Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: WVUA FM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Hello, everybody.
This is WVUA 90.7 FM, the Capstone. And welcome to episode number 57 of the full court press podcast. My name is Jamie Martinez and I'm joined by Nick Atkinson and Kaden Johnson to stay up to date. Make sure to follow us on Instagram at FCP podcast underscore UA with that being said, let's get into it with the news. Yesterday was a big day for the NBA. It was the 18th anniversary of Kobe's 81 point game against the Raptors. And my goodness, was there a lot of scoring. Let's start with Joel Embiid, who had quite possibly one of the best games we've seen in recent memory. 70 points, 18 rebounds in a stellar game against. It wasn't the Charlote Hornets. No, that was San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio spurs. Because that whole Greg Popovich quote went viral. Kaden, what do you have to say on Joel Embi's performance?
[00:01:02] Speaker C: First ever player, including Wilt Chamberlain, to have 7015 and five in a game. Anytime someone does something that Wilt Chamberlain didn't do, it's pretty impressive.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Extremely. Nick, what do you think?
[00:01:16] Speaker A: It was pretty impressive, I guess.
Especially since they got the win, because there's been a lot of guys recently that have gotten big performances and then just lose.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Well, speaking of big performances of losing, Carl Anthony Towns had himself a crazy game, 62 points, 44 in the first half against the Charlote Hornets, but lost. Nick, you kind of hinted at it. What do you think about that?
[00:01:40] Speaker A: I think it's kind of a joke. Well, they just know he's like a big liability defensively, so they end up taking him out at the end of the game.
[00:01:46] Speaker B: Yeah, he wasn't even.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: He also missed like ten shots.
[00:01:50] Speaker B: Yeah, he was three for 16.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: I don't know. He's not a good defender. He's kind of a shot chucker. I think he takes away a little bit too much of the offensive game from ant.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Yeah, cool.
[00:02:02] Speaker A: You got 62, but you lost and you're 30 years old to the Charlote. You're not 20.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: Yeah. So a big loss for Carltons and the Timberwolves. They sent Terry Roger off with a bang because just a day later today, Terry Roger of the Charlote Hornets has been traded to the Miami Heat for a 2027 1st round pick. And Kyle Lowry, per Adrian Mojanrowski, the pick is lottery protected in 2027. Big time trade. What do you all think about it? I don't know if it's league altering, but I definitely think it's a win on both sides.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: I think that there's been a big rivalry between the Celtics and the Heat. I think this puts that to sleep and the Heat are going to start making it.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: I think Terry Rosier owns the Celtics.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: I'm just kidding. This doesn't do too much. I think it will help them get out the first round, though.
[00:02:50] Speaker C: Yeah, I agree with that. I think it could be even deeper than that, possibly just with how they play and how they elevate their game in the playoffs. But as for the Heat, too, I think maybe the best part of the trade was getting rid of Kyle Lowry. He's so bad.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: He was o of 18 in his last five games from three.
[00:03:07] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:03:07] Speaker A: He's getting paid like 25 million too.
[00:03:09] Speaker C: And surely the Hornets are going to waive him.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: They're going to trade him.
[00:03:13] Speaker B: Yeah. They're not looking at a buyout, but they're saying they're going to trade for.
[00:03:15] Speaker A: The net by Toronto.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I was going to say, do you guys think that's cool?
[00:03:19] Speaker C: That makes sense, too. Toronto needs to lose games. Might as well bring back Lowry.
[00:03:23] Speaker B: Little reunion. It works out just fine.
So what's crazy is the Heat are a good team even without Jimmy Butler, and I think they get better adding Terry Roger, it's a bunch of scoring. When Butler missed the time, Roger is going to be that number one scoring option. So I think the Heat are good. So unless you're thinking bam's going to be that first scoring option, I think you can go either way.
[00:03:45] Speaker C: But I think they felt some pressure too, with the Pacers making a move.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: Definitely the east got a lot stronger so the Heat had to make a move and maybe this is their year. They went to the finals last year. Maybe they'll do it again. Who knows? In other news, the NBA communications Twitter put out some news regarding Tristan Thompson and he has been suspended. Here's what their letter says. Cleveland Cavaliers Tristan Thompson suspended 25 games for violation of NBA NBPA antidrug program the NBA now say that Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavs has been suspended without pay for 25 games for violating the terms of their antidrug program by testing positive for two different drugs.
[00:04:23] Speaker C: I don't even know what that he was taking sarms. It's a performance enhancer.
[00:04:27] Speaker B: So LGD. I thought it was LGTV for a sec. I couldn't read it, but I'm not sure how much of an impact this makes to the calves.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: How does that work? How is it a performance?
[00:04:39] Speaker C: And whatever I mean, it basically just builds your muscles up stronger. Instead of like, when you work out and it tears your muscles down, you can take sarms and it kind of builds your muscles up stronger than what it's supposed to be.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Tristan Thompson's old. Maybe he needed it, but he got caught. So Tristan Thompson's gone. Maybe he'll go back and do some more broadcasting while he's suspended. Who knows? And lastly of the news, something that literally just happened maybe an hour ago. The Milwaukee Bucks have dismissed head coach Adrian Griffin after recently hiring him during the offseason. The Bucks are 30 and 13 2nd in the Eastern Conference. A bit of a surprising news today. What do you all think about that? It came from out of nowhere.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: I guess it's just because they want to have a better defense, but, I.
[00:05:26] Speaker C: Don'T know, just the way they reported it, like, dismissed something I think happened internally.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: Maybe it could be another, you know, as we know, last season there was that whole eme thing where he had relations with an employee. I think it was within the Boston Celtics. He gets let go. So this could be another one of those situation.
The terms could be different. I don't know. But some other news that Adrian Wojanowski posted about that is the Bucks are expected to make assistant Joe Prunty the interim head coach for the time being. And more importantly, the Bucs are planning to quickly pursue a small pool of accomplished and available veteran head coaches. That's probably why they got rid of Adrian Griffin. They wanted experience with Doc Rivers near the top of the list. What do you guys think about Doc Rivers?
[00:06:13] Speaker C: Well, it would be a really weird pivot to go from them taking a gamble on a guy that's had zero head coaching experience and then immediately just say, yeah, we need a experienced coach. But I do expect them to have their coach by the all star break, probably. And Nick called it. He said doc Rivers, and sure enough, Woj tweeted that out. They have a small list, and Doc Rivers is the headline of that list.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: Yeah. Nick, what do you think? Do you think this will benefit them in the long run?
[00:06:42] Speaker A: No. They have terrible defense. They're just not anything. They need to make moves. That's what they need to do.
I think the drew holiday trade was a horrible move for them.
[00:06:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:53] Speaker A: Looking back, dame is great at scoring, but he provides zero defense, not good playmaking. It didn't really work out.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: Yeah, pretty weird. Maybe they'll blow another three one lead with Doc Rivers when they get to the playoffs. Who knows? But that's all we have for the news this week, a whole lot going on around the NBA. So it's good to see the NBA is nice and active. So let's dive into our main segment. Last week we had each of our top ten players at every position. We ran to the point guards and the shooting guards. Good amount of controversy from that episode. Hopefully that carries on to today with our small forward and power forward lists. Let's get it started. Nick, with our small forwards, do you have any honorable mentions? And we could just dive into number ten.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: Okay.
I didn't really have any honorable mentions, to be honest with you. I just couldn't really think of any. I felt like it was a pretty down and right list or whatever, but to just think of a name, I'll just say I can't think of a name.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: All right.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: Number ten. Number ten. Paul George.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:08:04] Speaker A: It'S not deep.
