Editor’s note: We are currently preparing an article that analyzes the best of the best in NBA history, based on the thoughts and feelings of our staff here at MSF. The original goal was to see where Dirk falls in our top 20, or if he even makes it at all.

Earlier this week, Evan regaled you with his personal top 20 players from the last 15 years. Today, Brandon widens the scope a little bit and provides his personal top 20 of all-time, with explanation for each choice.

After hearing countless opinions about Dirk Nowitizki all-time ranking from NBA personnel, MSF writer Josh Tinley wanted to know where the MSF staff would rank Dirk among the all-time greats.  I thought this was a great idea and I decided to jump at the opportunity.

So, here is my list of the top twenty players in NBA history, revealed in reverse order.  Feel free to post a comment telling me what you think.

20. Scottie Pippen

I might have Scottie ranked higher than most people, but his terrific defense, constant offense, championship rings, and being the best second fiddle of all-time set him apart from someone like Julius Erving or David Robinson.

I know you might be saying, “Whoa, wait, how could a sec0nd fiddle be better than Dr. J and David Robinson? During their primes they were top 5 players in the NBA and the best players on their respective teams.  Scottie was only the best player on his team when Jordan left.” Fair point, but when Erving and Robinson won championships they were second fiddles too!  On that ’83 Sixers team Moses Malone was their best player and in ’99 and ’03 Tim Duncan was the best player on the Spurs.

Another reason why Scottie cracks my top twenty list is that he might be the best small forward defender ever.  If you had an all-time defensive starting lineup he would be your small forward hands down.  He was also one of the most complete players ever.  He brought offense, defense, rebounding, passing, and even became a better three-point shooter later in his career.  Plus, in the ’93-’94 season without Jordan he came in 3rd in MVP voting, made 1st team All-NBA, 1st team All-Defense, and led a Bulls team to 55 wins when their three next best players were Horace Grant, B.J Armstrong, and Toni Kukoc.  Seems worthy of being in the top twenty in my book.

19. Charles Barkley

Charles was a one of kind player.  We will probably never see another 6-5 power forward dominate like he did.  He was surprisingly quick for his size and was a superb rebounder.  In the open floor Chuck was impossible to stop; his  combination of size and power and the willingness to throw it down on any opponent was amazing to watch.  Although Chuck never won a ring, at least he had the killer instinct that some stars like Chris Webber didn’t have.

The biggest reason why Charles isn’t ranked higher is because he somewhat wasted his talent by constantly being overweight and out of shape later in his career, which led to many of his injuries.  If Chuck wanted a ring so badly he should have spent his offseasons in the gym instead of the Las Vegas buffet lines.

18. Isiah Thomas

Isiah Thomas could do everything you want your point guard to do: get everyone involved, dribble well, drive to the hole, be a great defender, be a leader, be mentally and phsycially tough. The only flaw in his game was that he was a poor shooter and took to many threes.  The reason why I put Isiah ahead of Barkley and Pippen is because he was the best player on a championship team twice.

17. Karl Malone

Karl Malone was one of the best regular season players ever, but not in the postseason, where the Mailman didn’t always deliver.  In Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals Malone missed two huge free throws that would have given Utah the lead, and in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals he had the infamous turnover that led to Jordan’s famous shot over Bryon Russell.

But even though Karl struggled in the postseason, you have to give Malone some credit for being one of the best regular season players ever.  He was a two-time MVP, he had 11 straight years when he scored more than 2,000 points, was a three-time 1st team All-Defense selection, and he had great work ethic.  Karl was always in shape throughout his career, which was why he only missed five games from his rookie season in 1985 to 1998.

16. Elgin Baylor

Elgin was one of the greatest forwards of all-time.  He was a great scorer and rebounder and was probably the best athlete throughout the 60s.  Also, because Elgin was one of the early great black players, he had to deal with so much racism and ridicule from fans, which no one today would be able to relate to.  But the reason why he doesn’t crack the top 15 is he never won a title.

15. Dirk Nowitzki

After this year’s postseason, Dirk has increased his all-time ranking by leaps and bounds.  He had a bad reputation as a soft player who folded at crunch time, but not anymore.   

