Ranking the Greatest Peak Periods of Play in NBA History

What I’m Looking For

From Dictionary.com:

Peak

noun

1.  the pointed top of a mountain or ridge.

2.  a mountain with a pointed summit.

3.  the pointed top of anything.

4.  the highest or most important point or level: the peak of her political career.

5.  the maximum point, degree, or volume of anything: Oil prices reached their peak last year.

Everyone does a list of the greatest players ever.

It’s so redundant. You can just glance at the first page of the NBA history books and tell who had the greatest careers of all-time.

My aim is to discern from over 5,000 players in NBA history and over 50,000 seasons which had the highest levels of play.

Stats are important, yes, but do not expect Wilt Chamberlain in the early 60s to top the list, or even feature on it. Impact goes beyond numbers and translates into team success.

Here’s what I will be using to judge the greatest seasons of all-time:

1. Individual dominance
2. Competition
3. Team success
4. Statistics
5. All-around play
6. How memorable was he?

This will all make a lot more sense when you’re at the end of the slideshow. So, sit back, relax and delve into the history of this beautiful game.

Honorable Mentions

Kobe Bryant: 2005-06 to 2009-10

I really wanted to include him (considering I practically have transformed by bedroom into a Kobe Bryant temple), but the years of team success and individual brilliance did not coincide. Bryant was the best player in the league until 2008; by the time the Lakers started winning, LeBron had arguably overtaken him.

Dwyane Wade: 2009

Just breathtaking statistically. If this was a championship year or had his team made at least a deep playoffs run, he would have certainly made the list.

Chris Paul: 2007-08 to 2008-09

He was the best point guard alive, but his teams were consistently average or bad. The best statistical seasons by a point guard not named Oscar Robertson, though. Speaking of which…

Oscar Robertson: 1960-61 to 1964-65

If you average a triple-double and 30 PPG over five years, you’d normally get a spot in the greatest primes ever. Not, however, if you finish barely over .500 for that time (221-198 in this case) and fail to make the playoffs once, and never make it past the second round.

Julius Erving: 1971-72 to 1975-76

This had everything I was looking for: great individual performances, statistical dominance, team success…then I remembered the title was "Power Ranking the Greatest Peak Seasons in NBA history."

Oh well.

Bill Russell: 1956-57 to 1968-69

With someone like Russell, it’s hard to pinpoint a certain period as his prime, as he was always so consistent. Eleven championships in 13 seasons is enough team success for five players, but he was not a complete player, plain and simple. A career 44 percent shooting center cannot make the list of the 10 greatest primes ever.

David Robinson: 1991-92 to 1995-96

The Admiral had it all. He was athletically gifted, a dominant scorer, an even more frightening defender, his regular season stats are among the best…but he simply didn’t get it done in the playoffs. His numbers dropped consistently when the cards were on the table, and that won’t help you crack a top-10 all-time list in ANYTHING.

10. Tim Duncan: 2001-02 to 2002-03

Regular Season Stats: 24.4 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 2.7 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 51-76 shooting, 163 games (out of a possible 164).

Playoff Stats: 25.5 PPG, 15.1 RPG, 5.2 APG, 3.6 BPG, 0.6 SPG, 51-72 shooting, 33 games.

Accolades: Two-time Most Valuable Player (2002, 2003), one-time Finals MVP (2003), one-time NBA Champion (2003).

You didn’t think this list could exist without Duncan, did you?

He may not have excited you as Olajuwon did with his crafty post moves or Shaq did with his hammer-like dunks. However, he did something as well as either, and probably better: win games.

He did that throughout his career. For Duncan, the perfect game was 20 points, 10 rebounds, solid defense and a Spurs win. He didn’t care about stats nor personal highlights.

However, 2002 and 2003 were the two years when the apple fell slightly further from the tree.

Before I speak about his individual prowess, you should know that his best teammates during that span were a 36-year-old David Robinson, rookie Tony Parker, rookie Manu Ginobili and Malik Rose. In the 2003 title season, Duncan was the only player on the roster who averaged 50 percent from the field or even eight RPG. It’s probably one of the worst supporting casts for a transcendent superstar.

Duncan somehow eked a league-best 58 wins from the Spurs in 2002, winning the MVP in a close win over Jason Kidd. It was his finest statistical season and probably the best by a power forward other than Kevin Garnett’s 2004 masterpiece.

He beat the Seattle SuperSonics in five games and faced Shaquille O’Neal’s Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of the humiliating sweep from the previous season.

Duncan was incredible, averaging 29-17-5 against the two time defending champs and holding Shaq six PPG below his season average. However, the Spurs had no answer for Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers won easily in five games. If you consider his opponent and his supporting cast, it’s one of the most impressive playoff series ever in a loss.

In 2003, his teammates got marginally better. Tony Parker averaged over 15 PPG for his sophomore season, and they got an OK contribution from Stephen Jackson. Still, Duncan was the only All-Star on the team and probably the only player who would have been on the All Star ballot at that point.

The Spurs won 60 games, and Duncan won the MVP again, this time comfortably. The recognition he got that season cannot be understated.

2003 was a historical year in terms of talent. Kobe Bryant had his best all-around season (30-7-6 and a streak of nine straight 40-point games). Tracy McGrady was right up there with him in the competition for the league’s best perimeter superstar (32-7-6, Jordanesque athleticism and control of games). Kevin Garnett blossomed (23-12-6, doubling as the league’s best defender).

You had not three or four good, but three or four all-time great seasons from the very best in the league. Duncan stood above them all, king of the mountain.

He followed up his good work in the regular season with a superfluous playoffs.

In the first round against Phoenix, his shot was not falling as it normally did. He responded by helping his team in other ways, crashing the glass even more than usual and making a startling number of offensive plays for his team-mates. He averaged 19/16/5/4, with an astonishing 15/20/10 triple-double in the clinching Game 6.

Then came the Lakers, for the third straight season. This time, the Spurs defense was able to keep Kobe Bryant under wraps, allowing Duncan to do his thing. Though Shaq was good (25-14-4-3 on 56 percent shooting), this was to be Duncan’s year. He was a monster in every game and quite easily closed out the Lakers with a 37-16-4 in a 110-82 Game 6 blowout.

However, the best was yet to come. The Spurs faced Dallas in the Western Conference Finals, and he throttled them with a 28-17-6 and four blocks per game. He had a truly mind-boggling all around game three, with 34 points, 24 rebounds, six blocks and six assists. Those are Wilt-Chamberlain-like numbers. From Game 4 of the Lakers series to Game 3 of the Dallas series, he averaged 31-17-6. What did I say about 2003 being different for Duncan?

In the Finals, his opponent was an undersized New Jersey team. Duncan took full advantage of their brittle frontline, destroying them on offense and defense. He averaged 24-17-5 and 5.3 blocks per game and had two absolutely transcendent games to open and close the series.

Game 1 was 32-20-6, with seven blocks and three steals.

