LeBron James was asked in an interview with Fox Sports 1 to name his best three basketball players of all-time. James quickly responded with Michael Jordan and hesitated for several seconds before including Julius Erving and Larry Bird. Many historians of the game put several of basketball's best big men in the top-3, but James clearly was leaning toward all-around players with his list.
James was clearly leaning towards struggling to remember the name of that white dude who done played basketball pretty good.
I would put LeBron James on that list. MJ, LeBron and probably Magic. If you switch Bird and Magic the Celtics would’ve been even better and the Lakers worse. Magic was versatile and could dominate when paired with another star or as the centerpiece of a team.
I'm not sure if I agree with that. Magic was a great fit on the Lakers, but Bird was also a great fit on the Celtics. If you go back and look at their stats, it's amazing how similar they are, even though they played different positions. Bird was an outstanding passer for a forward, one of the best ever, and Magic was a great rebounder for a guard, again, one of the best ever. Bird was definitely a better scorer and a better defender (Bird's defense is often overlooked, but he was 2nd team all defense 3 times and led the league in defensive win shares 4 times), but then there has never been anyone with Magic's court vision. They were both all-time greats and I have a hard time saying one was better than the other. In terms of impact on their teams, I have a hard time picking one over the other. They were both that good. It's a shame that Bird's prime was cut short by his bad back and Magic's by his HIV infection. They were both still in their primes when their medical issues hit. Go back and look at Bird's last two seasons before the back injury (28.1/9.2/7.6 and 29.9/9.3/6.1) and Magic's last two seasons before HIV (22.3/6.6/11.5 and 19.4/7.0/12.5) and it's clear that they both could have had several more very productive seasons if not for their medical conditions. Oh well, at least we were blessed to see these two greats go head to head for over a decade. Man, those were some epic battles. BNM
I think the reason LeBron didn't include big men like Wilt and Kareem is he identifies much more with versatile all around players like Jordan and especially Bird and Magic. LeBron, Bird and Magic are/were so versatile, they can/could all score, rebound and pass. They all kind of revolutionized their positions. They were all great individual talents, but they also all make/made their teammates much better. I think that was what LeBron was going for, not just individual glory, but having a huge positive impact on your team's success. BNM
Idk man could you imagine a frontcourt with Worthy, Bird, and Kareem? I'm sure Nixon/Scott would've held the Point down nicely with those three in the frontcourt...
After Jordan there are a good 10+ players (off the top of my head Jabber/shaq/Wilt/Magic/Dr J/Bird/Russel/Duncan/Oscar/Hakeem/Baylor) you could make an argument about putting them in the 2/3 spot. It all depends on how you personally define what makes someone great.
Why is it always after Jordan? That's what I want to know. Jordan was a great scorer and a great player. He changed the game, Some may say he changed the face of the NBA. [video=youtube;WoGmMx8Ejrw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoGmMx8Ejrw[/video] [video=youtube;ni7t4swtdYw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni7t4swtdYw[/video]
