WEBVTT - Nick's Top 50 NBA Players of the last 50 Years: #50-49 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 --> 0:00:41.360 apply All State Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.840 Welcome in to a very special edition of the What's 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:49.280 Right with Nick Wright Podcast YouTube show, Subscribe, rate, review, 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:50.640 all that stuff, but Here's Life. 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:51.480 Special Edition. 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.680 About three years ago I started on a project. The 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:58.800 idea was to do the fifty best players of the 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:02.840 last fifty years in the NBA, to basically take from 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:06.520 Kareem's rookie year to right now and not only give 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:08.960 you a list of fifty, but put them in order 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:11.679 one through fifty. It has taken me years. I thought 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:14.200 it was going to be a book. It's now via 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.600 this platform that we're going to do it. So it's 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:18.720 really the fifty best players of kind of the last 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:21.160 fifty two years. But we're going to call it fifty 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.600 of the last fifty from Kareem to now. 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:25.200 We'll get into who just missed. 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:27.640 We'll get into who was too old later, but before 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:30.319 we get to number fifty, just to set the parameters, 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:33.839 I'm not what matters, what does matter, what doesn't matter. 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:36.800 I'm not worried about off the court stuff. I'm not 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.640 worried about the Olympics. I'm not worried about international ball. 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:43.160 I'm worried about how many all NBA teams did you make? 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:45.280 Did you ever win an MVP? What did you do 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:48.160 in the playoffs? What did you do in the biggest moment? 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:52.040 What were your biggest accolades and awards? Those are the things. 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:52.480 That matter to me. 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:57.400 And now, without further ado, let's get right to number fifty. 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.600 One of the great what ifs an NBA history, the 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:03.480 Great Bernard King. 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:06.320 Number fifty, Bernard Key. 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:09.240 He pairs quite nicely like a wine with a stake. 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:11.360 With number forty nine. We'll explain that in a moment. 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:15.400 The accolades are the follow two times First Team All NBA, 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:18.960 one time Second Team, one time, thirteen he won a 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:23.640 scoring title, averaging thirty three points per game. He almost 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:27.040 won an MVP that year in nineteen eighty four, And 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:30.800 so here's the deal. He averages thirty three and then 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:33.520 he suffers a brutal injury, takes him a bit to 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:37.640 get back, and then six years later he's back up 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:42.120 to twenty eight per game. But then he got hurt again. 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:46.040 And this is back when you can't recover from injuries 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:47.360 the way guys can now. 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:49.959 And so he just didn't have it. 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:53.920 He didn't have the longevity of some other guys, but 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.160 his peak was incredibly high. So as you're gonna see 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.040 as we go throughout this list, we're talking about Bernard's 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:01.480 playoffs in a moment we are we're going to try 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:04.400 to value everything, right, So a guy who was really 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.000 good but did it for fifteen years, how do you 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:11.440 weigh that against a guy who was great but only 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.560 did it for eight years. Bernard King is obviously far 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:17.280 closer to the latter than the former. But the other 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:20.880 thing you're going to see is guys with light playoff 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:26.040 resumes are penalized greatly, and Bernard King, he doesn't have 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:29.799 a non existent playoff resume, but it's a light one. 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:31.920 So let me talk about what he did well nineteen 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:35.800 eighty four. He did beat Isaiah in the Pistons. That 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.520 Knicks team had no business beating Isaiah and the Pistons. 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:42.720 He beat him, how they beat him. He averages forty 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:46.040 three and eight for the series, forty three and eight. 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:50.280 He had four forty point games in that series, that 0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:53.600 same Pistons team that would years a few years later 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.880 him up Michael Jordan three years in a row. Bernard 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:59.920 King beat him, so that matters. Then in round two, 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:04.160 this again is pre injury, it's his best year, almost. 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:05.440 Wins, MVP, does all these things. 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:10.000 He plays Bird Celtics in round two, so you have 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:12.520 Isaiah's Pistons in round one, you have Bird Celtics in 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:16.680 Round two. Gets to a Game seven against Bird Celtics, 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:21.520 averages twenty nine to five in that series, scores forty 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.800 four in Game six, down three to two, but they 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:29.200 lose Game seven, suffers the injury again. So the playoff 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.520 resume is really just that one year. But that's also 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:35.760 the one year in the playoffs where he hadn't been 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.600 hurt yet, So it does feel like he had amazing 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:42.080 things to come. Never quite reached it because of the injuries. 