WEBVTT - Nick’s Top 50 NBA Players of the Last 50 Years: #25-22 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:03.240 This episode is brought to you by all State. Some 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.120 people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:08.840 by checking all State first. Like you know to check 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:12.440 the date of the Big Game first before you accidentally 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:15.480 buy tickets on your twentieth wedding anniversary and have to 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:17.920 spend the next twenty years of your marriage making up 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:21.520 for it. Yeah, checking first is smart, So check all 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:23.880 State first for a quote that could save you hundreds. 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:26.600 You're in good hands with All States Savings. Very terms 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:41.320 apply All State Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:42.760 Welcome. 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:45.400 In another special episode of the What's Right with Nick 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:49.120 Wright Podcasts and YouTube shows, we continue our countdown of 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:52.519 the fifty best players of the last fifty years in 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:55.640 the NBA. We've gone through the rules, We've gone through 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:59.520 the honorable mentions. We are now into the top twenty 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.400 five guys. I highly encourage you if you're just now 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:06.479 joining us, check out the previous episodes of this We 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:10.000 give some love to some overlooked guys in NBA history, 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:14.000 guys like Bob McAdoo or Sidney Moncree for Bernard King, 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:16.800 but we also deep dive on guys you actually might 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:20.280 have an opinion on like Alan Iverson or Russell Westbrook 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:21.679 or Dwight Howard, all of. 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:23.039 That in the previous episodes. 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:26.039 But now we are too the twenty five best players 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:29.319 of the last twenty five years. You're gonna see a 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:32.480 handful of active players still remaining. And this is where 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:35.520 the rankings become incredibly difficult. And some of our you 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:39.080 know player was more difficult to rank than number twenty five. 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:42.240 Number twenty five James Harden. 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:47.680 So Harden's regular season resume is of one of the 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:51.720 twelve best players the last fifty years. Six times he's 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.400 been All NBA First Team. Throw a third team in 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:57.720 there as well. He not only he has one league MVP, 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:00.960 but what's more impressive than that, three times he has 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:04.720 finished second, and six times in his career, all of 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:07.440 his first team All NBA seasons he was first. 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.120 He had a top five MVP finish. 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:14.120 He's a three times scoring champ, including one season scoring 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:17.560 thirty four points per game, one season scoring thirty six 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:20.760 points per game. He also has an assist title. So 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:23.240 who's won a scoring title and assist title? Well, Wilt 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:27.080 did it, Tiny, Archibald did it, Lebron did it, Russ 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:30.200 did it, James Harden did it. From twenty fifteen to 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:33.919 twenty twenty his peak in Houston. That is a five year, 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:38.440 six year run. He was thirty one, six and eight 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:43.160 over five years, thirty one points, six rebounds, eight assists 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:43.760 per night. 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:46.480 His career averages are. 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:50.600 Twenty five, six and seven and that includes the beginning 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:52.760 of his career when he was a role player and 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:54.720 then a sixth man where he won six million of 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:54.960 a year. 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:56.280 By the way for Oklahoma City. 0:02:56.960 --> 0:03:02.040 He has twenty three career point games twenty three times 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:06.000 he's gone for fifty fourth most all time. Wilt, Michael, 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.679 and Kobe are the only ones with more. He has 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:14.079 four career sixty point games, third most all time, tied 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:17.480 with Michael, behind only Wilt and Kobe. So that's the 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:22.880 regular season stuff. That is an all time, transcendently great 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:26.959 regular season player. So why is he only the twenty 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:30.240 fifth best player of the last fifty years Because the 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:34.040 postseason stuff is let's call it a mixed back started 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:37.560 off pretty well. He had a thirty point five rebounds, 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:42.240 seven assist four steel game off the bench as a 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:45.960 bench player in twenty twelve in the Western Conference Finals, 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.400 a series they would end up winning to go to 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:52.040 the finals, but then in the finals he struggled mightily, 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.760 and some would say, I think it's because the ownership 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:57.320 in Oklahoma City was cheap, but whatever, some would say 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:58.080 that's one of the reasons. 