GET IN THE GAME. BECOME A FANVOICE MEMBER.
Participate in forums & comment on blogs. JOIN NOW!
All-Time All-Stars, #10-1
Share This:
And the Greatest Player of All Time Is...
And now for the fifth post in this series, in which the top 10 greatest fantasy players of all time are finally revealed. In case you missed the previous posts, players 94-77 are here: http://my.nba.com/cms/109833/all-time_all-stars,_94-77, 76-52 are here: http://my.nba.com/cms/110093/all-time_all-stars,_76-52, 51 to 31 are here: http://my.nba.com/cms/111023/all-time_all-stars,_51-31, and 30-11 are here: http://my.nba.com/cms/111373/all-time_all-stars_30-11. Sorry for the long tease to get to this point. But the player statistics listed below are so massive that my computer simply doesn’t have the processing power to cope with them. After a few weeks of calculating it’s now ready to tell all…
Sorry, purple and gold fans. Though Johnson could certainly perform magic, Bird was the real Harry Potter. Moreover, it isn’t even close. Bird is as far above Magic as Magic is above Fat Lever. So let the barroom arguments cease – this round is on the Johnson fans. (Interestingly, Johnson’s free throw (weighted by attempts) was the top score on the list in that category – pretty good for a guy who shot .780 his first three years in the league). And the greatest active player is... Shawn Marion? I find it as hard to believe as you do, but the numbers don’t lie. In 2005-6 Marion was a devastating 8-cat fantasy player, dominating at both ends of the court. Perhaps his most amazing feat was that he did it all while averaging only 1.5 turnovers, tied for third best on this list. The story of Shawn Marion’s fall from grace is about as perplexing as any in the history of fantasy sports. Take a look at his numbers above, and his “numbers” this year:
How the Matrix has pulled this off is as hard to understand as the film The Matrix – and for his owners, just as annoying. Yes, leaving behind Steve Nash and his ability to get players open shots might have hurt Marion’s offensive output, but that doesn’t explain his nose dive in steals, boards and blocks. Yes, Phoenix played an up-tempo game, abetting the stats of all involved, but the fastest-paced team only nets about 10 percent more possessions per game than the slowest. Cutting all of Marion’s numbers by 10 percent should have hurt but not been catastrophic. He’s having trouble finding a system that allows his talents to blossom? He’s been shuffled through four teams in the last three years, and none of them seem to agree with him. Yes, Marion’s getting older, but he’s still only 31 and should be at the top of his game. Major injuries? He hasn’t had any. There must be an answer here, but we don’t know – and may never know – what it is. Certainly I didn’t know when I threw away $10 on him, in a vain hope the Marion of old was lurking in there somewhere. The greatest big man of all-time? It’s a tight race, but Hakeem edges out Kareem and Robinson. The thing that puts Hakeem over the top is adequate free throw shooting -- Kareem and Robinson fell down there. Robinson probably qualifies as the greatest defensive player on this list, with 2.3 steals (stunning for a big man) to go along with his 4.5 blocks (tied with Dikembe for tops on this list). As you can see, there’s no loser here; all three are performers for the ages. And the winner, as if you really had to ask? Not only does MJ come out tops but he buries the competition. Notice the field goal, eyepopping for a guard who put up that quantity of shots. And considerably more valuable than even his 35.0 points was his 3.2 steals, his best category. I’m going to improve on this list and run it for future all-star breaks, so I’m asking for your help. Though I did consult lists of the greatest players of all times, I’m probably missing some of the pre-2000 players, particularly those like Dana Barros who put up one stellar season and faded into the woodwork. Please post any and all suggestions for guys I might want to evaluate, and I’ll check them out for inclusion next year. So that’s it for this list… …or wait, perhaps there’s one more thing. My guess is that more than a few of you are baying for the inclusion of Michael’s only worthy competitor – Wilt Chamberlain. I know my current opponent Hogan’s Heroes is. Hogan has tried every form of blandishment, bribe, threat, coercion, pleading and persuasion to try to get me to put Wilt on this list, but the Stilt played in an era where they didn’t collect 3s (though obviously he wouldn’t have had any), steals, blocks, or turnovers. Guessing about even one of these numbers is hazardous; guessing about all three is ridiculous. Hogan’s went to the desperation measure of digging up an article in which refs who called Wilt’s games estimated he got 6-8 blocks a game. But even if I knew blocks I’d still be guessing blindly at two other categories. I absolutely refuse to do it. However, for a tease, here are Wilt’s numbers from the 50 point, 26 rebound season, Michael’s numbers from 1987-8, and their scores in each category in my system (note that turnovers are subtracted from a player’s score, so that a high number hurts you):
As you can see, the question is not as simple as it might seem. As otherworldly as Wilt’s points and boards are, his horrific free throw goes a long way towards bringing him back to planet earth. In all, the winner will never be known – all we can say is that in the modern era, MJ is king. Surprised? I’m not. Indeed, on that sparkling day I parked his car at the country club, MJ leaned over, smiled, and said “I’m going to put up the greatest fantasy numbers of all time just for you, Eric.” At least that’s how I remember it.
Comments
|
|
