Top 50: Dwyane Wade, no. 3

• Add a Comment
• x

  Invite a Friend

  Your name:
  Your email:
  Friend name:
  Friend email:
  
  Invite a friend
• • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
• RSS

• Ken Posted: Oct.22 at 8:04 am
  I know they play different positions, but LBJ over Dwyane? Say whaaaa?

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 8:07 am
  If this is all true, I hope you had Dwyane second on your list, Kha, and not third like so many of your co-workers had. Kobe’s time is numbered.

• Michael Posted: Oct.22 at 8:07 am
  i honestly thought they would put kobe 3rd, just to try to set some sort of commenting record

• SWIFTboy Posted: Oct.22 at 8:08 am
  …and then there were two

• staff Posted: Oct.22 at 8:11 am
  Kobe #1, you heard Lang, he thinks this will be his best ever season. Kobe has to be #1, and Im a huge Lebron fan

• SAB Posted: Oct.22 at 8:15 am
  Without going into this moronic “my mom > your mom” stuff, i’ll just keep it simple. I’ve thought about this a lot. And Wade is a lot more likely to win MVP this year than Kobe is. For that reason alone, I don’t like this ranking.
  Good write-up Khalid. I do think you’re being a little disingenious though about how it went down last year. Bron, too, was stunning, that’s why he was an early lock for MVP. But remember, Dwyane became a very popular alternate choice around Feb/March. And his MVP campaign ultimately fell short because he/Miami dropped off a little towards the end of the season.

• Ken Posted: Oct.22 at 8:15 am
  In all seriousness, I think a strong case could be made that Wade was the best player in the league last season. Oh, and I loved the Public Enemy reference. Very slick Khalid.

• SAB Posted: Oct.22 at 8:20 am
  btw, my reasoning is as follows: under what circumstances would Kobe actually become MVP? i see only two possibilities - the Lakers winning a good 6 or 7 more than anyone else, with Kobe playing quite heavy minutes. or Pau (+others?) going down injured, and Kobe heroically single-handedly guiding them to a respectable slot.

• WB30 Posted: Oct.22 at 8:25 am
  the black mamba’s gonna be the first loser, The King #1

• kobesbestfriend Posted: Oct.22 at 8:33 am
  DWade isnt as good as he was before the shoulder injury!still top 3 though but just barely…I’d take Carmelo over him at this point!

• riggs Posted: Oct.22 at 8:37 am
  “pecan pie my brother?”

• rog123 Posted: Oct.22 at 8:37 am
  Dwyane wade is good at basketball

• maeng Posted: Oct.22 at 8:39 am
  kobe’s no.1…..lebron is great and all but until kobe retires….he’s THE KING of basketball!

• jumpman3224 Posted: Oct.22 at 8:39 am
  I LOVE Dwyane Wade…have since he was Dwayne, but I couldn’t see him any higher than 3. It’s not a diss, quite the opposite. The cats that are 1 and 2 both could end up being top 10 all-time.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 8:40 am
  WADE>LEBRON as a player.(better D, slightly better perimeter game). LEBRON>WADE as an “NBA regular season/video,fantasy games” stat producer.
  So i’m definitelly ok with this ranking .

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 8:45 am
  Let me put it this way… you replace today’s Kobe with today’s Wade, and they don’t make it to the playoffs on the Heat.
  That’s real.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 8:45 am
  @Ken…….:WADE had the best regular season in the NBA last year(slightly ahead of Lebron).

• flash Posted: Oct.22 at 8:46 am
  khalid the prophet!

• NUPE Posted: Oct.22 at 8:49 am
  Good spot, he could have been #2 but that would have upset the Kobe fans too much. Would not surprise me if D Wade wins the MVP this year - if he’s not at least a top 3 contender for it, his team doesn’t win 40 games. Besides Bron, I don’t think any one player really just carries the entire team to the extent Wade does. The lakers are stacked and all Kobe needs to do is have a ’solid’ year with a few great games and they will be the favorites in the finals. So I would have put Wade #2 and Kobe #3, not because I think Wade is clearly better, but because I think Wade will clearly have a better season. And isn’t that what this top list is about.

• kev Posted: Oct.22 at 8:50 am
  it should have been 3. kobe 2. wade 1. bron

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 8:52 am
  From the words of NUPE:
  “So I would have put Wade #2 and Kobe #3, not because I think Wade is clearly better, but because I think Wade will clearly have a better season. And isn’t that what this top list is about. ”
  Also Wade is better.

• jumpman3224 Posted: Oct.22 at 8:55 am
  Do you really think Kobe on the Heat without Wade don’t make the Eastern Conference playoffs?

• jumpman3224 Posted: Oct.22 at 8:57 am
  Do you really think Kthe Heat with Kobe minus Wade don’t make the Eastern Confernce Playoffs?

• jumpman3224 Posted: Oct.22 at 8:59 am
  posted twice…sorry about that

• Simon S.Y Lawy Posted: Oct.22 at 8:59 am
  @jukai- you replace today’s Kobe with today’s Wade, and they don’t make it to the playoffs on the Heat ????????
  Shut up, Kobe Hater …

• flash Posted: Oct.22 at 9:02 am
  im itchin to see wade vs lebron in the playoffs this postseason to settle things once and for all. please mr. stern make it happen..

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 9:05 am
  jumpman & simon: Yes.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 9:07 am
  While I can’t be mad at the write-up by Kha….and I’m really not mad at the placement (I knew from the beginning that this would be the spot he’d be assigned) it warms my heart to hear so many other people say he belongs in the top spot or just a shade back og Bron as best in the game. Sure, Kobe is still dominant on certain nights..and yes he played a really strong Finals for his squad to get another title under his belt and sure Lebron is the freak of nature that EVERY team and it’s fan wishes it had playing for it’s roster, but Dwyane is different. Explosive, crafty, fiery, determined, steel-willed, a proven winner, champion, leader, teamate all the things you can say about #1 & #2 but down here….in his home city….Dwyane is still known as savior, like Lebron…..not like Kobe. Kobe is part of a winning system that can’t be challenged. 10 titles for Phil Jackson quiets that argument. His team is comprised of rock solid talent from 1-8 and makes it easy on some nights for him to take a night off from being the 30 point scorer he used to be. Dwyane doesn’t have that luxury, at all. Lebron may struggle from night to night with his J. Dwyane does not. If Dwayne needs to force the action play after play to draw contact, fouls, free throws, whatever….it’s a foregone conclusion that he will. That’s what he does. Better than either of those guys that will pop up here tomorrow. Again….I’m not mad at the ranking…just supportive of his claim to be even better than the competion in the real world….not just on a subjective list.

• jumpman3224 Posted: Oct.22 at 9:08 am
  Have to disagree. Throughout the history of the NBA if you take the player who won the most recent Finals MVP and put them on a 5 seed in the other conference, take away that 5 seed’s star…That team would have still make the playoffs. Guaranteed.

• jumpman3224 Posted: Oct.22 at 9:09 am
  Also, don’t think Wade on the Lakers minus Kobe would have ended in a championship last season. Maybe that’s just me though.

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 9:10 am
  WOw, this actually surprised me.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 9:11 am
  jumpman must have not been watching the Heat in the 2006 Finals.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 9:11 am
  @Simon S.Y.Lawy…..:take it easy with my pupils please….You expect me to erase thousands of hours of video/fantasy games in a few courses….?? We are still at the early stages where we get the student acustomed with the history of the game (Belov, Sabonis, Walton etc). My boy is doing a good job up until now…

• tavoris Posted: Oct.22 at 9:14 am
  that was a fun read…can’t argue with Wade at 3…just like I couldn’t argue if they put Kobe or Lebron here, either…

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 9:14 am
  Jumpman: Despite Eboy’s grievance, I do agree, I’m not sure Wade would have brought the team a championship. Dwayne is a bit too over-ball-controlly for the triangle. That being said, I don’t think Kobe can bring a team up from the trenches like Wade can (anymore). And if I had to start my championship team today for one season, it’d be Wade. Hands down.

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 9:15 am
  Spanny: Walton > Sabonis. Purely a statement. Not to get you riled up or anything.

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 9:16 am
  Eboy, Wade doesn’t sturggle with his J? And how are you going to say Kobe ca take nights off? Kobe not to long ago, was in the same spot as Wade. But he was dropping 36 a game. I do think Wade should be 1 or 2. But I ain’t mad that Kobe is here. He is on a team, that is talented like you said from 1-8. And he still puts up 26-5-5-2. And in the playoffs that goes up. He does what he has to do to win!!

• tavoris Posted: Oct.22 at 9:16 am
  I think in the Kobe vs Lebron vs Wade debate, it’s pretty safe to say that they are on the same level. They possess slightly different skill sets, but are equally as effective.

