The Top five Players in the NBA
Top NBA Players
Chicago: United Center – Michael Jordan Statue
In late 1993, Bulls Chairman, Jerry Reinsdorf, directed team Vice President, Steve Schanwald, to conduct a search for a sculptor who could craft a statue as tribute to the greatest player in NBA history. In January, 1994 Schanwald hired the husband-wife team of Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany of Highland Park, Illinois, to design and create a statue of the then retired Bulls superstar which would stand forever at the entrance to the United Center, the Bulls’ new home, which was set to open in August of that same year. Schanwald sought a design which would be a realistic depiction of Jordan, illustrate the spectacular nature of his unique skill, and create an illusion of flight.
The statue, unveiled before a national television audience by Larry King, Mr. Reinsdorf and Jordan himself, in a November 1, 1994 ceremony at which Michael Jordan’s famous #23 was retired, sits on a 5-foot high black granite base inscribed with Mr. Jordan’s basketball achievements, and the words, "The best there ever was. The best there ever will be." The statue itself measures 12 feet tall (17 feet from top to bottom) and weights 2,000 pounds. The statue was cast in bronze using the "lost wax" method at Art Casting of Illinois, a foundry in Oregon, Illinois.
Working in secrecy, and putting in 16-hour days, 7 days a week for 4 months, the Amrany’s finished work depicts Jordan soaring over an abstract entanglement of opponents, preparing to unleash one of his signature dunks. The airborne Jordan is attached to the base at just one point-the knee.
Explore: Jun 18, 2006
The Top 5 Players in the NBA
5. Dwyane Wade – What a way to follow a major letdown of a 2007-2008 season. Wade bounced back as hard as anyone, leading the league in scoring (30.2), to go with 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. His turnovers were a bit high, but no one’s complaining. Wade definitely won his team far more games than they would have won without him.
4. Dwight Howard – The big man led his team to the NBA finals last season and seems to be on the way up. His turnovers are on the way down, his free throw situation is (slowly) improving, and he’s a rebounding and blocked shot machine. Howard led the NBA in rebounds (13.8) and blocks (2.9), shooting an amazing 57.8% from the field. What’s not to like?
3. Chris Paul – Arguably on his way to becoming one of the best NBA point guards of all-time, CP3 seems to get better with each year. Leading the NBA in both assists (11.0) and steals (2.6) is no laughing matter.
At just 24 years old, it’s scary to think about where he’ll be at his peak.
2. Kobe Bryant – Some may criticize me for putting Kobe at #2, and not #1. After all, he led his team to an NBA championship this past season. But hear me out. He’s still an incredible player, make no mistake about it – but his numbers have slowly begun to decline. At 30 years old, this is to be expected. As for the NBA title, his supporting cast (Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom) was more than LeBron had on his side. Give LeBron Pau and Lamar, and he’ll bring home a ring too.
1. LeBron James – The new and future king of the NBA. Sure, he hasn’t won a championship and some may be critical of his spotty clutch factor, but you can’t argue the numbers and what he did for his team last season. 28.4 ppg, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. 1.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks. 49% from the field. A 66-16 record. It all adds up to the league’s most valuable player.
Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Basketball?: Mr Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 50 NBA Players of All Time
Top NBA Players – click on the image below for more information.
Top NBA Players
ABC’s and ESPN’s “Mr. Stats” ranks the NBA’s greatest players of all time in this provocative and comprehensive book “Elliot Kalb’s work is beyond excellent. He thinks in story lines and uses numbers and history to make compelling and often original points.” –Bob Costas “…a book that any hardcore basketball fan can savor.” — San Francisco Chronicle When the NBA released its supposedly authoritative list of the top 50 players, basketball fans everywhere begged to differ.
Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Basketball?: Mr Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 50 NBA Players of All Time
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Who are NBA's best players age 30 and above?
Top NBA Players
By KEVIN DING Who are the NBA's top 20 players at least 30 years old? Here's our list of players whom Father Time won't forget but who won't hate the lockout as much as their young-gun counterparts if the work stoppage steams through the winter. 1. …
Top NBA Players question by SilverStreak: In a few years could Kevin Durant be in the chat about the top 10 players in the NBA?
In a few more years can Kevin Durant be considered as one of the top NBA players in the current NBA?
Top NBA Players best answer:
Answer by Bobby Don
He already is he is floating around the top 5 in the MVP race going as high as 2.
The best there ever was. The best there ever will be.
no doubts ’bout that.
G.O.A.T.
greatest of all time…
some day I’ll see this in person
MJ…..
Shall I say more ???
Anthony Hendrix will be the next Michael Jordan or something like him
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Flickr "BEST" Pictures (Invitation Only), and we’d love to have your photo added to the group.
