SI's (new) 50 Greatest NBA Players list

Too low.

 

I think I agree.

Guys I would put definitively ahead of Kobe: Jordan, Magic, Russell, Kareem, Duncan, Bird, Wilt
Guys where I could see the argument: Hakeem, Shaq, Dr. J, LeBron (who will pass him), Oscar, Barkley, West, Moses

That's about it. Curry and Durant will be on that list eventually, but they're not in the discussion yet. If pressed, I'd put Kobe at 9 between Hakeem and Shaq.

 

Will pass him? You think the four-time MVP is eventually going to be better than the one-time MVP?

And more to the point: LeBron is not in your top 10?

 

He's at 12 and he just turned 31. He'll be in that top tier, potentially very high up it.

 

OK. There are 11 players better on your list than the four-time MVP. I ... understand now?

 

I'm not running him down. I'm also not using MVP voting as the barometer. He's got a shot to pass everyone but Jordan. It's not an insult.

 

Paul Arazin still in, while Wes Unseld, Pete Maravich and Nate Thurmond (among others) are out.

Hmmmm. Paul Arazin must have been really good.

 

Funny you should ask.

Took the boy, who turns 13 next month, to a game Saturday night. The most enjoyable part for him was yelling "Kobe!" every time the visitors shot, hoping to make them miss. And until about midway through the second half, it worked like a charm, which just made it funnier and funnier to him (and eventually to me too, although I had to point out to him it wasn't so much that he had magic powers as that Florida Atlantic was God-awful.)

But as we started talking, I realized that he wasn't just mocking Kobe's end-years decline. His entire point of reference for Kobe (and that of his friends) was a broken-down ball hog. At halftime I pulled up the 81-points game highlights on YouTube and he was dumbfounded. By the end of the night, he was in truther mode and half-joking that it couldn't have happened.

 

On that note, dixie, my son and his friends like to pass this around:

 

Waaaaah. Wilt should be No. 1.

 

LeBron is unquestionably top 5 at this point. I've put him as high as 3, right behind Jordan and Magic.

I'd put Kobe in the top 10, but at who's expense, I'm not sure. Probably West's.