Who were the 6th to 9th best players in the past 25 years?

One_and_Done · Post #1 » by **One_and_Done** » Sat Jun 1, 2024 5:42 am

I recently did a poll asking who were the top 5 players to build around over the past 25 years.
viewtopic.php?t=2372351
The runaway winners were Lebron, Duncan, Curry, Jokic and Shaq in that order. So I was wondering, who are the next 4?

If you were building a team today, and you get the guy for their whole career, who would be the top 4 choices for foundational building blocks to build around?

Note: this is not about 4 guys playing on the same team, it's about the 4 best guys to build around.

Special_Puppy · Post #2 » by **Special_Puppy** » Sat Jun 1, 2024 5:47 am

KG+Dirk+Kobe+CP3. Have a preference for people who already have the most career value.

One_and_Done · Post #3 » by **One_and_Done** » Sat Jun 1, 2024 9:47 am

Special_Puppy wrote:KG+Dirk+Kobe+CP3. Have a preference for people who already have the most career value.

You are able to project forward, per the OP. It's not just past performance.

CD_41 · Post #4 » by **CD_41** » Sat Jun 1, 2024 10:41 am

Best players or who would you build around are two seperate questions. Also, which era are we talking about?

Shaq ist of the best players ever, but I'd build around lower ranked players in todays game if you know what I mean.

johnnybobble53 · Post #5 » by **johnnybobble53** » Sat Jun 1, 2024 10:44 am

I have it KG+Dirk+Kobe+CP3 if you still looking for it dm me

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Fencer reregistered · Post #6 » by **Fencer reregistered** » Sat Jun 1, 2024 10:47 am

Hmm. Some of those guys were pretty awful teammates when young but much better later on (Kobe, KG). On the other hand, they were dealing with guys like Shaq and Marbury respectively.

KD had less excuse (pre-Brooklyn). I'll rule him out.
With this great set of choices, I'll also rule out each of the defensively-challenged Mavs.

So let's go:

A. Wemby
B. Kobe
C. Garnett
D. Wade, who was part of two different championship teams just as Kobe was

Giannis is a very tough omission.

ChiTownHero1992 · Post #7 » by **ChiTownHero1992** » Sat Jun 1, 2024 12:20 pm

I want to say Kobe i really do but I'm curious how Kobe would translate in todays NBA, i'm actually not sold on it. He'd obviously still be very good (All-Star) but I'm not sure I see MVP-level.

Wemby, Luka, KD, Giannis make the most sense for me in terms of todays NBA. If we're just going in general players Kobe is #1 of those players though.

One_and_Done · Post #8 » by **One_and_Done** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 1:02 am

ChiTownHero1992 wrote:I want to say Kobe i really do but I'm curious how Kobe would translate in todays NBA, i'm actually not sold on it. He'd obviously still be very good (All-Star) but I'm not sure I see MVP-level.

Wemby, Luka, KD, Giannis make the most sense for me in terms of todays NBA. If we're just going in general players Kobe is #1 of those players though.

Yeh Kobe doesn't translate well, and just isn't as impactful as these other guys.

NZB2323 · Post #9 » by **NZB2323** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 1:20 am

It’s tough because we don’t know how many years Wemby will be healthy.

iggymcfrack · Post #10 » by **iggymcfrack** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 1:37 am

I’d actually have KG #3 overall for that period. Top 5 is a slam dunk.

One_and_Done · Post #11 » by **One_and_Done** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 3:19 am

iggymcfrack wrote:I’d actually have KG #3 overall for that period. Top 5 is a slam dunk.

I voted KG over Jokic in the previous poll, though it's somewhat close.

Ritzo · Post #12 » by **Ritzo** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 4:41 am

I won't build around Shaq, he'll probably leave our team and force his way to LA or some big market teams. Give me Duncan, Curry, LeBron, Jokic, Giannis, Kobe, KG

CIN-C-STAR · Post #13 » by **CIN-C-STAR** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 5:01 am

Kobe, Dirk, KD, Wemby.
KG & Wade honorable mention.

One_and_Done · Post #14 » by **One_and_Done** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 5:11 am

Ritzo wrote:I won't build around Shaq, he'll probably leave our team and force his way to LA or some big market teams. Give me Duncan, Curry, LeBron, Jokic, Giannis, Kobe, KG

The OP clearly says to assume you get them for their whole career. Also we already did 1-5 in the linked thread. This is 6-9.

picko · Post #15 » by **picko** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 6:01 am

Of the guys on that list I'd lean towards Giannis. He's the best two-way player on that board and is genuinely elite both offensively and defensively. That gives you a lot of flexibility when building a team.

KG and Dirk are other good options. I think guys like that create a floor on how bad a team can be. And then we have someone like Wemby who projects to be an incredible building block but it's just too early to really assess that or to compare to guys who have succeeded in a variety of different circumstances.

One_and_Done · Post #16 » by **One_and_Done** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 12:40 pm

picko wrote:Of the guys on that list I'd lean towards Giannis. He's the best two-way player on that board and is genuinely elite both offensively and defensively. That gives you a lot of flexibility when building a team.

KG and Dirk are other good options. I think guys like that create a floor on how bad a team can be. And then we have someone like Wemby who projects to be an incredible building block but it's just too early to really assess that or to compare to guys who have succeeded in a variety of different circumstances.

Giannis is an easy choice for sure. Maybe my first choice.

hippesthippo · Post #17 » by **hippesthippo** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 2:04 pm

KD, Wemby, Dirk, Giannis.

It's harder to build teams around small dudes and KG never showed the necessary scoring ability.

scrabbarista · Post #18 » by **scrabbarista** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 3:47 pm

Kobe, Dirk, Giannis, Wemby.

I do feel silly leaving out KG, though. A top five would've been a lot easier.

Post #19 » by **cupcakesnake** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 4:44 pm

Based on my all-time rankings, I'd go: KG, Dirk, KD, Chris Paul (Nash and Kobe right there too).

If I'm projecting the future, I'd feel comfortable putting Luka anywhere in there (possibly above all of them). Wemby is arguably the best prospect ever, but it feels a little weird to project his whole career. If he stays healthy, I'd be shocked if he didn't have a career that was at least as good as KG (KG feels like his absolute basement, which is hilarious to say).

I already have Giannis in the same tier as Dirk/KD/Paul/Nash/Kobe, and he only just turned 30. In terms of building around him, I'd probably have him similar to KD.

Myth · Post #20 » by **Myth** » Thu Jul 4, 2024 4:52 pm

A pet peeve of mine is when the title and the poll ask separate questions as if one answers the other. I voted Wemby as one of the players I would build around, but he has not proven himself to be a top 9 player of the past 25 years as the title question asks.

Who would you build around? (Top 4 candidates)