0:03:58.120 --> 0:03:59.520 They then traded him to Houston. 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.120 He lost in the first round in Houston in twenty thirteen, 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:05.320 and he lost in the first round in Houston in 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:08.480 twenty fourteen. Twenty fourteen was the Dame Lillard Game, the 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:10.760 game where Dame Lillard hit the first of his two 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:15.160 career series winning buzzer beaters. But in that Dame Lillard game, 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.160 the final game of that series, Game six, a game 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:20.359 they lost by one on the last second shot, he 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:23.520 had thirty four points, four rebound, six assists, four steals, 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:26.599 and shot sixty percent from the field. So at that 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:29.800 point it's like, oh aside from those finals, James Harden 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:34.400 building a good regular season resume, solid postseason performer twenty 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:37.640 fifteen playoffs. The next year, finally gets his first playoff 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:41.440 series win with the Rockets and starts off pretty well. 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.440 He had a forty two five to nine in round 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:46.960 one to go up three to zero in round two. 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:50.120 He's part of a three to one comeback against the Clippers. 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:54.000 That sounds great, but it wasn't really Game six, the 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:57.080 big comeback game. He was glued to the bench and 0:04:57.279 --> 0:04:59.719 he wasn't a part of the comeback. Then in the 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:03.480 West Conference Finals against Golden State, you look at the 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:06.280 box scores and it seems okay, It's like, ah, the 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:09.120 Rockets were overmatched. He had twenty eight, eleven, nine and 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:11.920 four in Game one, a game they only lost by one. 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.040 He had thirty eight, ten, nine and three in Game two, 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:16.400 a game they only lost by one. 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:18.200 Game one they actually lost by four. Pardon me. 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:22.359 He had forty five, seven, nine and five in Game 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.280 four and they're like wow, and they won that game, 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:27.080 but they were down three to zero. How serious was 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:29.359 Golden State in that game? And then in Game five 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:34.560 he was two for eleven and had twelve turnovers and amazingly, 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:37.760 that would be one of three different two for eleven 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.840 playoff games Harden hats in twenty sixteen, they lose to 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:43.840 Golden State in round one. In twenty seventeen, he's good, 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.720 very good. In Round one, they're playing the overmatch Thunder 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:50.960 for the series. He's thirty three, six and seven, but 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:54.560 forty percent from the field, six turnovers, and then that 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.160 year he had one of the most bizarre games I've 0:05:57.200 --> 0:06:00.680 ever seen Game six, second round against the Spurs with 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:05.040 no Kawhi Leonard. He has another two for eleven and 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.120 they lose by thirty nine points. 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:08.119 It's like wait. 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:10.920 The next year, though, they get Chris Paul, they win 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:12.240 sixty five games. 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.320 He's excellent in the regular season. He wins League MVP. 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:18.719 He opens the playoffs with a forty four and eight, 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:23.320 opens the Western Western Armends Finals with a forty one 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:26.680 four and seven, but they lose. He has thirty in 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:29.320 Game four. They even the series. They win game five 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:32.200 despite the fact that he's not very good, but Game 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:35.160 six and seven he has thirty two in each game, 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:36.880 but Chris Paul's gotten injured. 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:39.440 The Rockets are up fifteen in both games. 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:44.440 They lose both games by they're not even close at 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:47.039 the end, despite being up fifteen home for Game seven, 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:50.120 and he's six for twenty five from three in that 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:53.000 in the final two games of that series. Twenty nineteen 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.599 Western Armonds semi Finals. You look at the raw numbers 0:06:56.920 --> 0:07:00.360 thirty five, seven and five, You're like, Wow, it's pretty 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:03.560 damn good. But if you watch that series, what happened 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:06.600 in that series, it's two to two. Game five, KD 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.600 goes down and they can't win another game. Game six, 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:13.760 in Houston, Steph has zero points at the half. 