Dame named as Top 75 Player

[Strenuus]

Huh?

Reasons.

 

[mook]

I think Dame is in the same category as Reggie Miller. You look at what they actually achieved for their team and it's a little hard to justify. But there's definitely a "fun factor" with some of these guys. Dwight Howard wasn't selected because he was kind of obnoxious and was easy to dislike. Same with Vince Carter and the way he exited Toronto.

Everybody who saw it remembers how fun it was to see Reggie go against New York, and although I can't stand him he's obviously loved by many for his broadcasting.

Every single NBA fan associates Dame with series-winning shots against Houston and the Thunder. He's charismatic and his brand is all about loyalty and being real, and that matters. It's fun watching him hit from the logo, and Dame Time is must watch TV.

The reason the league didn't just go with an algorithmic system in picking the best of the best was because there should be an element of entertainment value included. Not the most important factor, but certainly a factor when you get around the 70th spot.

Sports has always been that way. When playing pickup, if two guys are pretty close, you always picked the guy you liked more, didn't you? Isiah Thomas was clearly an elite player, but not a top 3 player. He got left off the Dream Team because he just wasn't liked.

Jordan was an even bigger asshole, but he was of course on the team because he was Jordan. I don't care how tight I am with my best friend, I'm not picking him first at the Y if there's 3 other guys who are vastly superior.

Personality should count around the margins, but talent matters far more.

I think that's one of the big appeals of sports. In real life you can often get by on personality quite a bit and talent matters at the margins. That guy who sucks up to the boss gets the promotion, even if he's a fuckup behind the scenes.

But at least the NBA is a true meritocracy, right? Nope.

Even the NBA has wiggle room. The list reflects that. And I can definitely see how it pisses some off, because we all are entertained for different reasons, and some of us feel it should be strictly about merit.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

If you watched the Suns vs the Lakers last night you now understand why Dwight Howard was left off that list. There is more to basketball and being considered a great player than being named DPOY three times.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Let’s face it. Lillard being on the list is a joke. Howard was on the all-defensive team three years in a row, led the league in blocks two times, made eight all-star games and led Orlando to an NBA championship.

when did Orlando win a championship?

 

[Bingo Bango]

Reasons.

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

 

[Bingo Bango]

when did Orlando win a championship?

They didn’t. My fault. Howard got them all the way to the championship series, another thing Lillard hasn’t done.

 

[ehizzy3]

I don’t see how Klay doesn’t make the list but whatever

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

It's your profile pic. He's talking about your profile pic. He likes when you reply to things because it's another reason to see it.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

I don’t see how Klay doesn’t make the list but whatever

 

[handiman]

I just popped in to post the ESPN article about that...

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...-klay-thompson-snub-nba-75th-anniversary-team

I personally don't see Klay as being on that [top-75] level. Elite shooter, versatile defender, but not much more than a catch-and-shoot guy. Can't really create offense for himself and is lousy around the basket. He'd be a great addition to any team, but you don't build a team around him.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I'm one of the older fellers in here (57), and it was much deserved from what i've seen over my 4 plus decades of NBA basketball fandom. He's the greatest closer i've ever seen . His 4th qtr. play has become legendary. EVERY team in the league sets their game plan around trying to stop him with double and sometimes triple teams. I have only seen the greats of the early decades on highlights. But many of those greats ( Russell, Chamberlain, West) are on the list as well. No list is ever perfect, but I'm so proud to have Dame a Blazer. I look forward to him adding to his legacy, in becoming the Greatest Trailblazer ever. Even though, to me, he's already achieved that. Congrats Dame. Go Blazers!!

Class of '82?

 

[BlazerBeav]

They didn’t. My fault. Howard got them all the way to the championship series, another thing Lillard hasn’t done.

Taking an Eastern team to the Finals during that decade sure didn't mean much.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Howard should have been on this team over others, including Dame.

He was the best big man player in the league for multiple seasons. He beat a prime LeBron team to take his squad to the finals. He made his team excellent defensively covering the entire court better than DPOY Gobert, while still scoring huge numbers and doing it efficiently. He was dominant.

Dame has never won a conference finals game. He's had many seasons where he can't solve a simple defensive trap in the playoffs.

I think Dwight being a dick, Dame being a great guy off the floor, and Dwight losing to Dame 0.9 played a big part in this. Plus Dwight bouncing to so many teams as a basic role player. If he just retired after Houston maybe he would've made it.

As a Dame and Blazer fan I'm happy he made it, but I have to admit it may not be fully deserved.

 

[Minstrel]

I'm not sold on Lillard being on the list, but I can see the argument. His big shot heroics have given him an outsized winner profile (outsized for someone who hasn't won any titles), he's becoming as renowned as Curry for the effortless super-deep three and the voters were surely extrapolating his career to some extent (which is up to opinion as to whether that's fair for current players--even if Lillard hasn't got the career totals of some others, his career arc certainly suggests big totals).

I could go either way with Lillard, but I don't think it's a travesty that he made it.