i'm not disputing it, but let's not act as if Penny ever REALLY got the chance to play in his prime....healthy that is
I agree.Penny at the top of his game>>>>>>Gary Payton at the top of his
Penny was more entertaining, to.Gary Payton had a rugged offensive game and a ugly ass knuckle ball J.
Payton had some good years offensively from 1999-2002 when Paul Westphal took his run and gun offense to Seattle, but the Sonics were mediocre during those years.I think they only made the Playoffs one time and lost during that time.Losing to the Jazz in the 1st round.
But yeah, Payton had to score more because they didn't have anybody else.
Look at Paytons career averages....16 PPG and 6.7 assist in 35 mpg
Look at a dude like Kevin Johnson's stats from that same era 17 ppg and 9 assist in 34 mpg....not only that, he gave you 1.5 spg over his career, right there with Payton's 1.8.....how's Gary Payton continuously rated as a better player than even Kevin Johnson? let alone, Penny?
Neither one of them dudes had the natural talents or the magnetism of a YOUNG Penny.Penny had a certain charisma to his game that made you look at him and say "That's the dude I wanna pattern my game after".He was smooth out there.I watched all 3 of these dudes play.Strictly basing it on the eyeball test, when healthy, Penny was better than GP and KJ.On top of that, he never got the chance to reach his prime like those dudes.
But even in his budding stage, he was better than GP or KJ ever was.Like I said, he should've went down as a top 15-20 player of all time