Why Charles Barkley is Wrong (119 views)

[eric]

Charles Barkley's Top Seven:

1 Jordan
2 Robertson
3 Russell
4 Kareem
5 Wilt
6 Kobe
7 Duncan

Jordan Russell and Kareem absolutely belong in any top seven. Not having any of them would be wrong. How you order them doesn't really bother me, but I would strongly urge for Jordan and Russell to be in the top two. So far so good. There are two points where the list is inarguably wrong:

1. Having Kobe above Duncan makes no sense in any way.
-Same rings
-Duncan has more MVPs
-Duncan has more Finals MVPs
-Duncan has better on/off (+7.7 to +5.6 regular season, +8.5 to +8.3 playoffs)
-Duncan has WAY better stats (.209 to .170 ws/48 regular season, .194 to .157 playoffs)
-Duncan has never played on a team where someone else was MVP.

Just get that right the heck out of here.

2. Having Robertson (at least) six spots above Magic makes no sense in any way.
-Magic has 5 rings, Robertson 1.
-Magic has 3 MVPs, Robertson 1.
-Magic has 3 Finals MVPs, Robertson 0. Robertson won a total of two playoff rounds with the Royals, both first round matchups.
-On/off doesn't go back that far but Magic has WAY better stats (.225 to .207, .208 to .178 playoffs)
-It could be fair to question Magic for never winning a ring without Kareem...
-...but neither did Oscar, and at least Magic made the Finals without him, so that's no argument for Oscar over Magic.

Oscar has to be below Magic, so if Magic isn't in your top seven than neither is Oscar.

.

So let's look at our list now:

1 Jordan
2 Russell
3 Magic
4 Kareem
5 LeBron
6 Duncan
7 Wilt

Now that's a list. The bottom three, like the top four, can be reordered if you like. LeBron's stats and on/off trump Duncan's, as do his personal awards, so I feel like his doing less with less doesn't tip the scales. LeBron's stats are slightly worse than Wilt's in the regular season and much better in the playoffs, which makes his superior team success even more emphatic to my mind.

[Bankz]

I know a lot of people who feel Wilt>Russell

[Odin]

Kareem
Wilt
Magic
Jordan
LeBron
Robertson
Shaq

[MistleTacoe]

I think less of Wilt than most. Guy played in an era where his primary defenders were 6'9" and he was 7'2". It was unfair. He's definitely a top ten player but he was all about himself. In my opinion, he SHOULD have won more championships and would have if he wasn't "selfish"

I love the idea that each of my top 4 have a defining stat/achievement.

Kareem - won Finals MVP honors 13 years apart. Most points ever.
Jordan - 6-0 in NBA Finals
Russell - 11 NBA Championships
Lebron - played in 6 straight NBA finals (active). Good chance to end up with most playoff wins ever. His prime has lasted 12 years (active). First to come back from 3-1 deficit in the Finals. First player to lead both teams in all stats. By the end of his career, he has a chance to be in the top 25 for all meaningful stats (blocks and boards will be tough but has an outside chance). Will be top 10 for pts, asts, steals