[00:08:05] Speaker B: We're starting it hot.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: Paul George, he's one of the most accomplished players in the last ten years, despite not having an MVP, he's averaged 30. Once it was close to 30. He's been the best two way player in the NBA for years.
I mean, Kawhi is right up there with him, but he's not as consistent with staying healthy. Paul George has also led teams to the conference finals multiple times without having an all star or a great supporting.
You know, he's changed the game. He's one of the most.
What's it called? Players of all time.
[00:08:38] Speaker B: Smooth.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: Smooth players of all time.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: Smooth.
[00:08:42] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, it's not a terrible take. I think he's one of the better small forwards of all time. I think if he gets a ring, propel him up.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: I think if he gets a ring this year, he could be that top ten for me. I have him as an honorable mention.
[00:08:52] Speaker C: But I don't have him as an honorable mention.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: Oh, there's a guy I forgot about.
[00:08:58] Speaker C: I will say like ten thinking about that. Who is it?
[00:09:01] Speaker A: George Gervin. Is he shooting?
[00:09:03] Speaker C: Shooting guard. We had him in shooting guards.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: I had a guard last week.
[00:09:06] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:07] Speaker A: Okay, go ahead.
[00:09:10] Speaker C: Ten through my two honorable mentions was like really tough for me. But my honorable mentions I have Paul Pierce and James Worthy.
[00:09:17] Speaker A: James Worthy. Yeah. I can't believe I.
[00:09:20] Speaker C: But I have Paul Pearson, James Worthy as honorable mentions. I guess you could throw Paul George in there too. He's obviously really good at second MVP voting a while back, but at number ten I have human highlight reel. Have Dominic Wilkins.
Yeah, I mean, he's very good. Kind of rolled over in those eighty s and ninety s era, like the early Jordan days, didn't really win much, but that was more just because of the franchise that he was at. But he had the longevity. I want to say he made ten all stars. Yeah. Dominique Wilkins at number ten.
[00:09:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I definitely agree with the Dominique. Take my honorable mentions. I have James Worthy, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George.
When I looked at this and I saw Carmelo Anthony was going to be an honorable mention, I kind of almost regretted it. But now looking at the names ahead of him, I don't. Carmelo is a big name, but outside of all the scoring titles he has, his resume isn't all crazy impressive. So he's going to be my honorable mentions. My number ten is the Miami greyhound from Elizabeth, New Jersey. Rick Barry, one of the all time greats.
Early legend with the Golden State warriors. He's a twelve time all star hall of Famer. Scoring champion, steals champion, NBA champion, all star, MVP, Finals MVP. Four time all NBA or six time all NBA. Four times all ABA. One of the all time great ABA legends. So Rick Barry is going to be my number ten and I think it's a fair spot for him. Okay.
[00:10:45] Speaker A: Paul Pierce will also be on one of my honorable mentions. But at number nine, I have Carmelo Anthony.
He is one of the greatest scorers of all time. Despite not having any playoff success, period. And just not really being able to lead a team, a super team at that. Know AI, Kenya Martin, all them. Not being able to get them out of the first round, that's kind of embarrassing. But at the same time he is a great scorer. And without really abusing the free throw line, yeah, he can get it done.
[00:11:14] Speaker C: Number nine, I have Rick Barry.
Absolute beasts of a score. He averaged 34 times in his career. And in the late 60s he even averaged 35 one year. So pretty insane stuff from Rick Barry. He's well accomplished. Twelve time all star.
I've got the granny shot at number nine.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: My number nine. As Caden already mentioned, I have Dominique Wilkins.
When you look at accolades, I think Rick Barry stacked up against Dominique Wilkins. I think Barry takes it. But from an eye test, I'm going to give it to Dominique. He's one of the flashiest players of all time. One of the greatest dunkers ever. A nine time all star. A scoring champion where he scored 30 points a game. Seven times all NBA and a part of the 75th anniversary team. When you look at his career numbers, it is consistency like at its finest. His rookie year averaged 17 a game.
His last year is 1718 a game. And all throughout the middle you're looking at 27, 39, 30. He's as good as it gets when it comes to a scoring standpoint, especially in a time where he's going against guys like Michael Jordan, all the beasts of the 1980s with hard defense. I think Dominique Wilkins definitely deserves that number nine spot, so I'll have him there.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: Okay, number eight, I have Dominique Wilkins. I feel like you did a pretty good job in explaining.
[00:12:30] Speaker C: Yeah, number eight. This one might cause some controversy. I may have them lower than you all. I have Elgin Baylor at number eight.
[00:12:38] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:12:40] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: Higher.
[00:12:41] Speaker C: Elgin Baylor is one of the best rebounders of all time, but I just think him playing in the early 60s kind of holds me back on him a little bit. He did have that one season where he averaged 38, but like I said, early sixty s. The competition isn't as stout, definitely in those time periods.
And the no rings is kind of crazy as well. I know he's going against some of the best team or most dominant teams of all times, I'd say with the Celtics through that era, but he was just never able to find a ring. That being said, though, this isn't a knock on Elgin Baylor as much as it is just the small four positions in St. Lageeb.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: Yeah, I have to agree. I have kind of the same thinking with my next guy, and it's John Haplecheck who. Yeah, I think it could be a little low for an eight time NBA champion, a 13 time all star. Eleven times all NBA. But again, when you look at the time period and the amount of teams and just the guys I have ahead of him, I think it's definitely fair. A lot of the stats back when he played weren't even tracked. Stats like steals, blocks, rebounds and all that. So again, he's extremely impressive, but when you look at his stats, it's not eye popping. He does have a couple of great years. 2008, a game, 2070 game, all that good stuff, but I mean, only a few years, averaging over 20 a game. But he is an eight time champ, so you can't take that away from him, from those dominant Boston Celtics teams. So time period kind of sucks for John Havelick, but he's definitely an all time great nonetheless.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: All right, number seven. I have James worthy. Might be a little high, but he's a finals mvp. Four time champ, really versatile. He could play the three and the four. He played the four a lot in the early days when Michael Cooper and Byron Scott were part of the starting lineup, but he was still the second best player on the team for the most part after Kareem left and whenever magic took a break. So yeah, James worthy. Seven.
[00:14:36] Speaker C: My number seven, I have Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi has been a pivotal piece in two of probably some of the most entertaining final series of all time. He won finals mvps in both of those series. That being said though, the accolades outside of that, he's only a five time all Star as of right now. I know he's got plenty of more all stars that he'll make in his career, but also he hasn't played 60 games since 20, 18, 19 when he was on Toronto. He should probably play 60 games this year, so that'll help him in that area. But he is just a good winner. He's just a great winner on an all time great defender. I have Kawhi Leonard at number.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: That's, yeah, at my number seven, I have Elgin Baylor, like you said, like I had a list down, but I'm kind of moving it around as I'm hearing things and all that good stuff. So I'm going to have Baylor. I had him one spot higher, but I moved him down one just because he didn't win a ring during a time where there was not very many teams. And the Boston Celtics, yeah, they were kind of dominating. And what sucks is he retired one year before the Lakers ended up winning that ring with Will Chamberlain and Jerry west. So super unfortunate for him, but the resume speaks for itself. Eleven time All Star, ten time all NBA all star MVP hall of Famer and his statistics are insane. You look at 1961 to 62, he averaged 38 points a game, 18 total rebounds a game, four assists.
