u/briz92

Here’s my Mount Rushmore of Small Forwards, curious what people think on the list and what they would change.

LeBron James - 4x Champ, 4x MVP, 4x FMVP, 22x All Star, 21x All NBA, 6x All Defense

Reasoning: Obvious lock. Championship, MVPs, longevity etc. Whether or not he’s your GOAT, if you don’t think he belongs on this list you don’t know ball.

Larry Bird - 3x Champ, 3x MVP, 2x FMVP, 12x All Star, 10x All NBA, 3x All Defense

Reasoning: Another obvious lock. 3 straight MVPs, built an 80s Dynasty with the celtics 3 chips with 5 finals appearances one of the best to ever do it.

Kevin Durant - 2x Champ, 1x MVP, 2x FMVP, 16x All Star, 12x All NBA

Reasoning: After Lebron and Bird I think he’s the next best SF all time, he’s got an MVP, 2 rings and is just an insane basketball player. Can score at all levels and has great peak and longevity as well. If he had won another MVP and ring outside of GS he could maybe overtake Bird.

Julius Erving
NBA: 1x Champ, 1x MVP, 11x All Star, 7x All NBA
ABA: 2x Champ, 3x MVP, 2x Playoff MVP, 5x All Star, 5x All ABA, 1x All Defense

Reasoning: Now this last spot is tough. For me it’s between Erving, Kawhi, and Havlicek. When making these lists of all time greats you have to look at a lot of different things. They all were great talents and I would say both Kawhi and Hondo beat out Dr. J on the defensive end. The reason I give him the nod is the 70s was a weird era split between NBA and ABA and Dr. J was able to dominate in both leagues and won multiple MVPs and championships. The one thing missing from both Kawhi and Havliceks career is an MVP which I think when we’re judging people at this level you need at least one MVP to be put over a guy that has that, rings and passes the eye test like Dr. J does.

I think the top 3 are locks but any of these guys here have fair arguments for the 4th spot.

Honorable mentions

Kawhi Leonard - 2x Champ, 2x FMVP, 7x All star, 7x All NBA, 2x DPOY, 7x All Defense

John Havlicek - 8x NBA Champ, 1974 Finals MVP, 13x All Star, 11x All NBA, 8x All Defense

Elgin Baylor - 11x All Star, 10x All NBA

Edit:
Scottie Pippen - 6x NBA Champ, 7x All Star, 7x All NBA, 10x All Defense

Also want to clarify I know a lot of these guys have played multiple positions but in my opinion SF is the position they are most commonly known for which is why I chose them.

An interesting tidbit in NBA History to me is that of the top 5-6 PFs in NBA history TD is the only one who’s won multiple championships and been the best player on his team for them. More than that he has 5 rings and is easily considered the best player on his team for 3 of them. You could argue he was drafted into a great situation with David Robinson and got great teammates along the way (Parker, Ginobli, Kawhi) but TD was the cornerstone of the franchise.

For Reference my top 5-6 PFs all time would be:
Tim Duncan, Garnett, Dirk, Giannis, Barkley, Malone

You could argue Bird/Lebron/KD played PF as well but in the end I would consider them Small Forwards overall and that’s generally the first position they’re listed as.

Sure there are other PFs like Gasol and McHale who have multiple rings but I wouldn’t put them over any of these guys nor were they the best player on their team during these playoff runs.

Every other position there’s multiple guys in the top 5 of their position with at least 2-3 rings. Curious what others think on this and why this is.

This would be my Mount Rushmore of Point Guards curious to hear what people think on this

Stephen Curry - 4x Champ, 2x MVP, FMVP
Steph Curry is the best point guard of the modern era and has a case for the greatest as well, legendary peak performance seasons the greatest shooter ever and a top 5 offensive player of all time. Joined a sinking Warriors franchise and has been the steady hand to lead them to becoming the most valuable NBA franchise and the head of the Warriors Dynasty.

Magic Johnson - 5x Champ, 3x MVP, 3x FMVP
Magic Johnson is the both the prototypical point guard based on how he approached the game but also a unicorn because of his height as a PG in that era. Best passer of all time, had some amazing post season runs alongside Kareem and was the face of the Showtime Lakers in the 80s. Could run the floor and thread the needle like no other.

Isiah Thomas - 2x Champ, 1x FMVP
Isiah doesn’t have the amazing stats/acoloades like some other point guards who missed this mount rushmore (stat records or MVPs) but the fact that he was able to lead the Pistons to 3 straight finals and win two of them in the time when MJ, Bird, Magic were all dominating is a feat of its own and a testament to his greatness. A fierce competitor and great leader of the bad boy pistons, still an iconic team to this day.

