After 12 years, who do you add to the 50 greatest

[bopna]

Its been 12 years since the NBA voted its top 50 greatest players of all time, and heading into 2010, that would have added an additional 14 years since we had 50 great players in 1996,my question is, since then who do you think we should add to that creme of the crop list if you are to choose the next 14 great players deserving to be added to this list...Send out your thought 

http://www.nba.com/history/players/50greatest.html



my list should add the following:

1. Kevin Garnett- without question one of the greatest forwards of his era

2. Tim Duncan- 4 rings should suffice

3. Tony Parker- could be borderline here but without him, there would be no title no.4 and he is finals MVP after all in 2007

4.Paul Pierce- He's got his ring and was the cornerstone of the Celtics even in the dog years

5. Ray Allen-Greatest shooter of his generation, without a ring though, he may not reach this list

6. Reggie Miller- no ring but unquestionably should be added to this list

7. Gary Payton- defensive specialist and All-star

8. Kobe Bryant- well, we all hate him but he still makes this list ofcourse

9. Steve Nash- 2 time former MVP

10. Dirk diggler Nowitzki- led his team to the 2006 Finals

11. Dwane Wade- one ring and a certified Stern favorite

12. Allen Iverson- superstar of his generation and former no.1 pick

13. Chauncey Billups- Led Detroit in 2004 finals

14. Lebron James- The king still needs to prove himself but even if he does not make this list now because he is still to enter his prime, the league now is annointing him the King so he will definitely come up in forthcoming list  of greats in the future.

notable ones that may or may not make the list to the next greatest players in the league.....Shawn Kemp, Rasheed Wallace,Grant Hill, Vince Carter,Yao Ming....I know I may have forgetten some or omitted some names..but the last 14 years there has only been 5 teams that have won the league..the Spurs 4, Fakers 3,boston 1, Miami 1,Bulls 3, detroit 1.

[KG Living Legend]

Pretty cool post. I say Timmy,KG.Kobe,pierce,Wade,maybe nash no ring.

[PRIDE]

Shaq, KG, Timmy D and Kobe are the only ones that achieved enough over  long period of time to knock someone else off the 50 greatest players list. A lot of those guys are LEGENDS and I think you would have a hard time replacing their spot in history with guys like DWade, Dirk, Nash and Billups.

[celticmaestro]

Shaq, KG, Timmy D and Kobe are the only ones that achieved enough over  long period of time to knock someone else off the 50 greatest players list. A lot of those guys are LEGENDS and I think you would have a hard time replacing their spot in history with guys like DWade, Dirk, Nash and Billups.

Completely agree. This isn't the Hall of Fame, this is the 50 greatest. Competition is a lot more steep here.

[KG Living Legend]

Ok well since Shaq is already on the list.

Timmy

KG

Kobe

And then Pierce and Lebron after a couple more years.

[Roy Hobbs]

Shaq, KG, Timmy D and Kobe are the only ones that achieved enough over  long period of time to knock someone else off the 50 greatest players list. A lot of those guys are LEGENDS and I think you would have a hard time replacing their spot in history with guys like DWade, Dirk, Nash and Billups.

The original poster suggested that we expand the list to 64 players, one for each year the NBA has been in existence (as of 2010).  When the NBA chose its greatest 50 players, that was part of its 50th anniversary celebration. 

In terms of the actual list, don't forget Dominique.  He definitely deserves to be on there, especially if we're expanding the list.

[Roy Hobbs]

Walt Bellamy?  Bob McAdoo?  There are plenty of Hall of Famers better than Tony Parker who were left off the list.

[Who]

I think you only put a younger player on this type of list if he has an immense level of talent and could define the league for the next decade similar to Shaq in 1997, or a LeBron nowadays.

So I wouldn't include a player like Tony Parker. I don't think he's done enough to be part of this list, although he does have a lot of time left in his career and could eventually crack the list ... just not now.

KG, Duncan, Kobe are the shoe ins. I think Gary Payton should be part of the list after that. I'd also include Dominique Wilkins. Not sure after that, needs more thought.

[2short]

You know when you really look at the new list against the players on the current 50 greatest not a lot of guys stack up that well.
Duncan without a doubt, Garnett are definates, next group that I don't think are there would be Iverson, Kobe then Nash, PP, Allen & Miller lumped at the end. lebron, wade & parker haven't played long enough (when lebron is done for sure he's on the list)
How does nash compare to Cousy, Stockton, Tiny..? or Payton compare to those guys.
Here's my line of thought in each players prime would you trade steve nash for john stockton etc.

A rough quote from Wayne Gretzky is you can't compare generations.  So I would wait until the next time period ends to add the greatest 50 players of that generation.

[Michael Anthony]

Before we add anybody, lets look at the first few names they would replace...

Charles Barkley
Clyde Drexler
Dave Bing
Dolph Schayes
Hal Greer
Isiah Thomas
James Worthy
Lenny Wilkens
Nate Thurmond
Patrick Ewing
Paul Arizin
Pete Maravich
Robert Parish
Sam Jones
Scottie Pippen

Outside of Duncan, Garnett and Kobe I am not sure anyone else has earned it yet.

[GroverTheClover]

Before we add anybody, lets look at the first few names they would replace...

Charles Barkley
Clyde Drexler
Dave Bing
Dolph Schayes
Hal Greer
Isiah Thomas
James Worthy
Lenny Wilkens
Nate Thurmond
Patrick Ewing
Paul Arizin
Pete Maravich
Robert Parish
Sam Jones
Scottie Pippen

Outside of Duncan, Garnett and Kobe I am not sure anyone else has earned it yet.

+1.

I don't think the Top 50 list would be legitimate if were were to shuffle people in and out. I'd prefer the top 64 or whenever we hit 70 to add people. Taking people off just doesn't feel right. I may be in the minority, but I would probably leave Pierce off the list. I think he's a definite Hall of Famer, but not top 50-70 all time. The only current players, I would place in a top 50-70 (outside of Shaq) are Duncan, Kobe, and KG.

[MBz]

I agree, you can't take names off the list, plus, I think most of those names deserve to be there.  Pippen is one of the most under-rated players of all time.  He could play, I personally think he's one of the greatest all around players the game has seen.

[CelticsWhat35]

Shaq, KG, Timmy D and Kobe are the only ones that achieved enough over  long period of time to knock someone else off the 50 greatest players list. A lot of those guys are LEGENDS and I think you would have a hard time replacing their spot in history with guys like DWade, Dirk, Nash and Billups.

The original poster suggested that we expand the list to 64 players, one for each year the NBA has been in existence (as of 2010).  When the NBA chose its greatest 50 players, that was part of its 50th anniversary celebration. 

In terms of the actual list, don't forget Dominique.  He definitely deserves to be on there, especially if we're expanding the list.

I was gonna give a shout out to 'Nique too.  I thought he should've been in the original 50 list, but if we're expanding it to 64, no way you can leave him off.

I think the original poster was a little generous though.  Some of the guys mentioned may not even make the HOF, let alone go down as one of the top 50 of all time.

[SShorefan 3.0]

nice thought --- I like this thread -- let me put some thought into this one.

So let me understand this

we want to add 14 names -- so we want a list of the Top 64 All Time Players.

If we are adding 14, then we'd have to look backwards as well to see who didn't crack the 50 and if they are better than the current crop.  This will be a bit of work.

[SShorefan 3.0]

I agree, you can't take names off the list, plus, I think most of those names deserve to be there.  Pippen is one of the most under-rated players of all time.  He could play, I personally think he's one of the greatest all around players the game has seen.

May 22nd 1994.

The greatest all around players don't quit on their teams.