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.760 The Rockets are gonna win that game. Then Steph explodes 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:17.360 for thirty. 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:21.160 Harden doesn't do much and they lose, and so that's 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.400 and that's the end of it. Then he goes to Brooklyn, 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:28.560 doesn't do anything in the postseason, goes to Philly, and 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:32.120 right now as we're recording this struggled throughout the postseason 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:36.200 and so all this regular season stuff, but real struggles 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.160 in the postseason. Even though the overall numbers his career 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.760 in the postseason in Houston he averages twenty six, twenty eight, 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:46.000 six and seven in eighty five career playoff games, and 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:48.840 he has two Conference finals appearances. But if you watch him, 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.360 you know the biggest moments have not been kind to him. 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:53.760 So that's the full James Harden resume. It's why is 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.040 the twenty fifth best player? 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:56.080 No higher, no lower. 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.320 Over the last fifty years, we have a couple different 0:07:58.400 --> 0:07:59.960 James Harden callers. 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:01.240 Let's let them chine in. 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:05.320 Hey, Nick, you're on from Fox Sports. First time, long time. 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:09.000 So here is my question about James Harden. How can 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:12.120 a player who has a career playoff shooting percentage under 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:14.880 forty three percent I believe it's forty two point six 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.040 and who has never made the finals since leaving OKAC 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:20.560 when he was a sixth man be even in the 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:22.760 top twenty five. Thanks, I'll hang up and listen. 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:25.080 Do we have another James Harden caller? 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:26.120 Hey? 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:27.880 Nick is Brian from Philly, and I got a couple 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:28.640 questions for you. 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:29.200 Now. 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:32.000 I absolutely love James Harden because he's leading my seventy 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:34.720 six ers in the playoffs. But does he have some 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.720 rings that I just don't know about? Because you gotta 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:41.080 ranked above guys like Scottie Pippen who have six rings. 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:44.320 You also gotta ranked above guys like Kawhi Leonard who 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:46.959 has two rings in two finals MVPs. 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:50.599 Does James Harden play defense because. 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:53.319 That same guy, Kawhi Leonard, who has two finals MVPs 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:55.840 in two rings. Oh yeah, he was a defensive Player 0:08:55.840 --> 0:09:00.600 of the Year two times. Last question, Nick, how do 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:03.240 you have a guy a your top twenty five who 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:06.080 has never made in the finals appearance as a starter 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:08.000 how does that happen? 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:10.600 Answer those questions. 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.600 For me, Nick, So those are fair points, and but 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:16.120 here's the answer to those questions. 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:17.800 The answer those questions is simple. 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:20.920 His regular season resume is that of one of the 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:24.439 greatest players of all time. And so you say, how 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:28.000 does he above Scotty Pippen? Like I understand, Scotty Pippen 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:31.560 has six rings and Harden has zero. But Harden has 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:36.319 six times been top five MVP, four times been first 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:39.680 or second. So, like Kawhi Leonard, I understand having Harden 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:43.040 ahead of Kawhi seems controversial. Kwi is obviously a better 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:47.199 playoff performer, but Harden's regular season resume so far out 0:09:47.200 --> 0:09:48.040 strips Kawhi. 0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:49.680 I think it's a fair ranking. 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:51.400 Like I said, he's one of the hardest guys to 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.600 rank twy We've spent so much time on him. 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:53.840 There. 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:56.760 We will now turn the page move on to number 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:57.520 twenty four. 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:00.480 Number twenty four, John's stocked. 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:05.880 So John Stockton is also very difficult to rank because 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:11.000 he's a longevity guy, all time leader in assists in steals, 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:15.400 and it's not close. He has fifteen thousand, eight hundred assists. 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:19.240 That's thirty seven hundred more than second place. He has 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.719 over thirty two hundred steals. That's six hundred more than 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:26.200 second place. Two time first Team All NBA, six times 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:29.160 second Team All NBA, three time third Team All NBA. 