Slam's top 500 all time NBA players

lionel_luthor · Apr 18, 2011

Just had a flick at the newsagents and decided not to waste my money, these clowns had Shaq @ 4 and Tim Duncan ahead of Larry Bird ... They have no idea at all, Bird is the 2nd greatest player in history for mine and to have him lower than the likes of Cactus and Dunny can is a disgrace

peternorth · Apr 18, 2011

u mad?

who would be your top 5?

lionel_luthor · Apr 18, 2011

My top 5 is

1 Jordan
2 Bird
3 Russell
4 Kareem
5 Jerry West

Subjective I know but Shaq and Duncan were dominant in the weakest era in NBA history.
Jerry West was an unbelievable player who is not rated highly enough by Lakers and hoops history

chickawah · Apr 18, 2011

lionel_luthor said:
My top 5 is

1 Jordan
2 Bird
3 Russell
4 Kareem
5 Jerry West

Subjective I know but Shaq and Duncan were dominant in the weakest era in NBA history.
Jerry West was an unbelievable player who is not rated highly enough by Lakers and hoops history

ahem...

hamG · Apr 18, 2011

Just had a flick at this thread and decided not to waste my time.

This thread is useless without

Slam's top 500 all time NBA players

jerry springer · Apr 18, 2011

1. Michael Jordan
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Bill Russell
4. Shaquille O'Neal
5. Oscar Robertson
6. Magic Johnson
7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
8. Tim Duncan
9. Larry Bird
10. Kobe Bryant
11. Jerry West
12. Elgin Baylor
13. Hakeem Olajuwon
14. Bob Petit
15. Moses Malone
16. Julius Erving
17. John Havlicek
18. Karl Malone
19. Isaiah Thomas
20. Charles Barkley
21. Rick Barry
22. John Stockton
23. Elvin Hayes
24. Bob Cousy
25. David Robinson
26. Kevin McHale
27. Scottie Pippen
28. Jason Kidd
29. George Mikan
30. Kevin Garnett
31. LeBron James
32. Willis Reed
33. Wes Unseld
34. Nate Thurmond
35. Dolph Schayes
36. Walt Frazier
37. Patrick Ewing
38. Jerry Lucas
39. Gary Payton
40. Allen Iverson
41. Billy Cunningham
42. Clyde Drexler
43. Dominique Wilkins
44. Dave Cowens
45. George Gervin
46. Bob McAdoo
47. Earl Monroe
48. Dennis Rodman
49. Dwyane Wade
50. Steve Nash
51. Walt Bellamy
52. Tiny Archibald
53. Dennis Johnson
54. Reggie Miller
55. Dirk Nowitzki
56. Connie Hawkins
57. Dave Bing
58. James Worthy
59. Hal Greer
60. Pete Maravich
61. Jack Twyman
62. Bob Lanier
63. David Thompson
64. Joe Fulks
65. Sam Jones
66. Gus Johnson
67. Robert Parish
68. Tommy Heinsohn
69. Bernard King
70. Bill Sharman
71. Paul Arizin
72. Lenny Wilkens
73. Alonzo Mourning
74. Bill Walton
75. Neil Johnston
76. Dave DeBusschere
77. Paul Pierce
78. Joe Dumars
79. Ray Allen
80. Chris Webber
81. Ed Macauley
82. Alex English
83. Adrian Dantley
84. Artis Gilmore
85. Cliff Hagan
86. Dwight Howard
87. Tim Hardaway
88. Chris Mullin
89. Mitch Richmond
90. Sidney Moncrief
91. Bobby Dandridge
92. Bob Love
93. Jim Pollard
94. Spencer Haywood
95. Dikembe Mutombo
96. Pau Gasol
97. Tracy Mac
98. Grant Hill
99. Vince Carter
100. Buck Williams