• Cheryl Posted: Oct.22 at 9:16 am
  What Eboy said. Truth.

• jumpman3224 Posted: Oct.22 at 9:16 am
  Wade in the 06 Finals was unbelievable. Best individual finals performance of my lifetime. But, I think it’s hard to speak in hypotheticals on a championship level. So much of success is team dynamics and Kobe was the right fit/personality to lead the Lakers last year.

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 9:17 am
  Great spot for Wade, up until the last month of the season I was on his MVP bandwagon too. If he can drag this Miami Heat squad into the playoffs in the deeper Eastern Conf. this year, he’ll be right back as one of the few on the top of the list.

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 9:21 am
  Um, wow. What Eboy said.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 9:22 am
  BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD NOW. (I’ll state once again the rules) There are many national leagues around the world, the spanish-ACB, the italian-SERIA 1, the american-NBA, the greek-A1,etc with major and minor differences between them. I don’t care about individual leagues, i care about players performance when almost every single basket is “make it or go home”. For this reason i have in mind the W*RLD’S and the OL*MPICS.Most of you will do the same in the future, it is just a matter of time,trust me on this(i know the reasons you cannot do such a thing now so no hard fillings whatever you write.At the same time, i talked with “you” 15 years ago and i am talking with “you” now so it is easy for me to see how things evolve and what is coming).Here we go:
  TOP-10 SG’s IN THE WORLD.
  1)KOBE
  2)MANU
  3)WADE
  4)ALLEN
  5)ARENAS(?)
  6)ROY
  7)NAVARO
  8)JOHNSON
  9)GORDON
  10)A.PARKER

• SLAM1 Posted: Oct.22 at 9:24 am
  You put Kobe in DWades place, not only will he take the Heat to the Play Offs, he’d average about 40 while doing so

• Harlem_World Posted: Oct.22 at 9:24 am
  Reasons I like Wade over Kobe: (1) He’s a better defender RIGHT NOW (2) He’s more athletic RIGHT NOW (3) He’s a better passer RIGHT NOW (4) He’s at least as good a scorer RIGHT NOW (5) He’s a better team mate RIGHT NOW (He won’t sell his guys up the river to puff his own ego…Kobe…ahem…). Granted, Kobe’s jumper is better and his post game is marginally better - but when you weigh up ALL the factors, as much as many don’t want to see it - Wade is better than Kobe. I’d have him number 2 on this list.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 9:24 am
  Wade’s J is constant. If you watched more that the TNT games that the Heat shows up on (about 10) you’d know that Dwyane’s entire game is now set up by his mid range set back or coming off picks and pulling and popping. His J is his best weapon. His three is starting to become an actual weapon instead of a prayer. Kobe is a more dangerous three point shooter, but Dwyane’s ability to beat you off the bounce make’s his J that more dangerous ’cause cats won’t play J too tight cause they’ll get yoked. Kobe used to do that. Now he’s reliant on his J, which is his most potent weapon. Oh, and James, Kobe had one great run this past seaoson as being a winner as “the man” in his career. Two seasons ago he choked away the title against the Celts. He was killed for it because everyone expected more. If he can do it again this year, then I think Kobe nation can crow about how clutch he is….he’s going to deal with some pretty nasty teams that are all about squeezing his reptilian life from his body.

• jumpman3224 Posted: Oct.22 at 9:27 am
  Jukai- Respect your opinion and I do love DWADE, can’t front on his unbelievable skills. Looking forward to watching this much hyped season unfold.

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 9:28 am
  @Tavoris - Bron and Wade are on Kobe’s level now becaue he has slowed down a bit. He is 31 and is going on his 14 season in he league. With a HE!! of alot more playoff games then both of them put together. All around not on his level, but this upcoming season, they’re stats will be better then Kobe’s. Kobe brings intangibles though, drive, heart, experience, amazing finisher, perimeter defense (not just blocking ability). And before games he doesn’t take fake pictures with his teammates. He is a real leader. Sorry got into Bron there for a second lol. Eboy I do agree a bit still. I think Kobe should be 3rd. The only reason is because Wade and Bron will have better stats.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 9:29 am
  And Kobe deserves one of the top two spots over Dwyane for playing huge in the Finals and the real possibility that his team will be back in the Finals again. That should be the end of the disussion as to where the placements should be.

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 9:29 am
  Id still-and did- put Bron and Kobe in the top two though, because theyre playing for a chip.

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 9:29 am
  Okay now this is scaring me.

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 9:30 am
  Eboy: Wade’s three is still a prayer right now (at least as much as Lebron’s) but I remember being surprised at how wet Wade’s mid range J seemed. It disappears a couple of games, but you’re right, the dude does not get credit for how awesome he is around that area.

• Simon S.Y Lawy Posted: Oct.22 at 9:30 am
  Can somebody kick that Greek dude outta here …

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 9:31 am
  Harlem- He wont sell his own guys out. Like not sign an extention and leave after this season? Plus he said “I was hoping we would do something this off season, but we didn’t”. He ain’t talking about how good his team is, and thats why he wnats more good peices lol.

• Simon S.Y Lawy Posted: Oct.22 at 9:32 am
  co-sign@ james the balla …

• Ryan Jones Posted: Oct.22 at 9:41 am
  I love that Khalid is still made about Maurice Clarett not winning the Heisman.

• Throwsticks Posted: Oct.22 at 9:41 am
  wow. If he doesn’t get it this year (MVP) and THIS IS ASSUMING his stats GET BETTER then he’ll] get robbed. the only reason lebron won it last yr was because kobe won it the yr before. And I think the yr Steve Nash won his second is the yr Kobe should’ve won his first. Wade should’ve won it last year, so like Kobe & Lebron before him, I expect him to get his. Especially sionce Lebron’s number’s should go down.

• Ryan Jones Posted: Oct.22 at 9:41 am
  *mad*

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 9:45 am
  Bron and the Cavs looked bad last night. And lil mo doesn’t want it with Sheldon!! You don’t sleep with Candace Parker and not have to fight for her!!! lol

• ben osborne Posted: Oct.22 at 9:52 am
  Respect to Khalid, Harry Allen and Mike Beasley (I think MB has it in him to help Wade…we’ll see).

• Slick Nick Da Ruler Posted: Oct.22 at 9:58 am
  Thanks Khalid, great write up. I’d love to see D-Wade be the lead horse in the the MVP pageant.

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 10:00 am
  @Ben… MB will help him. Not a fan of Miami but he will be fine!!

• tavoris Posted: Oct.22 at 10:02 am
  james the balla…I’d say ur right…that doesn’t necessarily change what I said tho

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 10:09 am
  Okay, just making sure we are clear lol.

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 10:11 am
  Eboy:Real Laker fans know that Kobe was “the man” the last championship season with Shaq too.

• Bryan Crawford Posted: Oct.22 at 10:16 am
  And the Kobe hate and the debate between who’s better, him or Bron begins. Tomorrow is going to be a GREAT day!

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 10:18 am
  @Brad. The first season it was all Shaq. The second run was both, the third was all Kobe. And then Kobe took over for the next 8 years. lol

• D.R.23. 21. Posted: Oct.22 at 10:24 am
  I thought d-wade should have gotten half of that M.V.P. trophy he was great all year.lebron is a beast but wade does just as much with less talent on his team

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 10:25 am
  Haha I wont be on tomorrow or the next day… damn… Gonna miss a spectacle, that’s for sure.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:25 am
  Lakers history, from their modern day fanbase, is pretty sh*tty.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:28 am
  And just to confirm what Bradley and James are saying…..with Kobe as the lead dog from 2004 to the present, Kobe is 1-2 in Finals scenarios….or 33%, whichever seems less abrasive. I’m hard-pressed to make a pick on which is better.

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.22 at 10:29 am
  Put Kobe on the Heat and they make the playoffs instantly.
  @ Eboy: So your saying Phil Jackson’s system is what wins ball games. Right, because having Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, two of the game’s best players, oh and Shaquille O’Neal and Scottie Pippen TOTALLY didn’t matter because wait, his SYSTEM won the championships.
  Obviously, Phil Jackson came and gave a huge boost with his coaching to the Bulls/Lakers, but he wouldn’t have gotten past Rick Adelman without the help of the game’s best players.
  Take Kobe off the Lakers and they’d be nothing. The Lakers really are not that deep compared to other teams; their bench is so overrated its not even funny.
  Oh and don’t forget, if you want to make the “coach’s system” argument, Wade won his championship under Pat Riley… Not exactly a newbie in this league, either. And the refs.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:29 am
  I may as well get it out today….’cause I too am missing tomorrow as well…..it’s definitley a spectator sport tomorrow.

