Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 at 12:55 pm  |  58 responses

Top 500, By The 50s

Every 50th guy on our massive Top 500 list.

In case you’ve been sleeping, our Top 500 issue is on stands now. As a sneak peak, we put together every 50th player on the list right here. And to fill in the (huge) blanks, cop the book!

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  • Benjamin Gordesky

    @ everyone dissing on The Big O. O was the best player to ever play the game of basketball with the exception of Bill Russell who was the best player-coach ever and has 11 rings. Nothing else needs to be said about Bill. O was the only player ever to average a triple-double in a season which he did for five straight seasons, and whoever doesn’t know, LBJ reached 15,000 points three years later than The Big O did–LBJ having a three pointer to work with. Point is that O and Bill should be tied for first–Jordan is third or fourth.

  • Justin

    Jukai’s list is OK but his reasoning behind some of his selections are flawed. Oscar may have played point for awhile but he is generally considered a forward. Isiah beat those three yes, but that doesn’t make him the better player. By that rationale, Bill Laimbeer is one of the great centers of all time because he beat Parrish and Kareem. Stockton down a spot because he didn’t win a title? Title numbers is a vastly overrated way of looking at how good an individual player is. I guess Karl Malone isn’t the top 2 power forwards of all time then either? They played against Jordan. Enough said there. Gary Payton? Really? He’s not a better point guard than Nash. Defensively, sure. Shooter, passer…not even close. Kemp gets an extra 6 points a game with Nash giving him the ball. @AllenP, you have to put age in the consideration. Nash has had plenty of injuries himself but he plays through them cuz he’s one tough SOB. And while I’m not doctor, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing the doctors can do any differently today for things like a ruptured Achilles tendon. It’s actually pretty disgusting that a two time MVP (and deservedly so, should have won a third straight too) is actually so UNDERrated. I mean…just above KJ? Terrible

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Justin
    You’re rationale is based on the MVPs. Nothing else.
    I’ve discussed those MVPs way too much, it’s sufficient to say that his stats in both years are not comparable to the MVP stats of any other player,and his team success make up for his lackluster numbers considering neither team made the Finals, or really gave a great showing in the WCF.
    Secondly, Gary Payton was Nash’s superior as a SCORER, not shooter. Since you don’t get more points for just “shooting” and since the chasm between Nash and Payton on defense was as large as a canyon, Payton was the better player. Plus, Payton had more team success with less talent or similar talent. Period.
    Isiah Thomas was better than Stockton. Anybody who thinks differently didn’t really pay attention to the League, or what Thomas did to Stockton.
    Look at K.J.’s numbers, and his team success. Without the injuries, he was clearly Nash’s superior.
    The MVPs, which are based on arbitrary guidelines established by a biased media, greatly skew people’s perceptions of Nash. Strip away those awards, and just consider his team success and statistics, and things are a lot easier.

  • Marcos

    Hey guys…just telling that in suns.com theres a photo of coach Gentry reading your magazine. Thought you be intrested

  • Blizzard Man

    so this isn’t a contest?

  • El_Black_Mamba

    Co-Sign Allenp
    Payton is greater than Nash

  • Phamie

    Nash is on the TOP TEN best ever point guard. He deserve to be on 8 believe me.

  • http://hubpages Christian

    John stockton

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