----------------------------------------

Id have Magic at 3rd for a start

Vince carter ahead of manu lol

jerry springer · Apr 18, 2011

101. Slater Martin
102. Kevin Johnson
103. Brad Daugherty
104. Walter Davis
105. Carmelo Anthony
106. Dan Issel
107. Chris Paul
108. George McGinnis
109. Jamaal Wilkes
110. Chet Walker
111. George Yardley
112. Kevin Porter
113. Rich Guerin
114. Norm Van Lier
115. Willie Naulls
116. Zelmo Beaty
117. Marques Johnson
118. Jo Jo White
119. Jack Sikma
120. Tom Chambers
121. Dick McGuire
122. Maurice Cheeks
123. Ben Wallace
124. Chauncey Billups
125. Bailey Howell
126. Lou Hudson
127. Rudy Tomjanovich
128. Deron Williams
129. Guy Rodgers
130. Penny Hardaway
131. Phil Chenier
132. Charlie Scott
133. Bob Davies
134. Harry Gallatin
135. Maurice Lucas
136. Larry Foust
137. Michael Cooper
138. Paul Silas
139. Tony Parker
140. Ron Artest
141. Paul Westphal
142. Phil Smith
143. Manu Ginobili
144. Amar'e Stoudemire
145. Vern Mikkelsen
146. Rudy LaRusso
147. Johnny "Red" Kerr
148. Terry Cummings
149. Gus Williams
150. Shawn Kemp
151. Horace Grant
152. Shawn Marion
153. Gene Shue
154. Yao Ming
155. Mark Price
156. Rasheed Wallace
157. Calvin Murphy
158. Bobby Wanzer
159. Bobby Jones
160. Mark Jackson
161. Otis Birdsong
162. Johnny Green
163. John Drew
164. Tom Gola
165. Larry Nance
166. Randy Smith
167. Terry Porter
168. Rolando Blackman
169. Andy Phillip
170. Clyde Lovellette
171. Chris Bosh
172. Bill Bradley
173. Larry Johnson
174. Jermaine O'Neal
175. Andrew Toney
176. Reggie Theus
177. Elton Brand
178. KC Jones
179. Jerry Sloan
180. Jamal Mashburn
181. Bob Rule
182. Derrick Coleman
183. Gilbert Arenas
184. Joe Johnson
185. Joe Caldwell
186. Norm Nixon
187. Mark Aguirre
188. Micheal Ray Richardson
189. Archie Clark
190. Jimmy Walker
191. Doug Collins
192. Kiki Vandeweghe
193. Larry Kenon
194. Alvin Robertson
195. Sam Cassell
196. World B. Free
197. Stephon Marbury
198. Fat Lever
199. Baron Davis
200. Bill Bridges

peternorth · Apr 18, 2011

lack of bosh is disappoint.

mdc · Apr 18, 2011

Clyde Lovellette and Zelmo Beaty are too low.

lionel_luthor · Apr 18, 2011

Wtf ??? Yao Ming 154 ??? You cannot be serious ... Worst top 500 ever !

Altum Volantes · Apr 18, 2011

Derrick Coleman at 182?

It's going to be getting pretty thin by 500 I think.

Altum Volantes · Apr 18, 2011

peternorth said:
lack of bosh is disappoint.

171! Like a Bosh!

hans moleman · Apr 18, 2011

mdc said:
Clyde Lovellette and Zelmo Beaty are too low.

Personally I think Larry Foust and Bobby Wanzer got shafted.

WALL-e · Apr 19, 2011

Where the hell is Channing Frye?

Renegade · Apr 19, 2011

pffft Anthony Mason at 254... should be more like 54. Oakley should be top 100 as well.

peternorth · Apr 19, 2011

Black JuJu said:
171! Like a Bosh!

apologies. i shouldve noted my nomination for bosh was for top 5

Renegade said:
pffft Anthony Mason at 254... should be more like 54. Oakley should be top 100 as well.

why not through in chris childs as well?

Brad Goodman · Apr 19, 2011

peternorth said:
why not through in chris childs as well?

Charlie Ward pretty stiff to miss out too.

Damon_3388 · Apr 19, 2011

For those interested, here's the top 500 of all time in terms of everyone's favourite stat, PER. Obviously this does not take into account importance to their team, reputation, championships, winning percentage, style of play (individual and team) etc., and isn't meant to be an absolute judgement on any player, just a measurement of pure individual statistical impact that's interesting to consider. Qualifiers are 400 games, 9,600 minutes played, and an average of 24 minutes per game over their career. I figure if you weren't good enough or enduring enough to meet those marks, then you're probably not good enough for an all-time list:

Michael Jordan
LeBron James
Shaquille O'Neal
David Robinson
Wilt Chamberlain
Dwyane Wade
Bob Pettit
Chris Paul
Tim Duncan
Neil Johnston
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Charles Barkley
Magic Johnson
Karl Malone
Dirk Nowitzki
Hakeem Olajuwon
Larry Bird
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Garnett
Oscar Robertson
Yao Ming
Jerry West
Elgin Baylor
Amare Stoudemire
Tracy McGrady
Dwight Howard
Moses Malone
Pau Gasol
Julius Erving
Dolph Schayes
John Stockton
George Gervin
Manu Ginobili
Bob Lanier
Clyde Lovellette
Dominique Wilkins
Elton Brand
Adrian Dantley
Harry Gallatin
Alonzo Mourning
Arvydas Sabonis
Clyde Drexler
Chris Bosh
Patrick Ewing
Dan Issel
Allen Iverson
Chris Webber
Vince Carter
John Drew
Kevin Johnson
Bob McAdoo
Paul Pierce
Carlos Boozer
George Yardley
Ed Macauley
Carmelo Anthony
Rick Barry
Larry Foust
Artis Gilmore
Al Jefferson
Steve Nash
Marques Johnson
Kevin McHale
Zach Randolph
Bill Walton
Alex English
Larry Nance
Walt Bellamy
Bob Cousy
Gilbert Arenas
Paul Arizin
Terrell Brandon
Shawn Marion
Michael Redd
David Thompson
Mark Price
Sam Cassell
Cliff Hagan
Grant Hill
Billy Cunningham
Paul Westphal
Cedric Ceballos
Ray Allen
Bernard King
David Lee
Robert Parish
Chauncey Billups
Walter Davis
Walt Frazier
Bailey Howell
Shawn Kemp
Andrei Kirilenko
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Mark Aguirre
David West
Deron Williams
Brad Daugherty
Jerry Lucas
Kevin Martin
Gary Payton
Bill Russell (obviously too low - the lack of availability of defensive statistics pre-1973 hurts him immensely in this measurement, and it obviously doesn't take into account winning)
World B. Free
Chris Mullin
Sam Jones
Stephon Marbury
Sidney Moncrief
Tim Hardaway
George McGinnis
Vern Mikkelson
Scottie Pippen
Willis Reed
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Antawn Jamison
Tony Parker
Kenny Sears
Gus Williams
Pete Maravich
Reggie Miller
Kiki Vandeweghe
Alvan Adams
Terry Cummings
Steve Francis
Jason Kidd
Corey Maggette
Jermaine O'Neal
Bill Sharman
Dan Roundfield
Josh Smith
Isiah Thomas
Tiny Archibald
Marcus Camby
Derrick Coleman
Baron Davis
Andre Miller
Calvin Murphy
Rod Strickland
Bobby Jones
Calvin Natt
Rik Smits
Micheal Williams
Tom Heinsohn
Fat Lever
Jack Twyman
Fred Brown
Vlade Divac
Elvin Hayes
Spencer Haywood
Jeff Hornacek
Billy Knight
Ricky Pierce
James Worthy
Dave Bing
Larry Kenon
Brad Miller
Mitch Richmond
Jason Terry
Chet Walker
Gerald Wallace
Jose Calderon
Devin Harris
John Havlicek
Glenn Robinson
Danny Granger
Penny Hardaway
Nene
Lou Hudson
Richie Guerin
Toni Kukoc
Rashard Lewis
Mehmet Okur
Jack Sikma
Ray Williams
Connie Hawkins
Josh Howard
Antonio McDyess
Earl Monroe
Dikembe Mutombo
Emeka Okafor
Terry Porter
Detlef Schrempf
Zelmo Beaty
Andre Iguodala
Reggie Lewis
Swen Nater
Lamar Odom
Ruben Patterson
Peja Stojakovic
Dave Cowens
Alvin Robertson
Cliff Robinson (1980-1992)
Rasheed Wallace
Gus Johnson
Mickey Johnson
Christian Laettner
Danny Manning
Michael Ray Richardson
Purvis Short
Rudy Tomjanovich
Neal Walk
Mookie Blaylock
Rip Hamilton
Bob Kauffman
Red Kerr
Keith Van Horn
Lenny Wilkens
Rolando Blackman
Bob Dandridge
Gail Goodrich
Eddie Jones
Donyell Marshall
Mike Mitchell
Johnny Moore
Jason Richardson
Jerry Stackhouse
Michael Adams
Arnie Risen
Doc Rivers
Bob Rule
Reggie Theus
Orlando Woolridge
Otis Birdsong
Tom Chambers
Maurice Cheeks
Bison Dele
Drew Gooden
Happy Hairston
Randy Smith
Nate Thurmond
Jamaal Wilkes
Kenny Anderson
Joe Barry Carroll
Archie Clark
Armen Gilliam
Cedric Maxwell
Charlie Villenueva
Vin Baker
Terry Dischinger
Mike Gminski
Hersey Hawkins