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:33.480 But he never had a single top five MVP finish. 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:35.360 We just told Ja Harden, who I have him ahead 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:40.240 of six times his top five MVP. Stockton finished seventh once, 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:44.080 but he won nine assist titles. He won two steals titles. 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:49.880 He's five time All Defense and he played nineteen seasons. 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:50.880 Seventeen times. He played every single game. 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:55.240 The guy was the longevity will never be matched, and 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:57.400 he's the all time leader, and no one will ever 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:00.000 catch him in assists. I don't think you will ever 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:04.480 cutcherman steels. Over a decade of his prime, he averaged 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:09.679 sixteen points thirteen assists per game. He has a little 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:14.400 context here in the regular season double digit assist games 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:20.240 eight hundred and sixty three, eight hundred and sixty three 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.720 times John Stockton had ten plus assists in a game. 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.920 Thirty four times he had twenty plus assists in a game. 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:30.560 What about the postseason? So again, similar to Harden is 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:32.880 where he gets tough. He was the second best player 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.080 on two finalists, he averaged ten assists per game for 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:38.600 one hundred and eighty two career playoff games. He has 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:43.480 one one hundred career double digit assist games and four 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:44.559 career twenty. 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:45.319 Assists playoff games. 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:49.040 Does he have any great playoff games though, just a 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:53.199 handful lot of really solid ones. But in the Western 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:56.680 Conference Semifinals in nineteen eighty eight, he put up a 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.880 twenty three point twenty four assist five steeal. 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:01.160 That's pretty damn good. 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:05.480 And then a twenty nine point twenty assist game against 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:07.640 the Lakers in the eighty eight Western Grummers semis in 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.280 the twenty eight and twenty nine point twenty. 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:11.600 Assist game was a game seven. 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:15.040 He averaged nineteen and sixteen for that series, but they 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:16.079 lost that series. 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:17.360 The Lakers did go on to win. 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:21.760 The title, and so that to me is it's relevant, 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.720 but I know it probably doesn't move you. And then 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:29.080 his best individual moment, he hit the game winner to 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.760 send the Jazz to the finals and score the final 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:36.000 nine points of that game against Houston, breaking Charles Barkley's 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:40.560 heart and scored twenty five points with thirteen assists in 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:44.719 that game. And that's about it. Like he had amazing 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:48.480 consistency and amazing longevity. But if you go through his 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.560 full career playoff game log I just gave you the 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:54.240 three games that jump out, So what do you do 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.040 with a guy like that? Most assists of all time, 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.800 most steals of all time, unbelievable long devity was the 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:04.440 second best player on two finalist, but never had the 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:09.600 individually great moments that are not consistently and not more 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:12.319 than a handful. I think twenty fourth is fair. I 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:14.920 think it's hard to say Harden's had a better career 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:17.920 than John Stockton had neither won a ring. Stockton at 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:21.080 least got closer, Stockton at least play you know, did 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:23.000 it for such a long period of time. It is 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.640 a bit of a compiling award, I understand. But when 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:28.800 you compile your way to the most ever, I think 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:31.840 the top twenty five, twenty fourth last fifty years makes sense. 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:35.120 We have a John Stockton caller for us now. Nick. 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.040 As much as I'd like to argue with you about 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:40.400 putting John Stockton twenty fifth on your list, it's kind 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:43.440 of hard, simply because I don't know who is in 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:48.240 your top twenty four except that Karl Malone must be 0:13:48.360 --> 0:13:51.560 among them, and that, my friend, is a mistake, because 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.360 if there was a driving force of that Utah Jazz team, 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:57.000 it was John Stockton. If there was a true killer 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:01.160 and clutch player, it was John Stockton. And if there 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:05.280 was anybody responsible for Carl Malone being as high on 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.160 the scoring list all time scoring list as he ended 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:11.040 up being, it was John Stockton. 