We
all make ‘em. We all love to debate ‘em.
Who is the best actor of all time? What’s
the best movie? Who was the greatest president?
Who was the best singer? Who is the best
rapper?
The truth is, who knows? It’s all subjective.
The truth is, most of the players, actors,
politicians and other persons of note that
receive the most accolades are favorites
of their peers. Bob Dylan epitomized a questioning
generation. Joe Montana personified a decadent
decade. Does it have more to do with these
stars accomplishments or are they reflections
of how we really see ourselves?
Didn’t mean to get deep on ya, but the point
has to be made: lists have a lot more to
do with the person writing them, than it
does the people on the list.
That being said, the Georgia Informer is
creating a series to identify the top 10
point guards, shooting guards, small forwards,
power forwards and centers in NBA history.
Our criteria are simple: statistics, championships
and influence on the game.
Well, maybe it’s not that simple.
We didn’t recruit any basketball great or
call any expert to give us their opinion.
We did our own research, primarily on NBA.com
and the magicmetric.com, to ascertain our
findings. NBA.com is the league’s sanctioned
website, complete with relevant stats and
information. Magicmetric.com is a website
that takes statistical information and processes
it to create a list of who the greatest
basketball players of all time. We surveyed
the information, threw in a little common
sense and some old-school memories (Hey,
remember when Clyde took off from the free-throw
line and dunked on those two fools!?)
There are certain things, in our humble
opinion, that define a point guard: playmaking
ability, floor general, defensive pressure
on opposing point guards and ability to
score. These ten basketball greats were
all judged by these criteria and scored
incredibly high.
1) Earvin “Magic” Johnson,
Los Angeles Lakers
*Changed the game forever.
*Had an unwordly combination of court vision,
game knowledge and basketball
utility.
*Could play every position on the court.
*Won every award imaginable.
2) Oscar “Big O” Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
/ Milwaukee Bucks
*Come on, man. A triple-double? For a season?
And it was no punk triple-
double, either.
*It was 30-12-11, man. At 6’5” and 210 lbs.,
he was the first big guard, but
would not be the last.
*Totally dominated his era.
3) John Stockton, Utah Jazz
*Cat quick reflexes, high field goal percentage
shooter and tough as nails.
*All-time assists leader.
*Will forever be remembered for his rap
video vixen sized basketball shorts.
4) Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
/ Cincinnati Royals
*Astounding feel for the ball and innate
ability to find the open man.
*Ran the game while others tried to run
around in it
*Straight from a ghetto in Manhattan, he
brought his “street game” to the NBA
and flourished.
*Won six titles as a player and was the
central piece to a Celtic dynasty.
5) Isaiah Thomas, Detroit
Pistons
*Arguably the best dribbler in NBA history
/ A steely determination to win.
* Imagine a player with Allen Iverson’s
height but not his athletic ability,
dominating the league anyway.
*Fifth on the all-time assist list.
*Scored 25 points in a quarter in an NBA
Finals game on an ankle many
people wouldn’t have walked on.
6) Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks
/ Phoenix Suns / New Jersey Nets
*Undisputed number one point guard in the
league today.
*One of the fastest players, baseline to
baseline, in the league.
*Led the league in assists for three straight
years.
7) Nate “Tiny” Archibald, New York Nets
/ Boston Celtics…
*Scorer and playmaker who played a big part
in getting Larry Bird his first ring.
*18th on the all-time assista list
*Hall of Famer
*South Bronx’s finest
8) Walt “Clyde” Frazier,
New York Knicks
*6’9”, 200 lbs. of smooth.
*Suffocating defender, great ballhander
and efficient scorer.
*While Willis Reed was hobbling on a bad
wheel, Clyde was dropping 36 points,
19 assists, and 5 steals on the Lakers in
the deciding game of the NBA Finals.
*Born in Atlanta, Georgia.
9) Earl “The Pearl” Monroe,
Baltimore Bullets / New York Knicks
*Forefather of the hesitation move and pioneer
of many other “street moves” that
coaches hate, fans love and opponents fear.
*A 50 Greatest Player and Hall of Famer.
10)
K.C. Jones, Boston Celtics
*Defensive stopper that stuck like glue
on opponents.
*Unimpressive stats but unbelievable desire
to win and contribute.
*Was as successful coaching as he was playing,
winning 10 championship in all.
*Hall of Famer.
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