Game 6 was the closeout, where he was basically getting no help (Robinson scored 13, Parker four), and he had a 21-20-10 with eight blocks. Yes, you read that right. He basically won the Spurs the title by himself and almost recorded an impossible quadruple-double in the process.

Duncan from 2001 to 2003 was the best stretch by a power forward, ever, and it’s really not up for debate.

And if he’s No. 10, then can you imagine what we’re about to get to?

9. LeBron James, 2008-09 to 2009-10

Regular Season Stats: 29.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 7.9 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 50-34-77 shooting, 157 games

Playoff Stats: 32.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 51-36-74 shooting, 25 games

Accolades: Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (2009, 2010)

I honestly cannot write more about LeBron James than has already been written. I am not here to analyze his current situation, as this article is about the best peaks ever, and I feel LeBron falls under that from 2008 to 2010.

I’m not going to crunch the numbers that much, but consider this. In 2008-09, LeBron’s Cavaliers went 66-16. His Player Efficiency Rating was 31.67, the fourth-highest of all-time. There were only two other players with a PER over 15 (the number that is widely regarded as the league average): Zydranus Ilgauskas (who played just 27 minutes per game) and Mo Williams (a notoriously streaky scoring point guard).

So, LeBron, two players slightly above average and a bunch of below-average players who should not be sniffing the rotation of a contending team. They won 66 games. How?

In individual terms, the players on that team were pretty poor, yes. But they were built to fit LeBron perfectly; that’s exactly the sort of team you’d want around a 6’8" point forward whose job was to drive to the basket on every possession and create open looks by drawing defenders. You had four players averaging over 40 percent from three (Mo Williams, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, Sasha Pavlocic), a couple of decent interior defenders (Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace), athletes who could run and finish on the break (JJ Hickson) and more importantly, a coach and team that were basically willing to hand the keys of the offense to LeBron and let him do as he pleased.

He had an even more historic playoffs, averaging 35-9-7 with the highest Player Efficiency Rating ever for a player with more than four games (37.5).

However, you can’t win in the playoffs playing basketball like that. The Cavs were, for all intents and purposes, a one-man team. You could subtract and add anyone except for LeBron, and the net result would be more or less the same.

However, no player in NBA history could replicate what LeBron did with that Cavs team. One man cannot win a playoffs; I do not grudge LeBron for averaging 39-8-8 in the losing series, and neither should you.

2010, he was even better. His scoring and assist numbers shot up, and the Cavs added a bunch of players. There was Shaquille O’Neal (basically on his last legs), Antawn Jamison (a help in the regular season, awful by the playoffs) and Anthony Parker (underrated wing defender).

His numbers were still astronomical, the Cavs still on the top of the league. He romped through the first five games against Chicago, but then hit a wall in the series against the Boston Celtics.

I don’t quite know what happened to him that caused such monumental stink bombs when it really mattered, and I really am not going to attempt to discern it, as I have no desire to start a flame war in the comments section.

Yes, he was pretty bad when he went out, but he was good enough in the regular season, as well as the entire 2009 season, to warrant a spot in the 10 greatest primes ever.

8. Jerry West: 1964-65 to 1969-70

Regular Season Stats: 29.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 6.4 APG, 49-84 shooting, 405 games played

Playoff Stats: 32.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 6.6 APG, 48-82 shooting, 77 games played

Accolades: One-time Finals MVP (1969), one-time scoring champion (1970), five NBA Finals (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970)

One of my favorite players of all-time and possibly the most beloved Laker in history, Jerry West brought a lot to the table.

He stood just 6’2", but had a seven-foot wing span. The only flaw in his game was a genetic inability to play above the rim, but he made up for a lack of fancy dunks by being routinely unstoppable off the dribble, getting to the free-throw line a lot, doubling up as his team’s main ball-handler and playmaker, playing great defense and most importantly, sinking a clutch shot whenever needed.

He spent the first half of his career as Elgin Baylor’s No. 2. However, the small forward suffered a painful knee injury, and while he recuperated, West took up the role of the main man in the offense. He broke through in the 1964-65 season with averages of 31-6-5 on 50 percent shooting. No guard had ever scored on that volume and efficiency before; West was just ahead of his time.

He finished third in MVP voting behind Russell and Oscar Robertson and then decided to crank things up a notch in the playoffs.

In the Western Conference Finals against the Baltimore Bullets, West put together a legendary series. With Baylor having blown out his knee, the guard scored 49 points in Game 1’s 121-115 win. He was far from done, though, with a 52-point eruption after that with the Lakers taking a 2-0 lead.

The Lakers lost the next two games in Baltimore, but it was not West’s fault. He continued to score at a torrid pace, putting up 44 and 48 points in Games 3 and 4.

In the pivotal Game 5, he managed "just" 43 in a Laker win and sealed the series with 42 in Game 6. You did not read wrong. He scored 40 in every game in the Western Conference Finals. When LeBron James scores 40 in back-to-back regular season games, people anoint him a deity. The Logo was performing at the highest possible level on the highest stage; indeed, his 46.3 PPG average for the series is unmatched in NBA history.

He was brilliant again in the finals, with 33.8 PPG and 10.2 APG, but could not stop a Boston title win in five games.

He averaged 40.6 PPG for the playoffs, also a record that stands till today.

Still, these playoffs were just a follow-up to the brilliance he would exhibit in the 1966 season, which saw him finish second to Chamberlain in MVP voting. Averages of 31.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 6.1 APG may move you to say, “Well, he was good, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen from Michael or Kobe…”, but here’s a more in-depth analysis.

Elgin Baylor was basically on one knee, averaging just a 17-10 on 40 percent shooting. The next best players on that team? Rudy LaRusso and Bob Boozer. Don’t ask me how that team won 45 games and went to the finals, especially since they had just one great player. So maybe that player was greater than we thought.

In that season, West finished second points, second in field goals made and attempted, first in free-throws made and attempted, fourth in assists, 10th in field-goal percentage, fourth in free-throw percentage and seventh in minutes. Not even Jordan ever finished in the top 10 in nine major categories.

West also got to the line 840 times in the season. This was when basketball was a far more physical sport and players were routinely getting creamed on drives. Think about his sheer force of will to draw fouls again and again, not willing to let his team lose, even though no one would have blamed him if the Lakers were not successful with such a lousy supporting cast.

In all honesty, the MVP should have been his that season. He was stellar once more in the postseason, averaging 34-6-6 on 52 percent shooting, but lost to the Celtics again in the finals. The Lakers took it to seven this time (even though they were down 3-1), with West scoring 33.9 PPG, but lost by two in the decider.

West averaged 29-6-7 in 1967, but he missed 16 games and was injured throughout the playoffs, leading to the Lakers’ elimination in the first round.

In 1968, his numbers further dropped to 26-6-6, but the Lakers went 52-30 and made the Finals again after a year’s gap. Baylor was back to his best, however, averaging a 26-12-5 and finishing third in MVP voting. They faced the Celtics yet again, and again lost in six games with West, averaging 31.3 PPG.