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:45.480 He's the fiftieth greatest player of the last fifty years, 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:49.080 the great Bernard King, who the way he explained how 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:51.520 he scored, there were like twelve spots on the court 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.120 he cared about. He just knew how to score from 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:57.039 those twelve spots. He had three dribble moves. He worked 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.520 on a dribble, right, dribble, left, dribble center. He would 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:01.840 look at out guarding him and then pick the spot 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:04.280 on the quarteryhos closest to pick the dribble movie needed 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:07.480 to do and that's how he would do it. Brilliant player, 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:10.599 a big what if the fiftieth greatest player ever? We 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:13.200 have a question mark about one Bernard King or a 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.840 question from a caller, I should say, let me hear it. 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:19.200 Not to be a millennial or anything, but who the 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:22.160 hell is Bernard King? And why do you have him 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:26.599 over Tracy McGrady. His shoes wasn't the best, but man, 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:28.720 that boy could score. He could. 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:29.200 Yeah. 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:33.200 Me, I'm just trying to figure out how Bernard is 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:36.920 over t missynt Let me know because I'm confused. Bro. 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:43.040 So that's about Tracy McGrady and Tracy McGrady is a 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:46.839 great question because Tracy McGrady, as spoiler alert, does not 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:51.800 make this list, so his peak was incredibly high. He also, 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:53.960 you could argue, was as good as gifted of a 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:56.920 scorer as Bernard King, So why does King make it 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:00.960 and Tracy doesn't. Tracy's one of the hardest omissions because 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:05.960 Tracy's lack of a playoff resume is even more glaring 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:09.560 than Bernard Kings. Tracy made the playoffs a bunch and 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:12.400 never gets out of round one, and if you go 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:17.279 through it, it's not great instances on him not getting 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:20.120 out of round one, there's a lot of Game sevens 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:24.960 and it's not great performances. So most famously, he's up 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:27.000 three to one on Detroit, up three to one on 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:30.960 Detroit in round one. They not only lose the next three, 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:35.320 but he's eight of twenty in game five. He's seven 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:38.359 of twenty four in game seven. Now he's really good 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.840 in game six, but they lose by fifteen despite it, 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:45.839 that's not great. The next time he's in the playoffs, 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.960 another game seven, a series against Dallas. This time he's 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:54.279 with Houston. He's ten of twenty six in that Game seven. 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:56.839 They lose the next year, two years later, is in 0:06:56.839 --> 0:07:01.720 the playoffs again, another game seven, this against Utah. He's 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:03.479 not bad, don't get me wrong, He's not bad. In 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:06.400 the game seven he is twenty nine and thirteen. That 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:08.720 it was by four, but the problem was they were 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:12.280 up three to two, and in game six he's eight 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:15.840 of twenty three. So that McGrady, the playoff stuff, in 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:19.920 my opinion, just kills him. He just misses out. And 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:22.360 so that's why he's not on the list. And that's 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.240 why forget being number fifty, he's certainly not number forty nine, 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:28.679 number forty nine. Another guy who people hold the playoff 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:32.480 resume against him one Carmelo Anthony. 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:33.480 Number forty nine. 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:35.280 Carmelo Anthony. 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:39.880 This episode is brought to you by Unstoppable. Discover the 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:43.280 inspiring true story about Anthony Roblasts, who defined every expectation 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.240 to become a national wrestling champion, and Unstoppable, a new 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:49.840 original movie from Amazon, MGM Studios and director William Goldenberg. 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:53.120 Evoking the excitement and camaraderie of classic sports dramas and 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.560 thrilling wrestling matches. Unstoppable features an all star ensemble cast 0:07:56.640 --> 0:08:00.120 including Durell, Jerome Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheatle, Michael Fanya, and 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:04.400 Bobby Knavani watch Unstoppable now exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:09.800 So Carmelo, Anthony and Bernard King, it's a very interesting 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:13.720 dichotomy here because and I'll go through Carmelo's accolades in 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:18.200 a moment, I think Bernard King's peak was higher, but 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:22.320 Carmelo was close to him peak wise, and did it 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:26.600 so much longer. He is ninth on the NBA's all 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:29.080 time scoring list. That's got to matter. 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:29.960 Now. He doesn't have. 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.560 Any first all NBA first teams, but he has two 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:35.000 second teams and four third teams. 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:36.920 He also won a scoring. 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.080 Title, was a one time scoring champ, and he finished 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:42.000 third in the MVP voting one year. Now, as far 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:46.559 as the postseason goes, famously never made a finals. However, 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:52.480 he was the best player on a conference finalist. That again, 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:54.600 that doesn't get that doesn't do much for you, but 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:59.520 it's something. And in that conference finals against Kobe Is 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:03.040 back when he was with Denver, he's twenty eight five 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:05.680 and four. It's twenty eight five and four in those 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:10.080 conference finals and in the playoffs from that year from 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.360 nine to twenty thirteen, he was twenty eight a game. 