• cramzy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:30 am
  just to reiterate because i got here late, D.Wade’s the man. Same numbers as Lebron, but Wade got a ring and is 5 inches shorter. Lebron gotta hoist that Bill Russell this year or come up off that no.1 spot. No hate, Im just sayin tho. Kobe still that dude until further notice.

• SAB Posted: Oct.22 at 10:32 am
  Eboy - no way?! 33%… sounds like he’s “not clutch” or something…
  At least they made the playoffs every year……….

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:33 am
  Teddy….I’m confused. Where did I say that the players in Phil’s system HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WINNING that comes along with it? I know I’ve been gone for a little while but I can read…an I know that never came off my fingers. Kobe is the main cog that straws the drink for the Lakers today…..but having Pau and pieces made to complement the triangle are just as important to the success of the TEAM. Michael was the same thing….with Scottie as the key second guy…..solid bench guys, role guys, etc. Does it help to have masterful closers like Michael and Kobearino? Of course….but extended success has to be attributed to the system over a period of years too, there’s no doubt about that.

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 10:34 am
  And Eboy, Wade is 1-1 in the Finals. Pretty good 100 percent. I wonder what it feels like for him knowing that he will NEVER win another one due to him being on the worse team in the league. And playing in the same era as Kobe, Bron, KD, and Broy, who will start winning them while leading they’re respective teams, and leaving Wade to enjoy his season averages and thats it … yeah no?

• SAB Posted: Oct.22 at 10:36 am
  whoa there Teddy-the-Bear… let’s keep it simple… compare Pau+Odom… to Mo+(?)… to Beasley+J.O’Neal… (talking about last year only)
  it’s pretty obvious who’s got the best supporting cast…

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 10:37 am
  WOW, Teddy … I co-sign man. I think the bench is overrated. I think Kobe makes guys like Sasha and Josh look alot better then they are.

• Z Posted: Oct.22 at 10:39 am
  James, that’s a pretty stupid comment to make that Wade will never win another ’ship. He is as good or better than the 4 guys you mentioned. Put him on the same team as another all-star and that’s a contending team.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:39 am
  Well…..if the Heat are the worst team in the league….I’m glad I don’t cheer for the Bobcats or the Kings or the Clippers or the Nets or the Warriors or the Knicks or the Thunder or the….well I’m allright with their shi*tiness, I guess.

• Wesjet23 Posted: Oct.22 at 10:42 am
  I’d take Wade over Kobe anyday

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.22 at 10:43 am
  Fair enough, Eboy.
  But Wade didn’t make it to the Finals by himself, either. He had plenty of help his championship run, with Shaq, Payton, Alonzo, and Antoine Walker’s shimmy, plus a winning coach in Pat Riley. Wade had a pretty awesome system too.
  Plus, the Lakers bench really isn’t that good. All they have is Lamar Odom. Who else do they have? Sasha Vujacic, Mbenga, Josh Powell? And we know Lamar is unstable in his play and while the NBA analysts wait for him to show his “true potential,” he’ll just be the same player he’s always been. The Lakers do have a great starting line-up though.

• Simon S.Y Lawy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:45 am
  Cosign@ Teddy-the-Bear 10:43

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:46 am
  And James kind of validated my lack of being around here as often by typing Kevin Durant as a comparative player to Dwyane Wade. I thought you were better than that James.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:48 am
  Teddy, funny how you named 4 guys in the twilight of their careers as the pieces that helped Dwyane win his title. Not that Dwyane had to be extra good in the Finals to carry those tired cats, did he? Nah….not really.

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 10:52 am
  Eboy lol… if you didn;t notice I was just writing bullsh1t like one comment you wrote up above. Considering I JUST said. Wade, right now,a nd this upcoming season should be one or two, then I am sorry lol. I won’t write a sarcastic angry comment again lol.

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.22 at 10:52 am
  E: Yes, Wade carried his team like crazy but Shaq still averaged 20 and 9 that year. He did not pull a “LeBron James/Allen Iverson” and make it to the finals that year by himself.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 10:56 am
  Teddy, what did Shaq average in the Finals that year. That may tell you a bit more as to what Dwyane was doing for them. I’m sure you are already aware of it though, so it’s not important.

• jude Posted: Oct.22 at 10:57 am
  cant go wrong with either 3

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.22 at 10:57 am
  I’m saying, Wade and Kobe are both valuable to their teams. Wade is the savior for the Heat because he brought them out of mediocrity after the Tim Hardaway/Alonzo years, I agree. I do agree though, he WAS the reason they won the chip. But, he even had at least SOME help then, and the Heat are actually pretty mediocre now (no offense, homie) because Wade has no help.
  But the same thing happens with Kobe; you can’t diminish his value because he never won while averaging 35 ppg–his supporting cast was Kwamaaay Brown and Smush Parker… But he has proven capable of leading his team to a championship with the right pieces.

• KEN QUIX Posted: Oct.22 at 10:58 am
  DWAYNE WADE IS THE BEAST!!!!!IS NOT A BALL HUGGER LIKE LEBRON N KOBE HA!!!

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 10:59 am
  When Eboy and Myless are in complete agreement I get kind of scared. Is this the twilight zone? Also, good stuff Kha. I loved the “douchebag” comment.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 11:02 am
  Myles is so cool I gave him two “s”.

• Kanye West Posted: Oct.22 at 11:06 am
  Now khalid salaam, im’a let ya finish. But Lebron James was the MVP last year.

• SAB Posted: Oct.22 at 11:09 am
  i thought it was a subtle diss… My-less…

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 11:11 am
  I gotta say, Shaq did not do anything for Miami for playoffs and finals. Wade basically won it for Miami… BUT< the refs helped ALOT lol.

• Allenp Posted: Oct.22 at 11:12 am
  Wasn’t it Twitter that messed Beasely up in the first place? If I were him I would avoid social media far more than I would avoid weed…
  Oh, and the top three in interchangable based on which team you’re watching.
  If you’re watching Kobe kill you say “This dude is the best.”
  Catch Lebron giving some lames the business and you think “Nobody can eff with this monster.”
  Then, watch the beautiful efficiency that is Wade and you will probably say “Man, I was tripping, this dude is better than all of them.”
  It’s stupid to argue.

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 11:17 am
  I seriously think Wade is better then Bron. Eboy will like that lol. But I do. Kobe>Wade>Bron. Career wise and ability wise.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 11:20 am
  Co-sign Allenp. But what fun would that be?

• Bryan Posted: Oct.22 at 11:21 am
  I see eboy’s point. But laker lovers choose to spin it the opposite way, 7x western conference champ and 4 time champion really doesn’t sound so bad.

• Bryan Posted: Oct.22 at 11:23 am
  I see eboy’s point. But laker lovers choose to spin it the opposite way, 6x western conference champ and 4 time champion really doesn’t sound so bad.

• niQ Posted: Oct.22 at 11:24 am
  Wow it’s so true about the “douchebag” comment. Everyone before last season was like, Lebron this, Lebron that. And that’s exactly what happened. Everyone just kept bigging him up. Now don’t get me wrong, I still think he deserved it. He singehadedly made him team win the most games last season. (I even had him on my fantasy team) But my ‘point’ is I just hate it when a group of people decide who will be MVP before the season even kicks off.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 11:26 am
  TOP-10 SFs IN THE W*RLD.
  1)DURANT
  2)SISKAUSKAS
  3)LEBRON
  4)MELO
  5)PIERCE
  6)RUDY
  7)HEDO
  8)GRANGER
  9)BUTLER
  10)NOCIONI

• Bryan Posted: Oct.22 at 11:26 am
  Co sign allenp. Ill get killed but my only problem with bron is that I feel he’s not very mature as a player. I may be wrong but that’s how I feel watching him. If I had to win one series today I got kobe over all of them but I do think wade brings more to the table than both bron and kobe.

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 11:30 am
  I’m sorry E, let me be more specific. I meant Kobe was the lead dog during the last season that the Lakers won a ring with Shaq. The only reason that Shaq got the Finals MVP was because he was guarded by Todd MacCullough and Kobe was guarded by real live NBA players. Kobe carried them that entire season. As for 2004 that whole season was an absolute clusterfu(k. A major part of it was Kobe’s legal problems and another major part of it was Shaq’s inability to do anything other than eat little debbies prior to the season. The fact that that team made the Finals at all is an accomplishment in itself. Kobe was the only reason they even won a game in the entire finals that year. But you can put that one on Kobe. He’s 2-2 as a lead dog and 4-2 total while only missing the playoffs once in his entire career even though he was surrounded by D-League talent for 3 seasons and has played in an absolutely brutal Western Conf. this decade. Sounds pretty clutch to me.

