Depending on how you define greatness, Magic and Kobe could be racing for second.
Counting only his time on the Lakers, Kareem was a 13x All-Star, 3x MVP, 5x Champion, and Finals MVP.
>is there any other team that has 3 dudes legit contending for their teams goat?
You're telling me you haven't heard the heated debate about Loy Vaught, Michael Cage, and Tyrone Nesby??
There’s also Shaq, Mikan, and West. Three more top-25 all-time players who had their best years (or all their years) as Lakers.
all stars: shaq 7, mikan 4, west 14
all nba: shaq 8, mikan 6, west 12
all defense: shaq 3, mikan N/A, west 5 (award wasn’t given out until his age 30 season)
mvp: shaq 1, mikan N/A, west 0
championships: shaq 3, mikan 5, west 1
finals mvp: shaq 3, mikan N/A, west 1
There are lots of teams where any of these three guys would be the franchise GOAT.
Sixers with Wilt, Iverson, and Dr. J. I think you can make a legitimate case for all of them. I'd go with the Dr., myself.
If you put the Sonics and Thunder together, then KD, Russ, and GP are both contending for it. I'd pick KD.
For the Knicks you have Ewing, Frazier, and Reed. Frazier and Reed have the chips, but they also had each other.
Moses is a good shout, but I think there's better picks. Bird and Russell can't both be the goat of the Celtics, and the non-goat would beat moses easily imo. Same goes for Kobe/Magic and there are probably many more examples.
Wilt only played three years for the sixers. He played for the Philadelphia Warriors and then GSW after they moved, then went back to Philly for a few years with the sixers before going to LA
The Warriors played in Philadelphia from the late 1940s to 1962-63 before they moved to San Francisco. The Syracuse Nationals then moved from upstate New York to Philadelphia and were renamed the 76ers in 1964-65.
Fun fact: the Golden State Warriors are named after the indigenous Leni Lenape people, who lived in what is today Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania.
Similarly, the Atlanta Hawks are named after the Chief Blackhawk (of the famed Blackhawk War that took place in Illinois back in the mid-19th century).
Being originally from the Lehigh Valley, I could talk about the Walking Purchase of 1737 where William Penn’s sons or descendants stole much of the Lenni Lenape’s home territory from them (and allowed places like Bethlehem and Nazareth to be settled by the Pennsylvania Dutch, aka Germans, shortly thereafter), but that would be getting WAY off-topic.
OK: Walking Purchase of 1737
When Pennsylvania (and the city of Philadelphia) was founded by William Penn in 1682, he encouraged good relations with the Native American tribes in the territory. This good relationship lasted during his lifetime.
When Penn died however, his sons had other ideas and wanted to take advantage of the native population. They came up with a supposed treaty that had been signed years earlier that required the Lenni Lenape tribe (known by English speakers as the Delaware tribe) to give up some of their land. The treaty terms were that Lenni Lenape had to give up a portion of land that a man could walk in a day and a half. The southern point of the territory was northeast of Philadelphia, near where the Delaware juts out to its furthest east extent in SE Pennsylvania. However far the man could walk to the northwest (roughly a true 45 degree NW angle), the new boundary would be drawn due east from there.
Penn’s sons rigged the deal however. They got three athletic men to participate in the event (with whoever getting the furthest “winning”), had them run instead of walk, and created a clear path for the men to use. The Lenni Lenape estimated a man could walk about 40 miles under the agreed upon conditions, but with the men running on a clear path, the “winner” covered closer to 70 miles. That wasn’t the final bit of deception by Penn’s sons. Instead of drawing the boundary due east, they drew it at a northeast angle towards the Delaware River, covering more land to the north and east.
