73-76 Kareem
77 Bill Walton
vacant
vacant...
80 Kareem
81/82 Moses Malone
84-87 Bird
88/89 Magic
90-93 Jordan
94/95 Dream
96-98 Jordan
99 vacant, lockout year
00/01 Shaq
02-07 Duncan (a case for Kobe 06)
08-10 Kobe
11 vacant (a case for Dirk, or Kobe)
12-18 LeBron
19 Kawhi
20 Vacant (a case Durant)
21/22 Giannis
23/24 Jokic

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=BillSimmons

[thebigbird]

It was LeBron in 2008-2011 as well as 2020 (Durant didn’t even play in 2020).

[SNPA]

Always thought him as a homer, but he is open to Luka and no mention of Tatum depending on the result of the finals. Do you think he is right?

From Bill Russel retire,
vacant for a year
71 Kareem
72 Wilt
73-76 Kareem
77 Bill Walton
vacant
vacant...
80 Kareem
81/82 Moses Malone
84-87 Bird
88/89 Magic
90-93 Jordan
94/95 Dream
96-98 Jordan
99 vacant, lockout year
00/01 Shaq
02-07 Duncan (a case for Kobe 06)
08-10 Kobe
11 vacant (a case for Dirk, or Kobe)
12-18 LeBron
19 Kawhi
20 Vacant (a case Durant)
21/22 Giannis
23/24 Jokic

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=BillSimmons

Where’s 83?

No Curry, for one year?

It’s basically KAJ/Bird/Magic/Mike/Shaq-Duncan/James with one offs sprinkled.

[ForeverTFC]

He's not wrong. Simmons loves Curry and KG so he would have fit them in if they had any argument whatsoever. If anything, he's not giving Lebron his due who should have the belt from 2008 through 2018.

[Saints14]

If it’s “who was widely considered the best in the world” instead of “who had the best season” I would have LeBron for 2011-2020

[Optms]

2011 marked as vacant? Kobe or Dirk? Did Lebron die that year or am i missing something?

Curry was the best player in 2021 for sure. He carried a washed up Klay, Green and Jordan Poole to a title while destroying every team in his path. That was peak Curry.

Trash list. We all knew Kobe was the best player between 2006 and 2008 also. He was just on a scrub team with scrub players. It wasn't until Lebron started his ascension around 2008 that it became a debate and Lebron eventual took over permanently.

[Nowascki]

No case for Lebron 2009? Literally one of the most dominant seasons of all time in both RS and PS.

What a joke!

[oldncreaky]

It was LeBron in 2008-2011 as well as 2020 (Durant didn’t even play in 2020).

If it’s “who was widely considered the best in the world” instead of “who had the best season” I would have LeBron for 2011-2020

I'm mostly with this. I can accept an argument for Kobe during his winning years with Gasol, but other than that, I see LeBron as the best player in the league 2008-2020

Extraordinary long peak

[oldncreaky]

Always thought him as a homer, but he is open to Luka and no mention of Tatum depending on the result of the finals. Do you think he is right?

From Bill Russel retire,
vacant for a year
71 Kareem
72 Wilt
73-76 Kareem
77 Bill Walton
vacant
vacant...
80 Kareem
81/82 Moses Malone
84-87 Bird
88/89 Magic
90-93 Jordan
94/95 Dream
96-98 Jordan
99 vacant, lockout year
00/01 Shaq
02-07 Duncan (a case for Kobe 06)
08-10 Kobe
11 vacant (a case for Dirk, or Kobe)
12-18 LeBron
19 Kawhi
20 Vacant (a case Durant)
21/22 Giannis
23/24 Jokic

Where’s 83?

No Curry, for one year?

It’s basically KAJ/Bird/Magic/Mike/Shaq-Duncan/James with one offs sprinkled.

I'd go with Moses for 1981-1983, although Bird would be an acceptable choice.

Maybe Simmons means that, in some vacant years, it's tooo close to call between a couple of players -- but I don't have the patience to listen to him long enough to find out!

[ScrantonBulls]

I get that he is valuing championships highly and wants to give Bird/Magic their due, but no 80s MJ? Really? He was an absolute freak during those seasons. His 1987-88 is one of the greatest seasons in history.

[ForeverTFC]

It was LeBron in 2008-2011 as well as 2020 (Durant didn’t even play in 2020).

If it’s “who was widely considered the best in the world” instead of “who had the best season” I would have LeBron for 2011-2020

I'm mostly with this. I can accept an argument for Kobe during his winning years with Gasol, but other than that, I see LeBron as the best player in the league 2008-2020

Extraordinary long peak

I think Kawhi was considered the best in the league in 2019 and that's the right call. But otherwise agree, Lebron is '08-'19.

[Statlanta]

I don't mind it's a personal list that's subjective

KG had incredible shot makers(see Pierce in Washington and Allen in Miami) and Curry had a slew of Olympic level defenders

[Stan]

Durant has a case for 2020 missing the entire season, while Kobe has a case for 2011? What

[Swish1906]

Bill Simmons fell off a cliff and had an incredible amount of dumb takes in the past years. I stopped paying attention to him

[WarriorGM]

What a nonsense list. So many inconsistencies.

How are years like 2015 to 2018 clearly LeBron years when a year like 2011 is vacant and years like 2019 and 2022 is given as Kawhi's and Giannis' respectively?

All it shows is that Simmons is actively ignoring or simply fails to comprehend the way Curry dominated the league. Simmons is a narrative shill and thought follower not a thought leader.

[Sofia]

Bill Simmons fell off a cliff and had an incredible amount of dumb takes in the past years. I stopped paying attention to him

His hate/bias for certain players and teams is so transparent these days

He would have been very reluctant to give Lebron as many years as he did.

[dygaction]

What a nonsense list. So many inconsistencies.

How are years like 2015 to 2018 clearly LeBron years when a year like 2011 is vacant and years like 2019 and 2022 is given as Kawhi's and Giannis' respectively?

All it shows is that Simmons is actively ignoring or simply fails to comprehend the way Curry dominated the league. Simmons is a narrative shill and thought follower not a thought leader.

Thought he was a Curry fan but these two never even mentioned Curry. The 17/18 years they were considering Durant but went with LeBron

[Raptor_Guy]

When was KG ever the best player in the NBA?

Curry would maybe have a case for 2015/2016 but I would generally say Lebron was the best player 2011-2020.

[WarriorGM]

What a nonsense list. So many inconsistencies.

How are years like 2015 to 2018 clearly LeBron years when a year like 2011 is vacant and years like 2019 and 2022 is given as Kawhi's and Giannis' respectively?

All it shows is that Simmons is actively ignoring or simply fails to comprehend the way Curry dominated the league. Simmons is a narrative shill and thought follower not a thought leader.

Thought he was a Curry fan but these two never even mentioned Curry. The 17/18 years they were considering Durant but went with LeBron

Hardly anyone in media has remotely shown themselves to be Curry fans. Shaq is probably the most prominent. Then maybe a couple of analytically inclined guys like Haberstroh and Benjamin Morris who used to be on FiveThirtyEight. The rest know BSPN is captured by vested interests pushing the LeBron narrative.

They debate the same topics endlessly but avoid to a laughable degree the most obvious comparison to be made of the past few years: Curry vs. James.

[Maxthirty]

When was KG ever the best player in the NBA?

Curry would maybe have a case for 2015/2016 but I would generally say Lebron was the best player 2011-2020.

A case can be made for 2015 Curry. Insanely good scoring and efficiency but when you factor in everything else LeBron is clearly the winner IMO. Not to mention, nobody watching the Finals that year thought Steph was better than Bron.