RealGM Top 10 GOAT Straw Poll

[HornetJail]

Jordan
Magic
Kareem
Shaq
Duncan
Lebron
Russell
Wilt
Hakeem
Bird
HM: Kobe

[Notanoob]

1. Jordan
2. Kareem
3. Shaq
4. LeBron
5. Magic
6. Duncan
7. Bird
8. Hakeem
9. Russel
10. Wilt

[therealbig3]

All of the Oscar in this thread (probably by a bunch of teenagers) gives me a headache. Not sure what's worse between having him as a top 10 player, or Kevin Garnett. Seems that the 1000-post filter is pretty inadequate (and that a bunch of posters have problems reading and following directions...what a surprise!)

It's pretty pathetic how some people emotionally rant when others have a different opinion.

And this isn't even about having a debate, this thread is about taking a poll. Post your list and move on, nobody really gives a **** about what you have to say about THEIR list.

[Mutnt]

1.MJ
2.Russell - (first bump for me; Don't think he'd do nearly as well or be as successful in pretty much every other scenario, but it just comes down to an educated assumption, which is kinda moot, since it's more fair to judge him for what he's done than imagining alternative universes. I absolutely understand if someone doesn't have him in the Top 10 though)
3. KAJ - (second bump; I'm high on KAJ just not sure how high. I'm open to being swayed here. He convinces me a lot more than Russell in terms of being a better player, but it's still hard for me to gauge out how dominant he was relative to other players in the Top 10 + some other stuff. At the end his longevity really helps him out big time, it was unmatched)
4. Shaq
5. Magic - (third bump; The problem of weighing accolades and playing for great teams vs. the Hakeem and LBJ situation)
6. Duncan - (fourth bump; Kinda similar to Magic's scenario. I can see myself moving Duncan, not out of the top 10 though. He was (still somewhat is) a great great player but I believe he gets far too much praise for what specifically Pop and other players have managed to build and produce around him. In an alternate universe, if the cards would shuffle differently, KG might have occupied this spot if you catch my drift.)
7. LBJ
8. Hakeem - (fifth bump; I think a lot of players can consider themselves lucky. I really can't imagine how Hakeem would wreck the league if he had the type of help and coaching some of the other players enjoyed for the majority of their careers. Sadly, once again, in a GOAT scenario, I can't award people for hypothetical.
9. Bird
10. Wilt - (sixth bump; We all know the issues revolving Wilt and his career, but even with those in mind he still achieved a lot more than anyone else and was an absolute force in his day. He is probably the hardest to rank due to multiple factors but all in all I think he deserves a spot in the Top 10, for now at least)

[Joao Saraiva]

1. Michael Jordan
2. KAJ
3. LeBron James
4. Magic Johnson
5. Bill Russell
6. Chamberlain
7. Shaq O'Neal
8. Hakeem
9. Duncan
10. Larry Bird

Don't know if I made it in 72 hours or not but still here's my list.

[therealbig3]

Someone can double-check, but here's what I got (only counted the posters with 1000+ posts)...30 posters voted, so 300 possible points:

1. Michael Jordan (296 points)
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (250 points)
3. Bill Russell (221 points)
4. Magic Johnson (177 points)
5. Shaquille O'Neal (161 points)
6. Tim Duncan (141 points)
7. Wilt Chamberlain (110 points)
8. LeBron James (100 points)
9. Hakeem Olajuwon (96 points)
10. Larry Bird (69 points)
11. Kobe Bryant (11 points)
12. Kevin Garnett (10 points)
13. Oscar Robertson (7 points)
14. Julius Erving/Jerry West (1 point)

Notes:

-4 voters didn't rank Michael Jordan 1st...those 4 ranked him 2nd

-4 players were on everyone's top 10 list: Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, and Tim Duncan

-The highest rank on any list for all the listed players: Michael Jordan (#1), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#1), Bill Russell (#1), Magic Johnson (#2), Shaquille O'Neal (#3), Tim Duncan (#3), Wilt Chamberlain (#3), LeBron James (#3), Hakeem Olajuwon (#4), Larry Bird (#5), Kobe Bryant (#9), Kevin Garnett (#7), Oscar Robertson (#7), Julius Erving (#10), Jerry West (#10)

[Quotatious]

1. Michael Jordan (296 points)
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (250 points)
3. Bill Russell (221 points)
4. Magic Johnson (177 points)
5. Shaquille O'Neal (161 points)
6. Tim Duncan (141 points)
7. Wilt Chamberlain (110 points)
8. LeBron James (100 points)
9. Hakeem Olajuwon (96 points)
10. Larry Bird (69 points)

Surprised by how clear-cut the results are, i.e. no one except LeBron and Hakeem is really close to each other. Will be very interesting to check how accurate these rankings were, when we'll vote for the Top 100 (or top 75 or whatever it's gonna be) list. If I had to bet on anything, I'd say that Russell will probably be voted over Kareem.
Also we'll see if Kobe, KG and Oscar will go 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively, like here. I think there's a very strong possibility that they will.

[MacGill]

1. Michael Jordan (296 points)
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (250 points)
3. Bill Russell (221 points)
4. Magic Johnson (177 points)
5. Shaquille O'Neal (161 points)
6. Tim Duncan (141 points)
7. Wilt Chamberlain (110 points)
8. LeBron James (100 points)
9. Hakeem Olajuwon (96 points)
10. Larry Bird (69 points)

Surprised by how clear-cut the results are, i.e. no one except LeBron and Hakeem is really close to each other. Will be very interesting to check how accurate these rankings were, when we'll vote for the Top 100 (or top 75 or whatever it's gonna be) list. If I had to bet on anything, I'd say that Russell will probably be voted over Kareem.
Also we'll see if Kobe, KG and Oscar will go 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively, like here. I think there's a very strong possibility that they will.

I agree with you on Russell over KAJ and from this list it wouldn't surprise me to see movement with Hakeem, Bird and Wilt. What I am really waiting to see here are the revamped debates for Russell as GOAT (which i'd be fine with btw).

Honestly, since the last project this board continues to chip away at players and reveal new outlooks that we haven't seen or thought of. I think LBJ may be the toughest to place here as he's current but I believe him to be better than most here from a basketball ability standpoint. However, accolades and longevity (lowest attributes on my scale) may see otherwise.

Glad you'll be here this time around to share your insight!

[JLei]

I'll throw mine after the bell.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3. Bill Russell
4. Wilt Chamberlain (No idea where to put him)
5. Magic Johnson
6. Tim Duncan
7. Lebron James
8. Shaquille O'Neal
9. Larry Bird
10. Kobe Bryant

Hakeem is 11.

Other than Wilt pretty comfortable with the order. Hakeem and Kobe are neck and neck as are Lebron and Shaq.