Tuesday, August 9, 2011

My Top 100

We tend to give extra-credit to basketball pioneers, ones who blazed the trail for others. The NBA would not be the same if it were not for these originators and game-changers, but my top 100 is all about the best skill. This list should be the most biased attempt to be unbiased by time-period and actually look at how these players' skillsets would be utilized and developed in the modern NBA landscape. Say you were to go back in a time machine and kidnap these great players from their day, in the peak of their prime, how would they be able to compete against faster, bigger, more athletic competition if they were given a chance to integrate into the NBA? So hate me, debate me, be irate with me, but most of all engage me. It's all about opinion and I would love to hear yours.

1 Michael Jordan
2 Wilt Chamberlain
3 Kobe Bryant
4 Shaquille O'Neal
5 Bill Russell
6 Magic Johnson
7 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
8 Hakeem Olajuwon
9 Larry Bird
10 Oscar Robertson
11 Moses Malone
12 Tim Duncan 
13 Kevin Garnett
14 Karl Malone 
15 LeBron James
16 Dirk Nowitzki
17 Scottie Pippen
18 Charles Barkley
19 David Robinson
20 Dwyane Wade
21 Julius Erving
22 Elgin Baylor
23 John Stockton
24 Jason Kidd 
25 Kevin Durant
26 Allen Iverson
27 Isiah Thomas
28 Jerry West
29 Steve Nash
30 Elvin Hayes
31 Patrick Ewing
32 Dominique Wilkins
33 Clyde Drexler
34 Ray Allen
35 Dennis Rodman 
36 Gary Payton
37 Reggie Miller
38 Dwight Howard
39 Tracy McGrady
40 George Mikan 
41 Penny Hardaway
42 Kevin McHale
43 John Havlicek
44 Yao Ming
45 Willis Reed
46 George Gervin
47 Bob Cousy
48 Gus Johnson
49 Bill Walton
50 Paul Pierce
51 Pete Maravich
52 Bob McAdoo
53 Chris Webber
54 Bob Pettit 
55 Wes Unseld 
56 Carmelo Anthony
57 James Worthy
58 Connie Hawkins
59 Alex English
60 Vince Carter
61 Manu Ginobili
62 Walt Frazier
63 Earl Monroe
64 Chris Paul 
65 Rasheed Wallace
66 Amar'e Stoudemire
67 Rick Barry
68 Nate Archibald
69 Derrick Rose
70 Alonzo Mourning 
71 Nate Thurmond
72 Vlade Divac 
73 Jerry Lucas 
74 Jermaine O'Neal
75 Grant Hill 
76 Dikembe Mutombo
77 Shawn Kemp
78 Chauncey Billups
79 Deron Williams 
80 Michael Cooper 
81 Pau Gasol 
82 Ben Wallace
83 Drazen Petrovic
84 Joe Dumars 
85 Sam Jones
86 Walt Bellamy
87 Elton Brand
88 Tim Hardaway
89 Chris Mullin
90 David Thompson 
91 Mark Jackson
92 Marcus Camby
93 Robert Parish
94 Adrian Dantley 
95 Shawn Marion
96 George McGinnis
97 Glenn Robinson
98 Arvydas Sabonis
99 Artis Gilmore 
100 Chris Bosh


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Dunkers Digest

NBA 2k11 brings us many things, among them a numerical rating that fixes a players' talent into measurable and therefore comparable statistics. The best dunkers active in the NBA are measured as follows,

Dunk / Vertical/ Total
1 Josh Smith 95/ 96/ 191
2 Gerald Wallace 94 /96/ 190
3 Andre Igoudala 92/ 97/ 189
4 Jason Richardson 90/ 97/ 187
5 Lebron James 90/ 96/ 186

But there are also players in the free agent pool whose dunking ability is beyond any of these legendary dunking pros, and are players you've likely never heard of before,

Dunk/ Vertical/ Total
1 James White 99/ 93/ 192 (2006 Round 2, Pick 1 by Portland)
2 David Noel 99/ 93/ 192 (2006 Round 2, Pick 9 by Milwaukee)
3 Gerald Green 93/ 97/ 190 (2005 Round 1, Pick 18 by Boston)

Are James White and David Noel really better dunkers than anybody in the NBA? Does anybody remember Gerald Green's 2007 NBA dunk contest win and think he should have a place in the NBA? Let's let Youtube decide... tell me what you think!


Recently Added*!

Not only do players' dunking abilities receive quantifiable grades in NBA 2k11, but also in other modern (or post-modern) NBA games. NBA Jam came out this year, and I copped it on Wii and iPhone. While some notable dunkers like Wade, Gay, Durant and Griffin received only an 8 out of a possible 10 in their "dunking ability" stat, there were many who received 9s and a couple 10s. Without further ado here are the top dunkers (without MJ) according to NBA Jam.