Flickr "BEST" Pictures
"We’ve Got The World In A Frame"
5 Stars of Excellence Award
"Our Stars Shine All Over The World"
Hello! I build a new selection for the statues of the world. Your photo is very cool I will be very happy to see it in my http://www.flickr.com/groups/statuemap/ pool. Please check the group and join if you like it. Visit http://www.statuemap.com website also where you can help to record the statues of the world.
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Statues of People found Around the world, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Gapers Block Tailgate, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
Great player and nice pic!
I didn’t know there was a M.Jordan’s statue =^.^=
Amazing!
Mj sei grande
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called NBA (National Basketball Association), and we’d love to have this added to the group!
The man, The myth. You have to believe…
Never to got to see him play live. A friend said he just moved at a different speed than everyone else.
Anyone know if the Johnny Kerr statue is up yet?
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Statue in Bronzo – Estatuas de bronce – Bronze statues, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
- cuando dios se disfraza de jugador de baloncesto -
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Michael Jordan The Legend, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
niiice
leegeeends
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
I don’t agree, but he makes good arguments, October 20, 2006
By Judd Vance –
This review is from: Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Basketball?: Mr Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 50 NBA Players of All Time (Paperback)
Too many reviews here are low because they hate Shaq or are mad that Jordan is #3. I didn’t have high expectations for this book. Mark Twain said there are 3 types of lies: lies, d@mn lies, and statistics, so calling himself “Mr. Stats” was not a selling point. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I decided I wouldn’t rate the book based on how the list agrees with mine. If I was that much of an egomaniac, I would write my own book and give it more than the maximum rating. What I wanted was a well-thought out list with convincing arguments for each man’s place. Even if I didn’t buy the argument, because I have a different method of rating the players, I wanted to see someone who could hold up his criteria with consistency and passion. He does so. To prove that I don’t like the book because he confirms everything I believe, here is how far apart we are on ranking the top 8 players: Elliott Kalb’s rankings: My rankings: Shaquille O’Neal Wilt Chamberlain Wilt Chamberlain Oscar Robertson Michael Jordan Larry Bird Bill Russell Magic Johnson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Larry Bird Bill Russell Magic Johnson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Oscar Robertson Shaquille O’Neal He lists his methods for ranking players in the introduction, using measuring sticks such as MVPs, Championships, All-Star appearances, first and second-team All-NBA honors, outside opinions, and to break ties, he takes big over small, new over old, and winners over losers. He also places heavy value on how well a player peaked versus how he played over the long run (which gives the nod to a guy like Bill Walton over Robert Parish). A few of the impressive qualities of the book is that he gives older players their due, such as Bob Pettit, Dolph Schayes, Bob Cousy, Sam Jones, George Mikan. He doesn’t overlook their accomplishments and their contributions, going so far as to rate Pettit over every forward except Bird and Tim Duncan. In addition, while respect is given to the pioneers, youth is served, as players such as Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett are also featured. The ultimate tribute to this book is that the Kalb convinced me to re-think a few of my own rankings. I still stick to my guns on Oscar Robertson being the greatest guard of all-time, but thanks to Kalb, I moved Bob Cousy ahead of Isiah Thomas and John Stockton among point guards, because he did dominate his era far more than the latter did in theirs. I have also reconsidered how I rate Rick Barry, Bill Walton, and a few other players. As a breath of fresh air from most books and articles, he mentions things the mass media intentionally overlook: such as Karl Malone’s big game chokes (he cites them one by one), Dennis Rodman’s contribution to the 1996-98 Chicago Bulls; Michael Jordan’s 3 consecutive losing seasons and his 1-9 playoff record before Scottie Pippen, and how Scottie Pippen put up his finest seasons in Jordan’s absence. His statistical research is immense and impressive, listing such obscure stats as the oldest players to average 30 ppg, as well as the youngest. Along with covering detailed statistical parts of their games, he will compare a given player to some contemporaries, asking people from a panel, so that you can get outside opinions. He also compares players to non-NBA contemporaries. Sometimes this works – Bill Russell and Joe DiMaggio was insightful – and sometimes it does not – Charles Barkley and Elvis was a bit cornball. He also remembers things like Allen Iverson’s incredible run in 2001 (whereas most writers forget the guy who finishes #2), and he takes into consideration how players didn’t vote for Rick Barry due to personal dislikes, rather than on-court talent. The only letdown comes with statistics. It’s like jump shooting: you live by it and you die by it. They never tell the entire story. For instance, it is hard to gauge defense, before 1974, when blocks and steals were not recorded, and even when they were recorded, they never tell the entire story (Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman didn’t amass great totals in either category). With that in mind, it seems like when in doubt, offensive players were given more honor than defensive players, placing some questionable offensive-minded players to fill out the list, when the argument supporting them appears to fly in the face of his standards for comparing players. Let me expound. While some defensive players got their due (Bill Russell #3, Dennis Rodman #30), there were some questionable people who got on the list who were lousy defensive players, or fair, at best, such as Pete Maravich (#47),…
