ESPN Top 10 small forwards all time

[mitter]

Why is everybody putting Bird ahead of Dr. J?

Bird: 3 NBA championships, 5 NBA Finals appearances
Dr. J: 1 NBA championship + 2 ABA championships, 4 NBA Finals appearances + 2 ABA Finals appearances

Bird: 3 NBA MVPs
Dr. J: 1 NBA MVP + 3 ABA MVPs


Head-to-Head in the playoffs:

1980 ECF: Celtics have home court advantage and are favored. 76ers win 4-1.

1981 ECF: Celtics have home court advantage and are favored. Celtics win 4-3 in a very close series. 5 of the 7 games were decided by 1 or 2 points.

1982 ECF: Celtics have home court advantages and are favored (notice a trend here?). 76ers win 4-3. Dr. J has a big Game 7 as the 76ers win in decisive fashion in Boston Garden.


So from 1980-82, the Celtics and 76ers met three straight times in the ECF. During these years, Dr. J and Larry Bird were considered the best forwards in the league and had MVP caliber seasons. Each time, the Celtics had home court advantage and were favored to win. Yet the 76ers took 2 out of 3 of the series.

Dr. J and Larry Bird would meet one more time in the playoffs, however.

1985 ECF: Celtics have home court advantage and are favored. Celtics win 4-1. Bird is at the peak of his powers and plays great. Dr. J has slipped considerably and is Larry Holmes status by this point.

The Celtics were able to even-up their matchup with the 76ers 2-2. But what is more relevant in the Dr. J vs Bird comparison is what they did during their overlap as elite players, and Doc's 76ers had a 2-1 edge during those years.

 

[Wacky D]

@mitter i think we kinda automatically go with bird over dr j cuz of the media, with dr j being an ABA guy and all. its probably a subconscious reaction, i'll admit. im gonna look more into it now tho, thanks to your post.

my top 10 was:
1. bron
2. bird
3. dr j
4. baylor
5. pippen
6. dominique
7. durant
8. carmelo
9. havlicek
10. barry

grant hill couldve been a contender for #1 on this list man.
durant's gonna move up.
carmelo maybe.
kawhai, PG 13 & possibly wiggins are on notice.
TMac is on my SGs list
i dont recall penny playing SF

 

[Manuel Hot Pepper Lopez]

Ok he played both positions. That's why I said he could've been on the pg list. Same thing with lebron.

You can't put players like that in a box. Penny played SG too. He just had point guard skills despite his size. But True pgs typically can't start at the SF position and destroy someone like Pippen. Or posterize 7 foot centers on a nightly basis.

Penny was a great SF who could play the pg position very well. That's why he's top ten.

I don't recall Penny playing 1 minute as a SF
Maybe he did in his Knicks and Heat days I don't recall...but that wasn't Penny then, just plain ol Anfernee

 

[DoubleClutch]

I don't recall Penny playing 1 minute as a SF
Maybe he did in his Knicks and Heat days I don't recall...but that wasn't Penny then, just plain ol Anfernee

The point is he fits on this list better than he does the point guard list. His game wasn't like Nash, curry, Isaiah or Stockton. They imagin them trying to guard him one on one.

Penny was more comparable to me with players like Pippen, hill, t Mac, pierce and Lebron. If Lebron can be considered both pg and sf (point forward) I don't see why people can't see Penny the same way.

Really Penny could easily be considered a 2 guard as well. But since his passing was great everyone wants to see him only as a point guard

But Point guards usually don't match up with SFs on a nightly basis or spend as much time posting up on as they do facing the basket.

Penny was just a different player

 

[Jplaya2023]

What hurts Doc is playing in the ABA during his prime essentially. I think if he would've been scoring 30-35 in the NBA like he would the ABA his standing would be much higher as well.

 

[Mr. Jack Napier]

As much as I can't stand Bron, if anybody has him not 1 on that list, their basketball credibility is out the window.

T-Mac didn't have a long enough prime to make the top 10 list, the same goes for Bernard King.

 

[Ohene]

i'm watching this Pistons 30 for 30...and yo....why doesnt Adrian Dantley get any respect?

It's trife how he got traded in their championsip yer tough. Any player that played on a team that wins in the final during the season should get a ring. They contributed

 

[Big Boss]