BuzzerBeater Forums

Impossible to point to titles and use that as a be all and end all of this conversation... otherwise Rob Horry'd be in the discussion!
And anyway, isn't the topic "your favourite player", not "who was the best ever"?
Two very different conversations... but my favourite player? Hmmm... I have two (for different reasons): Kareem, and Magic.

Dwyane Wade Because He's My Hero!

Big Wilt. No one completely took over a game like that monster. His book was an interesting read as well.

I am a fan, definitely... but you should read Simmons' The Book of Basketball - some interesting stats there too.
And I tend to agree: it's hard to think of Wilt as one of the best ever when Russell so thoroughly dominated that period of time.


For me, Magic Johnson and Kareem. Magic's career was (wrongly) cut short... and Kareem's the best basketballer of all time (factoring in HS, college and NBA careers).

Wait wait wait. I thought the topic was personal favorite player, not best player ever. If it was, Wilt would not be my answer. Wilt is my favorite player.

Real Laker fans don't read Simmons (kidding)

Last edited by buzzerbeatme at 3/2/2011 9:55:35 PM

Hahahaha... nah, I gotcha. However - I used to REALLY like Wilt. Now... not so much.
Reading Simmons is - at times (as a Laker-fan) - a chore. I can only do it in bits 'n' pieces. Some of the 'edits' he's written in his column since the book are MUCH fairer to LA.

As I said: my favourite two are Magic and Kareem.

Last edited by malice at 3/2/2011 10:13:28 PM

I like Simmons, I think he is a good sports writer and has a good sense of humor. However, his Celtic Pride gets to be a little too much for me. Imagine being a Red Sox fan and every day reading a sportswriter who did nothing but talk about how great the Yankees were.

This is why I love TJ Simers. He basically does Simmons job for the LA times. The big difference is he is ultra critical of all LA teams and players. He routinely insults Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant while still being a die hard Laker fan. He got Garrett Anderson so riled when he was with the Angels that the guy actually almost snapped on him in an interview. Just about every LA sports figure just hates the guy, yet somehow you still know he is a huge LA sports fan he just doesnt think these guys are good enough to call themselves LA or something like that. He refers to Frank McCourt, owner of the Dodgers as 'The Parking Lot Attendant" because he made much of his fortune owning parking garages. Phil Jackson is the only person I have ever heard that could turn it on Simers and actually get Simers mad. Good stuff.

I guess if I had to choose I would rather hear bad things about teams I like than good things about team I dislike.

To unhijack......I also loved to watch Manute Bol play. Not because he was anything special at all, but because I knew if I watched long enough eventually he would break in half. Look up the term skin and bones and the response is....see Manute Bol

Last edited by buzzerbeatme at 3/2/2011 11:56:29 PM

the greatest guy ever to play was Maravich.

Ummmm... from HS through to the NBA - the greatest is Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Kareem is the third best big man of all time, I'll give you that.

Kareem is the third best big man of all time, I'll give you that.

THIRD best? How so?
6 Championships to go alongside 6 MVPs. 19 All Stars (back when it meant something). 10 NBA 1st teams, 6 2nd teams. RoY.
Most total points in NBA. 3rd most rebounds. 34th in Assists.
3 NCAA Championships. 3 NCAA Tournament MOPs. 3 All-American teams. 2 College PoY Awards.
Lead Power Memorial Academy to 3 straight NYC Catholic Ch'ships, 71 consecutive games won, and a 79-2 record whilst there.