In 1968-69, three-time defending MVP Wilt Chamberlain joined the Lakers. Many assumed that this virtually guaranteed a title in LA, as the legendary center would provide the perfect foil to Russell in the post, which they had never had before.

However, things did not work out as well on the court as they did on paper. Chamberlain’s presence impeded Baylor and West from attacking the rim, and the center’s ego resulted in a lot of arguments between him and Baylor.

West was used to a more relaxed, friendly atmosphere within the team, and his game suffered as a result. The 25.9 PPG clip at which he scored was his lowest since his rookie year. How many other players have consistently scored above 25 PPG for over a decade? Jordan, Iverson, West and…yeah, that’s it.

Nonetheless, the Lakers had too much talent not to be successful. They went 55-27 in the regular season and found themselves facing the Boston Celtics in the finals for the seventh time in the previous nine years.

West knew this was the best chance he was ever going to get at a championship. He scored 53 and 41 points in the opening two games in LA, both of which his team won. However, Boston started double teaming him in Game 3, and exhaustion began to take its toll. The Celtics tied the series after game four, but the Logo still managed 26 and 41 points.

In Game 5, the Lakers won, 117-104, but suffered a major blow, as West pulled a hamstring at the end of a game in which he scored 39 points.

He still played in Game 6 despite obvious pain and scored 26 points. However, Boston capitalized on a Wilt Chamberlain no show and took the series back to LA for a decider.

On a strained hamstring, West put together a monster triple-double in Game 7, with 42 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists. It’s arguably the greatest playoffs performance of all-time, but it still wasn’t enough. Wilt Chamberlain was famously kept out of the final minutes by a coach who was visibly infuriated by his petulance, and the Lakers lost, 108-106, on a Don Nelson buzzer-beater.

West was in tears, and no one could blame him. The man did all he could, averaging 37.8 PPG in the series and played the role of the ultimate tragic hero. Later, Bill Russell applauded West for his play even as he put down Chamberlain.

Faced with so much heartbreak, West simply shook it off and put together his best ever season in 1970. He averaged 31.2 PPG (becoming the oldest player to ever average more than 31 PPG), 4.6 RPG and 7.5 APG on 50-of-82 shooting. Chamberlain missed all but 12 games due to injury, and the next best players, a 35-year-old Baylor and Happy Hairston, missed 55 games combined.

Yet somehow, the Lakers won 46 games and made their third consecutive finals. A team with Mel Counts and Rick Roberson as their third and fourth-best players should not be at that level, unless the best player is something special.

West was something special. He really deserved the MVP that season and simply got robbed because of a Knicks team that won 60 games, was hyped up by the media, and simply had to have the league’s ordained No. 1.

The Lakers lost in seven games to the Knicks in the ’70 finals and then to the Bucks in the ’71 Western Conference Finals. West continued being superhuman, but it never seemed enough. The league’s most iconic player seemed destined to leave it without its greatest honor.

Thankfully, things finally fell into place in 1972. With Celtics legend Bill Sharman hired as head coach, his preaching of defense and fast-break basketball led the Lakers to a 69-13 record, the very best regular season record in history to that point. They won 33 straight games, a North American sports record. West averaged 26-5-10, led the league in assists and finished second to Abdul-Jabbar in MVP voting.

When the Lakers sealed the title in Game 5 against the Knicks, the league had never been happier for a player who won his first ring. West averages just 20 PPG on 35 percent shooting in the series (Chamberlain took Finals MVP honors), but his work was done. No player had meant more to a franchise over the years. After so many games of West carrying the Lakers through adversity, it was only fitting that for once the Lakers carried him.

Many of you will disagree with my placing Jerry West on this list, but he is a special talent whose contributions should not go unrecognized. There is a reason he is the logo of the NBA, a reason that a conference in the league is named after him.

7. Hakeem Olajuwon 1992-93 to 1994-95

Regular Season Stats: 27 PPG, 12 RPG, 3.9 APG, 3.8 BPG, 1.8 SPG, 53-75 shooting, 234 games

Playoff Stats: 29.8 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.7 BPG, 1.5 SPG, 52-75 shooting. 57 games

Accolades: One-time Most Valuable Player (1994), two-time Defensive Player of the Year (1993, 1994), two-time Finals MVP (1994, 1995).

Hakeem Olajuwon was the best all-around big man in NBA history.

There; I said it.

Wilt Chamberlain was a better scorer, Bill Russell was a slightly better rebounder and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had better longevity, but none had the whole package as good as Hakeem did.

He led a young Rockets team to the Finals in 1986, which was just his second season, taking one of the greatest teams in NBA history to six games.

Things looked bright for the Rockets, especially considering that he was paired with another elite big man in Ralph Sampson, who was even more highly touted than him. Things unfortunately did not go as planned.

The Rockets, who had been called the "team of the future," fell apart due to a mess of injuries and drugs. Sampson was never the same, and poor Olajuwon was left to navigate what was left through one of the league’s most competitive periods.

He put together stellar defensive seasons, especially in 1990, when he averaged a 24-14-3 with 4.6 blocks and 2.1 steals per game.

Things got messy, though, when apparently, he demanded a trade in 1992, fed up with the lack of support he had in Houston.

It took time, but he was able to resolve his differences with the front office. He returned in 1993 full of vigor and put together one of the all-time greatest fantasy seasons: 26-13-4 on 53-of-78 shooting with 4.2 blocks and 1.8 steals. The Rockets won 55 games and Hakeem finished second in MVP voting, above Michael Jordan. He won the Defensive Player of the Year, having truly taken his game to another level.

In the playoffs, he destroyed the Clippers and was everywhere in a winner-take-all Game 5: 31 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists. He lost in seven games to the Seattle SuperSonics, averaging an incredible 26 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and five blocks for the Playoffs. Those are some good freaking numbers.

Little did anyone know they were an indication of better things to come.

With Jordan’s retirement at the end of the 1993 season, his place at the top of the league was wide open. Which superstar would take it? Barkley, Robinson, Malone and Ewing all had an argument.

It was Hakeem who seized the conch as the league’s alpha dog, averaging 27.3 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 3.6 APG and 3.9 BPG on 53 percent shooting. He won the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year award (only the second time that’s been done, by the way. The other player to do it: Michael Jordan) and led a pretty average Rockets team to 58 wins.

Just to put it in perspective as to how ordinary that team was, the starting lineup was Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Otis Thorpe, Robert Horry and Olajuwon. I mean, look at those guys. Besides Olajuwon and Thorpe, no one averaged even six rebounds per game. And besides Olajuwon, no one averaged 15 points per game. Replace him with an average center, say, Luc Longley, and that squad has 30 wins written all over it.

He averaged 29/11/4/4 in the playoffs and guided the Rockets to the finals for just the third time in franchise history. In a disgusting and unwatchable series against the Knicks, Hakeem rose above the competition (he was the only player of consequence to average 50 percent from the field) and severely out-played his biggest rival, Patrick Ewing, to win the series in seven games, and then the Finals MVP.