Oscar Robertson - 1x MVP, 1x Champ
The original Mr. Triple Double and probably considered the GOAT PG until Magic came along he had dominating stats over the 60s. Averaged a triple double over the span of 5 seasons and the first to do it for a single season as well. Only knock on him was he only won 1 ring and Kareem was the best player on that team but he had to deal with those stacked Boston and Lakers teams in the 60s and still I would say has a rightful place on this mount rushmore based on his dominance and impact

The Washington Bullets beat the Seattle SuperSonics 4-3 in the 1978 NBA Finals

Best 3 Players for Bullets
Elvin Hayes
20.7 PPG | 11.9 RPG | 1.4 APG | 1.3 SPG | 1.9 BPG | 46.1% FG

Bob Dandridge
20.0 PPG | 6.3 RPG | 4.6 APG | 1.1 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 48.3% FG

Wes Unseld (FMVP)
9.0 PPG | 11.7 RPG | 3.9 APG | 1.1 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 50.0% FG

Statistically speaking Elvin Hayes stats look the best with Dandridge close and Wes Unseld having a solid series but not as good as those 2. It didn’t even seem like a “Big Game James” Game 7 performance is what put him over the top.

Game 7 Stats:
Hayes: 21/15/0
Dandridge: 19/7/6
Unseld: 15/9/6

If you even watch the broadcast originally Bob Dandridge was named the finals mvp which was then changed to Unseld.

https://youtu.be/m9qqmk7r2Ig?si=q3T7V9Uc_-3iA7ll

From my understanding Wes Unseld was seen as the face of the bullets and it was more of a career award. Hayes was not as well liked in the league apparently and seen as selfish. Also at the time I think Finals MVP was not seen as much as a legacy defining award as it is now and moreso a fun tidbit as part of the championship run.

Looking back though I think clearly Hayes or Dandridge should have won the award.

Which Stat total is the least likely to be broken?

Between PTS/REB/AST/STL/BLK/3PT/TDB

I think currently PTS/REB/AST/STL almost all seem unbreakable, but I would pick REB if I can only pick one, the game has changed so much no one rebounds at that level anymore, Tim Duncan is the only player from post 2000 era to get to 15k boards and that’s still nearly 8k away from the record. Centers no longer play back to the basket much and with the load management just don’t think anyone will play that many games to hit that total.

Points - LeBron James - 43440

Rebounds - Wilt Chamberlain - 23924

Assists - John Stockton - 15806

Steals - John Stockton - 3265

Blocks - Hakeem Olajuwon - 3830

3 pointers - Stephen Curry - 4248

Triple Double - Russell Westbrook - 209

I think Shaq’s run from 00-02 is probably the greatest 3 year peak of all time. Within this time frame Shaq won 3 rings, 3 finals mvp, an MVP and a scoring title. It wasn’t just the acolades and statistics but just how physically unstoppable Shaq was on the floor. Teams had no answer for him and he was just insanely dominant in both the regular season and even upped his game in the playoffs.

Regular Season Stats & Acolades
00-02: 28.5 PPG | 12.3 RPG | 3.5 APG
2.6 BPG | 57.4% FG
1x MVP, 3x All NBA 1st Team, x2 All Defense 2nd Team

Playoff Stats & Acolades
00-02: 29.9 PPG | 14.5 RPG | 3.0 APG
2.4 BPG | 56.6% FG
3x Champ, 3x FMVP

Finals Stats
2000: 38.0 PPG | 16.7 RPG | 2.7 BPG
2001: 33.0 PPG | 15.8 RPG | 3.4 BPG
2002: 36.3 PPG | 12.3 RPG | 2.8 BPG

Shaq was absolutely unstoppable in these finals runs and another reason I put this at the top

Shaq had a great team around him and at times during this run it was for sure 1A 1B with him and Kobe but it was before Kobe’s prime and Shaq was in his.

There are other 3 year peaks with more accolades but I’d say Shaqs is best because if you watch the games he was so dominant no team had an answer for him, teams would sign centers just because it was 6 fouls to give Shaq.

Other Legendary 3 Year Peaks I’d consider

Larry Bird 84-86: 3x MVP, 2x Champ (3 Finals), 2x FMVP, 3x All NBA, 1x All Defense

Michael Jordan 91-93: 2x MVP, 3x Champ, 3x FMVP, 3x All NBA, 3x All Defense, 3x Scoring Title

Michael Jordan 96-98: 2x MVP, 3x Champ, 3x FMVP, 3x All NBA, 3x All Defense

Tim Duncan 03-05: 2x MVP, 2x Champ, 2x FMVP, 3x All NBA, 3x All Defense

Kobe Bryant 08-10: 1x MVP, 2x Champ (3 Finals), 2x FMVP, 3x All NBA, 3x All Defense

Lebron 12-14: 2x MVP, 2x Champ (3 Finals), 2x FMVP, 3x All NBA, 3x All Defense

Steph 15-17: 2x MVP, 2x Champ (3 Finals), 3x All NBA, 1x Scoring Title, 1x Steals Title

Wilt and Bill Russell for sure have these peaks as well but I find it harder to compare based on how different the league was at the time but you could probably pick any 3 year stretch in the 60s for them and have it on this list

Is Hakeem Olajuwon’s 93-94 season the best individual season of all time? He won MVP, Championship, FMVP, and DPOY. In the playofffs he beat Clyde Drexler R1, Charles Barkley in the semis, Stockton/Malone in the WCF, and Patrick Ewing in the NBA Finals. He had a good team around him but no other superstars this year.

Lebron’s 2012-2013 comes close with nearly unanimous MVP and second place DPOY also winning Champ/FMVP. Maybe Michael Jordan in 91 or 96 as well. Wondering what other people think on this.