That's just absurd when you look at it. And that MVP race was so tight he didn't even win it because Bill Russell won that MVP even though Wilchamberlain was averaging 50 a games. So Elgin Baylor, yeah, he was phenomenal, but couldn't get that ring. If he did get that ring and just waited on retiring one year, I think I'd probably have him one spot higher, but for now I'll have him at seven.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: All right, this is really controversial, but number six, I have know and I'm a big. Like Scotty Pippen.
[00:16:36] Speaker C: Yeah, you're a big.
[00:16:37] Speaker A: You know, there's just two guys ahead of them that are first options, who are proven winners, who have taken plenty of their, you know. Whenever Jordan retired for the two years, he still kept them between the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference while averaging around 28 points per game.
Several time all star. I don't know the exact number but I do know that he is basically modern day Kawhi Leonard or Paul George. Just great three and D. He could shoot the three at a really high level, especially being beside Jordan and having like Steve Kerr and those guys. He still showed out as a three point shooter.
So yeah, he's number six for me.
[00:17:22] Speaker C: My number six. Jamie mentioned him earlier. I have Hondo. John Havocek, all time leading scorer in Celtics history. Also had 13 All Stars, which came in the last 13 years of his career.
He's just a great score, great player. Back in the day, he was an eleven time All NBA, eight time all defensive as well. I think that's a thing a lot of people sleep on. He was a great defender and then of course, having eight rings kind of helps your case a little bit.
[00:17:49] Speaker A: Just a little.
[00:17:49] Speaker B: Definitely does. Yeah. All right, moving on to my six. He was lower, but I moved him up. It is the board man who just got paid. Kawhi Leonard, one of the all time greats of our generation, especially. He's a five time all star steals champ, five time All NBA, two time NBA champion.
He has the accolades, seven time all defensive player, two time Finals MVP with the spurs and the Raptors. And who knows, he might go right back to the finals this year. With the way the Clippers are looking, it is definitely not out of the picture, but Kawhi has been phenomenal his entire career. Did miss a lot of time due to injury, so that is kind of unfortunate. But he's just been incredible, especially in Toronto. He was phenomenal. 26 points a game the next year on the Clippers, 27 points a game. Right now he's still at 23 points a game, sharing the floor with four of the greatest of all time. So Kawhi, he definitely deserves his number six spot. And if he gets that ring this year, who knows, he might go up to number five for me.
Okay.
[00:18:51] Speaker A: All right. Just for now, I'll say Kawhi is five. I do have him at four on my list, but I'll move him back to five because I'm pretty confident in something good happening for him this season. So I will say Kawhi Leonard is know. I feel like he is one of the most underrated players of all time. Just know he was able to bring no player in NBA history.
Probably. I mean, you could probably go back and check, as far as I know, has been able to go to a team for one season and win a title that year. And while going on, in my opinion, the greatest playoff run of the probably.
[00:19:34] Speaker C: That or dirt like 2016. Braun, maybe?
[00:19:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
But nobody's had a carry job like Kawhi.
[00:19:42] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
The only one.
[00:19:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:45] Speaker C: Really? I would say Kawhi is probably the best one I've seen. And second, maybe Yokich last year it was pretty close.
[00:19:52] Speaker A: So that's why he's five for.
[00:19:53] Speaker C: So, yeah, that's fair. Completely. And I agree with what you said. His resume is only going to get built up with what they have in Los Angeles. At number five for me, I have Scotty Pippen, though. Jordan's right hand man.
Absolute beast. One of the best defenders of all time, especially out on the perimeter. Really versatile defender, six time NBA champ. And it's not because of Jordan. He helped Jordan get those six champs. Jordan doesn't win those without Scotty. I think everybody can agree with that. He led the NBA in steals one year, ten time all defensive team. You can go on and on about his defensive game, and he was just a guy that knew his role as well. He fit into the number two guy behind Michael perfectly, and not a lot of players can say that.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: Definitely true. That's why I have Scotty Pippen in the exact same spot. Kaden kind of hit the nail on the head. The seven time All Star hall of Famer, seven time All NBA, six time NBA champion, ten time all defensive team, and a former all star MVP. So you might as well throw that in there, too. He was Jordan's right hand man. And when Jordan left, he still went out and had phenomenal seasons.
One of the greatest defenders ever, not the most eye popping scorer ever. His highest scoring total for his career was 22 points a game in 1993.
But when you look at the steals, he averaged 2.9 in a season, which led the NBA.
Two. He only averaged less than one steal once in his career, and it was his final year in Chicago. So big shout out. Scottie Pittman. He's my number five and definitely one of the greatest of all time. But Kawhi Leonard is on his tail, in my opinion.
[00:21:29] Speaker A: Okay, number four, I have Kevin Durant.
The guy ahead of him has more points, more rings. So let's not get confused with Durant. You know, he's top three scorer of all time, but never has been able to prove himself on a team by himself or been able to prove himself as being able to win a championship by himself. As somebody that watched him for the first ten years of his career, I can confidently say that he cannot get it done by himself.
He's always had super teams. There's not been a year of his career besides his rookie year where he has not had another all star on the team.
But he is one of the greatest scorers of all time and he is a very underrated defender. And I do think that he's a top 15 player of all time but not number three. All time is small forward.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah.
[00:22:20] Speaker C: I mean, I could not disagree with you more there probably.
I have Dr. J at four. I think there is a gap, too. I think there's a big gap between the rest of the list and the top three.
[00:22:33] Speaker A: I do, too.
[00:22:35] Speaker C: No offense to Dr. J. He's a four time mvp, 16 time all star. He's got the accolades. It's just straight strict. And this is all bias, too, by the way, because this is just straight eye test. For me personally when I watch Kevin Durant, it's a little bit different than me watching Julia serving because all I can see from Julia serving is highlights in almost black and white. But as for Dr. J, probably the greatest ABA player of all time, Rick Barry, and then dominated in the NBA as well.
He made an all star team every season that he played basketball, whether that was the NBA or ABA. That's pretty impressive. He was an absolute beast scoring. And he did get himself a ring, right? Three did three. Two were in the ABA. But yeah, he did get himself a ring and NBA play as well.
[00:23:28] Speaker B: Him and Moses, that was a good team. I also have Dr. J at 416 time All Star, five time all ABA, four time mvp, seven times all NBA again. The resume speaks for itself. But I think KD is just better.
[00:23:45] Speaker C: He's just better.
[00:23:48] Speaker B: You have to take time periods into account. The competition was not as stout with Dr. J's air as it was in KD's. And Kevin Durant completely revolutionized the game, became, quite possibly debatably, one of the greatest scorers of all time as a seven footer. He completely reinvented the way of basketball, being a seven footer and doing things that he does as a three point shooter, a slasher, a mid range shooter. Katie does it all. And yes, Julius Irving was a monster, especially when you look at the stats. Second year in the league averaged 32 a game and 27 right after that. But I think KD was just on another level, seven footer, doing everything that he does, winning, scoring titles, championships. And I mean, yes, he was on a super team for those championships, but he was the Finals MVP.
He was the player on that team that won them those games. He was in the clutch. We all know about that dagger three that happened against the Cavs.
[00:24:42] Speaker A: Against one all star. Against a team of one all star. We're making the big deal out of that.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: If you make the finals, you're a great team nonetheless. I don't care how many all stars you have, right? Yeah, but Katie still hit a dagger. He still won the Finals MVP. Can't take that away from.
