Skip and Shannon list their all time top 10

jaydawg08

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Kobe maximized everything that God gave him. He's an all time great and someone who should never be slandered..... but that doesn't mean we can't be truthful about his placement on the top 10 list. He's likely 7-10

Bron and MJ are 1A and 1B. You can have either at the top spot and make an argument for either. A list is not gonna get picked apart if you have either at #1

Shaq is the most dominant offensive force we've ever seen, outside Wilt, but unfortuently he is also in that Kobe spot of 7-10. Personally I have Shaq over Kobe, but I can see the argument either way.

Russell, Kareem, Wilt are all hard to put... but if you don't have them in your top 10 your list is basically invalid because of what they did in their eras. I don't have a huge issue with their list other than Lebron at 9 (there's not a single argument you could make that would have Bird>Bron) and I would have Shaq over Curry
 

ball15life

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I understand in that there's no need to compared them. They're both greats who played completely different positions for very different teams and won in different ways.


But if you're implying that Kobe is definitively ahead of Duncan or something.....Duncan has more MVPs, more Finals MVPs, and was the best player and leader on more title teams. They have the same # of titles overall and the same # of All-NBA selections. Kobe is clearly the more impactful scorer but Duncan is clearly the more impactful defender.

Duncan's most dominant stretch (1999 to 2005) is more impressive than Kobe's peak - 7 straight 1st-team All-NBA, 7 straight 1st-team All-Defensive (and actually earned), 7 straight top-5 MVP finishes including 2 MVPs and 2 MVP runner-ups, 3 titles and 3 Finals MVPs while elevating some of the weakest supporting casts of our era for a title team.

Again, not saying you need to compare two greats. But if you're gonna compare them, Duncan's case is so strong right through the middle of Kobe's era that you ain't putting Kobe over him by any objective standard.


Objectively speaking, Duncan also had the better overall team around him for most of his career. I'd argue that Kobe was double teamed much more than Tim and also opposing teams were centered around stopping him for most of his career. I wouldn't necessarily say Duncan was the more impactful defender as their areas of defense were on different spots on the floor (guarding a 3 pt shot vs a 2 pt shot for instance). Kobe also has more 1st team selections.


Honestly, we can go back and forth with a ton of cases to put one over the other.

Using the eye test, along with actual NBA player statements saying Kobe was the best player they've played against (how many have said Tim?), you can easily argue Kobe above Tim.
 

Professor Emeritus

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Objectively speaking, Duncan also had the better overall team around him for most of his career.

Bullshyt for the seasons that mattered. If you factor in injuries from 1998 to 2011 Kobe had the better team around him every year except 05-07. Youngins who don't know their history don't realize that TP/Ginobli weren't even rookies on the squad until '02/'03 and weren't playing at an all-star level until '05/'06. Before that Kobe had Shaq who was >>>> old D-Rob and the rest of their supporting casts were even. After '07 the rest of Duncan's supporting cast aged out or got hurt and it was basically just TP (a borderline all-star) and Ginobli (a glorified 6th man) until the Spurs finally reloaded in 2012 with Kawai, Diaw, and Danny Green.



I'd argue that Kobe was double teamed much more than Tim and also opposing teams were centered around stopping him for most of his career.

:laff:

Breh come on now, this is supposed to be a serious conversation.




I wouldn't necessarily say Duncan was the more impactful defender as their areas of defense were on different spots on the floor (guarding a 3 pt shot vs a 2 pt shot for instance). Kobe also has more 1st team selections.

:dahell:

You don't think Duncan was a more impactful defender than Kobe.

Like, you seriously think Kobe's impact on defense was even in the same stratosphere as Duncan.

This is hard to believe anyone could say with a straight face. You gotta be giggling/trolling at your computer.


Duncan was at the center of the Spurs' defense from 1998 to 2015. He was a FORCE on defense during that time. Not just his individual defense on opposing bigs, not just his elite rim protection, but also how he orchestrated and controlled the team's entire defensive scheme. There's so many fukking series where the Spurs' defense shut down an opposing team and Duncan was primarily responsible, that NEVER happened with Kobe. I can't think of a single series where he even shut down a single great player on the other side, much less was responsible for showing out against the whole team.

I'm done arguing on this one. Anyone who says that Kobe is anywhere near Duncan's impact on defense can't be taken seriously.
 

ball15life

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Bullshyt for the seasons that mattered. If you factor in injuries from 1998 to 2011 Kobe had the better team around him every year except 05-07. Youngins who don't know their history don't realize that TP/Ginobli weren't even rookies on the squad until '02/'03 and weren't playing at an all-star level until '05/'06. Before that Kobe had Shaq who was >>>> old D-Rob and the rest of their supporting casts were even. After '07 the rest of Duncan's supporting cast aged out or got hurt and it was basically just TP (a borderline all-star) and Ginobli (a glorified 6th man) until the Spurs finally reloaded in 2012 with Kawai, Diaw, and Danny Green.





:laff:

Breh come on now, this is supposed to be a serious conversation.






:dahell:

You don't think Duncan was a more impactful defender than Kobe.

Like, you seriously think Kobe's impact on defense was even in the same stratosphere as Duncan.

This is hard to believe anyone could say with a straight face. You gotta be giggling/trolling at your computer.