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:12.240 All right. 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:14.560 So that's my friend, Rick Buker, and I understand he's 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:18.880 inextricably tied to Carl Malone. Spoiler alert, I have Malone 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:20.880 ahead of him. You gotta have one ahead of the other. 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:24.040 Malone was better. Malone was the guy who you are. 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.720 You are at least I am more convinced would have 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:30.200 worked without Stockton. How many of Stockton's assists would have 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:32.680 come without Malone? A lot, But he wouldn't have the 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.320 numbers he does quite to the same level. But the 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:36.960 guy who was that good of a defender for that 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:39.920 long the all time assists leader. I'm not gonna lie 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:42.120 to you. I don't have a super passionate John Stockton. 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:45.000 Take but when you're the all time leader in two 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:47.120 major categories, I feel like you deserve to be the 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:49.520 top twenty five the last twenty of the last fifty years, 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.160 so that's where John Stockton is. We will come back 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:55.320 with one of my favorite players ever and one of 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.440 the most underrated players ever as we round out players 0:14:58.440 --> 0:14:59.720 twenty three and twenty two. 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.760 This episode is brought to you by Unstoppable. Discover the 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:11.160 inspiring true story about Anthony Robless, who defined every expectation 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:14.120 to become a national wrestling champion, and Unstoppable, a new 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:17.720 original movie from Amazon MGM Studios and director William Goldenberg, 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:20.960 evoking the excitement and camaraderie of classic sports dramas and 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:24.440 thrilling wrestling matches. Unstoppable features an all star ensemble cast 0:15:24.520 --> 0:15:28.000 including Jirelle Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheatle, Michael Panya, and 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:32.280 Bobby Canavali. Watch Unstoppable now exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:36.160 All right, welcome back in What's Right with Nick Ray 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:39.960 Podcast Special Edition, fifty best Players the last fifty years 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:43.360 in NBA history. We just gave you players twenty five 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:46.640 and twenty four, James Tarden and John Stockton. We now 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:50.880 moved player twenty three, who I think, historically speaking, is 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.440 a tad underrated When you really dive into what he 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:57.400 did and what he accomplished. He is an iconic player 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:01.560 because honestly, of how God Dog good he looked in 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.520 a uniform, the most chiseled arms you'll ever see in 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:07.920 NBA history, and because you know he was in the 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:10.200 Navy and missed the first two years of his career, 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:12.800 came to the NBA and was immediately excellent. 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.360 Numbered twenty three David Robinson. 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:18.440 Four time first Team All NBA, two time second Team 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.360 All NBA, four time third Team All NBA. So for 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.120 ten years he was one of the three best centers 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.840 in basketball at a time where there were some unbelievable sinners. 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:33.080 Ninety four, ninety five, ninety six second place MVP, won 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.520 the MVP, second place MVP, so a three year stretch 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.000 where either won the MVP or came in second each 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:42.440 three years. One time Defensive Player of the Year, eight 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:46.120 time All Defense. He won a scoring title, a rebounding title, 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.400 and a blocks title. His first seven years in the league, 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.320 he was twenty six and twelve. Now he came into 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.760 the league older than most because he had to do 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:55.520 those two. 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:56.240 Years in the Navy. 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.520 But for seven years in the league, twenty six and twelve, 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:01.320 then he got hurt. It was one of the most 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.960 fortuitous injuries in NBA history because because he was hurt, 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:07.600 the Spurs totally tanked and they ended up getting Tim 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.159 Duncan and then they immediately won a title. Now people 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:15.080 act like that when they won the title, David Robinson 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:16.600 was not a huge part of that. He was not 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:18.879 a huge part of the second title they won with 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:21.879 Duncan when he was still there. Duncan obviously won five, 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:25.520 he won two with Robinson the one in three. Robinson 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:28.320 was a role player at best. In ninety nine. However, 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:30.000 Robinson was excellent. We'll get to that. 