The Top 10 All-Time Most Dominant NBA Players

[ThaRegul8r]

LOL, whats the **** difference between doing a top 10 all-time list and a top-10 most dominant list?

This is (Please Use More Appropriate Word). I presume when you say "dominant" you are actually talking about peak, conditions for playing basketball or what?

If thats the case, take Kobe, Erving and probably Bird of there. Throw in Mcgrady, Oscar Robertson and basicly, all the all-time Centers.

But if we use logic we can realize the best players of all time are also the most dominant. Its an obvious assumption, there is no difference.

All Time top 10 list = All Time top 10 dominant list

Let me put it to ya like this:

Being "all time dominant" doesn't make someone "all time best" if you understand the science behind the list.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/ Lew Alcindor was one of the best to ever play the game but was not one the most all time dominant players imo. All time great, YES.

Same w/ Bill Russell to me.

Spoken by someone who knows nothing about Russell's career other than "guy who won 11 rings." Someone who couldn't tell you anything whatsoever about any given year of Russell's career as the legion of Jordan or Kobe fans could do with their favorite player.

In his best years (92 goals in one season, 215 points in another) Gretzky outscored every other individual in the NHL by a quarter to a third. Remember when office hockey pools wouldn't even allow his numbers to be included? It is by such a standard that Gretzky may be viewed as the greatest team sport player ever. In their sports and in their times, some other names that come to mind as dominators include Michael Jordan and Bill Russell in basketball, Babe Ruth in baseball, Jim Brown and Joe Montana in football, Pele in soccer and Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe in hockey. To name a few.

It's like, "If I'm not aware of it, it didn't happen." Then to top it all off, people have the nerve to get an attitude over their own ignorance, instead of saying, "Oh, okay. I didn't know that." People wanna make statements on stuff they don't know. “The difference between a wise man and a fool is that a wise man knows what he doesn’t know; a fool thinks he knows everything.”

[Strange Clouds]

1. Jordan
2. Russell
3. Wilt
4. Magic
5. Bird
6. Kareem
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Dr. J
9. Hakeem
10. Kobe

Shaq??

[Blkbrd671]

i agree shaq should be number one, at least because i watched him play. there was simply nothing you could do to stop him.

Personally this list would only be fair per position rather than overall, because the positions are so different and IMO jordan dominating from his position is much more impressive than a center

[34Dayz]

So youre just going to ignore that Shaq had Kobe, Penny and Wade getting him the ball (as if thats even relevant)? every championship center has had an elite or near elite perimeter player on their team, i dont understand why you would take that into account when analyzing a players dominance, and then completely ignore what Shaq had. Wade and Kobe are MUCH better than any perimeter player Wilt, Hakeem or Russell had.

Penny and Young Kobe 97-00 weren't even 1/50th of the player Shaq was and they won a Title in 00 when Kobe was barely a borderline Star player so yea.. Having those guards didn't make Shaq a better player. Shaq is the GOAT when it comes to attracting defenders/defensive attention which immediately makes life easier for his entire supporting cast. Not only did he gives guards like Kobe/Penny single coverage throughout their time with him but he performed a similar task for Wade even in the 06 Finals. Shaq will produce and run an efficient offense no matter who passes him the ball. Shaq go's to Miami they win a Title, Shaq leaves LA they run into the dirt.

The reason why Shaq didnt win more in the 90's is because his teams/supporting casts either choked/played horribly or they simply werent good enough to Contend. He was spectacular and dominant almost every single year especially in the playoffs and in clinching/closing games except for 97.

Shaq in his Prime and even really from 95 onwards was impossible to stop. Even peak Hakeem could only hold him to 29ppg on 60% shooting and Prime BWallace DPOY Mutombo all got made a fool of by Oneal even old Oneal destroyed Wallace, lets not forget he often dominated against the greatest defensive bigmen duo in Duncan/DRob etc..

Its indisputable that Shaq/Jordan are the two most Dominant players ever when discussing Prime or Peaks.

[Egg Nog]

"Dominant" is a relative term. Relative to what, you ask? Relative to who you're playing against.

Wilt should be #1, by a slight margin. He was the single most dominant player of all time. What does era have anything to do with it?

Dominant means that you dominated the players that you played against.

[junot111]

"Dominant" is a relative term. Relative to what, you ask? Relative to who you're playing against.

Wilt should be #1, by a slight margin. He was the single most dominant player of all time. What does era have anything to do with it?

Dominant means that you dominated the players that you played against.

Great point and I agree. Definitely makes more sense than just listing your own top 10 GOAT using
"dominance" as a reason for your debatable selections

so with the exception of Michael, Magic, and Bird (and maybe a few others), the list should really just be big men because that's the position that can truly dominate the game

Kobe IMO does not belong because he's considered a great player due to his longevity. Referring back to the thread about "how many years was Kobe the best player in the league", you'd see that it's hard to put up an argument for Kobe even being the best for more than a handful of years. Being better than the next by a slight margin does not equate to dominance.

