ESPN got this Top 10 Ranking wrong.
ESPN recently released their greatest NBA players rankings. Ranking players in any sport is always one of the hottest topics of debate between fans.
ESPN’s list was 74 players long, so you’ll be extremely hard-pressed to find someone who’s rankings exactly matches yours. There are always going to be differing opinions as fans put forward their reasons on why certain players should be a certain ranking.
We can all act like we care a huge amount about the rankings from 74 to 11, but we don’t. We care about the creme de la creme, the best of the best. We want to talk about the top 10 guys.
This is where the debate gets heated because more is at stake. The difference between being #71 and #70 is far smaller than the difference between being #5 or #4.
ESPN’s Top 10 was as follows.
10. Shaquille O’Neal
9. Kobe Bryant
8. Tim Duncan
7. Larry Bird
6. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Magic Johnson
4. Bill Russell
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. LeBron James
1. Michael Jordan
When I saw ESPN’s top 10 I was reasonably happy. I think they got the right 10 players on the list and their order was ok, except for 1 player. Putting Magic Johnson at 5 is just plain wrong. He should be higher, much higher.
In my all-time rankings, I have Magic Johnson as the 2nd greatest player ever. A lot of NBA fans have now said that Kobe Bryant is the greatest Laker ever. No disrespect to our dearly departed Kobe, but he is not the best Laker ever, Magic is and below I will tell you why.
Stats
Magic Johnson without question is the greatest passer that has ever picked up a basketball. His court-vision is 2nd to none and it was the biggest reason why the Lakers in the 1980s were known as “Showtime”. The Lakers placed an extremely fast pace and had a devasting fast-break. None of that would have happened if they didn’t have Magic’s playmaking ability.
Magic not only had the fanciest passes we’ve ever seen but he was exceptional at making the right pass and he would always deliver the ball right where his teammates needed it so they could be at their most effective.
If we don’t count Magic’s last year in 1995-96 when he returned for only 32 games, Magic’s career stats are 19.7 points, 11.4 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals, all on 52.1% from the field and 84.8% from the free-throw line.
The stats are just incredible to look at, and they show that Magic was the greatest ever at making his teammates better. You could put Magic on the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats and they would’ve been a title contender.
Before Magic had to retire in 1992, he had played 12 full NBA seasons. He made the Finals in 9 of them and won 5. There were only 3 seasons where Magic didn’t make the Finals.
Legacy
When it comes to determining which players are the greatest of all time you need to very clearly define what greatness is in your mind. Once that criteria is set you can then go about your business.
For me, greatness in the NBA is how good a player is at winning NBA games and titles. That seems very simple but it’s more complex than you might think. You could look at a player like Allen Iverson, someone who scores a huge amount and think that makes him a viable candidate for a Top 10 player.
You would be wrong.
You need to look at what the result of his play was. Iverson only reached 1 NBA Finals (2001) in his career and he was crushed by the Lakers. The product of your play is very important when it comes to your all-time ranking.
When Magic was with the Lakers before 1992, the Lakers always won at least 54 games and won above 60 games 6 times. You could argue that Magic had great teammates like Kareem, but the Lakers only won 47 games before Magic’s 1st season and only 45 games the season before that.
Magic was by far the biggest reason the Lakers were so dominant because he played winning basketball. He knew that it was all about the team. He knew when to score, when to pass, when to play fast and when to slow down.
He was always 1 step ahead of the competition and it’s one of the greatest tragedies in NBA history that we didn’t get to see more of him in the early and mid-90s. He was only 31 when he was forced to stop playing and there was a lot more left in the tank.
Magic is still greatly underappreciated by the NBA community in my opinion. It’s very telling that Larry Bird once said “Magic’s just a great basketball palyer, he’s the best I’ve ever seen you know? I….unbelievable, I don’t know what to say.”
This Magic’s biggest rival calling him the greatest ever. Greater than Kareem, greater than Wilt and greater than Bill Russell. Now Larry rightfully calles Jordan the greatest ever, but that only shifts Magic down to #2, much high than where ESPN have ranked him.