Admittedly, Chamberlain played at a time when post players were significantly smaller and basketball wasn’t drawing the types of athletic marvels we see today, but the man was so incredibly dominant that he deserves a spot in the top five regardless of context. Photo: Wikimedia. If Durant wins a ring (or, more likely, multiple rings), will people forgive him for helping to form one of the NBA's most egregious superteam? Help | Viewer Feedback | Press | Advertise With Us | Jobs | FOX Cincy | RSS | Site Map Which player has the early lead in the NBA's MVP race? 1959-62 Philadelphia Warriors, 1962-65 San Francisco Warriors; 1965-68 Philadelphia 76ers; 1968-73 Los Angeles Lakers, Chamberlain was truly ahead of his time. Tim Duncan will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2020. If you were able to do it all, you'll rank higher on this list. He was the league MVP in three consecutive seasons (1984-86), something only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell had accomplished. Inside the top 10, we're really splitting hairs. 40-11 | 5-on-5 debate, 1992-96 Orlando Magic; 1996-2004 Los Angeles Lakers; 2004-08 Miami Heat; 2008-09 Phoenix Suns; 2009-10 Cleveland Cavaliers; 2010-11 Boston Celtics, The Hall of Fame center transformed the game with a combination of agility and explosiveness and size, the likes of which the league had never seen. Soccer/Football is One of the highest paying sports, also holds the place as the most popular sports in the world.It has a huge fan following and has quite a great fame attached to it. Without further ado, we look at top 10 NBA players of all time who have elevated the standard of the game for years to come. In a game that's often decided by the sum of your errors, Duncan rarely made mistakes. There is a lot of talent on this year’s roster and the Bolts will likely send some to the annual all-star game that hasn’t been there before. If for no other reason than leading the Mavs to their title over LeBron's Heat, Dirk has to be in the top 25. Berra finished a 15-time All-Star, a three-time American league MVP and a 10-time World Series champion. He won six championships -- with the first and last coming 17 years apart -- and was named to 15 All-NBA teams, with 10 first-team selections. Winning a ring is difficult and takes a team effort. Eusebio Until LeBron James came along, Bird was hailed as the best small forward ever. Athletes: The Definitive List Today, we end all debates. 100 Greatest of All Time was a sports television series of five one-hour episodes, … Last but not least is 3-point shooting. LeBron James or Michael Jordan? -- Bontemps. "Longevity without dominance or rings": the John Stockton story. He'll forever be on the short list of players you'd want to take the last shot with the game on the line. Perhaps the only perceived knock on Duncan's game was that he was boring. Athletes: The Definitive List Today, we end all debates. Wasim-Akram. 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All-Time Updated 10/10/2020 Major League Baseball as we know it, that is two leagues American and National, playing by the same rules with the … He was a legendary winner, a transcendent passer, an instant highlight and a triple-double waiting to happen. Duncan defined one of basketball's most successful franchises for almost 20 years. Unique perspectives on the daily sports topics that matter most. If he played today, he'd give LeBron a run for his money as the best player in the game. PER since 1951-52. Rate statistic requirements. Top second basemen: No list of the best hitters of all-time can't be without Rogers Hornsby, a great combination of power and average. We rank the best golfers of all time, looking at the legends and the greats of today. I'll explain my criteria here. As I briefly mentioned in ranking Elgin Baylor, your competition matters when we're talking about dominance. Camden Chat’s Top 50 Greatest Orioles of All Time, 2020 edition New, 19 comments A whole lot of great players have played for the Orioles since 1954. He was known as "The Big Fundamental," dominating for nearly two decades on both ends of the floor with textbook simplicity, such as his midrange bank shot and perfect position defense. These debates rage on endlessly in every corner of NBA fandom, and our experts have done their best to answer them, ranking the greatest players in the league's 74-year history. That discussion had me wondering about Romo's place all-time among undrafted players. Jun 11, 2020. • One of five players — Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods are the others — to own a career Grand Slam. Tom Rinaldi describes why Duncan's career embodies greatness. 100 Greatest of All Time was a sports television series of five one-hour episodes, produced and first aired by the Tennis Channel in March 2012. It seems absurd to say right now, but LeBron might end up making 10 straight Finals appearances. Got it? These soccer superstars have aided in the growing popularity of the sport. More than anything, Duncan was one of the best winners, leading the Spurs to five titles and 1,001 regular-season victories, the most for any player with one team in NBA history. Those are three of the many questions we'll answer while looking at the Association's top 100 Frustrated by the endless PED debate that has overtaken all Hall of Fame arguments, in 2013 ESPN.com created the Hall of 100, designed to recognize the 100 greatest players in MLB history. The John Stockton story is also the Karl Malone story, conveniently enough. Survivor: The Top 40 Players of All Time, Ranked. The consistently great Aaron was selected to the All-Star Game 21 straight years and hit at least 30 home runs in 15 seasons. With the caveat that I never watched Wilt Chamberlain, however, Shaq was the single most dominant player I've seen. G.O.A.T. One of the greatest shooters and scorers ever -- and a guy who's overrated thanks to a couple of high-profile playoff moments against the Knicks. Deal with it. Russell's defensive acumen and determination made him the perfect foil for Wilt Chamberlain, as well as one of the players from his era who wouldn't have looked