Doesn't matter who he faced. I don't care if you're facing a team of fourth graders. If you made the finals, you made the finals. And you're a good team at that.
[00:25:06] Speaker C: The best player on a championship team.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: Steph is miles better than him. Always has been, always will be.
[00:25:12] Speaker B: Maybe all time. I would take Steph Curry over Kevin Durant for sure. But when you look at them together in the finals, mvps. Kevin Durant won those awards, and you can't take that away from him. So.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: I can. I do.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: You can go ahead and make your Julius Irving argument.
[00:25:25] Speaker A: The guy with more rings, more points, more mvps, more all star appearances. More all NBA appearances. Yeah, I'll take Julia serving all day. So that's three.
[00:25:34] Speaker B: I don't know about all day.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: I will. All day, all day, every day.
[00:25:37] Speaker B: Two time champ, four time score.
[00:25:39] Speaker A: I mean, I watched Kevin Durant for ten years.
I watched Kevin Durant for ten years.
[00:25:44] Speaker B: Ten time all NBA for ten years.
[00:25:46] Speaker A: I watched Kevin Durant on my favorite team for ten years. Extensively, every game.
[00:25:50] Speaker B: What's your opinion on his 2013 MVP?
[00:25:53] Speaker A: Great.
[00:25:54] Speaker B: What about it?
[00:25:54] Speaker A: I'm just saying my favorite player was.
[00:25:56] Speaker B: On that team, Russ. Yeah.
[00:25:58] Speaker A: So what about it? He didn't play. Russell Westbrook didn't play that season.
[00:26:01] Speaker B: Katie still won that MVP. Good.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: I'm not taking it away from him, but we're taking a three time MVP against one MVP.
[00:26:09] Speaker C: We're in the ABA.
[00:26:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: Who was in the ABA?
[00:26:13] Speaker A: Rick Barry. I mean, you all were talking about.
[00:26:14] Speaker C: Rick Barry and all that, but that was it.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: Katie won this MVP.
[00:26:21] Speaker C: Rick Barry, George Gervin and Dr. J, when they were in the ABA, averaged 35.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: Yeah, but people were doing that in the NBA, too.
[00:26:28] Speaker B: But, I mean, katie, you have to look at his longevity, too. He's been doing it for so long. Never a year under 20 a game.
[00:26:33] Speaker C: Katie's average. He's a great score.
[00:26:34] Speaker A: Every great.
[00:26:35] Speaker C: He's the best score of all time.
[00:26:36] Speaker B: I mean, how old is he right now?
[00:26:38] Speaker A: Jordan average has 30 points per game as his career average. Katie doesn't even have close to that list.
[00:26:43] Speaker B: Katie's 35 average, 30 a game right now.
[00:26:46] Speaker A: Good for him.
[00:26:47] Speaker C: Jordan was doing average, 27 and a.
[00:26:48] Speaker A: Half Jordan was doing the same thing again.
[00:26:50] Speaker B: Jordan. I'm not going to.
[00:26:51] Speaker C: Yeah, Jordan's better.
[00:26:52] Speaker A: Jordan way better score. But we're not going to say he's a better score than Michael Jordan.
[00:26:56] Speaker C: Okay, but I'm saying right now, you put Kevin Durant one on one against any player in NBA history.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: I'm taking Katie.
[00:27:02] Speaker A: I'm not.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: Who are you taking?
[00:27:04] Speaker C: In my opinion?
[00:27:04] Speaker A: I mean, you think that Giannis is going to just let him take him all the way down the court?
[00:27:09] Speaker C: I think Katie's the best handling big man of all time.
[00:27:11] Speaker B: Definitely.
[00:27:12] Speaker A: Okay, that's fine. But I don't think that he's beating any player all time one on one. Kawhi's got him plenty of times.
I don't know. Defensively, he's going to get shut down. Defensively, he is going to get shut down.
[00:27:24] Speaker B: He doesn't get shut down.
[00:27:25] Speaker C: He's never been shut down.
He was 18 in the league. Not getting shut down. Fine.
[00:27:31] Speaker A: He was getting shut down last in the playoffs last year in the first round by somebody that's six three who consistently.
[00:27:40] Speaker C: He blocked him like three times. He got him in game one.
[00:27:43] Speaker A: Yeah, he got him in game, was guarding him on an elite level consistently.
Devin Booker was the best player in that series.
[00:27:52] Speaker B: I love Devin Booker. Yeah, awesome. But this is about Katie, and Katie's better than Julius Irving. So let's move on to number two and one, which is probably the same order for all of us, unless one of us has Harrison Barnes over LeBron. But two, I'm pretty sure we all got Larry Bird.
Yeah, I'm sure Caden wants to talk about Larry as a Celtics fan here. So what you got to say for Larry?
[00:28:16] Speaker C: Yeah. Even counting Bill Russell, Larry Bird's greatest celtic of all time, in my humble opinion, he is. And I will say larry Bird's better than Kevin Durant, too. And that's a very popular belief that a lot of people have. I actually kind of expected you to have Katie over Bird.
[00:28:33] Speaker B: I didn't really ever consider it, but, I mean, if Katie, there's some things he can do to take that spot from Larry.
[00:28:38] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, for sure. Katie also has plenty of time. I mean, he's 35, averaging 29 and 29.6 the first 25 or so games of the year. He looked like the MVP, and he still could be considered for it if Phoenix is able to turn around and start winning some serious games. I mean, just last night you had 45 and they came back down 20.
Yeah. Enough rambling about Katie, though. Larry Bird, absolute beast. Changed the game was kind of one of the first wings to just do everything. He was one of the first point forwards, really, in NBA history. He can run an offense.
He was the best defender on the court when he played, and he was the best scorer on the court when he played. The best trash talker in NBA history.
Larry Bird had it all just an abs. And what's crazy is that everybody wants to talk about Larry Bird playing back in the day. You can look at the way that Larry Bird scored. It would go back and watch how he played the game. His game translates perfectly into now, today.
[00:29:34] Speaker B: Yes. With the way he shot the ball at an elite level. He won a three point contest, for goodness sake. The twelveth time all star. He got the championships ten times, all NBA, a rookie of the year, three time all defensive. He legitimately did it all. Don't forget the three mvps. So Larry Bird, if you want to talk about a player that would translate into today's game, I think he's the epitome of that.
He could dunk the ball on anybody. He could find anybody in a passing lane, no know if it was contested or not. Any shot that Larry Bird had any sort of space in, you could probably count on it going in. He did, unfortunately, have his career cut a little bit short due to those back injuries that he had. But nonetheless, Larry Birds has a incredible resume for all that time in the NBA, so got to give the hall of Famers props.
So that leaves one guy.
[00:30:27] Speaker A: Yeah, LeBron, I guess.
[00:30:29] Speaker C: Yeah, sure.
[00:30:30] Speaker B: None of us here are the biggest LeBron fans, but I guess we kind of have to talk about him.
[00:30:37] Speaker C: He's one of the best basketball players of all time.
[00:30:39] Speaker B: Yeah, he's one of the best. Yeah, one of the best. He's not the best. Let's get that straight. He's like four or five, but this.
[00:30:45] Speaker C: Is where I drink my haterade.
[00:30:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm drinking my haterade hard right now, but I guess we'll talk about him. I'm looking at his basketball reverence, and he has, like, 45 nicknames. I'm not going to read them because the Akron Hammer. Who has ever called him that?
[00:31:00] Speaker C: China.
[00:31:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
Lachina, Benjamin buckets. Like, who has ever called.