Joe Johnson
Larry Johnson
Maurice Lucas
Jeff Mullins
Willie Naulls
Campy Russell
Mike Bibby
Andris Biedrins
Caron Butler
Luol Deng
Glen Rice
Elmore Smith
Kelly Tripucka
Sidney Wicks
Bob Boozer
Doug Collins
Eddy Curry
Raef LaFrentz
Bill Laimbeer
Xavier McDaniel
Jameer Nelson
Jim Paxson
Steve Smith
Andrew Toney
Bonzi Wells
Dale Ellis
Michael Finley
Horace Grant
Derek Harper
Mark Jackson
Eddie Johnson (1978-1987)
Kerry Kittles
Ralph Sampson
Wally Szczerbiak
Otis Thorpe
Wes Unseld
Antoine Walker
Kermit Washington
Leandro Barbosa
Elden Campbell
Tom Gugliotta
Eddie Johnson (1982-1999)
John Lucas
Jay Vincent
Nick Anderson
Carl Braun
Richard Jefferson
Troy Murphy
Geoff Petrie
Cazzie Russell
Phil Smith
Nick Van Exel
Greg Ballard
Brent Barry
Jack Coleman
Hal Greer
Jamal Mashburn
Ray Scott
Rony Seikaly
Charles Smith (1989-1997)
Mychal Thompson
Wayman Tisdale
Ben Wallace
Kevin Willis
Junior Bridgeman
Ben Gordon
Ron Harper
Sonny Parker
Kevin Porter
Clarence Weatherspoon
Hot Rod Williams
Lucius Allen
Ron Artest
Tyson Chandler
Dave DeBusschere
Sleepy Floyd
Dick McGuire
Mike Newlin
Sam Perkins
Paul Pressey
Frank Ramsay
Byron Scott
Mo Williams
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
John Block
Rudy LaRusso
Kenyon Martin
Lloyd Neal
Joe Smith
Damon Stoudamire
Loy Vaught
Derek Anderson
Phil Chenier
Jamal Crawford
Joe Dumars
Rickey Green
Matt Harpring
Norm Nixon
Jalen Rose
Buck Williams
Bill Cartwright
Dale Davis
Pervis Ellison
T.J. Ford
Clem Haskins
Vinnie Johnson
Jeff Malone
Jack Marin
Tayshaun Prince
Brian Winters
Gene Banks
Samuel Dalembert
Sherman Douglas
Wayne Embry
Vern Fleming
Mike Miller
Chris Morris
Derek Smith
Latrell Sprewell
Steve Stipanovich
Spud Webb
Mahdi Abdul-Rahman
Muggsy Bogues
Austn Carr
Larry Hughes
Mike Woodson
Brian Grant
Allan Houston
Jerome Kersey
Brevin Knight
Bob Love
Pooh Richardson
Truck Robinson
Kenny Smith
Slick Watts
Benoit Benjamin
Stephen Jackson
Kelvin Ransey
Danny Ainge
Dick Barnett
Kenny Carr
Ricky Davis
Johnny Dawkins
James Edwards
Kendall Gill
Bob Gross
Roy Hinson
Mel Hutchins
Terry Mills
Isaiah Rider
Lionel Simmons
Hedo Turkoglu
Anderson Varajao
Sam Bowie
Dee Brown (1991-2002)
Joe Caldwell
Doug Christie
LaPhonso Ellis
Darrell Griffith
Juwan Howard
Dennis Johnson
Anthony Mason
Dennis Rodman
Terry Tyler
John Williams (1987-1995)
Bill Bridges
Larry Costello
Raymond Felton
Avery Johnson
Nate McMillan
Eric Money
Ken Norman
Luke Ridnour
Clifford Robinson (1990-2007)
Charlie Scott
Walter Dukes
Mike Dunleavy Jnr.
A.C. Green
Mike James
Chris Kaman
Rodney McCray
Cuttino Mobley
Billy Owens
Clifford Ray
Rodney Rogers
Scott Skiles
Dick Van Arsdale
Jimmy Walker
Thurl Bailey
Mike Bantom
Erick Dampier
Johnny Davis
Al Harrington
Theo Ratliff
Nathaniel Clifton
Dick Garmaker
Sam Lacey
John Long
Lonnie Shelton
Jamaal Tinsley
Scott Wedman
David Wesley
Jo Jo White
Jason Williams (1999-2011)
Reggie Williams
Walt Williams
P.J. Brown
Terry Catledge
Antonio Davis
Todd Day
Kirk Hinrich
John Johnson
George King
Lamond Murray
Wesley Person
Bobby Phills
Bingo Smith
Dick Snyder
Beno Udrih
Fred Carter
Larry Drew
Tom Gola
Tyrone Hill
Jarrett Jack
Kyle Macy
John Starks
Kurt Thomas
Tim Thomas
Norm Van Lier
Michael Cage
Rex Chapman
Sean Elliot
Phil Ford
Udonis Haslem
Jay Humphries
Derrick McKey
Jim McMillan
Darius Miles
Paul Silas
Ricky Sobers
Kenny Thomas
Willie Anderson
Jim Chones
James Donaldson
Herm Gilliam
Joe Graboski
Voshon Lenard
Dan Majerle
Paul Seymour
Kevin Loughery
Eddie Miles
Paul Nuemann
Chuck Person
Jim Price
Gene Shue
Larry Siegfried
Darrell Walker
Alvin Williams
Trevor Ariza
Rick Fox
Dave Greenwood