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Poor or nonexistent methodology, July 28, 2005
By Zeus –
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A Poor Man’s ‘The Book of Basketball’, February 27, 2011
By S. Selsavage “Absence of Malice” (Barrow, AK) –
This review is from: Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Basketball?: Mr Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 50 NBA Players of All Time (Paperback)
I bought this book on 2/25 and began reading it that night, but after 5 minutes I lost interest, although I will admit I am probably spoiled by the enjoyment and facts in Bill Simmon’s ‘The Book of Basketball.’ Some comments: a) Shaq is listed #1 of all time in the book, though I see no reference to the amazing number of times Shaq led teams were SWEPT in the playoffs or the fact that he played with complete dedication for a short number of years, and instead lost interest but gained weight. In general I (so far) do not see any evidence to a methodology using statistics to rank players. Mr. Kolb includes quotes and opinions from writers and former players and not surprisingly many of the older writers and players rank the older players better. My favorite example: Ernie Vandeweghe says it is “close” who was better: George Mikan or Shaq. Holy Toledo! Video inspection of Mikan shows he was a creature of his times: slow, white and lumbering. His teammates would wait for him to arrive down on the offensive end, where he might jump over a slice of bread to score a bucket. Mikan could not survive in the current NBA. b) Oscar Robertson receives praise, but this is not tempered by key facts which are: 1) Robertson entered the league when the NBA was mainly white with roughly 25% of the players black. Examine the players he competed against during his first few years. The players are often a “Who’s Who of Who are They?’ In addition Robertson led teams failed to QUALIFY for the playoffs 4x during his stay with the Royals, even with Jerry Lucas; his sole NBA title came when he teamed with a far superior player: Jabbar. 2) Kolb says that the Olympic team with Robertson, Walt Bellamy, Jerry West and Jerry Lucas would have given the 1992 Dream team a game. Holy Toledo, part 2! Walt Bellamy is the ‘poster child’ for the misuse of pre-1970 statistics to determine NBA player skill. In 1962 he averaged 32-19. He averaged 29-17 during his first 3 seasons – 1961 to 1963 – before the league changed color and got bigger and thus never made an All Star team after 1964. He is one of 9 players with 20,000 points and 14,000 rebounds, yet he was traded 2x in his prime and his teams won just 2 playoff series. More generally Robertson and West could not effectively compete against Jordan and Pippin on the 1992 Dream Team. Again, if you doubt this, examine the videos of the 1969 LA Lakers vs Boston Celtics championship series on YouTube: players often dribble with their right hand while going left; players have 3-4 feet of defensive separation; the game played by Jerry West is played below the rim. The NBA athletes from that period are not equivalent to the modern NBA athlete. c) In general there appears to be insufficient research or comments done on the superiority of the modern athlete versus his peer from 40 to 50 years ago. On this, Simmons writes that Jordan would have been examined by doctors to determine if he were an alien, if he played years ago. If you doubt this, then just watch the tapes of the older versus younger players. Watch Jordan with the unstoppable fall-away jump shot and the dunks from the foul line, versus Oscar or Jerry West who play below the rim. Do the athletic skills really seem comparable? Do the moves by Wilt Chamberlain near the basket really resemble the athleticism of Hakeem or Shaq in their primes? Of course not. For this reason — and as Simmons writes: 1) it is unfair to put the modern basketball player on the same level as the player from 40-50 years ago; 2) when you evaluate the player from 40-50 years ago the first question must be: could he ‘SURVIVE’ in the modern game. Bill Russell for all of his championships was the same size of Kevin Durant. Can you really imagine Russell having any chance to cover Durant if he played today with the skills he had 50 years ago? d) My age is closer to the basketball players who peaked during the 70′s than those who played now. On that it is interesting that many of the older experts quoted in the book liked the older players. So I am not surprised that Matt Goukas, who played with Chamberlain but who could not make a major college team if he played today, rates Chamberlain so highly. At the end of the day, the greatest players should be examined for their athleticism as shown by tape or video, their career statistics adjusted for the change of the game over time, and for their crunch time success in the playoffs. The modern athlete is a superior athlete compared to those 40-50 years ago, and this matters in sports like basketball and football and boxing and track and field, where sheer athleticism can lead to domination. Based on these metrics: 1) why do fans gloat over the Big O’s ‘Triple Double’ records when NBA games averaged 1/3 more shots than the modern game; 2) how could you deny the statistical and crunch time success and video exploits of Michael Jordan?
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