[Nickson]

I'd probably still have MJ first.

I just can't ignore the free throws for Shaq. He was sometimes a liability late in games.

If Shaq was even a 70% free throw shooter, he would probably be the most dominant to ever play the game. If he was an 80%+ FT shooter, he probably would be considered the GOAT.

[chadrucf]

So Wilt can't be ranker higher than 8 in the "Most Dominant Ever" list because he was way too dominant in his era...okay...

[jaypo]

Regardless of the "strength of an era", you have to look at the fact that GOAT level, dominant players MAKE it a weak era. It wasn't that Wilts era lacked quality bigs. It's just that Wilt dominated them. It's not that Shaq played in a weak era. There was just nobody that could stop him. I've heard every excuse- he didn't do anything until all the bigs were past their prime, Akeem was past his prime in 95, Drob was injured, etc. But simply put- players like Shaq and Wilt (and Kareem as well) would make fools out of whoever they were playing against. Same as MJ- no matter who he played against, he would squash. That's because they were all GOAT level players. They adapt, and they step it up.

On the list, I'd probably have Wilt, MJ, and Shaq as the top 3 in no specific order with Russ as a 4th. Shaq, Wilt, and MJ could dominate a game on both sides of the ball, whereas Russ did so only on the defensive end (albeit, better than anybody else!)

[NyCeEvO]

1. Jordan
2. Russell
3. Wilt
4. Magic
5. Bird
6. Kareem
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Dr. J
9. Hakeem
10. Kobe

You trippin' bro....where's Shaq?

[JordansBulls]

This is a horrible list. Dominance is shown in production.

MJ, Kareem and Wilt all led the league 9x in Win Shares while Shaq led 5x. MJ, Kareem and Wilt all led in PER 7x+, while Shaq led 5x. Those 3 need to be 1, 2, 3. I put MJ first because he is #1 all time in PER in the season and playoffs and #1 all time in WS/PER 48 minutes in the season and playoffs and also has the most career playoff win shares despite playing nearly 60 games less than KAreem in the postseason.

[NyCeEvO]

i agree shaq should be number one, at least because i watched him play. there was simply nothing you could do to stop him.

Personally this list would only be fair per position rather than overall, because the positions are so different and IMO jordan dominating from his position is much more impressive than a center

I agree with this statement. MJ's type of dominance is different than Shaq's dominance.

Strategically, if you have a C who can attack at will like Shaq could, then it's great for the team because he attracts attention to the paint and draws the defenders away from you teammates, and makes it easier to kick out to them.

But if you have a guy like MJ do it, he becomes a ballhog and stifles team efficiency. Jordan even said himself that he is most valuable when he's considered to be a threat to score even though he may not have the ball in his hands. Going 1v5 from the guard position is definitely different than 1v5 from the center position.

[Brenice]

So dominance is from an offensive perspective only, cause Shaq was nowhere near dominant defensively.

Why is Jabbar not included. I thought the most unstoppable weapon was the sky-hook. Isn't that dominant?

I also got a sneaky suspician people are giving credit to Shaq for his career, because they watched his whole career, from Orlando to Boston, but judge kareem and wilt as Lakers only, or after their dominant years. As lakers, they were in their 30's. What did Shaq dominate after age 33? How dominant was Wilt as a Sixer? How dominant was Kareem as a Buck?

Would a young Wilt and young Kareem dominate in today's game? Hell yeah they would. You are talking about 2 of the best 7ft athletes of all-time. Think about it, better than prime Garnett! You might put a banger next to Kareem too defend Shaq, but kareem would dominate his man and help out on Shaq. Shaq could not help on Kareem.

[WillyJakkz]

I see there's quite the debate about certain "legendary" players like Wilt (being ranked low) or Kareem and Bill Russell not even being included but there is a distinct reason for this:

They played in a time when there were 2 Leagues, the ABA & the NBA.

Now w/ the talent being spread across 2 separate leagues, players were not competing w/ the very best on a night in night out basis therefore it wasn't quite the same challenge competitively.

Fast forward to the ABA merging w/ the NBA you did not see complete annihilation by these same players save for a few (Dr. J comes to mind as one).

I give Wilt credit for overall dominating who he did play against but I cannot make a case for him to be above Kobe, Barkley, Bird, Magic, Hakeem, Jordan, or Shaq simply because the athletics and speed relative to each position had transitioned to a much higher level and I just simply don't see Wilt, Kareem, and others being as dominant a force.

I made this list to transcend era's while also taking into account each player's era along w/ their athletic ability as well as skillset/ skill level of each player.