• niQ Posted: Oct.22 at 11:30 am
  Oh and Khalid, that’s also what I think about Beasley. If he can step it up this year (which I think he most definitely will), the Heat will go far. Count on it.

• Chukaz Posted: Oct.22 at 11:32 am
  #2 kobe, #1 steve blake. shame on slam for leavin bron off their top 50

• MooButter Posted: Oct.22 at 11:32 am
  Here’s my problem with the “Wade should have been MVP last year” arguement. All the Lebron haters saying Wade did more with less are forgetting all they years Bron didn’t win because he had a crappy team. The main arguement against him when the Cavs were winning 45 to 50 games a year was that his stats were inflated by a poor supporting cast. The Cavs were playing Damon Jones, Sasha Pavlovic, and Donyell Marshall major minutes in the playoffs that year. MVP = Most Valuable Player. Lebron is the most important player to his team of the three. The Lakers are absolutely stacked with or without Kobe. Take Dwyane off Miami and sure they wont make the playoffs, but they’re only a 5 seed at best in the east anyway, not contenders. Take Bron off the Cavs and not only are they not in contention for a championship, they make a first round exit from the playoffs. Sounds most valuable to me.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 11:33 am
  TOP-15 BIG MEN IN THE W*RLD.
  1)PAU
  2)DIRK
  3)DUNCAN
  4)PEKOVIC
  5)BOSH
  6)SPLITTER
  7)JEFFERSON
  8)SHAQ
  9)ANDERSEN
  10)SCOLA
  11)KIRILENKO
  12)BOUROUSIS
  13)HOWARD
  14)FOTSIS
  15)ODOM

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 11:38 am
  I love it when Lakers fans still cannot admit that the Pistons beat them fair and square in the ‘04 Finals.

• tavoris Posted: Oct.22 at 11:40 am
  why is a SF and Big Men list being posted in the comments about a SHOOTING GUARD? really…let it go, dude.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 11:41 am
  check my 9:22am comment for the top SG’s along with guidelines. For those of you that missed the top PG’s that i posted on the Deron column: TOP-15 PG’s IN THE W*RLD. 1)DERON
  2)CALDERON
  3)BILLUPS
  4)DIAMANTIDIS
  5)PARKER
  6)PAUL
  7)NASH
  8)SPANOULIS
  8)LAKOVIC
  10)ROSE

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 11:43 am
  @tavoris…..:as you see i’m in your mind (don’t worry, it will be fine)

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 11:44 am
  Pistons beat the Lakers fair and square in the 04 Finals. If I gave any indication that they didn’t a thousand pardons.

• Mo Posted: Oct.22 at 11:45 am
  Good spot for Wade. No one should be arguing this spot.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 11:46 am
  I’m sure that was sarcastic, but i’m not up for any debate today. Hi Bradley!

• tavoris Posted: Oct.22 at 11:47 am
  PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS…not at all, man…just a pain to skip over your worthless posts. I dont’ even have to read it to know that there are at least 5 people in those rankings who aren’t any more than mediocre basketball players -at best.

• tealish Posted: Oct.22 at 11:49 am
  @PANAGIOTIS: No KG in your top 15? Really?

• SLAM ONLINE | » Hot Topics? Posted: Oct.22 at 11:51 am
  [...] Top 50: Dwyane Wade, no. 3 [...]

• tealish Posted: Oct.22 at 11:52 am
  Big men with touch, aren’t those your favs?

• Allenp Posted: Oct.22 at 11:53 am
  Bryan
  A friend of mine and I agreed that Wade is like the perfect combination of Bron and Kobe. He doesn’t have the fundamentals of Kobe, but he’s closer than Bron. He doesn’t have the raw athletic ability of Bron, but he’s way closer than Kobe.
  He’s a mixture of what both of them brings to the table, and I think that’s why his game is more efficient than both of their games.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 11:54 am
  @tealish…..:really….???? B-I-G inexcussable mistake!!!! Put him over Bosh and delete Odom or Fotsis.

• Jukai Posted: Oct.22 at 11:55 am
  Siskauskas sucks. Most overrated baller of all time. The Vince Carter of Europe: superior athletic abilities and all the dude wants to do is shoot threes. He’s credited for a lot of victories well not ever leading his team in any statistical category, but being the ‘vocal leader’ (ie just like Kobe but without the skillsets).
  Very sucky!

• James the balla Posted: Oct.22 at 11:56 am
  He just forgot Teal. No biggie.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 11:56 am
  i thought i had written KG…never mind,after all this is going to be the least of all problems with my lists….

• Hum Posted: Oct.22 at 12:01 pm
  NBA 2006 Champions - the refs
  Just sayin

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 12:07 pm
  only thing one can have against Siskauskas is that he missed both free throws(!!!) in the last minute of the 2000 semifinal and left the best team in the world from 2000-2005 without a world title….(and also allowed KG ,after all the emberassing things that he did throughout the game, to get a gold….). But he was just 22 years old then…

• pennydunk_1 Posted: Oct.22 at 12:15 pm
  NBA 2006 Champions - the refs
  Just sayin. It has to be written 10000 times for you to wake up? watch them games, people. That said, Wade>Kobe, even in clutch situations

• tavoris Posted: Oct.22 at 12:16 pm
  who is this Siskauskas guy(I know, but I’m not impressed by him), and what does he have to do with Dwayne Wade being #3?

• tealish Posted: Oct.22 at 12:17 pm
  @Panagiotis - I’m not going to comment on the non-NBA players because I honestly know little about them… but on your SG list, you have Anthony Parker but not Vince? Forget the dunks and the cartoonish qualities, just compare production… I hope this is just another oversight…

• tealish Posted: Oct.22 at 12:21 pm
  And if A. Parker stands for some Euro god-send of a player I don’t know about, (and not the guy who stood at the corners of the Air Canada Centre) my apologies.

• Ders Posted: Oct.22 at 12:22 pm
  I just have to say I’m a HUGE LeBron fan, but if Kobe isn’t no. 1, I would be surprised.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 12:22 pm
  @tealish…..:Parker is a really good defender. Vince used to be great player but he now does most of his damage shooting and Parker ain’t no bad shooter either. Vince was left out for the same reason Amare is left out.

• Anton Posted: Oct.22 at 12:27 pm
  2. Internet porn
  1. Heat cheerleaders

• Yesse Posted: Oct.22 at 12:28 pm
  I was expecting Wade to be number one and Kobe 3rd.Well if it goes like this i guess Kobe gets the number one spot.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 12:36 pm
  @Yesse…..: i would bet my life that Lebron is no-1 in such a list BUT since we see “here and there” players defying the underlying mentality of this list just to give it a dose of reality (Duncan) i wouldn’t be shocked to see him no-1…funny how seeing the “HANDS-DOWN” best bball player in the world at the top of a bball related list can be a kind of a shock….. but this is how UNICEF er SLAM works!!!!

• tealish Posted: Oct.22 at 12:40 pm
  Anthony Parker is nothing more than a Bruce Bowen of just 2 years ago. He defends well, but he gives you nothing else but spot up shots. And his defense, while way better than 2009 Vince, is no where near Bowen’s.
  If that warrants a spot over a guy who puts up 20-5-5 (Numbers, I know. But can you believe I don’t play video games OR fantasy basketball!!) and still is one of the league’s most clutch players…. then well, I guess that’s it.

• tealish Posted: Oct.22 at 12:43 pm
  And don’t worry about Kobe not being #1, I’m sure SLAM recognizes what’s up. That as*hole’s been #1 for awhile now and next year is no different.

• Bryan Posted: Oct.22 at 12:43 pm
  Allenp , that’s a perfect assessment. And even though they all go hard wade always looks the part more than they do.

• JL Posted: Oct.22 at 12:45 pm
  ok kobe on the heat? we saw what happens when you add a player like kobe to a team like the heat. 35 ppg 81 pts, and a career of over 90 40 pts games. kobe on miami is an espn highlight every night.

• tealish Posted: Oct.22 at 12:48 pm
  @JL — ESPN highlights consisting of parking lot videos?

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 12:51 pm
  @tealish….:read the guidelines of comment 9:22am.(….i care about players performance when almost every single basket is “make it or go home”…. ).if my team is on the biggest final of em all(let’s say the 2008 one), making a three or a dunk is not enough for me. Many players can do so. I need also somebody to guard Navaro on the other end. And speaking of Navaro one can rightfully say “where is Juan’s D you fool??? Correct, but Navaro is one of the most unstopable/unique offensive players in the world and the fact that Kobe/Wade couldn’t stop him doesn’t mean they are bad defenders. It is just that Navaro is taking(and making) shots that are simply impossible to calculate, he has a unique style.