In 1995, the Rockets finished just 47-35. Besides Hakeem himself, the numbers of every other team member were down drastically. Despite the acquisition of Clyde Drexler midseason, the Rockets finished a pedestrian 18-18 after the All-Star break and got just the sixth seed.

What followed was arguably the greatest individual playoff campaign ever. Hakeem led the Rockets past four teams that won at least 59 games to become the only sixth seed to ever win an NBA title. I don’t even think Jordan could do what Hakeem did in that playoffs, merely because Hakeem was a center and Michael was a shooting guard. He would not be able to save the Rockets on the defensive extent of the floor so many times.

In the first round, they played the 60-win Jazz, headlined by All-Stars Karl Malone and John Stockton. Olajuwon averaged 35 points on 57 percent shooting, and managed to win the series in five games even though his team was down 2-1 on the road. Watch Game 5 for his sheer force of will; he would not let Houston lose. He scores 33 points on just 16 shots, hitting fadeaway jumpers that a guard would have found difficult to make, let alone a 6’10" center.

Then came Charles Barkley’s 59-win Suns team. The Rockets fell behind 3-1, but then Hakeem averaged 30/12/6 in the three do-or-die games to stave off elimination and take the series in seven. It’s one of only eight times that a team has won a series after being behind 3-1. He hit some unbelievably clutch shots in that series.

Next up were regular season MVP David Robinson’s 62-win Spurs. The Rockets took Game 1 in San Antonio, and before Game 2, Robinson received the MVP trophy in front of Hakeem. As it were, the Dream did not like that, feeling the trophy belonged to him. He took out his frustration on Robinson, and his stat-lines for the next five games of the series were 41/16, 43/11/4/5, 20/14/5, 42/9/8/5 and 39/17/5.

It was one of the most memorable butt-whoopings in NBA history. Never before has an MVP been so humiliated right after receiving his trophy (remember, Dirk Nowitzki received his trophy in 2007 after he got eliminated in the first round of the Playoffs). Look at the video I’ve attached; it’s appropriately titled "Olajuwon dominates Robinson." He had the man "bamboozled."

In the finals were young Shaquille O’Neal, and the Orlando Magic. O’Neal got his, but Hakeem put up 32.8 PPG and led the Rockets to a repeat championship, sweeping the young pretender.

That’s the highest combined win-loss record for all the teams any player has had to face on route to a championship and Hakeem took them down one after the other. He beat the four best teams in the league in the same playoff run. The margin of error was so low, he had to deliver in every series and could absolutely not have a bad game, and he came through EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Factoring in competition, the fact he put up 33 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 4.5 APG, 3 BPG and 2 SPG on 53 percent shooting, was clutch at all times, stepped up in key games and outplayed all his biggest rivals. This to me is the greatest individual playoff run by a player ever. Not Michael, not Kareem, not Magic, not Bird…no one had to deliver like that to win a championship. And Hakeem did it.

In his prime, he was literally the perfect player to build around.

He was a monster big man who guaranteed you a top defense in the league, 30 points a night, great decision-making and passing ability that the entire offense was built around (no one on the Rockets was good at creating their own shot; they depended heavily on Hakeem's presence).

He was unstoppable in one-on-one scoring against any defender, had high basketball IQ, was not a liability in crunch time like many other centers, had the ability to outplay anyone put in front of him and an absolute assassin in big games (Jordanesque nerves and killer instinct; the man would just not go away).

When he won, he did it just like Jordan. He played so well that he left absolutely NO doubt in people’s minds whom the best was. These days, people act as if calling Hakeem one of the top seven or eight greatest players ever is revisionist history or overrating. It’s not; the man played that well when he was required to: see above.

6. Larry Bird 1983-84 to 1987-88

Regular Season Stats: 27.3 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 51-40-90 shooting, 391 games played

Playoff Stats: 26.3 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 49-37-90 shooting. 101 games played

Accolades: Three-time regular season MVP (1984, 1985, 1986), two-time Finals MVP (1984, 1986), two-time NBA champion (1984, 1986), four finals total (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987)

I am hardly going to be popular for leaving the Hick from French Lick at No. 6 all-time. Innumerable times I have read that Bird’s peak was among the top three all-time. Well, I’ve done the research and crunched the numbers. He was good, but not quite that good.

It’s no knock, however. From 1984 to 1986, he became one of the only three players in NBA history, along with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, to win three consecutive MVPs. He took a total of 198 out of 232 first-place votes in those years. How’s that for universally-acclaimed dominance?

In 1984, Bird won his first MVP. Really, it should have been his second if you consider that in 1981, he was the best player on the best team, and the award was given to Julius Erving as a lifetime achievement award.

How many perimeter players in NBA history do you know of that could average a 20-10 with elite playmaking? That was Bird in 1984. He led the Celtics to 62 wins.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, he had a showdown with MVP runner-up Bernard King, who averaged 42.6 PPG in his first-round series against the Pistons. King got his (the Celtics limited him to 33 PPG), but Bird had a series for the ages. He averaged about 30 PPG, 11 RPG and seven APG on 59 percent shooting, with a monstrous 39/12/10 in Game 7.

In the finals, he led his team’s destruction of the Lakers on the boards, averaging 27-14-4 and grabbing Finals MVP honors as the Cs pulled out a Game 7 win.

Somehow, he got even better in 1985. The Celtics won 63 games, and Bird averaged 28.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 6.6 APG on 52-43-88 shooting. This was the year that he transformed himself into the deadly long-range sniper that he was later renowned as.

A truly hilarious scene ensued against the Hawks, in which Bird was really feeling it and ended up scoring a Celtic-record 60 points. The Celtics won in a 126-115 laugher, and there was a play during which Bird hit a fadeaway three, but stepped out of bounds in the process and fell onto the bench. The officials did not count it, which led to some oddly raucous celebration from the Hawks bench.

He built on this momentum in the playoffs, averaging a 30-10 on over 52 percent shooting for the first series and half of the second round. Then, he rather foolishly got into a fight at a Boston bar and broke his shooting hand in the process of punching a fellow patron. His stats dropped to 26-9 on 46 percent for the playoffs in total, but Boston still made the finals.

Once there, however, he got decisively out played by Magic Johnson, with the Lakers taking the series in six games, winning on Boston’s own home floor. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took home MVP honors.

1986 was to be the defining year of Bird’s career. He bounced back from the playoffs disappointment in stunning fashion, reaffirming himself as basketball’s top player as he led the Celtics to the best year in franchise history: 67 wins in the regular season, including an NBA record 40-1 at home. He averaged 25.8 PPG, 9.8 RPG and 6.8 APG on 50-42-90 shooting and should have been unanimous MVP if not for the five idiots who voted for Dominique Wilkins.

The Celtics started off 25-8, with Bird nursing a sore back. Once he got into shape, they ripped off a 39-5 stretch to suddenly sit ripe at 64-13. Bird’s PER during those 44 games was 32.5. He had some truly awe-inspiring games. There were times when he seemed untouchable on the court. How about that 43-point game against Cleveland in which he made 17-of-24 field goals? Or that 47-14-11 evisceration of Portland on national TV?