[dk7th]

in a team game i don't understand how the term "dominant" or "best" has much relevance. in individual sports it makes sense but not in basketball. in my opinion the terms are kind of empty: what value is there in "dominating" or being "the best" if it it doesn't correlate to winning?

it's my opinion that, in a team game, it is the degree to which one player makes his teammates better that correlates to any sort of dominance insofar as making others better usually means the team wins more often than not in the playoffs and finals.

1. russell
2. jordan
3. bird/magic
5. duncan
6. hakeem
7. shaquille

the men on this list are special in that they all were the best at making their teammates better.

honorable mention: havlicek, frazier, oscar robertson

then there's everybody else.

[WillyJakkz]

in a team game i don't understand how the term "dominant" or "best" has much relevance. in individual sports it makes sense but not in basketball. in my opinion the terms are kind of empty: what value is there in "dominating" or being "the best" if it it doesn't correlate to winning?

it's my opinion that, in a team game, it is the degree to which one player makes his teammates better that correlates to any sort of dominance insofar as making others better usually means the team wins more often than not in the playoffs and finals.

1. russell
2. jordan
3. bird/magic
5. duncan
6. hakeem
7. shaquille

the men on this list are special in that they all were the best at making their teammates better.

honorable mention: havlicek, frazier, oscar robertson

then there's everybody else.

This is an interesting list because although I see we're worlds apart on the Bill Russell ranking, it seems we have a similar view of Chamberlain and Kareem (unless you forgot them).

[GameOver25]

Regardless of the "strength of an era", you have to look at the fact that GOAT level, dominant players MAKE it a weak era. It wasn't that Wilts era lacked quality bigs. It's just that Wilt dominated them. It's not that Shaq played in a weak era. There was just nobody that could stop him. I've heard every excuse- he didn't do anything until all the bigs were past their prime, Akeem was past his prime in 95, Drob was injured, etc. But simply put- players like Shaq and Wilt (and Kareem as well) would make fools out of whoever they were playing against. Same as MJ- no matter who he played against, he would squash. That's because they were all GOAT level players. They adapt, and they step it up.

On the list, I'd probably have Wilt, MJ, and Shaq as the top 3 in no specific order with Russ as a 4th. Shaq, Wilt, and MJ could dominate a game on both sides of the ball, whereas Russ did so only on the defensive end (albeit, better than anybody else!)

Quality post.

[RealBaller02]

1. MJ
2. Wilt / Shaq toss up

[dk7th]

in a team game i don't understand how the term "dominant" or "best" has much relevance. in individual sports it makes sense but not in basketball. in my opinion the terms are kind of empty: what value is there in "dominating" or being "the best" if it it doesn't correlate to winning?

it's my opinion that, in a team game, it is the degree to which one player makes his teammates better that correlates to any sort of dominance insofar as making others better usually means the team wins more often than not in the playoffs and finals.

1. russell
2. jordan
3. bird/magic
5. duncan
6. hakeem
7. shaquille

the men on this list are special in that they all were the best at making their teammates better.

honorable mention: havlicek, frazier, oscar robertson

then there's everybody else.

This is an interesting list because although I see we're worlds apart on the Bill Russell ranking, it seems
we have a similar view of Chamberlain and Kareem (unless you forgot them).

No I didn't forget them. Bill Russell was the superior athlete and the smarter player by far. His vertical made it possible to grab a quarter off the top of the backboard, he could run faster than most of the league, and his lateral quickness was superior. Add will to win, incredible defensive instincts, and his manliness, ie his ability to lead men, and he deserves top ranking. Besides, basketball is not about scoring it's about winning. Russell always knew how to win and he understood that winning entailed making others better. Recently, a video of him was made where he was asked by a Boy Scout what it meant to be a leader. His answer: in order to be a leader you have to be a servant.

This ethos eluded both chamberlain and Abdul Jabbar for most of their careers. It is ironic that the one year chamberlain won with Philly he led the league in assists, if memory serves. He did it it, it seems, out of spite rather than out of love of the game and love of winning. And if you want to surmise the underlying reason why Abdul Jabbar has not been offered a coaching position and Ewing will never be
offered one either it is because of this lack. Hakeem Olajuwon, however, would get a job coaching right away. So dominate away as a scorer-- just understand that it won't lead to winning most all the time.

[WillyJakkz]

Man dk7th:

You just dropped alot of knowledge and I have nothing but the utmost respect for how you worded/ put your post about Russell, Kareem, Wilt, and Hakeem.

I really enjoyed reading that.

I still differ in my opinion of Russell than you do simply because I don't see him as give him the ball and he'll lead us to victory or he'll completely shut things down defensively and we'll win (spanning from his era to now).

That's just me and I'm not saying I'm right, that's just my strong opinion about it and the players I put on this top 10 list.

Also I DO NOT think there is a huge gap from spot to spot due to the fact the other variable of ALL TIME PLAYER comes into play... at least in my mind.