Globex Corporation Newsletter

In an effort to make The Globex Corporation Newsletter absolutely baffling to readers, I'm listing my Greatest NBA players. Why? It's not like we're in the season or that anyone is talking about the NBA right now. I guess I'd just really like to do this type of list, but an NFL team is too big, major league baseball rosters have 25 players, but NBA rosters just have 12. It's your standard BOJ reasoning, this is the easiest thing I could think of.

Here's the rules. I actually had to see the player play, and at their height. I've seen Bill Walton play, for instance, but it was late in his career with the Celtics. He was great, I could see how great he must have been, but he was playing maybe 15 minutes a game because of injuries. He doesn't make my list. He's probably better than a lot of the players on my list, but he doesn't make it because I didn't get to see him at his best.

STARTING FIVE

Moses Malone - Center I don't think there was any more feared player at Malone's peak. A huge scoring machine, and he turned offensive rebounding into a glamor statistic. Nobody was better down low, but he had some skills on the perimeter as well. He was a tough player, but smart enough to never fould out of a game.

Karl Malone - Power Forward This Malone was also a smart player. As a rookie, he found out that his style of play would take him to the foul line a lot. Malone shot about 50% from the line as a rookie, but improved to a point where he would average 13-14 points a game from the line. A good rebounder who could run the floor and score on the break. The only reason I ever pulled for the LA Lakers is that Malone played for them in his final season. I so wanted Karl to get a ring even if it got the Lakers a fourth consecutive title.

Larry Bird - Small Forward Name a basketball skill, and Larry Bird had it. Whatever you needed at any point in a basketball game, Bird could come through with it. A great shooter, rebounder and defender, he also talked some of the best trash in his era.

"Magic" Johnson - Point Guard Another player with a wide range of skills, but "Magic" was a passer. Even more than Moses Malone with offensive rebounding, "Magic" turned assists into a glamor stat in an era of great point guards. Plus, wherever you needed him to play, whatever position you needed, he's give you a great performance. In my mind, "Magic" Johnson is the greatest player in NBA history

Michael Jordan - Shooting Guard Need points? Jordan is your man. More than just a scoring machine, he was a great defender and one demon on the boards for a guard. People will think I'm slighting him, by not naming him the greatest player in NBA history, but being mentioned in the same breath with "Magic" Johnson is pretty good company

RESERVES

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Center If I were trying to make a real team here I probably wouldn't go with Jabbar as a backup center, and while I didn't see him at the height of his career, he was still a huge scorer and showed fashes of brilliance in the playoffs.

Hakeem Olajuwon - Center The best all around center I've ever seen. Hakeem was athletic, could run the floor, block shots and turned into a good scorer with a nice turnaround jumper. He's on this team for his defense and rebounding.

Dennis Rodman - Power Forward Maybe I don't need Olajuwon's rebounding, I gots the worm. He was insane, and most decidedly a complete ass, but he did one thing better than anyone else, rebound. He focused on that aspect of his game and became the best at it. If he weren't such a jerk, he would have been my favorite player of that era. Note, I left the Knicks' Charles Oakley off this team for the worm.

Julius Erving - Small Forward I didn't see Dr. J at his greatest either, but what I saw was good enough. Not just a spectacular dunker, J, along with Bird and Magic, made the "Triple Double" a thing for great players to strive for.

John Stockton - Point Guard The NBA's all time assist leader, a pretty fine scorer on his own, he would have tallied a lot more buckets if he hadn't spent his career providing Karl Malone with easy baskets.

Kobe Bryant - Shooting Guard - Small Forward Hey, two assholes on my team! Great all around skills, he can put the ball in the basket, which is what the game is about, after all. A good passer, a good defender, all of the skill are there. If his salary didn't hamstring any team he's on, he'd win lots of championships. But it does. At leas Kobe is getting paid.

Trent Tucker - Shooting Guard - Small Forward A pure specialist. Need a three-pointer on an inbounds play in the last seconds of a quarter? Tucker is your man. There are lots of guys who could fill this role, guys who made bigger shots in more important games, but Tucker did this, seemingly nightly for a variety of teams.

That's my list. Don't like it? Fine, get your own blog. Better yet, make comments, tell me where I'm wrong. Tell me where I'm right. Tell me you're tired of pointless lists. I won't listen, but it'll make you feel better.

BOJ

Labels: Lists