Duncan was at the center of the Spurs' defense from 1998 to 2015. He was a FORCE on defense during that time. Not just his individual defense on opposing bigs, not just his elite rim protection, but also how he orchestrated and controlled the team's entire defensive scheme. There's so many fukking series where the Spurs' defense shut down an opposing team and Duncan was primarily responsible, that NEVER happened with Kobe. I can't think of a single series where he even shut down a single great player on the other side, much less was responsible for showing out against the whole team.

I'm done arguing on this one. Anyone who says that Kobe is anywhere near Duncan's impact on defense can't be taken seriously.


Ok don't take NBA players who've actually played the game seriously since we obviously know more than they do lol
 

BrothaZay

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Bill Russell shooting 42% against goofy unathletic white players aint better than Shaq.

Only Kareem and Hakeem was better than Shaq.
.... Wilt is unpar with Shaq even though I seen some games of Wilt. Shaq was more polished in the post than Wilt. fukk it ill say it, Shaq was better than Wilt. Wilt would of been barbeque to Shaq.
How? Wilt was stronger than shaq and faster..
 

Professor Emeritus

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Shaq is getting booted out eventually
People will start to look at his whole career and realize how he was washed/out of shape for a good portion of it

Shaq has 14 All-NBA selections, 5th-most all-time. He finished 4th in MVP voting in 1994 when he was just 22, then finished 2nd in MVP voting in 2005 when he was 33. He co-led a team to the Finals in 1995, led another team to the Finals from 2000 to 2004, and then co-led yet another team to the Finals in 2006. Even if he underperformed some years, he has far more than enough sustained excellence to justify being considered top-10 all-time.

To me, you need three main criteria to be a GOAT:

#1. Peak regular season excellence so you had a strong argument to be the best player in the NBA for multiple years in a row
#2. Peak playoff excellence so you the best player in multiple postseasons
#3. Sustained career excellence so you were one of the top players in the league for an extended period of time


Shaq satisfies all three of those criteria. From 2000 to 2002 he finished top-3 in MVP voting three consecutive years including winning an MVP and having a strong case both the other years, plus he had two other near losses. From 2000 to 2002 he had three completely dominant Finals MVP performances and was the undisputed best player in the postseason all three years. And he made All-NBA 14 times including 10 1st-team All-NBA selections on three different teams.

Shaq deserves it, no doubt.



No way is he gonna be considered top 10 all time by the time bron or curry retire

Tim Duncan is another one who benefits from the system he plays in and was never super dominant like a Wilt or Kareem
He's gonna be removed too

I swear those of you who say this shyt don't even remember the sport. Duncan's peak from 1999-2005 was epic. In the slowest era in NBA history, Duncan was:


1999: 3rd in MVP vote, 23-12-3 and 3 blocks/game in the playoffs, 27-14-2 and 2 blocks/game in the Finals, won Finals MVP

2000: (injury)

2001: 2nd in MVP vote, 24-15-4 with 3 blocks/game in the playoffs

2002: Won MVP, 28-14-5 with 4 blocks/game in the playoffs

2003: Won MVP, 25-15-5 with 3 blocks/game in the playoffs, 25-17-5 and 5 blocks/game in the finals, won Finals MVP

2004: 2nd in MVP vote, 22-11-3 with 2 blocks/game in the playoffs

2005: 4th in MVP vote, 24-12-3 with 2 blocks/game, 24-17-5 and 5 blocks/game in the Finals, won Finals MVP


Finished 1st or 2nd in the MVP vote for four straight years and won 3 Finals MVPs, but wasn't dominant? Put together 27-14-2 with 2 blocks, 25-17-5 and 5 blocks, and 24-17-5 and 5 blocks lines in the Finals against defensive squads in the slowest-ever era, but wasn't dominant? Come on now.
 

Roger king

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Nonsense lists for both bron aint no 1 and neither is he no 9, steph is no way above shaq its insulting to say so
 

Rell84shots

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Yall gotta stop taking these dudes seriously. Their whole steez is just to get a reaction out of people.
Exactly. We already knew what was going to happen with these lists. I'm not shocked at Skip's list since he's been a Bron hater since day 1, but Shannon needs to be called out more for his bullshyt. When he would show up on First Take he always said Kareem & Kobe were his 1A/1B top 5 players, now he has Kobe down at 9th??? :mjlol:
 

Professor Emeritus

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How? Wilt was stronger than shaq and faster..

Wilt would have been faster baseline-to-baseline but he wasn't quicker in the halfcourt. Shaq was quicker inside and had much better footwork. When you compare them inside, both are physically dominant, both have nice touch, but Wilt is more awkward with slower moves and has trouble getting inside a defender forcing himself to rely on the fadeaway a lot even against small and less athletic players, whereas Shaq uses both strength and speed more effectively to get right to the basic by stringing moves together.








In terms of size, Shaq was heavier than Wilt, and I seriously doubt Wilt was stronger in the legs in his playing days. Wilt lifted a ton post-NBA, but in his prime he was naturally strong but he wasn't lifting at all and was skinny as fukk in the legs, which is where all the post-up power comes from.

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Compared to Wilt, Shaq has tree trunks down there. Wilt is big in the biceps but in basketball that's mostly for show.
 
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