Either way, there was only one thing on Bird’s mind going into the playoffs as he cruised to a third straight MVP.

Boston didn’t lose a game at home throughout the Playoffs, finishing 15-3 after they clinched the title at home in Game 6 against Houston. Bird came within decimal points of averaging a triple double for the finals, averaging 24.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 9.7 APG. We are never going to see anything like that ever again.

Although 1986 was the highest Bird would go in terms of team success, he somehow got even better statistically in 1987 and 1988. He averaged 29-9-8 in ’87, with the Celtics winning 59 games, but only finished third in MVP voting behind Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan (on another note, is this the greatest MVP race ever? Three of the top seven players ever finishing one, two and three?)

He had a superfluous playoffs, averaging 27-10-7 on 50-40-90 shooting as he took an injury-wracked Celtics team back to the Finals. There, however, he was decisively outplayed by a now at his absolute zenith Magic Johnson, who also took home the Finals MVP after his soul-wrenching skyhook to win Game 4 in the final seconds.

Bird put together another phenomenal season in 1988, finishing with the highest points average of his career, 29.9. He was second in MVP voting behind Michael Jordan, but failed to make the finals for the first time in five years after losing a seven-game slugfest to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.

And unfortunately, just like that, Bird’s elite years were over. He injured his back six games into 1989 and missed the rest of the season. When he returned, he could no longer move as well and experienced occasional, painful spasms. He continued to lead the Celtics to respectability every year, but never approached the heights of 1984-86.

Larry Bird was a true legend, one of the best players in NBA history. He also did it all with really very little athleticism. He deserved his three consecutive MVPs, and the four straight finals he made were in one of the most brutal conferences ever. The East back then was crazy, with true contenders like Detroit, Philadelphia and Milwaukee standing in the Celtics’ path every season.

Great player, great stretch, great team. I will now light myself on fire.

5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1970-71 to 1973-74

Regular season stats: 30.9 PPG, 15.8 RPG, 4.4 APG, 3.5 BPG, 1.4 SPG, 56-70 shooting, 320 games played

Playoff stats: 28.5 PPG, 16.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.5 BPG, 1.2 APG, 50-68 shooting, 47 games played

(The blocks and steals stats are only relevant for the 1973-74 season, as they were not recorded before this).

Accolades: Three-time Most Valuable Player (1971, 1972, 1974), one-time NBA Champion (1971), one other Finals appearance (1974), two scoring titles (1971, 1972)

This was very challenging. It took me a very long time to determine when Kareem’s peak seasons occurred.

Have a look at the first 10 years of his career, i.e. from 1970 to 1979.

28.6 PPG, 14.8 RPG, 4.5 APG, 3.5 BPG, 1.3 SPG, 55-of-71 shooting. One NBA title, five MVPs, missed playoffs twice, played in two finals.

Then, look at the last 10 years of his career, 1980 to 1989.

20.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 57-of-74 shooting, five NBA titles, one MVP (1980), made playoffs every year, one first-round exit, eight Finals

A lot of people argue that the Big Lew reached his highest level while playing for the Lakers. I disagree. He scored less and at a lower efficiency during his Laker years than his time in Milwaukee. The argument that he played with better teammates at LA so the individual load he bared was less is redundant, as his first All-Star teammate in LA was Magic Johnson, who came along by 1980, when he was 33.

He played with a very poor team through the mid-70s, and this is evident in the 1977 postseason. In the first-round series against the Warriors, he averaged a mind-blowing 37.6 PPG, 18.7 RPG, 4.3 APG, 3.3 BPG on 60.7 field goal percentage. When you’re having such a historically-dominant series, you expect your teammates to take care of the remaining business and mop the floor with your opponents. Instead, the Laker guards could not even be relied upon to bring the ball up the floor, and the series somehow went to seven games.

In the Western Conference Finals, they played Bill Walton’s Trail Blazers. Kareem decisively outplayed the redhead, proving his worth as the league’s undoubted best player (he averaged 30-16-4-4 on 61 percent shooting to Walton’s 19-15-5-2 on 51 percent), but the Lakers got swept.

His team was really terrible, so he could’ve easily played and put up numbers through the regular season that were on par with his Milwaukee days.

It’s hard to say, but based on the fact that Kareem did not dominate nearly as much on a worse team, I’d say 1971-74 was the best he ever was.

In 1971, he averaged 31.7 PPG and 16 RPG on 58 percent shooting while the Bucks went 66-16. In the process, he won the MVP, romped through the playoffs at a 12-2 record and won his first title. He also won Finals MVP, destroying the Washington Bullets with a 27-19 record on 60 percent shooting.

I hope he cherished it, because he wouldn’t win another for nine years.

In 1972, he had possibly the most dominant individual scoring season by a center ever. I’d put it even above Chamberlain’s 1962 season (when he averaged 50.4 PPG). Have a look at the numbers:

Kareem 1972: 34.8 PPG, 16.6 RPG, 57.4 percent FG, 68.9 percent FT.

Wilt 1962: 50.4 PPG, 25.7 RPG, 50.6 percent FG, 61.3 percent FT.

The first thing that immediately stands out is the efficiency. Kareem’s true shooting percentage was a shade over 60; Chamberlain managed about 53. That’s not very elite for a center (there were other ridiculous seasons when the Dipper managed above 70 percent true shooting, so it’s not a knock on him).

Then you dig deeper.

Wilt’s Warriors hoisted up 111.6 field goal attempts per game. The Bucks in ’72 took just 93.3. Adjust the numbers for pace, and Kareem’s averages take a sharp turn upward to about 41.5 PPG and 19.8 RPG.

Don’t forget, the competition in 1962 was far weaker. Take a look at the elite big men then, and you see Wilt himself, Russell, and...that’s about it.

In 1972, you had Kareem, Wilt, Reed, Thurmond, Cowens, Unseld and Elvin Hayes. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

To recap, Chamberlain scored a few more points when adjusted for pace, but Kareem did it more efficiently and in a more physical era.

What’s more, you could always go to Kareem and his trusty skyhook at the end of games (or at any time, really). Those were the surest two points in basketball. Chamberlain, at least in his earlier years, was notorious for being inconsistent towards the game’s end.

Factor in the difference in wins (Milwaukee was still elite; they went 63-19 with a point differential of 11.1 with Oscar Robertson missing 18 games, while Wilt’s Warriors were 49-31), and yes, there’s a case that Abdul-Jabbar’s season was more impressive.

It remains a slight controversy that Kareem won the MVP again in 1972, although Jerry West and Chamberlain featured on a 69-13 Laker team that won 33 straight games and finished second and third, respectively, but I think the numbers don’t lie. Kareem had a season for the ages and deserved the hardware.