• JL Posted: Oct.22 at 12:52 pm
  yeah and some on miami beach. you know he has to add shots of the beach as well.

• JL Posted: Oct.22 at 12:53 pm
  @ tealish- yeah, but the videos would be of him on south beach as well. duh!

• KaponoE Posted: Oct.22 at 12:55 pm
  Lebron Kobe Wade. In that order. Kobe gets the nod cause he’ll be playing for a chip and he’ll have Division and Conference hardware. LeBron will have MVP hardware. Wade is younger and more athletic than Kobe and has more all around skills than James, but since he won’t have the hardware come the end of the season that the other two will, 3 is a good look for him.

• tealish Posted: Oct.22 at 12:58 pm
  @PAN…..: Well that’s COMPLETELY different and also not what your guidelines infer. It’s like saying…if I already have Kobe and Wade on my team, I wouldn’t need a Vince Carter. Therefore, I’d rather take a Daequan Cook because he’d make a better (more content) bench player who will give Kobe and Wade more consistent high fives during timeouts. Cook > Carter? I guess so. Anyway, I’m gone. Peace.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 1:01 pm
  @tealish…..:Peace.

• j4zzm4n Posted: Oct.22 at 1:03 pm
  Greek dude , your classification lists the criteria as being based on performances on world stage and olympics, this list is NBA for next year. You talk about performances from the year 2000 and other championships from the past. seriously man what is your point? Some dude not playing in the league in question did something years ago should be considered relevant to the present? (and in a different context). qualitative assessments are cool with me, as are quantitative and solely emotive ones, but your blurring of the three (and pretending to out rationalize everyone) is straight up flawed dude. Everyone knows eddy curry is gunna have the biggest year.

• j4zzm4n Posted: Oct.22 at 1:05 pm
  And that ain’t my sign in name, what’s up with the website. Sorry jazman

• THATdude108 Posted: Oct.22 at 1:09 pm
  If LeBron is second on this list im gonna flip a shit. Its easy to see that LeBron is the most explosive, most dominant player in the game today (and has been for 2 or 3 years now). People love to hate on ‘the king’ which is fine all the greats get hate at some point. But you cant deny lebron’s greatness.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 1:18 pm
  @j4zz or whatever….:if i was talking past championships/performances i would have had Carlos (!!!!!!!!)in my SF top-10.

• Topher Posted: Oct.22 at 1:18 pm
  I went with online porn when I quit puffing and it worked great. Saves time money and health. Doctors should subscribe the best websites.
  Great write-up Khalid

• jbn74sb Posted: Oct.22 at 1:26 pm
  Did you hear that? The refs just called another foul on the Mavs in the 2006 Finals when Wade threw himself on the ground. That’s 637 fouls on the Mavs so far in the series.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 1:27 pm
  Another great post getting ruined in the comments section. Why can’t we talk about the player in question here? Wade’s game gives us plenty to talk about.

• The Seed Posted: Oct.22 at 1:32 pm
  I have made this statment many times on this board, that Dwade is the real prize in 2010 to me. I would take Dwade over Lebron. I feel Dwade has the higher potential, with Lebron dropping off once his athletic ability goes down. Dwade will have a better career than Lebron, because after Shaq mess them up, Lebron will be in the same boat again great regular season, then falls off when he tries to do to much. Dwade is the real truth and is the closet thing in the NBA to Kobe. Kobe is heads above these dudes, be real, but they are playing better. Kobe gets the real MVP trophy again haters. Kobe will probably be two, because he will skate through the regular season, but turn it on again in the playoffs increasin his points, rebounds and assits to win another chip.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 1:35 pm
  @TADOne……:you get confused my little one,eh..??

• jbn74sb Posted: Oct.22 at 1:38 pm
  Last year, during his allegedly epic 79 game season, Wade shot 31.7% on 278 3 pointers, 76.5% on FTs, and averaged almost 3.5 turnovers per game. Kobe, on the other hand, in a below average 82 game season, shot 35.1% on 336 3 pointers, 85.6% on FTs, and had about 2.5 turnovers per game. Oh, and Kobe won a ring and Finals MVP. Get in line, chump. Kobe is still the real King. The only question for Wade is which level of Prince he is.

• Anton Posted: Oct.22 at 1:40 pm
  http://images.yuku.com/image/x-png/5b535f82e527897d14a5672b2a757c30dd4188a.x-png

• The Seed Posted: Oct.22 at 1:41 pm
  You put Wade on the Lakers and the outcome would be the same. Bron as well, for that matter. I tired of folks using this line this is how Steve Nash got two MVP’s. You put Bron and wade on any team with a real number 2 and they have a shot. Come on folks. The Cetlics won, but I believe Joe Johnson or even Micheal Red could have played Ray Allen position and they still would have won. Forget the ifs and whats, the Lakers used to suck, everybody wrote them off. Now since their back with some good pieces, dudes are jealous. Also Lakers only have a great starting five, after that their is a drop off, unlike some other teams in the league, so don’t be fooled they just by replacing dudes that they still win. Thats nonsense to me.

• Tommy Vercetti Posted: Oct.22 at 1:45 pm
  Wade has great game - pure and simple. Right now you could argue if he is as good as Kobe or not. Kobe has more rings but won with much better teams. One element that Wade has that Kobe does not is leadership. Wade (like Lebron) are both the best players and clear leaders of thier teams. Kobe never has been or likely will be the leader of the team - although he is clearly the best player. Fish is the leader of the Lakers. So if I had my choice of either Wade or Kobe - it clearly has to be Wade. But I’d take Lebron over Wade.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 1:47 pm
  One thing kills the whole Kobe/Dwyane argument. Gabrielle Union >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>the dwarf faced cu*t that takes the Mamba willingly and can’t get in rap videos anymore ’cause she’s about as pretty as Popeye Jones. Just saying. Go back under your rocks now girls. Thanks for stopping by.

• jbn74sb Posted: Oct.22 at 1:54 pm
  Say what you will, but all of you are playing for 2nd place. Wade and LeBron are freakish athletes, but neither can carry Vanessa’s bra as far as being basketball players goes.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 1:56 pm
  Ah yes, I forgot about Gabrielle. DWade should get the #1 spot just for that.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 1:58 pm
  Bodie obviously is still suffering the after effects of third world stupidity from his trip to South America.

• jbn74sb Posted: Oct.22 at 2:01 pm
  Second place.

• tavoris Posted: Oct.22 at 2:09 pm
  damn, Eboy…that’s kinda rough on Mrs. Bryant.

• LA Huey Posted: Oct.22 at 2:10 pm
  Wade will have a greater season than Kobe. Kobe’s flanked by a really good supporting cast and has a coach that knows the importance of pacing in the marathon that is the regular season. Wade’s got…Super Cool Beas. Barring injury, Wade will have a greater output this season.

• Bryan Posted: Oct.22 at 2:11 pm
  Well wade is going to get more to’s because the ball is in his hands way more evidenced by the ppg and apg. Also his 3 point % is low because he had to shoot 3’s with 4 defenders on him , he didn’t have the same luxury of a low post beast like pau to take some defense away from him. Just saying.

• Anton Posted: Oct.22 at 2:14 pm
  Mrs. Bryant loves it rough

• Chukaz Posted: Oct.22 at 2:25 pm
  Two questions. Since Captain Jack is as good as kobe, are he and kobe gonna share the number two spot? I mean it’s obvious Romeo Miller gonna be number one right? Right?

• UnRel Posted: Oct.22 at 2:28 pm
  everyone always talks about a great supporting team.. which is a good argument and all.. but LA is also playing in a rougher conference.. maybe i’m a bit off base.. but to me.. that accounts for something.. even though kobe can take a night off cause of his support’s production.. dwade/bron can chill at times too.. or stat stuff.. when they play the knicks/bucks/nets/whoever else.. 3+ times a year.. kobe is still the best in the game today.. forget about the closer argument.. lebron is physically better than kobe.. but kobe is a better basketball player.. HOWEVER.. dwade is my pick for 09/10 MVP.. good spot for him.. for 10/11.. i see him in the top 2..

• Bryan Posted: Oct.22 at 2:36 pm
  Can’t really stat stuff three point percentage when the defense is always getting 3 hands in your face.

• jdn41 Posted: Oct.22 at 2:43 pm
  man but wade with a competent center and hes getting the championship

• Your Dad!! Posted: Oct.22 at 2:45 pm
  u guys are idiots lebron and dwade are not even or ever be close to kobe PERIOD!!!!