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:16.280 So you have the fact that he is top ten 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:20.320 all time scoring in NBA history. He is a guy who, 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.000 though I would say in the best team he was on, 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.239 they did exactly what they should have done. In the postseason. 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:27.920 They got as far as they should have gotten. They 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.160 didn't underachieve. They were two to two with the Lakers. 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:32.760 And if you remember, I don't know if you do, 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:36.760 that Game five against the Lakers is tied going into 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:40.520 the fourth quarter. Carmelo was excellent in that game five, 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:44.320 actually outplayed Kobe in that Game five, but they ended 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:47.120 up losing the fourth quarter by nine points I think, 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:48.720 And so they end up losing that game and they 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:49.560 lose Game six. 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:50.760 That's a great what if? 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:54.640 What if Carmelo had carried that Nuggets team to the finals? 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.440 Not only what if for his legacy, but also does 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.800 he then stay with Denver because the other part that 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:05.840 killed Mellow And I know this has been brought up 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.800 a lot, but it warn't mentioning. He wanted to get 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:12.320 to New York very badly. That's fine, but he also 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:15.680 wanted all his money. So instead of waiting a year 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:20.200 and signing with the Knicks outright he forced it there early. 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:23.240 The Knicks then have to trade all those pieces to 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:27.920 get him, which then undercuts his ability to win with them. 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:29.480 But when he did get to New York, the best 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.600 team he was on With New York, they again got 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:33.280 as far as they should have gotten in the playoffs. 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:35.320 They get to Round two and who they lose to 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.360 Lebron in the heat. So it's not like there were 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:41.640 a bunch of years Carmelo was on the better team 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:44.240 and fell short. I do think that happened with the 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:47.320 guy like Trayson Grady we just mentioned. I also think 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:51.240 this final act of Carmelo's career is a valuable one. 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:54.800 After he was essentially kicked out of the league. Nobody 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:57.160 wanted that he wouldn't come off the bench. He didn't 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.000 work in Houston. What he was able to do for Portland, 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.079 what he's been able to do for the Lakers, is 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:06.360 an important minor legacy and answer probably just enough not 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:08.040 only did get him into the top ten all time 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:10.040 in scoring, but to push him ahead of a guy 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:14.040 like Bernard King. So the two greatest Nick scorers ever, 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.360 Bernard King and Carmelo Anthony, come in fifty to forty nine. 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:19.000 I think we have a caller that wants to ask 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:19.720 about Carmelo. 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:23.439 Hey, Pop, Sistebonse live in the house. I've got a 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.440 question for you. You say the playoffs matter in this 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:30.080 whole ranker thing. Melos only made it past the first 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:33.319 round two times in his entire career. Please tell me 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.840 how it is that he got here. I'd really appreciate it. 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:36.200 Thank you. 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:37.079 Bye. 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.520 So I think that again, I don't look at Carmelo 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:45.280 as a playoff failure. I understand he didn't have much 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:46.520 playoff success. 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.160 But if you go through the actual and I'm gonna 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:50.839 pull it up for you guys right now. 0:11:51.000 --> 0:11:55.600 If you go through the career playoff series, like what 0:11:55.760 --> 0:12:00.000 is the series Carmelo lost that, you're like, oh man, no, 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:02.160 oh business losing that? If we're not going to talk 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:06.000 about very early in his career. So in eight with Denver, 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:09.040 or you go to seven with Denver, they lose to 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:12.920 the Spurs. The Spurs won the title that year. Eight 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.560 with Denver, they lose to the Lakers. All right, Well, 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:18.360 the Lakers went to the finals that year. The next 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:20.079 year with Denver's the year that you lose to the 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:21.880 Lakers and the conference finals. And I'm gonna go a 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:25.120 little overtime here defending my guy mellow who yes, listen, 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:28.560 he is a Syracuse guy, and he did deliver us 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:29.199 a championship. 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:30.640 It's still ninth all time. We can score. 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.320 The next year in Denver, they lose to Utah on six. Okay, 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:38.040 I guess you can argue that year. You know, maybe 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:40.080 they should have won that series. But then when he 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:42.480 goes to the Knicks, who do they lose to. They 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.959 lose to the Celtics Big Three. That's the better team. 