[00:31:06] Speaker C: Yeah, I've never.
[00:31:07] Speaker B: The little emperor.
[00:31:09] Speaker C: The little emperor. He's like six, nine.
[00:31:11] Speaker B: What is this? But still, 19 time all star. Um, he's 2007 scoring champ, four time NBA champ, 19 times all NBA, four time MVP. Four time finals MVP. Lebron.
He has that bubble guppy ring in 2020, but, yeah, not four rings. Yes, we'll give him three and a half, but still debatably the greatest of all time. Not in my opinion, but he's definitely there and his stats speak for themselves. He's definitely the number one by a decent, decent gap.
[00:31:42] Speaker C: Okay, Nick, hold on. Do you think LeBron's a better scorer all time than Kevin Durant?
[00:31:46] Speaker B: No. Okay. Thank God.
[00:31:50] Speaker C: That's a good argument, though. I feel like it's close. LeBron is definitely a only average two.
[00:31:55] Speaker A: Less points than him all time as far as career stats, but he's a way better playmaker, defender, everything else.
[00:32:02] Speaker C: Yeah, I'll give it that. Yep.
[00:32:05] Speaker B: All right, so with the small forwards out of the way now, we could dive into our power forwards, which could get a little more controversial. I can see that. Top of the list, getting a little talkative. So let's dive into it. Nick, with any honorable mentions, you have.
[00:32:19] Speaker A: To have, I really think this one guy shouldn't be here, but, I mean, he has a ring, so I guess it kind of puts him here. I have Anthony Davis as one of the.
Whatever it's called.
[00:32:29] Speaker C: Legends.
[00:32:29] Speaker A: Yeah. And then I have Chris Weber as the other one.
[00:32:31] Speaker B: Shout out, seaweb.
[00:32:32] Speaker C: It's fair.
[00:32:33] Speaker B: Sacramento king legend number ten.
[00:32:37] Speaker A: I'm still thinking about that Kevin Durant thing.
Number ten, I have Chris Bosch. He helped the career saving rebound. More important than the three of Ray Allen, I think.
[00:32:48] Speaker C: Yeah. Just as important.
[00:32:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:50] Speaker A: They both save, you know, two time NBA champ. If Chris Bosch did not say that he wanted to take the seat, the Heat do not ever won a championship, in my opinion. And if he wouldn't have ever got the heart condition, he'd probably still be playing. Probably still.
He's only like. Maybe like last year, the year before that, he would have retired.
[00:33:11] Speaker C: He would have just recently retired.
[00:33:13] Speaker B: I think he would have retired around the same time as Wade.
[00:33:15] Speaker A: One of the best three point shooting big men ever. And he was playing in the.
[00:33:22] Speaker C: That's pretty well said. I think a lot can be said. I was talking about it with Pippen earlier. A lot can be said about players that are willing to take a lesser role to win games.
Players shouldn't be cut down for that. But I do have him as an honorable mention alongside Powell and Dennis Rodman. And my number ten, I went ahead and put Anthony Davis. I think he's one of the best rim protectors of all time. And not even being seven foot, that's a very impressive feat. He absolutely dominated on the scoring end when he was in New Orleans. And now that he's gone, to of.
[00:33:57] Speaker B: He's.
[00:33:58] Speaker C: He goes back and forth with being the number one option because you can call him a number two behind LeBron, but oftentimes he steps up his scoring game when he needs to. I know last year against the Nuggets, he had a pretty solid series. Even though he wasn't able to stop Yokich, no one could. He was able to get his own. I know in one of those games, last series he had 45 or something close to it. So 80 is still performing at a really high level. He's only going to build his resume up from here, hopefully for him. I went ahead and put him at ten.
[00:34:26] Speaker B: Yeah. My honorable mentions. I have Draymond Green just because I.
[00:34:30] Speaker A: Think I like that a lot.
Yeah, he might be actually, he might be ted for me.
[00:34:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I got Draymond Green in my honorable mention. People want to clown on him all they want, but he is one of the most best defenders of greatest defenders of all time. One of the greatest team leaders of all time. The warriors aren't a dynasty without Draymond Green, and people got to accept that. So he's going to be my honorable mention alongside Chris Weber, Chris Bosch and Palgasal.
So at number ten. Whoa, you're looking at me crazy.
[00:34:56] Speaker C: No, I'm looking at you crazy. I don't like the dynasty take about Draymond.
[00:35:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:02] Speaker B: Really?
[00:35:03] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I think Draymond. Okay, I'll say maybe they win like one less title.
Steph, Katie and Claire.
[00:35:13] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what I was going to say. They would win, too.
They don't beat Boston.
[00:35:18] Speaker C: I think it's fair to say they don't win the first one.
I think they beat Boston. I think they were like significantly better.
[00:35:25] Speaker A: Than us, I guess. Wiggins, he was exactly elite on Elite.
[00:35:29] Speaker B: So I think still, Draymond Green is one of the biggest contributors of all time, give or take. But number ten, as much as I hate him, it's Anthony data Davis. I do have the unibrow here just because. Anthony data Davis. Yeah, he's hurt all the time, but he does have the.
He's an eight time all star, four time all NBA, and he has a half a ring, three time block champ.
[00:35:55] Speaker A: He has a half a ring.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: He has a half of a ring, four time all defenses, and he's on the NBA 75th anniversary team.
I don't know if that.
[00:36:02] Speaker A: Shocker.
[00:36:03] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't know if that's deserved. I think Tracy McGrady should have been up there instead of him. But still.
[00:36:11] Speaker A: It'S not even remotely close.
[00:36:12] Speaker B: Yeah. Dwight Howard definitely should have been there over him. But Anthony Davis nonetheless, when you look at his career stats outside of his rookie year, it has been just consistency. Yes. There's a lot of missed time. He has never played a full season in his career. The most games he's played is 75.
[00:36:26] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:36:27] Speaker B: Twice.
[00:36:27] Speaker C: That's pretty sad.
[00:36:28] Speaker B: Yeah. And that was 2017. Since 2017, the most games he's played was in 2022 with 56. So he misses a lot of time.
[00:36:36] Speaker A: But he does miss a lot of time. It's really annoying.
[00:36:40] Speaker B: Yeah. But even in that time, when he does play, his stats are incredible. One of the greatest rim protectors of all time, like Caden said, he averaged 2.9 blocks for the Pelicans in 2014. Even now, he's averaging 2.4. He might. Will he win the block championship?
[00:36:53] Speaker A: No.
[00:36:54] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:36:54] Speaker A: Because you have Rudy Gobert. Rudy Gobert or Jaron.
[00:36:57] Speaker B: Yeah, Jaron. Chet Longgren has been incredible.
[00:37:00] Speaker C: Yeah, that's.
[00:37:00] Speaker B: Victor Webbajama has been incredible. A lot of great shot blockers in today's game, but nonetheless, Anthony Davis has been incredible. Did recently have the worst.
[00:37:06] Speaker C: Have half a foot on ad, too.
[00:37:08] Speaker B: Yeah, that is true.
[00:37:10] Speaker A: Jaren's probably.
[00:37:11] Speaker C: Well, yeah, they're the same height if you get into, like, Wimby and Chet.
[00:37:15] Speaker B: But Ad is a way better score than Jaren, than any of them.
[00:37:19] Speaker C: And going off of that, something that a lot of people forget is like, ad did not come into the league being like that elite score.
[00:37:25] Speaker B: No, he was averaging three level game.
