are we talking about the greatest or BEST. Greatest is MJ, no doubt...
but the best are the following ( im doing 1980- now)
1: Larry Bird ( 1984-1987 larry bird was the perfect player, don't let his lack of athletic ability fool you, his D was solid and he had no weakness, 90% free throw shooter, 42% 3pt shooter, 53 FG% 11 boards, 2 steals 6.8 assists and 1.2 blocks per game) His defensive win shares are AHEAD of lebron
2 Lebron ( If he could shoot the 3 at 36 % upwards and Free throws at 78% Upwards he'd be the GOAT no questions asked but his shooting has let him down)
3:Tim Duncan ( the most boring but effective player ever)
4: MJ ( didn't beat anyone of note in the 90's, weaker collective teams compared to the 80's, he is the GREATEST player ever though( as it pertains to legacy and the best SG ever) but I don't think he's sniffing 6 rings in the 90's if he had prime 80's celtics, showtime lakers and bad Boy pistons in their prime during this period, maybe 1 or 3 MAX)
5: Magic
6: Hakeem Olajuowan
7: Karl Malone
8: KAJ
9: Shaq
10: Moses Malone
11: Kobe Bryant
12: Stephen Curry
13: Dirk Nowitzki -( He made dallas a top 3 team in the best western conference era EVER with far less talent around him than other elite teams)
14: Kevin Durant ( his championships will always have that caveat to me)
15a: Dwayne Wade ( at his peak I'd have him right there with kobe but it was a very short peak)
15b Grant Hill ( yes, he was that good in his peak)
- Kawai Leonard
16: Isaiah Thomas
17: Gary Payton
18: John Stockton
19: Steve Nash
Bill Walton ( taking into account his 1976-1978 years)
20: Jason Kidd
21:George Gervin
22:Kevin Garnett
23: Charles Barkley
24: Julius Erving
25: Kevin McHale
26: David Robinson
27: Patrick Ewing
Giannis
28: Clyde Drexler
29: Allen Iverson
30: Paul Pierce
31: Reggie Miller
32: Scottie Pippen
33: Sidney Moncrief
34: Tracy McGrady ( overrated and inefficient during his glory years at orlando, average to below average shooter)
35: Patrick Ewing
36: Dwight Howard
37: Yao Ming
- James Harden
38: Anthony Davis
- Dominique Wilkins
39: Ray Allen
-Carmelo Anthony
40: Alex English
41: Adrien Dantley
42: Manu Ginobili
43: Chris Webber
- Bob lanier
44: Alonzo Mourning
- Chris Bosh
45: Tony Parker
- Chris Paul
46: Klay Thompson
- Artis Gilmore
- Chris Mullen
- Pau Gasol
47: Robert Parish
- Penny Hardaway ( a little overrated even pre injury)
-Bernard King
48: Vince Carter
- Damien Lillard
49: Peja Stoiakovic
- Adryvious Sabonis
-L' Marcus Aldridge
50: Ben Wallace
51: Denis Rodman
- Larry Johnson
52: Bill Laimbeer
53: Chanucey Billups
54: Amare Stoudamire
- Blake Griffin
- Shawn Kemp
-Joe Dumars
-Andrew Toney
55: Rasheed Wallace
- Elton Brand
56: Shawn Marion
- Marc Gasol
57: Mitch Ritchmond
- Zach Randolph
- Ron Artest
58: Draymond Green
-Marques Johnson
- Terry Cummings
-Alvin Robertson
-Rolando Blackman
60: Tim Hardaway
61: Vlade Divac
62: Dragan Petrovic
63: Mark Aguirre
-Antonio McDyss
64: Reggie Lewis
- Andre Iguadola
-De'Maar Derozan
-Toni Kukoc
65: Vinnie Johnson
66: Kiki Vanderewe ( spelling)
- Serge Ibaka
-Steve Smith
67:Latrell Spreewell
- Horace Grant
68 Charles Oakley
-Jack Sikma
69: Mark Eaton
70: Ralph Sampson
71: Dikembe Mutombo
-Jeff Malone
72: Glenn Robinson
- Tyson Chandler
- Allan Houston
-Šarūnas Marčiulionis
- Jamal Crawford
-D'Andre Jordan
-Theo Ratliff
- Jason Terry
73: Ricky Pierce
-Vince Baker
74: Terry Porter
75: Kenyon Martin
76: Marcus Camby
- Buck Williams
- Lou Williams
77: Richard Jefferson
78: Michael Redd
-Maurice Cheeks
-Caron Butler
-Derek Harper
79: Fat Lever
-Brook Lopez
80: Denis Johnson
81: Kevin Johnson
Mahmoud Abdul Rauf
- Norm Nixon
82: Tom Chambers
- Bill Cartwright
-Michael Finley
Reggie Theus
83: Dan Marlje
84: Michael Cooper
85: AC Green
Sharif Abdur Rahim
86: John Starkes
-Steve Francis
87: Rudy Gay
88: Danny Granger
89: Jalen Rose
- Stephon Marbury
90: Juwan Howard
91: Nick Van Excel
-Jeff Hornecec
-Kurt Rambis
92: Damon Stoudomire
93: Denis Scott
@RavensMania
the difference between the players clustered together is practically non-existent but the further up you go you see a certain tier of players develop