• James Posted: Oct.22 at 2:49 pm
  This list is garbage, Wade was CLEARLY better last season and will be again this season. Get off Kobe’s dick Slam.

• SAB Posted: Oct.22 at 2:50 pm
  all this hate for LeBron amazes me. the kid is a phenom, and i guess it’s all this media force-fed 24/7 LeBronathon that’s turned a lot of people into haters. but some of the comments against him are plain silly. personally, i feel priveliged to be watching these three guys do their thing - they’re all phenomenal players.

• James Posted: Oct.22 at 2:54 pm
  This list is garbage, Wade was CLEARLY the better player last season and will be again this upcoming year. Get off Kobe’s dick Slam.

• JOe Posted: Oct.22 at 2:54 pm
  C’mon Kobe.

• Allenp Posted: Oct.22 at 3:01 pm
  Kobe shot 35 percent from three and Wade shot 31 percent. So, neither of them is really that good.
  Wade averaged more turnovers and more assists.
  Kobe is not head and shoulders over Lebron and Wade. Given your preference as a fan, you might rank him as better, you might not.
  Anyway, I’ll be interested to see if Wade can duplicate his performance from last year since he’s clearly pissed about his team situation and hoping to avoid injury to get that max contract next year.

• Bryan Posted: Oct.22 at 3:07 pm
  I wasn’t big upping kobes three point shooting or saying I prefer wade just disagreeing with bodie on the reasoning.

• Ryan Jones Posted: Oct.22 at 3:09 pm
  This is a public service announcement.
  I will not have access to the internets on Friday, Oct. 23. Not sure why that would matter to any of you, but, you know, it might.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 3:12 pm
  Allen….it’s hard to take what any Laker fan has to say seriously. They’re are jaded to the rest of the league and notoriously jealous when other’s take their shine. It’s all good. They’ll be another 10 year period starting in the next couple of seasons where they’ll be irrelevant as they were for most of the 90’s. Unless Pau Gasol is the building block they’ll work around with Sasha and Farmer as his compliments in about 3 years.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 3:13 pm
  Tantalizing Ryan……I think if Myles is writing the Lebron #1 piece it will read something like “Lebron James is good at basketball” and then the comments section will be right behind it.

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 3:18 pm
  I think youre wrong.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 3:22 pm
  Dammit. Then the shine on the Kobe #1 piece will be as blinding as the sun and as long as an Indian Summer. It will still be an interesting read, I’m sure.

• sab Posted: Oct.22 at 3:25 pm
  Eboy - they’ll find a way to “cheat” their way back to the top of the pile quickly. haven’t they won half of the Western Conference titles? some would say that’s a quality ballclub… others would say that’s “more than coincidence”… I do wish Lakers fans would notice that they’re the only ones who think Kobe’s still #1…

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 3:25 pm
  I hope it has the same tone as Ryan Jones Kobe spot last year. I could hear his teeth grinding in the words.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 3:28 pm
  Brad…..if it is Lebron at #1, Myles won’t let the Lebron haters down, I think.

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 3:28 pm
  I completely agree with SAB at 2:50.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 3:34 pm
  sab….I disagree, they haven’t cheated. They had a solid squad last year that earned the title. It was a year ago that they were benefited a lopsided deal approved by certain members of the NBA front office to try and sweeten the chances of one of it’s most profitable sguads being in that top spot again. It’s worked…glowingly. They made two Finals appearances since then and have a bevy of new fans that know little of the history of the team they fervently root for. Expect similar results for a certain team in NYC that will “miraculousy” wind up with one…maybe two of the premier free-agent signing next season. It’s been a long time since the Knicks have mattered and they are due another huge talent to get that franchise ramped up again. It’s the business of professional sports. Those who don’t realize that…live in another world away from reality. But, they did not cheat. That’s innacurate.

• Allenp Posted: Oct.22 at 3:39 pm
  Eboy
  You really believe in that stuff about the League being involved in the Gasol trade?
  I don’t.
  I think Gasol was underrated because as he number one dude, he was getting buttrumped by Dirk and losing in the playoffs without winning a game. Wallace probably misjudged his talent, and wanted to save money. And that happened.

• jbn74sb Posted: Oct.22 at 3:46 pm
  Gasol accomplished so much in the league before he rode Kobe’s nuts to a title.

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 3:49 pm
  Says the guy whose favorite NBA team’s only championship was delivered to them in a 350 pd package from the same franchise he’s critcizing.

• Anton Posted: Oct.22 at 3:52 pm
  LeBron at #2 is a shamockery. If the rankings were based solely on projected ‘09-10 performance, as is stated, half the guys on this list would need to switch places. Either stick to the rules that you have claimed is the basis for the articles or just say: “Hey, we got the SLAM team to write who they thought is the best now. The following top 50 is highly subjective so let’s have a good discussion without it being solely tied to rankings.” Don’t pretend it’s based on future performance is the player is more accomplished or is better now.

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 3:52 pm
  That was directed at Eboy’s last comment.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 3:53 pm
  Yeah Allen…I do. I also agree with your take on it to. But there’s no reason that… let’s say a team like the Bobcats couldn’t have made that deal. But that’s not sexy enough is it? Or is it?

• Z Posted: Oct.22 at 3:53 pm
  Pau went from underrated to overrated because of who he was playing with. It’s still the same ol’ Pau since basically his rookie year. / Can we just stop talking about the 35 ppg/81 pts Kobe like he still got it like that? That was then. He doesn’t go hard to the tin like that anymore, this is the jumpshooting phase of his career. Luckily for him, he’s the most fundamentally sound wing on the planet so he can easily play at god-like level with diminishing athletic abilities. Let’s just not pretend that this is 2005.

• Anton Posted: Oct.22 at 3:53 pm
  *if

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 3:54 pm
  There’s that Laker fan bitterness at someone else’s shine I spoke about earlier.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 3:57 pm
  Judging from Ryan’s comment, i’m expecting him to be writing the piece on why Kobe is #2 on the list.

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 3:58 pm
  When did 31 become the new 61?

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 3:59 pm
  And how did score those 81 points? Or the 61 last year? And…f*ck it. Theres always tomorrow.

• jbn74sb Posted: Oct.22 at 4:01 pm
  Look, there is no shame in being ALMOST as good as Kobe during the downside of his career. Wade and LeBron should be proud to even be mentioned in the same breath as Kobe.

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 4:01 pm
  If he scored the 81 on jumpshots-which he did-and scored 61 on jumpshots two years later, because hes a great jumpshooter, then hes still got it like that. As its been noted, he just doesnt have to do it, so it would be stupid and selfish to try and prove such.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 4:04 pm
  Myles, you need to save yourself for your piece tomorrow. Pace yourself, Young Jedi.

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 4:06 pm
  Bodie…stop. You just sound dumb. I’m the dumb one around here!

• jbn74sb Posted: Oct.22 at 4:12 pm
  Eboy - We won, and I am one of the few Laker fans who stayed with it during our down period, in which we missed the playoffs once. Ergo, I can say whatever the f-ck I want.

• christian wells Posted: Oct.22 at 4:15 pm
  i’m very disappointed kobe should b third i’m so tired of all this kobe love his time is up, yeah he’s a very good player still,but not as good as lebron or wade,and this is about what guys r gonna do this season he’s not gonna hv a better season than wade,…reasons i’m not a big kobe fan the bs when he wanted 2b traded 2 chicago the wanting 2b better than jordan that was never gonna happen,and he’s crying and bitching when he had a better team than most go back a couple or few seasons and put lebron on that LA team and they go farther than they got with kobe put kobe on the horrible teams lebron has 2 play on and they wont do as well as they hv with lebron.now my main beef is that kobe is 2high dwade is better offensively and defensively…if lebron isn’t #1 idk SLAM

• Eboy Posted: Oct.22 at 4:16 pm
  Actually….I like when you were down on them for about a month or two and then they came out of their duldrums and won it. You should follow that reverse psychology strategy again this year and beat them down whenever you get the chance, call Odom, Fisher, Bynum and Pau a bust and tell everyone that would listen that they sucked to the high heavens and didn’t belong in the playoffs. That was far more amusing!

• jbn74sb Posted: Oct.22 at 4:31 pm
  Aka the debacle that was the Houston series.

• Niya-girl-fresh Posted: Oct.22 at 4:33 pm
  It was obvious he’d be at the top or in the top 3. He’s an outstanding player. He had a historic season last season, this can only get better.