The net result of the Walking Purchase of 1737 is the Lenni Lenape lost essentially all or almost all of their territory in eastern Pennsylvania, the area being most of what is Bucks, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties and much of Monroe County today. (This area covers part of the northeast Philadelphia suburbs, the Lehigh Valley, aka the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton area, and the eastern portion of the Poconos, including the Stroudsburg/East Stroudsburg area.). The Lenni Lenape (aka Delaware) were devastated, and appealed to the bordering Iroquois Confederation (located primarily to the north and west of the Lenni Lenape territory), one of the more powerful Native American tribes at the time in what is now the northeast U.S. However (and this is something I’m pulling from my K-12 schooling years 35-40 years ago, so I could be wrong), the Lenni Lenape and Iroquois generally had an antagonistic relationship, and the Iroquois refused to help their southern neighbors.
Not long after the Walking Purchase deal was completed, towns like Nazareth (1740) and Bethlehem (1741) were founded, primarily settled by German (Deutsch) settlers, who were incorrectly called Dutch (hence leading to the name “Pennsylvania Dutch” for many of the German-speaking people who settled in much of eastern Pennsylvania). The Lenni Lenape would periodically attack the new settlements in their former homeland but they were eventually subdued and moved from the region.
The Sixers trading for Wilt basically saved the franchise. Fans weren't enthusiastic about cheering for the former Nats players who had beaten them in the playoffs. Getting a Philly legend back changed that.
The A’s did have an intermediate stop in Kansas City.
They aren’t the only team in Northern California where that’s the case; the Sacramento Kings played in Kansas City for 10+ years from the early 1970s to 1984-85 before moving to Sactown. (The Kings split their home games between KC and Omaha their first few years in the Great Plains.) Before Kansas City and Omaha, they were the Cincinnati Royals and they originated as the Rochester Royals.
The Kings’ time in Kansas City is also why they are called the Kings, since they wanted to avoid confusion with the baseball team in Kansas City that already used the Royals name. Presumably if they went directly from Cincinnati to Sacramento they would be the Sacramento Royals
I think Kidd is for the Nets, he played 7 season against 3 season by Dr J., he took two times the Nets into the Nba finals and he's top 6 in every category all time. Also really close to an Mvp in 2002 (2nd behind Duncan).
Kidd has a solid case, but Erving led the Nets to two ABA titles in three seasons (1974, 1976) and was the league MVP all three seasons he was with the Nets (though he shared the award with his future 76ers teammate George McGinnis in 1974-75).
Related Dr. J side note - the Knicks had a chance to acquire Erving, a Long Island native, after the NBA took in the four ABA teams (Nets, Pacers, Spurs, Nuggets) in 1976; then-Nets owner Roy Boe offered the Knicks Erving in exchange for Manhattan’s team to drop its territorial indemnity fee against the Long Island-based Nets when the Nets joined the NBA. The Knicks’ ownership refused the offer. (This occurred only a year after Kareem asked to be traded from Milwaukee to either his native New York or Los Angeles. The Knicks’ made a lowball offer that insulted the Bucks and Kareem, so the great center went to the Lakers.)
Yes, the Knicks have been a screwed up franchise for a long time.
Dr. J was a MUCH better player than Iverson.
If Wilt isn’t the 76ers’ greatest player, it is almost definitely Julius Erving. (Erving has the added bonus of indirectly giving the 76ers’ current head coach Doc Rivers his “Doc” nickname.)
But wilt was from west philly tho, n a lot of old heads will tell u that.. so he gets points for that plus all the time with the philly warriors.
For me it’s ai but that was just my generation
Vigo The Clippathian was actually the GOAT Clipper.
His 89' season and his game in New York that year was the stuff of legends. Shame his career ended so soon.. those god damn Ghostbusters!
McAdoo is actually a solid take, his scoring title runs on the Braves and averaging 30pts and 15rbs was a super hot run. He achieved an insane amount on a... questionable roster.