The list of actual stats (ordered by PER, along with Per 36 minute career numbers) can be found here.

Look2Me4Guidance · Apr 19, 2011

WALL-e said:
Where the hell is Channing Frye?

That's him at #196, World B Free.

Arden · Apr 19, 2011

Hardaway, Mullin and Richmond in a row?

Hmmmm.

Altum Volantes · Apr 20, 2011

Just Googled to discover that 'Never Nervous/Out-Of-Service' Pervis Ellison was #500 in SLAM.

Epic Bust!

Jeff Hornacek is a 265, considering where Coleman was ranked I reckon Jeff is a bit unlucky!

Damon_3388 · Apr 20, 2011

Black JuJu said:
Just Googled to discover that 'Never Nervous/Out-Of-Service' Pervis Ellison was #500 in SLAM.

Epic Bust!

Got totally ruined by injuries - played just 474 games over 11 seasons. Was productive when actually fit and given minutes - In his third season, he averaged 20.03 points on .539% shooting, along with 11.21 rebounds, 2.88 assists, 2.68 blocks and 0.94 steals.

Black JuJu said:
Jeff Hornacek is a 265, considering where Coleman was ranked I reckon Jeff is a bit unlucky!

People forget how good Coleman actually was at his best, before he got injured and fat and then stopped giving a shit. At his best, he could do it all on the court - rebound, defend, handle the ball like a guard, finish inside, and even knock down the occasional three. Averaged 19.91 points, 10.60 rebounds, 3.14 assists, 1.61 blocks and 0.92 steals per game (in 35.77 minutes per game) for the first 5 years of his career, before injury and apathy struck. Still played for another decade after that though (just 433 games in the final 10 years of his career), and finished with averages of 16.50 points, 9.26 rebounds, 2.54 assists, 1.35 blocks and 0.78 steals per game (33.17 minutes per game). Could have easily achieved more, but his actual output still isn't anything to sneeze at; It's just disappointing considering how much talent he had.

peternorth · Apr 20, 2011

coleman was antoine before antoine

Damon_3388 · Apr 20, 2011

peternorth said:
coleman was antoine before antoine

Coleman was never as much of a chucker as Antoine, was much better defensively, had a better post game, and was more of a genuine 4 man at NBA level. That being said, a young Walker was very Coleman-esque (as can be seen early in this video), but he evolved into more of an outside player once he reached the NBA:

[YOUTUBE]3E8fc20tK9g[/YOUTUBE]
'Toine breaking Juwan Howard's ankles in that clip is a thing of beauty. Neither Walker nor Coleman really achieved anywhere near what they should have, given the immense talent they had.

At his best, Coleman was very similar to Chris Webber, but obviously entered the NBA a couple of years before C-Webb. Great to watch:

[YOUTUBE]D5WNITeDTh0[/YOUTUBE]

The_Flying_Egg · Apr 21, 2011

Ben Gordon at 336, ahead of Luol at 418 and no Kirk

But LaPhonso at 465 made me happy :thumbsu:

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Slam's top 500 all time NBA players

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