[00:37:28] Speaker C: He had to adapt to the game, and he adapted better than almost any big, maybe any big that I've ever seen.
[00:37:34] Speaker B: Yeah, his second year jump was incredible. 13 a game to 20 a game.
[00:37:37] Speaker C: I just mean more so, like, from where he was able to score, he's a legitimate threat beyond the three point line now. And in college, he wasn't even allowed to step foot out of the paint.
[00:37:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, his rookie year, he shot 0% from 30. His rookie year.
[00:37:51] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:37:52] Speaker B: And then he probably didn't even shoot one. Yeah. And then that compared to 2015, just four years later, he averaged. He shot 32% from three. Now he's at 31. So he has been way better shooter. He's a much more dynamic player now. So not the biggest ad guy. I'm a Kings fan, so I hate the Lakers, but you got to give him his flowers. So that's my number ten.
[00:38:12] Speaker A: All right, number nine. I, Palgas hall, two time champ, and a lot of people just forget that he was one of the best players of 2003 to 2010. He didn't miss the playoffs a lot. He was on the spurs, the Bulls and all those teams that he went to, they were good. He went to the Bucks. A couple of years after that they went to the conference finals. So he also played in Portland the year that they got to the conference finals. So every team he goes to somehow finds success.
[00:38:38] Speaker C: Yeah, great leader. Yeah, I had a hard time leaving him out, but for me at number nine, I have Kevin McHale, celtic legend. One of the best, maybe the best six man of all time. In his short time coming off the bench, he won a couple of six man of the years, but he also averaged 26 one year in the 80s.
Was a really consistent score through the late 80s as well. Doesn't have a ton of all stars, only seven. But he is a three time NBA champ and a six time all defense as well.
[00:39:10] Speaker B: Yeah, this 9th spot I also have Herman Munster, aka that's his nickname. I don't know. Kevin McHale. Yeah, Eddie Munster. He likes tables or something. But the seven time All Star, hall of Famer, three time NBA champ, two times, six man of the year, six times all defensive. So again, Kevin McHale, when you look at Celtics history, it is so stacked.
But Mikhail even through all of that has been phenomenal. And his resume stacks up against anybody. So he'll be my number nine.
[00:39:39] Speaker A: Number eight. I have Dennis Rodman, I'm thinking correctly, he has five rings. He also has a depoy. He's like a six time all star, or maybe a little less. But I do know that he is one of the greatest defenders and the best rebounder of all time. He played center a little bit for the Bulls, but for the most part he was known for being a forward. He played a little bit of small forward for the Pistons back when they won their two titles.
He's just a big reason as to why Jordan and the Bulls were able to win three more. Because I feel like without him they probably don't win those just because you go from Horace Grant, then you go to Dennis Robin. And those Dennis Robin teams arguably were slightly better just because they had a little bit more intensity. I guess just because Horace Grant's like a passive guy, even though he went on to win another ring after he left the Bulls. But yeah, Dennis Robin is at number eight for me.
[00:40:35] Speaker C: My number eight. Going with an old head here. I got Elvin Hayes. He's a twelve time all star. He was one of scoring champ as well, a couple rebounding champ. And he does have a ring on his hand. He's maybe one of the best rookies of all time. Or maybe he is like the best rookie of all time. He averaged 28 as soon as he came into the league with 17 rebounds a game that year. He averaged 18 rebounds a game one year and 16.9 another year. So I mean, just a beast of a career for Elvin Hayes. He got Washington their only ring. They have, I'm pretty sure.
[00:41:10] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:41:11] Speaker C: Right.
[00:41:13] Speaker A: Speaking of that, that was the only season in their franchise history where they got more than 50 wins.
[00:41:17] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:41:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:18] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:41:20] Speaker B: I could blame John Wall for that.
[00:41:21] Speaker A: Yeah, you're right.
[00:41:22] Speaker B: I can too. John Wall's fault. I also have Elvin Hayes at my 8th spot. I think cadence just copying my list and it's hurting my feelings. But nonetheless, Elvin Hayes has been absolutely dominant. He started his career with averaging twelve straight double double seasons. Like Cadence said, he might be the greatest rookie of all time. 28 points a game, 17 rebounds.
It's incredible what he did. Washington's only championship alongside guys like Wes unselled.
[00:41:48] Speaker A: Earl Monroe. Yeah.
[00:41:49] Speaker B: Earl deferral Monroe, two time rebounding champ. Six times All NBA, twelve time all star. He has a scoring title, which came in his rookie year. And he's on that 75th anniversary team. So Elvin Hayes does not get the recognition he deserves in NBA history because just looking at his basketball reference page, you would think he is a top ten player of all time. But he's not. So he's my number eight, number seven.
[00:42:12] Speaker A: I have Kevin McHale.
I don't know too much to say about him, but he was a really good second option. A couple of time all star, really good defensive player. He was willing to come off the bench.
I don't really necessarily consider him the second best player that was on those Celtics teams. I'd have to give it to Robert Parrish, but I think that he's right.
[00:42:31] Speaker C: There behind take fair take at number seven. I have probably the shortest guy on this list. Charles Barkley.
Yeah, Charles Barkley. Career averaged a double double. He's an eleven time all star, making an All NBA team in all eleven of those seasons as well. He does have an MVP too. One of the best players of all time. To not have a rink that middle section of his career. He was an absolute stud. Carried the Suns and the Sixers for a little bit. Did he make a finals? I think he made one final.
[00:43:04] Speaker B: Yeah, he did.
[00:43:04] Speaker A: But they lost against Jordan 93.
[00:43:07] Speaker B: I think he's one of the earlier ones.
[00:43:09] Speaker C: That's what I was thinking. But yeah. Alabama native Charles Barkley. I've got him at number seven.
[00:43:15] Speaker B: I hate Auburn. All right, my number seven, I have Bob Pettit, a very, very old head. His real name is Robert Eagley Pettit Jr. Which is crazy that there's a Robert Eagley Pettit senior, but nonetheless, he is one of the greatest early players of all time. He was the first ever NBA MVP. Did it for the Atlanta Hawks. And he has two mvps. He's a two time scoring champ. Eleven time all star and one NBA championship. Four time all star mvp, too. And eleven times all NBA. So a great, great resume. He had a pretty short career, but he is one of the all time great scorers. His rookie year average, 20. Goes to 2524-2436-2731-2827-22. To end his career. So complete consistency from the beginning all the way to the end. From Bob Pettit. Again, first ever NBA MVP. So I got to give him his flowers for that. He was a great shooter for his time, too, so his game definitely would have translated to a later time period.
[00:44:17] Speaker A: All right, number six out of Charles Barkley as well.
He is an mvp, like we already said. Also, one trip to the NBA Finals, he was on a couple of really good teams, specifically in Houston. Near the end of his career. Him, Pippin and Hakeem Lodge, one all teamed up for, I think, one to two years. I don't really specifically remember, but they did not end up doing anything. I think that was the year that Tim Duncan and David Robinson won the championship. But, yeah, Charles Barkley is number six on my list.
[00:44:49] Speaker C: My number six. Jamie just talked about him, so I'll be brief. Bob Pettit, he was an all star every year he played. Has a couple of mvps.
Averaged 31 in a season. Yeah, I mean, Bob had, it speaks for himself, played way back in the day, but has the accolades to keep him up there with the all time greats, especially at the power four position.