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.320 So what are his big postseason moments? 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:37.200 Similarly to Stockton, David Robinson doesn't have a bunch of 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:40.680 oh my god, eye popping postseason moments, only one career 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:44.400 forty point playoff game, but amazing postseason consistency and did 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:49.359 have some great postseason moments. Nineteen ninety three down in 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:53.760 the series to Charles Barkley and the Suns Western Armond Semifinals, 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:57.200 throws up at thirty six and sixteen in nineteen ninety 0:17:57.280 --> 0:18:00.920 five to get to the Western Armends Finals. For the series, 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:05.600 averaged thirty and sixteen. Now, unfortunately his reward for getting 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:07.680 to the Western Conference Finals was to play a keem 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:11.119 Olajuwan who was furious that David Robinson won the MVP, 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:14.879 and a Keeam just annihilated him the entire series. But 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:17.360 a team is going to show up very, very high 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:19.680 on this list. Losing to a team, there's no shame 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:23.160 in that. In ninety six is one of his first 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:26.480 games after a team had annihilated him the previous year. 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.200 He has his one career forty point playoff game forty 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:32.639 and twenty one, and averaged thirty to twelve for that 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:36.639 series and sent Charles Barkley home again, So that I 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:38.879 shouldn't say again ninety three Charles beat him, but he 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:41.439 got even with Charles in ninety six. And then in 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:44.800 the ninety nine Spurs. This's the point I was making earlier. 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:48.040 Those ninety nine Spurs went fifteen to two in the playoffs. 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:51.080 He was clearly the second best player on that team, 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.560 and in the finals he averaged sixteen points in twelve rebounds. 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:58.119 So the idea that he didn't have a big role 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:03.000 in that is a historic. Now what is interesting is 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.360 and one other David Robinson know is David Robinson. 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:07.880 They're used to be this thing called the. 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:12.320 IBM Award, where they would they created some algorithm pre 0:19:12.960 --> 0:19:17.000 algorithms becoming popular in NBA parlance, put in people's numbers, 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:20.119 said who's the best player in the league, and almost 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:23.760 every single year David Robinson won it. Jordan was playing, 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.439 Robinson won it a keen with his peak, Robinson won it. 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:31.080 Now that overstated Robinson's dominance, But I do think people 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:34.359 these days forget about how good he was during his 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:37.680 peak in the late from the very late eighties until 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:41.760 his injury in ninety six. However, that is a bit 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:45.800 of a testament to one of the flaws even back 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:48.760 in the early nineties with some of the basketball algorithms, 0:19:48.880 --> 0:19:53.679 they're gonna reward high efficiency, high rebounding big men and 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:56.480 make them seem a touch better than they are. If 0:19:56.480 --> 0:19:59.440 that reminds you what's happened with Nikola Jokic, where the 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:01.520 numbers say he's the best player in the league when 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:04.359 he's clearly one of the ten best players in the league, 0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:07.120 but nobody watches the game actually thinks he's the best 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:09.720 player in the league. That is what's happening to Nicole Jokicic. 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:11.960 So there is the twenty third best player of the 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:16.680 last fifty years one David Robinson. Now, oh my god, 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:19.720 I almost skipped our caller. I thought that David Robinson 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:22.320 commentary was so good I didn't need any addition. Let's 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:24.399 go to the caller that I assume the callers is 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:26.760 gonna say, Nick, that was brilliant, even though this was 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:28.320 recorded before I actually said that. 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:30.480 What is the caller I have to say about David Robinson? 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.000 So let me see if I get this right. You 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:37.399 have David Robinson the admiral at twenty three. 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:38.240 Yeah. 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:40.280 See, this is just disrespect and it continues to happen 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:42.840 against the San Antonio Spurs. You've got Barkley, Malone, Cage 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:45.760 and Dirk All ahead of him, which makes no sense. 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:48.120