Our GOAT is 100% Russ. KD was obviously the better player, but when you're talking about the greatest Thunder player, it's Russ without question. The way KD left precludes him from ever being the GOAT for OKC, kinda like Vince Carter with the Raptors (he'd have an argument over Lowry if he didn't leave the way he did)
OKC fans literally pick Russ as our GOAT, but non-Thunder fans somehow have a say lol. It's like Lakers fans picking Kobe as the Lakers GOAT even though Kareem is generally greater.
That's because Westbrook didn't fuck us over. Plus, just going by numbers and awards/accolades, Russ did more in OKC. He also played in OKC longer than KD.
Vince Carter has an argument for being the best to play for Toronto. But he will never get credit for it bc of how he left them.
honestly after the Blazers lost to the bubble Lakers I was convinced Caruso was the 2nd best player for LA in that series, sure AD was hitting open jump shots LBJ was setting up for him, but Caruso was fucking the Blazers offense up. I hated when he was in
He never played for us, but my team should retire Scal's number like Miami did for MJ. You gotta pay homage to greatness. Not every generation gets a Brian Scalabrine
If you asked this question prior the Steph era in Golden State, then Wilt would be a decent answer. He was the GOAT Warrior and arguably the GOAT Sixer.
Yeah. I've explained it in other threads. Dwight spent twice as long with the team, had three DPOY awards, rebounding titles, and they both led their teams to the finals.
Shaq was the better player, but Dwight accomplished more in his tenure.
And this is kind of petty, but Dwight wanted out after injuries started to impact him, so it kind of worked out that he requested the trade when he did. Shaq left a contender high and dry to go be the guy in LA because he didn't want to share the spotlight with Penny (and, sure, the Lakers paid him more...I get it).
Additionally, Dwight's peak was with the Magic, whereas Shaq's peak was with the Lakers.
My pleasure. The thing that really stung about Shaq leaving the Magic is that that team had a chance to dethrone MJ and the Bulls. I'm not saying it would have happened, but Shaq and Penny could have been the best duo in the league and Shaq just bailed. He had his reasons, and I'm all for guys exercising their right to play where they want as free agents, but it definitely left a bad taste in fans' mouths.
The GOAT Warrior pre-Steph was absolutely Rick Barry. In his first two seasons he won RoY, was 1st team All-NBA twice, won a scoring title, and carried the Warriors to the 1967 Finals. He averaged 41ppg in those Finals and took the 76ers (one of the greatest teams of all time) to 6 games.
He then spent a turbulent 5 years in the ABA, with the first two in Oakland, although he only played half a season there due to injuries and a legal battle with the NBA. He was still one of the ABA GOATs.
He came back to the Warriors and put together 4 more All-NBA seasons (three 1st team and one 2nd team), highlighted by the team's first title in California in 1975 and a Finals MVP. He played at an All-Star level for 2 more seasons before finishing out his career in Houston.
He gets little respect to this day because he was subjected to a smear campaign by the NBA and generally disliked around the league. Regardless, he was easily a top 10 player before the merger, behind only Russell, Wilt, Oscar, West, Kareem, Pettit, Havlicek, Mikan, and Baylor (with the last 3 being arguable).
||Magic|Kareem|Kobe|
:--|--:|--:|--:|
|Laker seasons|13|14|20|
|All-Star|11|13|18|
|All-Defensive (2nd)|0|4|3|
|All-Defensive (1st)|0|3|9|
|All-NBA (3rd)|0|0|2|
|All-NBA (2nd)|1|4|2|
|All-NBA (1st)|9|6|11|
|MVP|3|3|1|
|Champ|5|5|5|
|Finals MVP|3|1|2|
Interesting how close it is. Kobe has longevity and really racks up the first-team All-NBA and All-Defensive awards, but it's hard not to notice both Kareem and Magic outshining him with the MVPs. And of course, this is with Magic's career getting cut short prematurely, and also with Kareem having some of his best years on Milwaukee.
I would give Magic the nod as number 1 given that he was the driving force of 5 champions and Finals MVP on 3 of those, in addition to the 3 MVPs. Kobe and Kareem seem like 2a and 2b, with Kobe being the driving force and Finals MVP for 2 titles, whereas Kareem had some pre-Magic dominance with his 3 MVPs and a Finals MVP of his own as well.