[00:45:11] Speaker B: NBA two k. My team legend, Bob Pettit. Next up, I have Charles Barkley. And I said earlier that LeBron had a ton of nicknames on his basketball reference page, but I'm looking at Charles Barkley and I think there's like 20 of them here and they're all just completely disrespectful.
The wide load from Leeds. Because he's from Leeds. Love boat, food world, ton of fun, good time, blimp.
[00:45:36] Speaker C: Food world is awesome.
[00:45:37] Speaker A: It's pretty funny.
[00:45:39] Speaker B: Bread truck, leaning tower of pizza.
Completely the prince of pizza. They're just disrespecting Chuck, but nonetheless get away from the food thing. Charles Barkley is a dog. Hall of Famer. Eleven time all star. Eleven time all NBA one finals appearance did come against Jordan. So, yeah, you can just count that out. And a one time mvp. Yeah, he's only six foot six, but man, did he dominate at that power forward position. One of the greatest rebounders of all time, if not debatably the greatest. Only once in his career, he averaged less than ten a game. Ten rebounds. And that was his rookie year with 8.6. So even all the way down in Houston in 1999, when he was an old man, he still got 10.5 boards a game, 14 points. So he was an all time score, all time rebounder. Shot the ball extremely efficiently, 64% from the field in a couple of years. So the round mound of rebound, quite possibly the funniest basketball player of all time, is going to be a number six spot for me.
[00:46:40] Speaker A: Number five, I have Carl Malone.
I mean, you could call him one of the greatest scorers of all time, but he did play like 25 years.
[00:46:47] Speaker B: That's a ton of free throws.
[00:46:49] Speaker A: Yeah, he's kind of a little bit of a Mickey Mouse scorer to me.
[00:46:53] Speaker B: Kind of like Shayville, just Alexander.
[00:46:55] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. Yes, exactly like sga.
He's a great rebounder. He's not a great defender. He was on a super team that did not win. Kind of like the modern day. A lot of people compared that 304 Lakers team to the Lakers of two years ago, which I kind of see with Gary Payton, Malone, Shaq Kobe.
[00:47:15] Speaker C: Just old.
[00:47:16] Speaker A: Exactly.
So they just weren't able to do anything. And just like him and John Stockton were not able to do anything. Made several finals with Stockton, but they never could be Jordan.
[00:47:27] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, it was such an old Lakers team, it reminds me of the 1020 Lakers. So I'm pretty sure if you put that Lakers team in the bubble, they might have won a ring.
[00:47:34] Speaker A: Which one?
[00:47:34] Speaker B: The 24 one. Yeah, if you put that 2004 one in the bubble, maybe they want a ring because that's the only way they win a ring.
[00:47:42] Speaker A: What about the 2010 13 Lakers? Was Steve Nash Howard that didn't make the playoffs, that team?
[00:47:48] Speaker B: Yeah, that was sad. They're a lost cause.
[00:47:51] Speaker C: I still think that's a little low.
[00:47:53] Speaker A: What, for Malone? Yeah, I have some reasons for the three ahead of them that's valid.
[00:48:00] Speaker B: I definitely think it's plausible. I could definitely see that being the case, though.
[00:48:03] Speaker C: Yeah, I think honestly, five through two can probably be interchangeable. We probably all have the same guys right there, potentially. I have Giannis at number five, though. He's got room to work with, and I think that Giannis gets another ring at some point in his career.
[00:48:19] Speaker A: I hope not.
[00:48:20] Speaker C: I don't know if it'll be with the Bucks, but I think he does get another ring. He's a two time MVP, though, and he could win another one of those as well. Seven time All Star, seven time All NBA. And people forget, I mean, he's still relatively young, so he's only 29 this year and he's still averaging over 30 a game.
Yeah, plenty to do still for Yanis to catch some ground on the guys that I have up in front of him, but I'm listening to arguments for him being even maybe the second greatest power forward of all time.
[00:48:51] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, that whole five through two spot is extremely interchangeable. I also have Giannis on Ticumpo at my five. He's a freak on the court and a freak elsewhere. Seven time All Star, seven times all NBA, two time MVP. Just one of the greatest of all time for being drafted low, too. He really does it all on his position list. He's a power forward, small forward, point guard and shooting guard. So, yeah, you do you, Yanis. But, I mean, he's only 29 and with all the accolades, there is definitely a lot of time for him to keep it going and maybe in a big, maybe take that one spot one day. But as of right now, he's got.
[00:49:31] Speaker A: A lot of catching up.
[00:49:31] Speaker C: He has a lot of catching up to do because five rings. Yeah.
[00:49:34] Speaker B: I mean, number one, I think it solidified number one for a while, but I'm not saying Giannis definitely has it in him. He's the most dominant player that we've seen since Shaquille O'Neill. So, Yanis, he's my number five.
[00:49:45] Speaker A: All right, number four. I have Yanis.
The reason, I'll just talk about why I have him above Carl Malone because I think what you said was good. He has the ring, for one, and he did it in his 20s. He has never had a super team.
Now, I wouldn't consider that a super team just because of how bad they are defensively and they've had pieces fall off, stuff like that. But regardless, ever since he came into the league, he's been really good. He was not supposed.
If you would have told them that this would be what they look like ten years later when they drafted Jabari Parker, they probably would not have thought that because back then, Jabari Parker was the first option. And now Yanis took that over. And he's won a ring. Two mvps. A depoy. Most improved player.
[00:50:29] Speaker C: Yeah, completely fair, this guy. You all might think he's a little bit low. I have Dirk at number four. Yeah, I know that one hurts nick.
[00:50:37] Speaker B: A little, young man.
[00:50:40] Speaker C: Okay. I have Dirk at number four. I think he has one of the most valuable, maybe the most valuable ring of all time.
Absolutely willed them to that finals championship and won an MVP, like, three or four years before he even won a ring, which is pretty crazy as well.
He played a lot throughout the back half of his career. You can't really hold that against him. When he slowed down, especially there in the late 2010s, he does have the longevity. He played for what, like 2021 years, probably something crazy. And he stayed with the maths his whole career, which I can always give credit to, loyalty. But that being said, the guys in front of him, I don't know. Carl Malone is in front of him for me because of the scoring aspect of it. Carl Malone had the longevity as well, and I think Carl has two mvps compared.
[00:51:30] Speaker B: Dirk was a better score than Carl Malone, though.
[00:51:31] Speaker C: But Carl Malone's the third best score, or like the third.
[00:51:36] Speaker B: I think he's first in all time and made free throws, too.
[00:51:39] Speaker C: Well, I mean, I don't know.
Carl Malone played less time and scored more. Scoring free throws is still scoring points in the grand scheme of things, especially when you're third all time scoring. He was second for forever until LeBron passed him.
And then Kevin Garnett I have above him just because I think Kevin Garnett was such a significantly better.
[00:52:03] Speaker A: Kevin Garnett above who?
[00:52:04] Speaker B: Dirk.
[00:52:04] Speaker C: I'm talking about why I have Malone and KG over Dirk. I think Dirk is just a significantly better defender, does have that MVP, just like Dirk, and has a rink that he was a huge part of as well.
[00:52:17] Speaker B: Yeah, my fourth spot, I have Carl Malone.
Yeah, I think everything's kind of been said that needs to be said about Carl. He's a 14 time all star hall of Famer, 14 times all NBA. He has two mvps, but even through all of that, couldn't get the ring. He was with John Stockton, who's debatably a top five point guard of all time, but could not get it done.
[00:52:37] Speaker A: Josh Getty's mentors.