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:48.839 They lose to the Heat, that's the better team. They 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.080 then lose to the Celtics. Again, that's the better team. 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:57.800 Twenty thirteen, they lose in round two to the Pacers. Okay, yeah, 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.600 maybe you win that series. But that Paul George roy 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.200 everteen was good. That team took Lebron and the Heat 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:06.840 to seven. And then after that it's with OKC, OKC. 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:08.800 We're going to hold that one against him. No, he's 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:12.640 a different player, so I don't look at the it. Yes, 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.280 you would like to have a better playoff resume, but 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:17.160 if you have a better playoff resume and your top ten 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:20.360 all time in scoring, you're higher than forty ninth. Carmelo Anthony, 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:24.200 the forty ninth greatest player of all time, will be 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:31.960 right back. Welcome back in What's Right with Nick Wright 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:35.520 podcast YouTube show, where we are counting down the fifty 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.520 greatest players of the last fifty years in the NBA. 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:41.560 And even though it's basically Kareem's rookie year to now, 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:45.240 I would feel personally remiss if I didn't at least 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:49.720 acknowledge guys who belong on any NBA list, if. 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:51.080 They weren't just too old for it. 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:54.960 So the guys this isn't the entire list of guys 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:57.480 who were too old to make to make this list, 0:13:57.480 --> 0:13:57.840 but it's. 0:13:57.760 --> 0:13:58.480 A partial list. 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:01.000 I'm going to go through them in a somewhat of 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:06.959 chronological order. So, you know, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Bob 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:10.960 Pettitt and George Mikeen were the two greatest players of 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:16.319 the pre Wilt Russell era of NBA history. Bob Pettitt's 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:20.600 you know, career accolades still hold up. George Michen was 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:24.280 a dominant, dominant force in the league. So those guys 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:27.560 have to be on any list. Obviously Russell, So I 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.960 think Russell somehow is underrated. He won eleven titles in 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:35.360 thirteen years. He won the league MVP five times, and 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:37.760 that was back when the players were voting on it. 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:41.080 Everybody knows will Well had a fifty point per game season. 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:44.320 Same season he averaged more than forty eight minutes per game. 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:47.120 He won an assist title. He just didn't win enough. 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.800 If Wilt won two more titles, he's probably Babe Ruth 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.960 of basketball. Even one hundred years later, people would be like, ah, 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:58.560 that's the greatest player ever. In that same era, you 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:01.920 have Elgin Baylor and jaredry West competing with those guys. 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:03.880 It's one of the reasons Jerry's one in eight in 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:07.200 the finals. You also have Oscar robertson the original triple double. 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:12.360 Those guys have to be on any all time list. 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:15.760 They're just too old for mine. Another great guy that 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:19.040 is not the caliber of those players. But what is 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:22.640 on the NBA seventy five list, and justifiably is Willis Reid. 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:26.560 The reason I'm mentioning him is Willis Reid is the 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:30.960 youngest guy who's too old for this list. So if 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:33.720 that helps your mind's eye. If you're an NBA historian, 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:35.920 as we're going through this top fifty, you're like, wait, 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:39.160 why didn't such and such make it? Why didn't John 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:40.160 Halichik make it? 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:40.720 Too old? 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:46.720 Anybody who's willis Reid's era generation or older does not 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.080 make this list, So that's kind of the cutoff there. 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:55.440 Now Here are guys who were eligible but did not 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:58.960 make it. Now this will not spoil the list entirely 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.680 because they are because there are certain guys that made 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.640 the top seventy five that didn't. Not only did they 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.400 not make my top fifty, but they weren't even my 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:09.320 honorable mentions. 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:10.560 I'm not gonna name any names. 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.840 Reggie Miller, but Reggie Miller hes guy's seventeen three and 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:17.520 three for his career was never even sniffed in MVP. 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:20.320 Why is he this consensus top seventy five guy? I 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.520 don't know, but let's go through some of these guys. 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:27.920 So wes Unselled has the top end to make this list, 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:30.840 but not the body of work. He has an MVP, 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:34.120 and he has a finals MVP, but he only has 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:38.680 one truly great season. Also, and I'm not trying to 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:42.240 bore you with old wes Unselled facts, but wes Unseld's 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:47.400 finals MVP is one of the most unfair thefts in 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:50.440 NBA history. We don't have to get into it, but 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.000 we are gonna name a guy who's on this list, 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:57.600 who made it, who obviously, clearly and by any fair definition, 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:01.200 should have been MVP of that finals. He somehow doesn't 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:05.200 get it. His name's Elvin Hayes and so Wes Unseld. 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:09.720 Great player and you know, would be on the top sixty, 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.480 but not good enough for the top fifty in my opinion. 