In 1973, it seemed like everyone had gotten bored of voting for Kareem as the MVP. He averaged a by now typical 30.2 PPG, 16.1 RPG and 5.0 APG on 56 and a career high 71 percent shooting for the 60-win Bucks, but somehow, Dave Cowens won the MVP by averaging 21-16-4 on 45 percent shooting (really? 45 percent? For a center? That’s your MVP?) for a fluky 68-14 Celtics team that choked in the playoffs.

That should have been Kareem’s trophy; there’s no two ways about it.

He did, however, underperform in the playoffs, with 22.8 PPG and 16 RPG on just 43 percent shooting with a shocking loss to the Warriors.

Kareem snapped back in 1974, averaging 27 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 5 APG, 3.5 BPG and 1.4 SPG on 54 percent shooting, winning the MVP and guiding Milwaukee back to the finals. There, they played, in the irony of ironies, the Boston Celtics.

Kareem had a legendary series, averaging 33-12-5 on 52 percent shooting, and was clutch throughout. He hit the series saving skyhook in Game 6 to take it to OT, with the Bucks eventually winning by one. It wasn’t enough, as the Celtics blew the Bucks out in Game 7 to win their first title of the post Russell era.

What can be said about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from 1971 to 1974? He was simply a force of nature. He came as close as anyone to winning four straight MVPs, he put up legendary numbers and the least number of games his teams won in that span was 59. Let’s put it this way. He put the Bucks on the map, and after he left, you’d need to be a really good cartographer to find them again.

4. Magic Johnson 1986-1987 to 1990-1991

Regular Season Stats: 21.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 12.2 APG, 1.6 APG, 50-33-82 shooting, 387 games

Playoff Stats: 21 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 12.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 50-29-87 shooting, 84 games

Accolades: Three Most Valuable Player awards (1987, 1989, 1990), one finals Most Valuable Player award (1987), two-time NBA champion (1987, 1988), four Finals appearances total (1987, 1988, 1989, 1991).

Earvin Magic Johnson is the prototype that all other point guards, no, players in NBA history strive to emulate.

He was and will remain the only player ever who could not only play all five positions on the court, but dominate at each one as well.

Over a three-season stretch from 1981 to 1983, he averaged 18.4 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 9.7 APG. And, that’s not his peak. Is that enough evidence as to how good he was in these five seasons?

Magic seemed to have settled comfortably into the ultimate passer and creator extraordinaire during the Lakers’ 1985 championship season. He averaged a ridiculous 15.1 assists per game, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took MVP honors in the six-game victory over the Boston Celtics.

Then, in 1986, the 39-year-old legend was visibly wearing down. He was simply unable to carry the Lakers’ offensive load in the eventual Western Conference Finals loss to the Houston Rockets.

After that season, Magic made a decision. Rather, Pat Riley did. He handed the keys to Magic. The Lakers were now his team, and Kareem was fine with it.

Boy, did he roll.

Magic averaged a career-high 23.9 PPG, silencing all doubters who claimed he was not an effective scorer. At the same time, he led the league in assists (as was his normal routine). He was at the forefront of what was, in my opinion, the best single season NBA team ever. The Lakers went 65-17, and Magic was at the center of it all, winning the MVP in a landslide.

That Laker team had a tank that just always seemed full. They ran after literally every miss. Watch Games 1 and 2 of the finals against the Celtics; this was a team that had went 67-15 the season before, and the Lakers had basically turned the game into a layup line against them. Magic just would not be denied.

The Lakers and Magic cooled off slightly in 1988, but still won the championship even though he ceded the MVP to Michael Jordan (we’ll get to him pretty soon). Magic’s scoring dropped a bit, but he still put up great all-around numbers and was a huge matchup problem in the Finals against the Detroit Pistons.

By 1989, Abdul-Jabbar had dropped off the map almost entirely, scoring just 10 points per game. However, just like he did in that fateful 1980 Finals Game 6, Magic took the big man’s place in the offense completely and put together his greatest statistical season: 22.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 12.8 APG. If Derrick Rose had two games like that in a month, they’d name a street after him. For Magic, it was another MVP, another day at the office.

The Lakers rampaged through the playoffs, sweeping each of the Western Conference series. They were 11-0 going into the finals, and a three-peat looked on the cards. Alas, as Fate would have it, Magic and starting two-guard Byron Scott both got injured for the rematch with the Pistons, whose superior defense led to a sweep of the two-time defending champs.

1990 looked to be a crossroads for the Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar retired after the 1989 season, content with the six MVPs and six championships under his belt. The onus really seemed to be on Magic completely; the question as to how his team would do without their Hall-of-Fame center for the first time in a decade and a half was all over the place.

They did fine. More than fine, actually. The Lakers managed a 63-19 record in the regular season and Magic won his second consecutive MVP, and his third in four seasons. However, they failed to make the Finals for the first time since 1986. The Lake Show ran into a young Phoenix Suns team that created a lot of matchup problems for them with the likes of Kevin Johnson and Tom Chambers. Magic was still magnificent in defeat, averaging 30 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 12.2 APG in the five-game series loss.

After that, he became slightly more anonymous, as Michael Jordan took over as the league’s alpha dog and best player, winning the MVP and the title in 1991. Even though this was Magic’s final season, he managed a solid 19.4 PPG, seven RPG and 12.5 APG, numbers well in line with what he had been doing for the past five years. He led the Lakers to a 58-24 record and finished second in MVP voting, meeting Jordan in the Finals.

The series was, in my opinion, the most important one in NBA history. Not since Chamberlain and Russell had two of the top five players ever met in the finals, both still being in their prime. Jordan snatched the torch from his predecessor, beginning a decade long domination of the NBA by the Chicago Bulls.

The Magic Man, however, still did a creditable job, averaging a near triple-double for the series with none other than Scottie Pippen guarding him.

These great performances, however, were lost in the shock of his announcement that he was infected with HIV and was retiring from basketball immediately.

The ramifications this had for the Lakers cannot be understated. They went from making nine Finals in 12 seasons to a perennial doormat, at least until Shaquille O’Neal arrived. This just goes to show how much Magic meant to the franchise both on and off the court.

Seek opinions galore, but you will always have the same answer. Magic was the greatest Los Angeles Laker ever, and three MVPs, four finals and never less than 57 wins for a season in those five years are more than enough to prove it.

3. Shaquille O’Neal 1999-2000 to 2001-2002

Regular Season Stats: 28.6 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.6 BPG, 58-53 shooting, 220 games played

Playoff Stats: 29.9 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 3 APG, 2.4 BPG, 55-53 shooting, 58 games played

Accolades: One Most Valuable Player award (2000, secured 120 out of 121 possible first place votes), three finals Most Valuable Player awards (2000, 2001, 2002), three-time NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002), one-time scoring champion (2000), three-time field goal percentage champion (2000, 2001, 2002).

No real surprises here, I’m sure a lot of you saw him coming. It might be a bit of a stretch to include the 2002 season as well, as he seemed to be in cruise control most of the time, but he turned it on well enough in the playoffs.

