NBA Top-10: #2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and #1 Michael Jordan

2) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

A soft spoken giant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the opposite of the fierce and intimidating Michael Jordan, but his play was just as dominant.  Jabbar actually invented a move, the sky-hook, and at 7’4” it may have been the single most unstoppable move in NBA history.

Also longevity, while sometimes overrated, is important.  If a player continually has an impact for his teams over an extended period of time, it helps their legacy.  Kareem played twenty NBA seasons; that’s important.

Now let’s journey on to Jabbar’s astounding statistics.  He had a three year stretch in which he averaged an unreal 33 points and 16 rebounds per game.  For his career he put up 24.6 points, 11 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 blocks a night.  His averages could have been higher, but like many all-time greats, Jabbar continued to play as his abilities declined.  Though he didn’t have the same numbers his last three years in the league, he was still a proficient player.

Jabbar has the 3rd-most rebounds in NBA history, played the 2nd-most games, has the 10th-highest field goal percentage of anyone all-time, and recorded seventy 40-point games and ten 50-point games.

In terms of awards, Jabbar was the 1970 Rookie of the Year, won six NBA championships, a record six MVP awards, two Finals MVPs, had a record nineteen All-Star selections, made the most field goals ever, played the most minutes ever, and is the all-time NBA leader in points scored with 38,387.  He’s also 34th all-time in assists, an astonishing feat for a center.

Kareem was consistently great for eighteen years of his 20-year career and was the best player in the league in basically a third of the seasons he played.  A champion, a consummate team player, and a stat compiling phenomenon, Kareem was an unstoppable force on the floor.

#2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1) Michael Jordan

Nobody in the history of the league had the mix of fierce competitiveness, stupefying talent, and the mental fortitude to perform every single night he stepped on the court as Michael Jordan.  Jordan was one of the very best defenders of his time, was the most dominant offensive player, and owned the clutch moments unlike any player who has ever played.  Without his hiatus to play baseball, Jordan could very conceivably have won eight-straight championships.  That’s something only Bill Russell’s Celtics could compare to, and that came in an era with much less competition, fewer games, and in a less evolved sport.

I saw Jordan in person one time—in Minnesota against a bad Timberwolves team—during the Bulls’ second three-peat era.  Despite the fact that the home team Wolves were a lottery-bound, awful team, the arena was packed.  Though Jordan didn’t even play that well, he still finished with 30 points.  Yet the arena buzzed the whole game just because “His Airness” was in the building.  Years later when I went to see the Lakers play another bad Wolves team, the energy was nowhere the same despite Kobe Bryant being in the house.  The arena wasn’t full, and eyes weren’t glued to the court, watching for an all-time great moment.  Jordan was just different, and maybe that’s the most eloquent way I can state why he tops my list.

Watching Jordan’s highlights gets me emotional because I know I will never see another man play the way he did.  It was literally divine to see the way he controlled the pulse of a game with so many other talented players on the floor.

As a rookie Jordan averaged 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, totals that rank right there with LeBron James’ best seasons.  From 1986-1992 his scoring averages per game were: 37.1, 35, 32.5, 33.6, 31.5, 30.1, and 32.6.  Kobe Bryant has averaged 30 points in a season three times; Jordan has done it eight times.  In the playoffs Jordan’s career scoring average went from 30 points to 33 a game.  He also came back at age 39 and played two seasons for the Wizards, averaging 23 points in his first year and 20 points in his second.

In addition to his six rings, Jordan won five MVP Awards, six Finals MVPs, the 1985 Rookie of the Year Award, the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year Award, two Olympic gold medals, two Slam Dunk Contests, and was selected to fourteen All-Star Games, eleven All-NBA Teams, and nine All-Defensive Teams.  The ten-time scoring champion also led the league in steals and minutes played three times each.

Simply, Jordan just won.  It took him a few years to figure out the NBA, but then it was all over.  He was at his best in the Finals, dominating Magic’s Lakers, controlling Barkley’s Suns, hitting six three-pointers in one half against the Blazers, and of course, making the iconic jump shot to beat the Jazz, his last shot in his last game with the Bulls.

I’ve watched Kobe Bryant closer than any other player, and I can’t rattle of a list of his greatest moments like I can with MJ.  Kobe has given me five rings, multiple amazing shots, buzzer beaters, and great statistics, but he has not given me the, “I can’t believe this is happening.  You couldn’t even write this,” moments that Jordan did.

Kobe could be beat.  Even in his prime with a good team, he could be defeated.  When Jordan had adequate help, you just couldn’t beat him.  The game was his; it literally belonged to him.  Anything anybody did, Jordan could do better, and he did it in the biggest moments time after time.  He made the Finals six times and won six rings.  Once Jordan could smell it, he ate it, and he didn’t leave table scraps for anyone else.

#1 Michael Jordan

--from @AdamHocking

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