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.200 Dave Cowens, he won a couple are a couple of rings, 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:19.800 He won an MVP, he just missed the cut. Adrian 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:24.000 Dantley two scoring titles, and he's a you know, he's 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:25.879 a what if would the Pistons have won if they 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:29.119 kept him? In eighty eight? The Pistons should win the 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:32.040 title probably. I mean they're up three to two on 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:35.879 the Lakers. There's a you know, the famous Isaiah Thomas 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:39.520 Sprain ankle game. There is some people feel a phantom 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:42.680 foul call that sends Cream to the line. The Lakers 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:46.160 escape game six. They then win in seven because Isaiah 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:50.000 is crippled and is a shell of himself. The Pistons 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:54.560 then trade Dantly, so Dantley misses out on the championships. 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.600 Would they have won with him? Maybe? I don't know. 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.320 He just misses out. Another guy from that ero who 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:01.000 just missed out Alex English. 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:03.080 I think. I'm not certain. 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:05.919 I think he's the highest on the all time scoring 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:09.399 list of guys that didn't make my list. The problem 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:12.760 is it's all he did. He makes one conference finals, 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:13.280 that's it. 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:13.840 I know. 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:17.399 My guy Colin Cowherd loves him some Alex English. To me, 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:22.119 he's out. He just barely misses the cut, but he 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:26.359 is out. We also got to go Paul Pierce. Paul 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:30.719 Pierce's finals MVP? Now, is it a legit finals MVP? 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:34.280 Maybe? Was he the best. 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:39.480 Player on that team? Absolutely not? But was he the 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:40.640 best player in those finals? 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:41.080 Maybe? 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:44.280 He also is a top twenty all time scorer. However, 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:48.919 only one time was he first or second team All NBA. 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:52.480 I feel he was the third best of the big three. 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:56.600 All of those things, in my estimation, have to matter. 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:01.879 So Paul Pierce, he just misses the cut. Listen, the 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:05.480 shot alone almost gets him on the list. You can 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:08.160 almost make the argument Ray Allen, because he had maybe 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:12.320 the most iconic shot in NBA history, that alone should 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:15.919 be enough to get him on this list. However, I 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:18.679 can't put him on it because he was never an 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:22.800 MVP candidate. Really, he was never a first team All 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:27.639 NBA consensus guy I and in my he was. He 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:31.560 was a great part of some great teams, but never 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:34.680 the leading part. And so I love Ray. Ray was 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:38.399 a tough omission, but he doesn't make the list. Tracy McGrady, 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:40.720 we talked about him in the first segment. If you 0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:46.400 were listening, Tracy McGrady is probably the best of all 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:50.560 the players that as far as what their career upside was. 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:53.280 He is probably the best of all of them that 0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:56.359 did not make this list. He is probably the guy 0:19:56.920 --> 0:19:59.840 that his a You know, he was an MVP CA, 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:04.960 he was a scoring champion. However, his lack of playoff 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:08.040 success and we went over it so I don't have 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:11.639 to belabor it here is so glaring when compared to 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:14.439 the guys who made this list that I think he 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:17.160 was a pharaoh mission from my list and a pharaoh 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:20.320 mission from the top seventy five list. I want to 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:23.080 go back in history just a moment before we get 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:27.880 to Jokic. Also not on the list is Pistol Pete Merriviage. 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:33.639 Pistol Pete he's another there was no winning, no winning whatsoever. 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:36.800 He didn't have much longevity. He was on when I 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:40.360 did this thing. Initially, Pistol Pete was there, and then 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:43.639 I removed him in favor of someone else after really 0:20:43.680 --> 0:20:48.040 deep diving into it. Iconic player, amazing scorer, forty a 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:50.600 game in college with no three point line, but we 0:20:50.640 --> 0:20:52.480 told you college stuff doesn't matter. 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:53.840 Pistol Pete not there. 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:58.480 And then the two current guys who probably will be 0:20:58.560 --> 0:21:00.879 on the NBA's one hundred at one one hundred, but 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:04.200 I don't feel have done enough to make this list, 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:08.919 Damian Lillard and Nikola Jokicic. Also, by the way, Klay Thompson. 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:10.600 But Clay to me was not a heard ow mission, 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:13.080 nor was Kyrie to me. If we're talking about guys 0:21:13.119 --> 0:21:16.320 that should make it that didn't, Dame and Jokic are 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:20.200 the ones that you got to discuss. Okay, So Dame 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:25.919 does have an obviously elite resime. The problem is he 0:21:26.160 --> 0:21:30.280 just hasn't done it long enough. If you're so he's 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:34.920 four time first or second team, that's that's valid. Twenty 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:38.919 five points per game, that's valid. But you've been to 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:43.200 one conference finals. You got washed out. In those conference finals. 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:47.320