Over the pass few seasons Dirk has gotten much tougher in the paint and has proven he’s uber-clutch too.  People think when Dirk shoots an 8-15 foot fade way he is being soft, but I disagree.  He has a better chance of make an 8-15 foot step back then lowering his shoulder and trying to drive through his defender.  So why risk injuries and getting beaten up in the post when he doesn’t have to?

As most of you saw in this year’s NBA Finals, Dirk got it done in big moments while LeBron James and Dwyane Wade didn’t.  He also proved his toughness by grabbing some tough rebounds at the end of games too.

Other reasons why Dirk should be rank this high is he is the best shooting power forward ever and he might be one of the top 5 most unguardable players also.  He has one of the most unblockable and unguardable shots too, MSF writer Jon Washburn said Dirk fade away is the second most unstoppable shot and I totally agree.  Good news for Dirk is he has a great chance of increasing his all-time rank if he keeps up his incredible play.

14. Moses Malone

Moses Malone was one of the greatest rebounders ever and certainly the greatest offensive rebounder ever.  Moses led the NBA in offensive rebounds eight times during his career and averaged seven offensive boards a game twice during his career.  People forget how crucial and momentum shifting offensive rebounds can be.  Remember in Game 6 of the 2011 Finals when Dallas seemed to get every offensive rebound in the last five minutes?  That really helped the Mavs clinch the series.  Moses also scored over 29,000 points and grabbed over 17,500 rebounds during his career.

13. John Havlicek

John Havlicek is probably one of the most underrated players of all-time.  He was 8-0 in the NBA Finals, played his best during the biggest moments, great on offense and defense, and played an incredible amount of minutes.  He twice led the NBA in minutes played and in those two seasons he averaged 45 minutes a game!  Plus during the 1969 playoffs, he average 47.2 minutes a game throughout 18 postseason games.  Great scorer, superb defender, played huge minutes, clutch, and most importantly a champion.  Yeah, John Havlicek could do it all.

12. Jerry West

Zeke from Cabin Creek comes in twelfth on my list.  West had one of the prettiest jumpers the league has ever seen and was a very fundamental player.  Unfortunately Jerry West had some bad luck throughout his career.  He was constantly matched up against the great Celtics teams in the NBA Finals so he never won multiple titles.

11. Oscar Robertson

You can make a case that West is better than Robertson and vice versa but I am going with Robertson over West mainly because his statistics are much better than West’s.  He scored more points than West; he had more boards and assist than West too.  Plus, as all of you know in the 61-62 season he averaged a triple double.  Yes, I understand that Oscar played in an era which shots and rebounds were much more frequent in the NBA than they are now but still averaging a triple double is still remarkable.  In my opinion Oscar was a more complete player then West.

10. Shaquille O’Neal

One of the most dominating presences the NBA has ever seen on and off the court.  Shaq’s huge body and great touch around the basket made him a impossible match up for any team.  And his hilarious quotes and hi-jinks made him a fan favorite.

The problem with Shaq that most people forget was drama always seem to follow him whenever another superstar on his team threaten to steal his spot as the team’s best player.  He had issues with Penny Hardaway in Orlando, everyone knows he and Kobe had their problems, and he didn’t leave Miami on the best of terms.  But, off the court issues shouldn’t take away from how great a player he was.

It’s unfortunate that he couldn’t put that petty stuff behind him because the Lakers would have won more titles and we would be debating if the Kobe/Shaq Lakers dynasty was better than Jordan’s Bulls and Russell’s Celtics.

9. Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem had some of the best low post moves of any center of all-time.  Very few 7 footers had the tremendous footwork and athleticism that Hakeem had.  He was also a great shot blocker; he is first in career blocks with 3,830.

Hakeem’s Rockets won the NBA Finals in 94 and 95.  Now some people think that these titles weren’t as special because Jordan wasn’t in the league to face them in the Finals.  As many of you know in ’94 Jordan was out of the league and in ’95 Jordan only played 17 regular season games and was still shaking the baseball rust during the playoffs.  But, I disagree with that idea because during ’94 to ’95 people knew Michael was struggling at baseball and he would eventually return to the NBA.  Hakeem took advantage of this chance to win two titles when Jordan was out of the league while other ring less superstars like Malone, Stockton, Barkley, Robinson, Ewing, and Miller lost their best opportunity to grab their ring.