out of place in later generations. Take a look back at Shaquille O'Neal's time in Los Angeles, which included three championships and an intense rivalry with teammate Kobe Bryant. If you want to claim he's a top-three player, though, I'm down with that. Best Atlanta Hawks of all-time – No. Photo: Wikimedia. The four-time MVP and three-time champion has reinvented how an athlete's prime should be viewed; he had the Lakers in the thick of a title hunt as a 35-year-old playing in his 17th season. All-Time Player Efficiency Rating Leaders. Active players are listed in bold * Indicates member of the Hall of Fame. 10 of the Greatest Women's Soccer Players of All Time. The series was hosted by Jack Nicklaus, Jerry Rice, Wayne Gretzky, Lisa Leslie … Career playoff stats: 24.3 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 2.1 BPG. Paul Morphy Paul Morphy. And he poisoned locker rooms. Hate on him if you want, but only one player can claim to be greater. His fast breaks and no-look passes catapulted the NBA from an era when Finals games weren't televised live to the global game it is today. 10 of the Greatest Women's Soccer Players of All Time. Yes, I penalize Bird for not taking more 3s. Yes. Let's just move on. Nothing I can say here will change your mind about where Kobe stands as an all-timer. No one has ever come close to combining his dominance, versatility, and intelligence into one package. Take a look back at the top moments from Michael Jordan and the Bulls' six NBA Finals appearances in the 1990s. Former New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck added his name to the voices of those who believe Tom Brady is one of the greatest players of all-time… • One of four players — Nicklaus, Woods and Nick Faldo … No one outside of LeBron James can touch Pippen's versatility, and his defense was second-to-none. These soccer superstars have aided in the growing popularity of the sport. He was rarely in shape after he won his first championships. He’s also a three-time recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy (2008–09, 2013), as the most valuable player in the NHL. Do Not Sell my Personal Info. Perhaps the first surprising name on this list, KG checks off dominance (particularly on defense, where he might somehow be underrated these days) and championships. Top second basemen: No list of the best hitters of all-time can't be without Rogers Hornsby, a great combination of power and average. In fact, being able to put together an extended run of dominance trumps everything else. Had Magic not retired early, he'd be the second-best player ever. Can LeBron catch him? (2:53). Accolades: 4 NBA titles, 3 Finals MVPs, 1 reg. Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all-time. 6. -- Bontemps, 2003-10, 2014-18 Cleveland Cavaliers; 2010-14 Miami Heat; 2018-20 Los Angeles Lakers, Standing 6-9 and weighing north of 250 pounds with a 40-inch vertical, James' game is built on power, but his passing ability might be his strongest skill. Bird and Magic Johnson revitalized the NBA -- and the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. Now, get ready to yell and scream about these rankings. Jordan's brilliance on both ends of the court defined a generation of basketball and set a new standard for players following in his footsteps. Without Johnson and his rivalry for the ages with Bird and the Celtics, the NBA may not be where it is today. O'Neal became an All-Star 15 times and earned the 1999-2000 MVP award. It is almost impossible to craft a list of the 40 greatest Survivors, considering all the different qualities it takes to succeed. 1984-93, 1995-98 Chicago Bulls; 2001-03 Washington Wizards, The greatest player of all time. Right at your fingertips. Yeah, probably. Not us, though. -- Tim Bontemps. By Tim Ott. He won a record six MVP awards and was a 19-time All-Star. Akram is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket.He holds the world record for most wickets in List A cricket with 881 and is second only to Sri Lankan off-spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan in terms of ODI … -- Dave McMenamin. It's not enough to have reached your peak for just a season or two, but a decent stretch of destroying the competition means more to me than maintaining an elite level of play that never quite reached that next stratosphere. Dwyane Wade's recent comments that LeBron James can never surpass Michael Jordan as the NBA's greatest player of all-time got us thinking. Best Chiefs Players of All Time. Survivor: The Top 40 Players of All Time, Ranked. He was the definition of unstoppable. Lists of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball players of all-time and of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball players by position. It is almost impossible to craft a list of the 40 greatest Survivors, considering all the different qualities it takes to succeed. His game transcended the sport. season MVP. Old school or new school? Then comes longevity, which is absolutely important. 247Sports Composite. Prime Olajuwon was a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the floor. Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA championships, winning six Finals MVP awards and five regular-season MVP honors while becoming a global icon on and off the floor. His numbers -- including scoring an NBA-record 100 points in a single game and averaging 50 points per game for an entire season -- are mythical. His all-time-best 2,297 runs batted in and 6,856 total bases are, of course, indicative of his legendary power, but he also put up a solid career .305 batting average and won three Gold Gloves for his play in the outfield. Wilt was undoubtedly one of the three most dominant players ever, but he played in a weaker era -- and he couldn't overcome his nemesis. ESPN's NBA expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, taking into consideration both total career value and peak performance. Bird is a bit lower in my book than he might be in others because of the injuries -- and because he didn't revolutionize the game the way Steph Curry is these days. 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