Shaq was just a force of nature by the time 2000 rolled around. He led the league in scoring and field goal percentage, was second in rebounds and third in blocks. His Lakers won 67 games as well as the title. I still can’t bear to think about the asinine fool who provided Allen Iverson with a first-place vote in the MVP voting and thus prevented the Big Diesel from winning the award unanimously.

Shaq’s 2000 season was probably the strongest MVP campaign in NBA history, factoring in personal dominance as well as lack of competition.

He turned it on further in the finals, averaging 38 points and 17 rebounds per game on over 60 percent shooting. The smoking gun? That awful 38 percent free-throw clip. In Game 2 of that series, Shaq had 40 points and 24 rebounds. That’s a stat-line right from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Wilt Chamberlain’s prime.

Then, you read that he went 18-of-39 from the free-throw line. He missed 21 free throws. The Lakers prevailed by seven in a hotly-contested game. If they had lost, Shaq would’ve never heard the end of it.

In 2001, he was injured more often and began to clash with young Kobe Bryant, who had taken over Shaq’s position as the league’s leading scorer by the All-Star break. Shaq still put up typical numbers for him during the regular season (29-13 on 57 percent shooting), but the Lakers were 48-26 with eight games left. That was more losses than they had managed all season during 2000, including the playoffs.

Then, everything seemed to click. They ended the season winning eight straight and went 15-1 through the playoffs en route to their second title for a total run of 23 wins in 24 games (remember, this was against quality opponents; every team they faced had won at least 50 games).

Shaq and Bryant took turns dominating opponents. The big man became the first to record back to back 40-20 games in the playoffs against the Sacramento Kings.

Bryant’s response? 48-16 to close them out and then opened with 45-10 against the Spurs. In the last two games of that series, Shaq averaged a 30-14 on 65 percent shooting and Bryant a 30-6-10 with blowout margins of 39 and 29, respectively. And this was the best team in the league during the regular season, in Tim Duncan’s prime.

By then, the Lakers were 11-0, and everyone was feeling a bit silly for voting for Allen Iverson over Shaq as the MVP. The center decided to further embarrass them by dropping 44-20 on the Sixers in Game 1 of the Finals and then a near quadruple-double of 29-20-9 with eight blocks in Game 2. The Lakers cruised to a five-game victory, with O’Neal taking home his second Finals MVP with 33-16 averages.

Next season, the Kobe-Shaq feud seemed to have calmed down a bit. Shaq missed 15 games, and Bryant shouldered an even greater load on offense. Still, the Lakers finished second in the Western Conference at 58-24. No. 34’s stats dropped to 27.2 PPG and 10.7 RPG for the regular season.

After easily dispatching the Blazers and Spurs in rounds one and two, the Lakers faced perhaps their first true test in years in the Western Conference Finals against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings were a deep, offensively efficient team that had won 61 games in the regular season. The Lakers won the first game and then lost the next two. A Robert Horry classic buzzer beater prevented them from returning to Sacramento down 3-1.

Still, the Kings managed to pull out the win in Game 5, leaving the defending champs with two do or die games to preserve their dynasty.

How did their master respond? 41-17 and 35-13 in those two games. He even shot 75 percent from the free-throw line!

By the time they made the Finals against the Nets, LA was so wired they didn’t lose a single game. A third consecutive championship was brought to Staples Center as the Lakers cruised to a four-game sweep  with Shaq averaging 36-12, and becoming the second player after Jordan to win three straight Finals MVPs.

Maybe expected the Laker hegemony to continue, with perhaps Bryant taking the lead role in the offense and Shaq receding into the background. Of course, neither’s ego could take it, and they split up two seasons later. We all know how that went.

Still, Shaq’s body of work from 1999 to 2002 was awe-inspiring, and we must give credit where credit was due. From November 1999 to June 2001, Shaquille O’Neal did whatever he wanted against whomever he wanted. If he wanted to dunk on you, he was going to dunk on you. Double-team him, triple-team him, it didn’t matter. You were not stopping a seven-foot, 350-pound engine from doing what it was supposed to.

The enduring image of Shaq’s career is the giant smile on his face as he lifted the 2002 Finals MVP. During Jordan’s final seasons, the question was if the Big Diesel would ever win a championship. In June 2002, it was whether he would ever lose again.

2. Michael Jordan 1987-88 to 1990-91

Regular Season Stats: 33.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 6.4 APG, 2.9 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 54-32-85 shooting, 327 games played (out of a possible 328)

Playoff Stats: 34.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 7.1 APG, 2.5 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 52-33-82 shooting.

Accolades: Two-time Most Valuable Player (1988 and 1991), one-time Finals Most Valuable Player (1991). four-time scoring champion (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991), one-time Defensive Player of the Year (1988), two-time steals champion (1988, 1991), one-time NBA Champion (1991)

It seems almost sacrilege that a stretch like that is not No. 1, but believe me, by the time you get there, you’ll understand my reasoning.

Still, on Jordan, he played basically flawless basketball for more than half-a-dozen seasons straight. The number of things he won are beyond repeating over and over again.

From 1987 to 1998, he won 10 scoring titles in 10 full seasons he played. From 1991 to 1998, he won six Finals Most Valuable Player awards in six full seasons he played. He won five regular season MVPs, but should have won at least seven (he was robbed in 1993 by Barkley and 1997 by Malone merely because people were bored of voting for him). In his last full six seasons for the Bulls, they went 388-104, winning the title every season.

However, from an individual standpoint, he crested before the Bulls started winning in the 90s.

He broke onto the scene with that ridiculous 1987 season, when he averaged over 37 PPG and somehow dragged the Bulls to 40 wins. Consider that that particular season doesn’t count among his peak years, and that should tell you how good he was from ’88 to ’91.

In 1988, he became the first ever player to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year together. He also became the first non-guard to win Defensive Player of the Year. No other player has ever come close to the latter award while also winning the scoring title. Jordan was a force of nature at that point, a disruptive force on both ends of the floor that you simply could not plan for. LeBron James is great right now, but when he can score at a historic pace while causing over five turnovers a game, well, then we can start comparing him to MJ.

1989 was a bit of an odd year for Jordan. Coach Doug Collins decided to have him play point guard for the second half of the season, and the results were spectacular. His numbers very clearly resemble those of Oscar Robertson (who, don’t forget, played on teams that had 40 extra possessions a game over Jordan) and a ridiculous stretch where he had 10 triple doubles in 11 games.

A 6’6" guard pulling down eight rebounds a game (maybe he should tutor Amare Stoudemire?) and scoring 33 PPG while still being 10th in the league in assists? It’s simply not fair.

The playoffs were an even more frightening animal. He averaged 40-6-8 against the Cavaliers and broke thousands of hearts in Cleveland when he famously hit "The Shot" over Craig Elho in Game 5 to end the series. He then put together quite possibly one of the two best playoff series of his career in the second round against the Knicks. He started things off with a triple double and then stumbled to a 15-point outing in Game 2.

Knicks coach Rick Pitino foolishly suggested that Jordan was wearing down after that game. Michael’s response in the next four games? 40-15-9, 47-11-6, 38-8-10 and 40-5-10. Pitino stepped down after the series. If I had an opposing player average 36-10-9 on over 50 percent shooting against me, so would I.