The reason why I have Hakeem over Shaq is because Hakeem had a much worst supporting cast than Shaq.  Hakeem never played with anyone as good as Kobe Bryant or Dywane Wade.  Who was the best player that Hakeem played with during his career?  Fat Charles Barkley? Just past-his-prime Clyde Drexler? Kenny Smith? Ralph Sampson?  Also, during that 94-95 span Hakeem beat Barkley, Malone, Ewing, Malone (again), Barkley (again), murdered Robinson, and Shaq.  While from 00-02 and 06 Shaq lucked out and faced past his prime Rik Smits, Mutombo, Todd MacCulloch, and Erick Dampier.  Hakeem had a lot less than Shaq. but did almost as much.

8. Tim Duncan

The two times NBA MVP comes in eighth on my list.  Tim Duncan had a very simple repertoire of post moves that consisted of jump hooks, up and unders, and bank shots.  Although boring and basic they were very effective

Tim’s career is pretty similar to Hakeem’s.  Both where very durable players, both were skilled on offense and defense, and both never had great teammates.  Sure, Manu and Tony are good but their not Hall of Famers and although David Robinson was great, he was past his prime when Tim got there.  Tim gets the upper hand over Hakeem because he has won more titles and more MVPs.

7. Kobe Bryant

After watching this year’s Playoffs it appears that Kobe Bryant might be slowing down.  He doesn’t have the quickness he used to have and he is relying on his jumper to score more of his points instead of driving to the basket like he used too.  He’s only averaged 22 points this season, his lowest average since the 2000 postseason.

Kobe has all the accolades for a top ten player; he has won five NBA Finals and is a NBA MVP.  Fans and analyst don’t always like his bad-tempered attitude to teammates and coaches, but I kind of like it.  Sure his douchy attitude caused Shaq to leave.  But, Kobe is the leader on his team and if that means being a dick to his teammates so he can get them to play better then so be it.  He’s there to win basketball games not make friends.

6. Wilt Chamberlain

It was to bad that Wilt never grasped the idea of being a team player because he would of won more titles, beaten Russell more often, and perhaps basketball experts would call him a better player than Russell.  Wilt, by most accounts was more talented than Russell, but Russell wanted it more and did a better job playing with his teammates.

Even though Wilt had some troubles with his teammates and coaches on the court his stats are still astounding.  He was the NBA’s all-time leading scorer before Kareem dethroned him, everyone knows that he once scored 100 points in a game, and in the 1961-1962 season he averaged 50 points and 25 boards.  

5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer comes in fifth on my list.  Blessed with an unstoppable sky hook, Kareem was able to score massive points and play till he was 41.  Kareem also was a good defender, he led the NBA in blocks four times and he made the NBA’s first All-Defensive team five times.  He was a six time champion and he was willing to pass the torch to Magic when he started to become the alpha-dog on the Lakers.  Also, he had one of the funniest scene in the movie Airplane!

4. Larry Bird

Larry could shoot the ball from anywhere on the court, he was an excellent passer, he was a great rebounder even though he couldn’t jump, and he could pass too.  Larry also won three MVP’s and was a three time NBA Finals champion.  Bird was also a solid defender before he got to old.

3. Magic Johnson

I went with Magic over Bird because Magic was slight better at getting his teammates involved than Bird and he won more titles than Bird.  Although, Larry was a better scorer than Magic I am still sticking with Magic.

Magic was the best passer the NBA has ever seen.  Magic was a master showman and nobody ran the fastbreak better than Magic.  Magic won four NBA titles during his career, beating Bird’s Celtics twice.  He was a three time MVP and in the 1981-1982 season he nearly finished with a triple-double (18.6-9.6-9.5).

2. Bill Russell

Eleven time NBA Finals champion Bill Russell comes in second on my list.  Bill Russell was the leader of the Celtics dynasty during the the 60′s.  During that time Russell constantly beat all-time greats like Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Bob Pettit  in the postseason. That’s why he is ranked above all of those players on my list

Back when Russell played they didn’t keep track blocks so we will never know how shots that Russell swatted.  But everyone knows that he was a feared defender throughout his career.  Russell also was a team player and gave everything he had every game.

1. Michael Jordan

Michael was simply the best. Fans and experts are better debating who would come in second.

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