The 19th installment of Barney Corkhill's Greatest Ever series is here!
In this series I will look at the greatest talents to grace various sports. This I look at the top ten basketball players of all time!
Here is my top ten:
10. Tim Duncan
At 6'11 and 260 lb, Duncan burst on to the scene in the late 90's. In 1997 he won two College Player of the Year awards, and also bagged the John Wooden award. The following year he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
Playing mainly at power forward or center, Duncan has won been named the NBA's MVP twice, and three times NBA Finals MVP. He has been an NBA Champion four times, in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007.
In addition to this he has been voted into ten All-Star games, 11 All-NBA teams, and 11 All-Defensive teams.
9. Julius Erving
Erving was one of the most revolutionary basketball players ever, helping to launch the modern style of play of leaping and playing above the rim. Throughout his career, he recorded 30,026 points (the fifth highest ever), 2,272 steals, and 10,525 rebounds.
As a small-forward, Erving was a one-time NBA Champion, and was named NBA MVP in 1981. His best years came in the ABA, however, where he won the championship twice, and was named the MVP three times.
He was a seven time All-NBA team member, and a five time All-ABA team member.
8. Oscar Robertson
"The Big O" overcame much adversity to become one of the greatest players the game has even seen. He was plagued by racism throughout his career, but did his talking on the court, scoring 26,710 points, 7,804 rebounds and 9,887 assists playing mainly at point guard.
He is a one time NBA Champions and one-time NBA MVP, as well as a 12 time All-Star and 11 time All-NBA team member. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1961.
Oscar Robertson remains the only player in NBA history to have averaged a triple-double for a whole season. If you were to round some of his figures up, he would have achieved this feat four times.
7. Allen Iverson
At just 6ft 0in and 180 lbs, Iverson surprised and defied all his critics by becoming one of the all time greats of the sport. He is one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, with a career scoring average of 27.7 points per game, third of all time.
He is a one-time NBA MVP, and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1997. He is a six time All-NBA team member, and an eight time All-Star member.
Iverson's underdog status and lack of size coupled with these impressive statistics are enough to give him a place in the top ten.
6. Bill Russell
The most decorated player in basketball history, you don't guide your team to eleven NBA Championships without being something special. Playing at centre, Russell was noted more for his excellent defence than his attack.
Despite this, he still managed to rack up 14,522 points, as well as 21,620 rebounds, including more than fifty in one game, and 4,100 assists. In addition to being an 11 time NBA Champion, he is a five time NBA MVP, 12 time NBA All-Star and 11 time All-NBA team member.
No-one has won more championships than Russell in any sport in a North American sports league.
12 comments Last one added about 1 month ago — Leave a Comment
John Lorge 9 months ago
Kareem is great not doubt, but not greater than Wilt or Russel.
Where is Shaq??? His greatness has to be higher than Duncan or Iverson.
On that note I love Iverson, but I don't know if he will go down as one of the 10 greatest.
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Barney 9 months ago
I thought Iverson may be a controversial decision. Shaq was in line to be tenth, but just got pushed out in the selection process. If it's any onsolation he'd probably be 11th!
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sam the fact checker 9 months ago
so does that mean u believe that iverson had a better career than kobe and shaq...
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Barney 9 months ago
no, there is little doubt that kobe and shaq had better careers, i just believe that for his size, iverson had a fantastic career. I believe that Iverson is better than shaq pound for pound, if you will.
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John Lorge 9 months ago
I can't get behind any "for his size" or "pound for pound" argument. That would be like saying "for his speed and quickeness, Iverson is an average guard" . Those really only work in fighting sports. Tall players have their advantages, as do short players. Iverson has never gone up agaisnt a "hes too small" statment like Nate Robinson or Mugsey Bougs faced. AI has super game, top 25 all time, but I can't go with top 10.
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Alex Kennedy 9 months ago
Allen Iverson shouldn't be on this list. Kobe, Shaq, Hakeem, etc. would all make for better choices.
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Steven Jarjees 9 months ago
Wheres Kobe? Shaq? Hakeem? These guy are guaranteed top 10. Dr. J shouldnt be on here.
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Salomon Gonzales 8 months ago
I must agree with the above comments... Where is Kobe? As much as I love "The Answer", there are plenty of players above him and rightly stated above...
Decent effort though Barney...
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Dustin Johnson 8 months ago
One question. Where is Karl Malone?
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Naveen Maliakkal 4 months ago
Karl Malone, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas, Kobe Bryant, Jerry West (AKA the Logo) are all better than Allen Iverson in my mind
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HoopHead24 3 months ago
lol, this list is rediculous, Kobe is the second greatest shooting gaurd of all time. He is definitely one of the top 5 players of all time, 13 time all star, 3 nba championships with more to go at age only age 30, second highest scoring out put of any player and many more records and 81 was better because it took more skill than wilt, are you serious guy? no kobe but tim duncan, ai, and julius erving over kb24, i think u need to re-evaluate then re-do your list bro!
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B Rod about 1 month ago
Allen Iverson is the most overrated player ever, the only reason he scores so much is because he shoots too much. See what happened to the Pistons this season when Iverson got traded to them. The guy just isn´t a team player. And Duncan should be ranked higher, without a doubt the most underrated player of all time. He did so much for such a long time with a slightly above average supporting cast. I think Stockton, and Kobe deserve to be mentioned as well.
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