By 1990, Phil Jackson had taken over as head coach. Jordan didn’t have the ball in his hands as much, so his assist numbers were down. However, the smooth triangle offense ensured Jordan always got the ball to score whenever he wanted, and he led the league in scoring again, at 33.5 PPG. He still managed 6.9 RPG and 6.3 APG.

Jordan’s 1990 playoffs were probably the greatest of all time by a perimeter player, at least statistically. Just look  at those averages: 36.7 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 6.8 APG, 2.8 SPG on 59 percent true shooting in one of the most competitive seasons ever? Good God!

He started things off by torching the Bucks for a 37-8-7 in a four-game series and then unleashed hell upon Charles Barkley and the Philadelphia 76ers with a 43-7-7 on 62 percent TS. This is probably the greatest individual playoff series ever, or at least in the top three. His lowest single game points total was 39.

Funnily enough, in what many consider to be Jordan’s best all-around season in 1991, his stats dipped across the board to only 31.5 PPG, six RPG and 5.5 APG on 53 percent shooting. This was partly due to Scottie Pippen’s rise to the league’s elite forwards, which resulted in the Bulls winning 61 games and rolling through the playoffs like a mud ball down a mountain, finishing 15-2.

Jordan had an opportunity to win both those losses at the buzzer and somehow managed to miss them both. Two misses; that’s how far the ’91 Bulls were from sweeping the entire NBA Playoffs. Also, that’s just how good Jordan was.

He also had possibly the best finals series in the history of the NBA. Playing against Magic Johnson’s Showtime Lakers on their last legs, he averaged 31.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 11.4 APG with 2.8 SPG on 56-50-85 shooting. No other perimeter player has ever so thoroughly dominated a finals series from both an efficiency and production stand point.

Also, for those who love advanced stats as much as I do, he posted four of the top eight highest single season Player Efficiency Ratings of all time in each of ’88 through ’91. Only Chamberlain and James have ever had a PER of over 31; Jordan did it in four straight seasons.

I still can’t rank him No. 1, though, and now you’ll see why.

1. Wilt Chamberlain 1965-66 to 1967-1968

Regular Season Stats: 27.2 PPG, 24.2 RPG, 7.2 APG, 59-45 shooting, 242 games played

Playoff Stats: 23.5 PPG, 27.5 RPG, 7.1 APG, 55-39 shooting, 33 games played

Accolades: Most Valuable Player (1966, 1967, 1968), scoring champion (1966), rebounding champion (1966, 1967, 1968), assists champion (1968), field-goal percent champion (1966, 1967, 1968), NBA title (1967)

Believe me, I must’ve flipped the order of the top three about 700 times. Shaq won the most titles; Jordan garnered the most attention. However, I’m judging levels of individual play; nothing else. And really, we can’t deny The Big Dipper this spot in that case.

His statistical dominance is just silly; there’s no other word for it. That’s nothing new for Chamberlain, but this time, that rewriting of the record books also translated to wins. In those three seasons, Philadelphia went a combined 185-58, including a then record-breaking 68-13 in the ’67 season, which remains the third-highest winning percentage in NBA history.

They did not keep track of blocks back then, but I’m quite sure Wilt would have led the league in that as well, or at the very least, finished second to defensive specialist Bill Russell. Consider that in the 1966 season, he led the league in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage. Assuming he blocked the most shots, that’s four major categories that he was best in the league in at that point. He also passed for over five assists, good for seventh in the league. It’s incomprehensible.

The ’67 season, though, is what sealed his spot here for good. He managed a cool 24-24-8 on 68 percent from the field. Tyson Chandler is shooting a little less from the field right now, but he takes five shots a game. The Dipper was unstoppable. Wrap your mind around a center averaging eight assists per game. He nearly averaged a triple-double for the season for a team that started 46-4, a winning percentage of .920.

He wasn’t even anywhere near started, though. In the first playoff series, he dominated the original triple-double champion Oscar Robertson’s Cincinnati Royals, going for ludicrous averages of 28 PPG, 26.8 RPG and 11 APG, on 61 percent shooting. He had two triple doubles of 16-30-19 and 37-27-11 each. The other two games? Only 41-23-5 and 18-27-9 in the closeout.

Then, he played rival Bill Russell in the Eastern Division Finals, the greatest defensive center ever and he who supposedly had Wilt’s number.

Here’s a look at their game by game performances in the five-game series.

 

Game 1

Wilt: 24 points, 32 rebounds, 12 assists, 12 blocks, 69 percent FG (Hal Greer had 39 points as well)

Russell: 20 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 50 percent FG

 

Game 2

Wilt: 15 points, 29 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks, 45 percent FG

Russell: 14 points, 24 rebounds, 5 assists, 36 percent FG

 

Game 3

Wilt: 20 points, 41 rebounds (all-time playoff record), 9 assists, 5 blocks, 57 percent FG

Russell: 10 points, 29 rebounds, 9 assists, 23 percent FG

 

Game 4

Wilt: 20 points, 22 rebounds, 10 assists, at least 3 blocks, 44 percent FG (perhaps bothered by severe pain in both knee joints)

Russell: 9 points, 28 rebounds, 5 assists, 29 percent FG

 

Game 5

Wilt: 29 points, 36 rebounds, 13 assists, 7 blocks, 63% FG

Russell: 4 points, 21 rebounds, 7 assists, 40% FG

Series Averages

Wilt: 21.6 ppg, 32.0 rpg, 10.0 apg, 6-plus bpg, 56 percent FG

Russell: 11.4 ppg, 23.4 rpg, 6.0 apg, 36 percent FG

Case closed.

People talk about the manner in which LeBron James can dominate every aspect of the game on both ends of the floor, but even his most dominating performances can’t hold a candle to what Chamberlain did in that 1967 season.

For the finals, he averaged 18-29-7 on 56 percent shooting against Nate Thurmond, arguably another of the top three best defensive centers ever. If the Finals MVP existed back then, it’s safe to assume it would have easily been his.

He didn’t win the title in 1968, but still won 62 games and the MVP, becoming the only player to lead the league in rebounds and assists in the same season. Oh, and he also had 31 triple-doubles, which probably would have been a lot more had blocks been counted back then.

Put it this way. The gap between Chamberlain and the rest of the competition is bigger than the gap between Eddy Curry’s jaws when he sees a slice of pizza. I was confused about who should be No. 1 before, but after crunching the numbers, I firmly believe it’s not even a competition.

It’s not only the numbers.

Watch the video I have embedded. It is long, but worth it.

Wilt was 7’1", but ran the floor like a guard. When he jumped, he could touch the top of the backboard. He made passes that Steve Nash would be proud of. Hell, there are a bunch of plays when he was the point guard, bringing the ball up and either driving in LeBron James fashion and kicking it out to a shooter or working a give and go.

If you don’t think he was the best player to ever play basketball, well, I don’t know what to say to you.