• Z Posted: Oct.22 at 4:41 pm
  Myles, you watch Kobe a lot. You can’t tell me that he got like he used to going to the hoop. You just can’t. Yeah he can still give you the occasional 50+ games but he can’t sustain 35 ppg anymore on jumpshots alone. Come. On. 31 is not 61 but it’s not 25 either. It’s not just that there’s better talent around him, those legs have played 1100+ games if you include the playoffs. It’s a fact accepted by most that players tend to slow down once they hit 1000 games played. I don’t think it’s any different for Kob. Again, he’s still top dog and everything but the jumper HAS to fall for him to abuse ppl now. And when it doesn’t, well he can be more easily contained.

• Derek S. Posted: Oct.22 at 4:43 pm
  Kobe because he has taken his team to the finals the last two years. Championship > Individual Performance. End of story.

• Allenp Posted: Oct.22 at 4:55 pm
  Z
  I think Kobe could still score 35 a night if he wanted to.
  But, his team would really suck.
  Kobe is slowing down, it’s obvious, but he could still get buckets if that’s what he wanted to do because he’s smarter than everybody in the league and more skilled than everybody else in the League. Period.
  But, I understand why SLAM will probably rank Lebron first.
  Eboy
  I’ve never been big on conspiracy theories in sports. I don’t know if that’s naivete or stubborness or good sense.
  You can decide.

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 5:02 pm
  Z:If you don’t think that Kobe could sustain 35 ppg on a squad with inferior offensively skilled teammates right now I have no respect for your basketball opinions anymore.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 5:09 pm
  Are you talking about the current Lakers squad, Brad?

• SAB Posted: Oct.22 at 5:12 pm
  i put “cheated” in quotation marks because it was a liberal use of the word… i’m a soccer man too, and Manchester United always get the luck and you wonder if it’s because they’re a quality organisation or because they get some help along the way… i’m not going OTT, i don’t think it’s conspiratory etc etc… for one thing, the NBA conspiracy theorists are easily defeated by four words: “The San Antonio Spurs” - they shoot the conspiracy theory down instantly, cos why on earth would anyone conspire to make them a successful franchise?!?!… BUT, for a league that’s all about equality (e.g. the Draft), the Lakers’ collection of Western Conference titles is amazingly disproportionate…

• Brad Long Posted: Oct.22 at 5:12 pm
  Hell no! He could still score 35 a night on any squad, but they wouldn’t win a ring if he tried that on his current team. It doesn’t make any damn sense. But put him on…say the Timberwolves or Knicks for example, he could avg. 35 easy on a team like that with no playoff expectations.

• jdn41 Posted: Oct.22 at 5:16 pm
  honestly we’re all basketball fans but lets just take a moment and look at what we’re asking of kobe, when dude was dropping 40 50 60 81 points everyone was like kobes shit cause he cant get a ring without shaq, then he got his ring and you guys are saying his shit cause he doeent have the stats…theres no winning with kobe, hes the best player right now, and theres an excuse or reason for everything he accomplishes. We are never satisifed with kobe, no matter how great he is we want more, and the dude delivers breaking our expectations causing us to make new ones…for this reason kobe is number 1 stop hating

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 5:16 pm
  Ah ok. I was about to say that Odom, Artest, Gasol, and maybe even Bynum could average close to 20 on a lot of teams.

• The underrated one Posted: Oct.22 at 5:19 pm
  uh ohh… slam put themselves in aterrible position, because whover is next, all their fans are gonna be pissed off. Btw lebron mite be first, but honestly, it really should be kobe. But then again, kobe was first last year……

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 5:21 pm
  No, Kobe is not the same physical specimen he was five years ago. Itd be silly to argue that. But to proclaim that he doesnt go to the rim like he used to, as though he cant, is just as silly to me. When couple with the respect defenders have to pay his jumper, his handle is as nice as anyone in the league and he still finishes at the rim with creativity and power when needed. Its not as though he shrunk or became completely earthbound. In 2006 when averaged 35PPG, he played 41MPG and took 27SPG 6.5 of which were threes. Last year when he averaged 27PPG he played 36MPG and took 21SPG 4 of which were threes. I dont have trouble believing that with 5 more MPG 6 more SPG and 2.5 more threes he’d be hovering around 33-35PPG.

• Myles Brown Posted: Oct.22 at 5:25 pm
  And please dont think that the same Kobe Bryant who just played an entire Olympic schedule in between two Finals appearances couldnt handle the extra conditioning it would require to play 5 more minutes and take 6 more shots per game if his only objective was to score points.

• TADOne Posted: Oct.22 at 5:33 pm
  Myles is trying to mislead us. We all know who is #1.

• DeAndre Posted: Oct.22 at 5:37 pm
  mehhh…
  everybody already knew that
  Kobe and LeBron would be the last two

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.22 at 5:44 pm
  Kobe could still average 35 ppg on an inferior squad EASILY, but his team would not be very good; kind of like Dwyane Wade’s team isn’t very good with him going 30 and 7. Actually, the Heat are pretty bad.

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.22 at 5:46 pm
  LeBron > Wade.

• Bryan Posted: Oct.22 at 5:47 pm
  7 free throws a game is still a lot. Its not 10 but kobe is playing less minutes and deferring a lot more because he can now.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 5:50 pm
  Wade > LeBron.

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.22 at 6:13 pm
  Anybody else think Mo Williams is overrated?

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Oct.22 at 6:15 pm
  Anybody else think Lamar Odom is overrated?

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 6:23 pm
  EUROLEAGUE UPDATE (WEEK 1): Big win for Panathinaikos in Milano against “Armani Jeans Milano” with Pekovic&Spanoulis(19 pts in 16 minutes) leading the way….Olympiakos had an easy win against Orleanaise with kleiza scoring 23pts and Josh contributing 15(Wafer had 10). Rubio had 9 assists in just 21 minutes in Turkey for Barcelona (Gordan Giricek just 3 pts for Fenerbahce) while Navaro had just 5 pts(in the day that i named him no-6 SG in the world….).Qyntel Woods(remember him,? Slam had a feature while he was a Juco star) had a big game(23pts,14reb,3stl,2ast,6to) for Polish champions Prokom but it was not enough since they lost from Oldenburg (Rickey Paulding had 23 pts with 5/11. Remember him dunking for Missuri? great leaper…).Finally Printezis(16pts with 8/8 fg’s) helped Malaga to get the win against Parizan in beligrad(Omar Cook had 0 pts but 6 assists for Malaga).

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 6:24 pm
  Lamar underrared.
  Mo way overrated.

• Z Posted: Oct.22 at 6:24 pm
  Okay, this got out of hand in a direction that I wasn’t aiming for. I obviously meant a good, meaningful 35. Yes, he could absolutely ‘gun’ for 35 on a horrible team shooting around 40% from the field. Wade and LeBron too, considering that they both avg 30+ already with a %. / My main point was that Kobe has already slowed down. Doesn’t mean he’s not top dog but again, this is not 2005. Can that really be argue? / Teddy, Wade is avg a ‘good’ 30 right now. He’s not throwing that WTF shots. / Brad, you can disrespect my basketball knowledge, it’s fine.

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.22 at 6:33 pm
  DUNK OF THE NIGHT: CHARLES SMITH (NEW MEXICO,CLIPPERS, EFES PILSEN) http://euroleague.infrontams.tv/index.php?id=1005

• Dre Posted: Oct.22 at 6:45 pm
  PANAGIOTIS: Are you mentally challenged? No offense.. But you’re comments are always WAY off.

• craigsmith Posted: Oct.22 at 6:46 pm
  D-whistle

• jeff Posted: Oct.22 at 7:25 pm
  I think its funny how everyone says replacing wade with kobe and the heat would fail to make the playoffs.. Kobe is still capable of carrying a team to the playoffs and that is a FACT. besides, if kobe were on the miami heat then that means he would be playing in the eastern conference. Honestly if Kobe were on this miami heat team in the east, I think he could average 40 a game.

• Rog123 Posted: Oct.22 at 7:54 pm
  Besides a mid range j, how is kobe better than wade? THIS YEAR!

• KH10 Posted: Oct.22 at 8:13 pm
  Kobe led his team to the championship and is still the most talented player in the league, he doesnt have to score 35 a game anymore cos he plays with pau, lamar, ron and bynum not to mention the deep laker bench.
  in my opinion the top 3 are almost equally great, but kob won this year so he should be ranked no1, if lebron wins this season he will be no1.and if wade played for the lakers they would still win.

• Zee! Posted: Oct.22 at 8:27 pm
  Now I know why I come here every once in a while….Yikes…..

• don Posted: Oct.22 at 8:56 pm
  I’m too excited to see kobe’s name tommorrow to comment on dwayne’s writeup right now.

