The Hoop Doctors has a great debate going on right now on the site. Since the NBA… at least as a brand name (explanation on the site)… turns 60 this year, which 10 players should be added to the "50 Greatest Players" list.
Here's the original list. Now… you CAN'T pull anyone off the list. We're only adding to it. The Hoop Doctors lists the following as "no-brainers"
1) Dominique Wilkins
– 24.8 Career Scoring avg(12th all time), 9x All Star, 7x All NBA
Selection, 1x Scoring Champ, 10th all time points, 10th FG made, 16th
FT made, 1 of 6 players in NBA history to average 25+ pts for 10
consecutive seasons.
2) Allen Iverson
– 27.1 Career Scoring avg(5th all time), 10x All Star, 7x All NBA
Selection, 4x Scoring Champ, 1x MVP, 2x All Star MVP, 3x Steals Champ,
16th all time points, 23rd FG made, 10th FT made, 12th steals, 36th
assists, 1 of 6 players in NBA history to avg 25+ pts for 10 cons. yrs.
3) Tim Duncan
– 21.4 pts and 11.7 reb career averages, 11x All Star, 12x All NBA
Selection, 12x All NBA Defense, 2x MVP, 4x NBA Champion, 3x Finals MVP,
12th all time blocks, 28th rebounding, 40th points.
4) Kobe Bryant
– 25.1 Career Scoring avg(10th all time), 11x All Star, 11x All NBA
Selection, 9x All NBA Defense, 1x MVP, 2x Scoring Champ, 4x NBA
Champion, 3x All Star MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 17th all time points, 24th FG
made, 13th FT made, 32nd 3PT made.
5) Kevin Garnett
– 20.2 pts and 11.1 reb career averages, 12x All Star, 9x All NBA
Selection, 10x All NBA Defense, 1x MVP, 1x NBA Champion, 1x Defensive
Player of Year, 26th all time points, 22nd rebounds, 21st blocks
Ok, fair enough. For some reason, I want to argue against Iverson… but I can't really come up with a good reason for him to not be on the list. Would you consider them no-brainers? Which others should be on the list?
Other names mentioned on Hoop Doctors: Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Alex English. I'll throw Elton Brand's name in the mix too. He's got 20 pts 10 reb career averages.. which are good. But he doesn't have that long a list of awards. That's not his fault though. Tim Duncan won all his awards. I also think you might as well throw LeBron on there now. I know you might say it's too soon… but it's really not. Are you going to tell me he's not one of the 60 greatest players of all time right now? You're nuts if you say he's not.
And because we are who we are… I'm going to throw Paul Pierce's name out there. Here's how he stacks up: 21.9 pt, 6 reb, 3.8 assist career averages. 7x All Star, 4x All NBA selection, 1x NBA champion, 1x Finals MVP.
If they're throwing Alex English in there as one of the "debatable" players… then I think Pierce measures up nicely.
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