[00:52:38] Speaker B: Yeah, allegations are not car. Malone is still an all time great, but it kind of holds him back a little bit from good guy Dirk nowitzky. So, yeah, when you look at his numbers, they're phenomenal. 272-931-2928 points a game. He got there. But free throws, I think that gets taken into account. And then he just couldn't get the big one, even with super team Kobe and Shaq. So that puts Malone at four for me.
[00:53:03] Speaker A: All right, so the only thing from I have number three being Dirk. The only thing that keeps him not being two, just for me, is bias, pure bias, because Kevin Garnett is from the same area I am. And it's such a huge gap defensively that it's kind of crazy. But I do think Dirk is a way more elite score.
He averaged like 27 versus Garnet averaging like 22. But regardless, Dirk Nowitzky has probably, in my opinion, the second most impressive ring of all time, number one being Kawhi Leonard. To me, the MVP also was really great. Two finals appearances and in all of them he played good. Regardless. Regardless, Dirk doesn't really. A lot of superstars. You can look at him and you can say they had a bad season or they had a bad thing in the playoffs. Like a bad reputation in the playoffs. Like James Harden, for example, always, never does great in the playoffs. But Dirk does not have that reputation because he always could get far.
The only year that he did not get far was the year that they lost with one seed, his MVP season, the we believe warriors. But despite that, I still think that he's the third best in this position.
[00:54:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't know if anybody was beating the Weebly warriors at that time. That was pure willpower from.
So, kaden, I think you're at number two. Or wait, three. Yeah, three.
[00:54:25] Speaker C: Yeah, at number three. This was tough. I am going to go Carl Malone at three, though you might think KG is a little too high, which actually. No, you have it at two, don't you?
But I have Carl Malone at number three. I was just talking about third leading scorer in NBA history. Absolutely. Ruled over the 90s, if Jordan didn't exist, he would have at least.
But he dominated in the west in the least. Him and John Stockton both. I think Stockton elevated Carl Malone's game a lot, just with his playmaking ability. But Malone was able to finish at the rim and he could extend his range a little bit. Rebound as well. 14 All Stars. So, you know, he has longevity. 14 time all NBA as well, which is pretty insane. And then has a couple of mvps.
[00:55:13] Speaker B: Yeah, two and three was tough. So rather than two and three, I'm going to do a two, a two b type thing between Dirk and Kevin Garnett. Just because I think there's an argument that could be made for either side, but I just think it's too evenly matched for me to put one over the other. Here I have Garnett over Dirk, but I don't know. With Dirk's ring being one of the hardest earned of all time. He was sick in that final series and still dropped buckets on LeBron and Dwayne Wade and beat them. That was a super team that he went out and beat with a very old Jason Kidd and Jason Terry, Sean Marion, Tyson Chandler. Tyson Chandler. Yeah, it was a good team. But comparing them to that super team that Miami had and Dirk still went out and beat him, you can't take that away from him. But at the same time, Kevin Garnett with that ring, with the Celtics alongside Paul Pierce, another very impressive ring. You could just compare him however you want. Kevin Garnett was a way better defender. Dirk was so much more dynamic on offense. There's an argument that can be made for both sides. So I'm going to go with a two, a two b type thing just because I love them both.
Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.
[00:56:17] Speaker A: All right, well, so I guess technically we all have the same one and two. Pretty much. We could just talk about that.
[00:56:25] Speaker B: I mean, y'all both have KG too, right? Yes. We all got the same one.
[00:56:28] Speaker A: Yeah. So obviously I just have Kevin Garnett a little bit based off of bias, but he is, in my opinion, one of the greatest defenders of all time. Probably like top three.
Also one of the greatest rebounders of all time. That's something that goes under the radar. He's a top ten rebounder of all time and he's not a center. So I thought that's really impressive. I think that the finals MVP should have been him, but Paul Pierce was on the team longer, so it's a little bit of a legacy type of thing. But regardless, KG is number two for so. And then Tim Duncan. The reason he's won is five championships, four finals mvps, two mvps. The greatest defensive player of all time to not have a depoy.
And also, this is a bit of a hot take. I have him over Kobe all think.
[00:57:17] Speaker C: It'S crazy to say that I have him, but yeah, just going off of what you said, kg at number two, a lot of people forget that he was a great playmaker in his time in Minnesota. When he went to Boston, he didn't have to playmake as much, obviously, because they had Pearson Rondo handling the ball for the majority of the time. But in his time in Minnesota, he absolutely willed them to wins like he was by far the best player on the team. Obviously, that's when he got himself an MVP. And, I mean, his second option was Sam Cassell. Yeah, Kevin Garnett absolutely dominated the early two thousand s and late ninety s. And I sincerely think he's one of the best defenders of all time. And, I mean, I would listen to arguments of him being the best defender of all time, probably.
And then for Tim Duncan, one low maintenance superstar, didn't complain, just played the game the right way. Mr. Fundamentals.
And he could score on just about anybody he wanted to in the post and defend anybody he wanted to in the post and got the hardware to go with it.
[00:58:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, that leaves me with number one being Tim Duncan. And I think it's not.
There's maybe some arguments you can be made for it being close, but I think it's a far and away. Tim Duncan, a 15 time All Star, 15 times All NBA, five time NBA champion, 15 all defensive teams, no depoys. But I definitely think he should have one three time Finals mvp, two time NBA MVP and a rookie of the year. So Tim Duncan, to me, is the greatest power forward of all time. He averages a double double throughout his career. And his first ring, he was really just him and a 37 year old David Robinson. So Tim Duncan went out and won a championship, really on his own, so you can't take that from him. And then eventually he gets guys like Manu, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard to help bolster that for him. So Tim Duncan, to me, easily the greatest power forward of all time and. Yeah, that's it. Anything else you guys want to say?
[00:59:15] Speaker A: Nope.
[00:59:17] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that wraps it up.
[00:59:19] Speaker B: That is it for this week. Make sure to tune in next week as we dive into our centers and our six men of the year. Top ten. Six men of the year. So that is all.
[00:59:28] Speaker A: Would that specifically mean they had to win the six men?
[00:59:31] Speaker C: No, top ten. Six men. Like top ten bench players.
[00:59:37] Speaker B: Yeah, we could do bench players, but.
[00:59:39] Speaker A: I will just say.
[00:59:42] Speaker B: Who are you thinking?
[00:59:43] Speaker A: Somebody on there that you might.
[00:59:45] Speaker C: Westbrook. Yeah, but I mean, that's not ridiculous.
[00:59:47] Speaker B: I think primary bench player, Jamal Crawford.
[00:59:51] Speaker C: But he's played off the bench now for like. So Russell Westbrook, just in his time as a bench player, may be a top ten bench player.
[00:59:57] Speaker A: Do you think so? That's just what I'm saying.
[01:00:00] Speaker C: Because he's been what, three, four years?
[01:00:02] Speaker A: Two this year and last year.
[01:00:05] Speaker C: Dang, it feels longer than that. Yeah, but you're right, though. I don't know. He may not have the longevity then.
[01:00:11] Speaker B: But, yeah, I mean, I wouldn't put him over.
[01:00:13] Speaker C: Yeah, he's obviously not over. Yeah, we're just discussing this.
[01:00:18] Speaker B: We'll save all that conversation for next week. Thank you all for tuning into WVUA 90.7 FM and the full court press podcast to stay up to date. Follow us on Instagram at FCP podcast underscore UA. See y'all next week.
[01:00:31] Speaker A: And peacem tuscaloosa.