• g Posted: Oct.22 at 9:17 pm
  I believe if u put wade on the lakers they would have won that ring as well because wade easily averaged 38 points against the magic so y wouldn’t they win

• Eddie LOmax Posted: Oct.22 at 9:38 pm
  I must say I’m pleasantly surprised to see so much love for D Wade here. Great write up Khalid (i think you got a cool name, son) and also liked the PE reference. I mentioned a couple of these points (rookie coach, nutter Beas, rookie PG, Chris Quinn etc) on the Melo ranking page and thought kids paid no mind to that tidbit of info. I don’t think anyone in the WORLD is a better baller than D Wade, like Khalid said, maybe equal (LBJ, Kobe) but not better. Loved the article. And why didn’t he make All Defence 1st team last year, A TRAVESTY. Yo Suvlaki, you surely KNOW that half of the Euro ballers that you name in your lists COULDN’T even compete in the L. That’s why they’re not in the L. They’re too intimidated and minuns Manu, half of ‘em couldn’t even get their own shots in the League. They want to spot up and shoot three’s, play NO defence and to not get embaressed (posterized), coz half of ‘em are put on pedestals (Turkish Jordan, Slovakian Harold Miner, Italian Vin Baker). Don’t get me wrong, Euro’s are great ballers (and you do seem to know what you’re on about), and very competetive in team situations(international comp, zone defences etc) but your lists are biased as hell. I hear that they don’t even get paid on time, yet they still stay over in the shadows. Real talk. Oh yeah, Drazen Petrovic was F-N ill. R.I.P. And remember when Kirilenko was nearly dropping quad doubles on the reg (ode to Kenny Powers).

• shifty Posted: Oct.22 at 9:42 pm
  Lebron is seriously sucked off by everyone though, he didn’t even deserve to get the All Star MVP last season, Ray Allen should of.

• Gerard Himself Posted: Oct.22 at 10:06 pm
  Agree with Khalid here. But you think he’ll even have a better season this year? Last season was amazing, I think it might be tough to top that….

• Shem Posted: Oct.22 at 10:57 pm
  I m not sure if Kobe can sustain 35 a game for 82 games. If he was on a worse team then i could say 30. Oh by the way there is no winning with kobe with you guys. Okay he was putting up great stats scoring i think 6 50 pt games in a row and then 81. You guys were saying how he couldnt win a ring. KOBE WINS A RING, without shaq and wow guess what. He doesnt have the stats anymore. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! How is 27 pts 5 rebs 5 assts 1.5 stls on good shooting % not good stats? I cant wait until hes 1st

• PANAGIOTIS VASILOPOULOS Posted: Oct.23 at 2:59 am
  @Dre……:i am.

• Pardeep Posted: Oct.23 at 4:09 am
  If you put LeBron on the Lakers theyd get a ring. If you put Wade on the Lakers theyd get a ring. If you put Kobe on the Cavs theyd get a ring. If you put Kobe on the Heat theyd make the Eastern Finals. Trust me Kobe can win games himself if he is allowed to by Phil and he does want to but that is not best for the Lakers. Kobe is the best player in the L in my opinion because stat wise he can avearge 40 maybe and so can LeBron but than it comes down to the CLUTCH and Kobe is the man there. But I will not be surprised if Bron is 1st because his team gonna need him more next season so obviously he will have a better statistacal season and maybe a ring with Shaq. Kobe can average 22 ppg and win the championship thats how good the Lakers are.

• rikson Posted: Oct.23 at 4:43 am
  I dont thin the rules of this list are clear anybody….

• karan Posted: Oct.23 at 5:41 am
  d-wade is the best player in the league

• J Dizzle Posted: Oct.23 at 7:04 am
  @christian wells
  Wade is a better defender than Kobe, you say? Let’s see.. Kobe has 7x First and 2x Second All-Defensive Team selections. Wade has 0x First and 2x Second All-Defensive Team selections. That’s right, ZERO First Teams. Where did you get the idea that Wade was ever or will ever be a better defender than Kobe? You we’re wrong in general, but definitely about their defensive skills.

• Slam Reader Posted: Oct.23 at 7:11 am
  KObe still should be n.1, because we all owe him for those years when he was the best player in the world but was publicly appreciated…

• showtimeizback Posted: Oct.23 at 9:30 am
  Alot of good points. If everyone could i would like that you consider the issue from this point of view. 1. About this MVP business. Kobe in 03, 06 and 07 had probably the best stats and was most deserving of an MVP. However, having shaq or a bad team would definitely exclude you. Same as lebron in 07 and 08. same as wade in 09. i dont want to get into whose individual performances were better, because they all excelled at what they did and carried there very sub par teams to about the same number of wins. kobes team was always a 7 seed compared to lebron and wade cuz of being in the western conference. with their teams being bad, between the three of them, they only have one win over a actual good team, lebron beating the pistons (who were dismanteled the next season). kobe had a game 7 vs the 60 win suns. Wades MVP will come.

• 360vue Posted: Oct.23 at 9:35 am
  the REAL mvp last season.

• showtimeizback Posted: Oct.23 at 9:38 am
  2. the olympics. Wade was easily the best player on the olympic team. Melo was the best player the year before. i feel like their games are more suited for the olympics. it is a little harder for kobe and bron to dominate off the ball. especially kobe. wade played 6th man and had the ball alt as kobe, bron, and melo were off the court at that point. lebron and wade also get to the rim and against the softer euro defense were able to do that early and often, upping there field goal percentage as opposed to kobe who was primarily shooting jumpers. His poor play had NOTHING to do with his his finger. Maybe he was tired from the finals, but he still played poorly. however, he did come up big when the game was up for grabs. I am not sure why people dont think spain could have won, they definitely could have. they had all the momentum, and all of our players looked confused, not scared, but confused as if they didnt understand how this team was keeping up. also down the stretch, it wasnt just kobes hot shooting. he had his hand in all but 2 of the points until we were back up by a good amount. i think like 15 (dont quote me). he was making assist and plays. if we dont have him we lose. without wade and lebron and the other guys except boozer, we are never in that place to begin with. i also dont think kobe would have deferred to anyone else so kudos to wade and lebron for deferring to him.

• showtimeizback Posted: Oct.23 at 9:57 am
  3. 2009-10 performance. As i alluded to in my previous post, bron, kobe, and wade all have different styles of play. Wade is as someone else mentioned a combination of bron and kobe. it is true as kobe turns 31 and had been to the finals 6 times and in the playoffs every year but 1 that he is slowing down. driving to the rack less. wade and bron are in their athletic primes. that being said, kobe is still better than everyone else except those 2. now into the who is better debate, 2010 couldnt carry a weaker team like wade or lebron could right now. it just couldnt happen, and if it did, that effort would severely shorten his career (aiming for the jordan like 35-36 still playing). 03 to 07 kobe could, i think he could have beaten atlanta. i digress, lebron and wade would definitely carry the heat to a higher wins total than kobe could. however the heat wouldnt suck with kobe. they would still make the playoffs. lets not be too hasty. now this doesnt necessarily mean that on a good team, where they dont have to be good every night that wade/bron would do better than kobe. on the cavs, kobe could probably get about the same win total as lebron. wade would too. on the lakers, wade could probably get the same win total as kobe, i dont even think bron could cuz of they style with which the lakers play. so over the course of 82 games lebron/wade to me are going to be better than kobe. however for 1 game, or even 1 series, i would say kobe is still the best. also, i would say kobe is a bigger asset to a good team than lebron. lebron is a bigger asset for a bad team (knicks???) than kobe. wade as his style is, is in between. thats it from me.

• Swedish Mooze Posted: Oct.27 at 10:25 am
  It was Tweeting that got Beasley caught with weed in the first place… Wade’s a beast.

• Frank Posted: Oct.27 at 12:16 pm
  This List is very good i would put wade on 1 or 2 Lebron is a great player but he has yet out shined wade out of (Carmelo , Wade , Lebron) Wade has done so many things just by this he has been to the playoffs more than both of them. he has a ring and not only that but he is a great all around player for his height he does so many thing that not even the taller players can do. I mean he has had injury’s and many set backs but always shines. I say can be one the guy has earned the respect.
  but back on Wade and Lebron if last year the heat were to win a couple of more games wade would have been the MVP. In all great list and also people lets be realistic NBA is full of stars that u can never predict who will certain title…..

• Da Hood Posted: Oct.27 at 10:56 pm
  Quietly the BEST PLAYER In DA WORLD!!!! Team is trash and has to do so much is y he wont get love he deserves.

• Myles Stedman Posted: Jan.25 at 1:34 pm
  hmm. i know dwayne wade used to be good back in ‘06 when the heat won, but i don’t think i’ve seen him showing up since ‘07. maybe cause the heat are digging themselves holes and getting worse, but d-wade is incredibley talented and should maybe try and focus on better defence, because that’s where the heat are falling for me.