9
Josh Smith
Carmelo Anthony
Gerald Wallace
Kobe Bryant
Amar'e Stoudemire
Vince Carter
Andre Iguodala
Allen Iverson (on wii, AI received a rating of only 3 in the iPhone version...?)
Bucks Mascot Bango the Buck
Thunder Mascot Rumble the Bison

10
Dominique Wilkins
LeBron James
Dwight Howard (on iPhone, D-12 received a rating of 8 in the Wii version...?)
Jason Richardson
Julius Erving

Reaction to SI's Ultimate NBA Draft Finals

Chris Ballard's team (first place 46-26) VS Joe Posnanski's team (second place 45-27)
C Bill Russell (3) / C Wilt Chamberlain (2)
PF Charles Barkley (23) / PF Dirk Nowitzki (42)
SF Dennis Rodman (43) / SF Julius Erving (19)
SG Reggie Miller (38) / SG John Havlicek (39)
PG LeBron James (18) / PG Isiah Thomas (22)
6 Chris Mullin (58) / 6 Dwight Howard (59)
7 Arvydas Sabonis (63) / 7 Dolph Shayes (62)
8 Deron Williams (78) / 8 Mark Price (79)
9 Tiny Archibald (83) / 9 Grant Hill (82)
10 Carmelo Anthony (98) / 10 Vince Carter (99)
11 Shawn Marion (103) / 11 Jerry Lucas (102)
12 Bill Laimbeer (118) / 12 Michael Cooper (119)

The top two teams in the simulated regular season collide in the finals. Wilt Chamberlain has looked unstoppable, and who is LeBron to challenge him when he disposed of a Jordan/ Wade-led superteam in the previous round? Nevertheless, it is a combination of talents that surround and complement Chris Ballard's team that make it dominant.

The Matchup

In the frontcourt we have the legendary matchup of Russell vs Chamberlain. When the two goliaths met in 142 matchups in their NBA careers, Russell won 84 of those matches. Yet, it was a team effort and the Celtics were the consummate NBA team which led to Russell's 11 championship rings and legacy as a winner. In head-to-head matchups Russell averaged a ridiculous 23.7 rebounds per game, only to be bested by Wilt's ungodly 28.7 rebounds per game record. Chamberlain once grabbed an NBA-record 55 rebounds in a game, and it was against Russell. Russell's primary strength was rebounding and defense, while Wilt has the opposite reputation as a dominating scorer, but Chamberlain actually has better rebounding numbers. Chamberlain is obviously the greatest scorer in NBA history and he averaged a modest 28.7 points per game against Russell, a result of Russell's defense, but Russell only averaged 14.5 points per game in their matchups. With Chamberlain and Dwight Howard testing Russell all night and Dirk raining jumpers over Charles Barkley all night long, it's safe to say the Posnanski frontcourt takes this matchup.
Advantage: Posnanski

On the wings, Julius Erving matches up with Dennis "Worm" Rodman in an offense/ defense clash. I actually think Rodman would end up switching with Barkley on defense to guard and pester Dirk Nowitzki. I still think Dirk can be rattled and who better than Worm. That would leave Barkley guarding Erving, which is a better defensive matchup. John "Hondo" Havlicek is better than people remember/ give him credit for and he could match up defensively with Reggie Miller and match his intensity, but not his distance shooting. Reggie and Mullin could provide a three-point threat that team Posnanski could not match, and they would have to double-team LeBron when he muscled his way into the lane, leaving one (or both) of the shooters open. This one comes down to scoring options off the bench and LeBron playing point-forward and doubling as a wing player.
Advantage: Ballard

At the point-guard position Isiah Thomas comes off besting MJ while reprising his Pistons' "Jordan Rules," and he would be able to physically and mentally bludgeon LeBron. Or would he? The young Jordan that Isiah and his Pistons teammates cracked down on was 6'4 1/2" at the time of his drafting, and grew to 6'6" and 195 pounds. LeBron is 6'8" at least, and over 250 pounds. The L-Train would roll right through Isiah Thomas and run right into Wilt Chamberlain and Dwight Howard. LeBron is an amazing passer averaging 7.0 assists per game for his career including a season at 8.6 dimes per, but it pales in comparison to Thomas' 9.3 career average and career-best mark of 13.9 in '84-85. People overestimate LeBron's passing ability in this matchup, but he's the more dominant player overall. LeBron still has to be the one to get his teammates involved and this is something to question after season 1 of the Miami Heat experiment.
Advantage: Ballard

The benches of both teams got them to this point and we've already talked about the immediate impact of sixth men Chris Mullin on Ballard's perimeter, and Dwight Howard on the low block of team Posnanski. Arvydas Sabonis is a European legend and if he had played in the NBA at his prime would have been dominant, at least providing a serious matchup with Dolph Shayes who was great but undersized at 6'7" compared to Sabonis' 7'3" frame and shooting ability. Mark Price was a talented and consistent guard but would have trouble with the size and quickness of Deron Williams, one of the biggest guards in the current NBA. Nate "Tiny" Archibald once averaged 34 points and 11.4 assists as a 6'1" guard. Grant Hill didn't exactly have a prime, but he was one of the original "next MJ's" before injuries sidelined his career. Vince Carter and Carmelo Anthony in their primes are pretty similar as offensive firepower off the bench. Shawn Marion can run the floor, defend, and doesn't need the ball to score, plus he was a #1 fantasy pick in his prime for his ability to contribute across the board making him a great draft choice by team Ballard. Matrix rounds out the Ballard bench perfectly and Laimbeer just adds more size and toughness.
Advantage: Ballard

Decision

Although Ballard wins three of the four categories in this matchup, the strat-o-matic simulation awards the SI Ultimate Fantasy Draft Championship to team Posnanski. The frontcourt of Chamberlain-Howard-Nowitzki didn't have an answer throughout the tournament. LeBron carried team Ballard, but came up short. In the deciding Game 7 of the exciting round between these evenly matched teams Wilt erupts for 45 points and 17 rebounds proving he is the single most dominating basketball player of all time. LeBron goes for 23 points on 9 of 19 shooting because he must pull up and shoot rather than drive the lane against Wilt/Dwight and only Chris Mullin steps up with 24 points but it is not enough. Ballard had an amazing strategy, but I agree with the simulation, Team Posnanski wins the SI Ultimate Basketball Draft.

Wilt Chamberlain