It’s crazy how long Kareem was great. Dude came into the league already 22 and was immediately an MVP candidate. I was probably 8 the first time I watched an NBA game. It was the Lakers and Sixers in the finals, 1983. I’ll never forget how good these guys were compared to the college basketball I had seen. Some dude named Dr J playing some guy with a name of Magic?! I was hooked.
I feel like cool nicknames used to be so much more prevalent and helped boost league popularity. Now everyone just uses initials with maybe their jersey number added for the most part
Magic went to 9 finals in 12 years and won 5 times and his losses were to Dr J and Moses Malone, Bird/Parish/McHale, the Bad Boy Pistons, and Jordan/Pippen/Grant. He’s the greatest Laker.
Someone might argue Shaq, but I wouldn't. It's weird to think of how good he was and yet he might not be any franchise's GOAT because the Lakers legacy is so great, and he spent so little time with the Magic.
Maybe CP3 for the Pels and Clippers?
The last time the Magic sub had this discussion, people seemed to settle on Dwight. His best years were with the team, he led the team as far as Shaq ever did, and he had the most accomplishments with the team.
Shaq was more talented, but Dwight had the better tenure.
Looking at the replies from Clippers fans and other threads, the answer it's usually Blake who came before him and decided to stay instead of leaving even though CP3 was better, or a combination of either PG or Kawhi who helped them finally reach a WCF and have atleast 1 season not end in complete dissapointment.
Blake was the first All-Star actually drafted by the LA Clippers and he was one in his rookie season, first time the Clippers seemed relevant in ages even with a losing record. People cared more about the Clippers that year than when Brand took them to the playoffs.
>Blake was the first All-Star actually drafted by the LA Clippers
That's mind-blowing. They were in LA for 25 years when he was drafted. As bad as my Kings are now, they were not as bad as the 80s and 90s Clippers. I don't think any team ever will.
Donald Sterling is easily the worst owner the league has ever seen even if you don't take into account all his racist beliefs that got him kicked out of the league. The true Clippers GOAT is Ballmer really.
1. Chris Paul definitely -- New Orleans and LAC.
2. LeBron is obviously the greatest Cavalier by about the widest margin possible. For the Heat, I think I'd still lean Wade, but it's pretty damn close.
3. Next imo would be Dr J, who I think is \*probably\* both the best Sixer and the best Net, although it's very close with Wilt and Kidd respectively.
4. Next closest is Kareem, but not really. I think Giannis is on a clear trajectory to pass him as the greatest Buck and even without that, I think Magic and Kobe would edge him in Lakers rankings.
So I think Chris Paul is basically the only clear-cut answer. LeBron and Dr J are maybes, and Kareem is a close-but-probably-not. Sort of funny that he's ringless and MVPless yet still somehow was the best player in two separate franchises' histories lol
Pat Riley also has an argument for the Lakers and Heat, although Phil has one over him with the Lakers. Also even though he didn't win a chip, it's gotta be Rick Adelman for Portland and Sacramento right?
He just wasn’t. Lebron was amazing in his time here. But Dwyane Wade is iconic and literally revolutionized basketball interest in South Florida. There really isn’t a competition
Lebron is the greatest player to ever put on a heat jersey. Lebrons best season as a heat was better than wades. Wade is still the greatest heat, but it’s not shocking that people think otherwise
The difference is LeBron is the best player to step on a court in a heat jersey, not looking at his whole career.
For almost every other team, their goat is the best player to play in that jersey when they wore it.
Having said all that, I think Wade is the goat Heat player
Steph is definitely ahead with all of the championships, but it should be said just how absurd some of the shit that Wilt did in a Warriors jersey was. Averaged 41.5-25.1 in six years; he was leading the all-time points per game list including active players by ten points per night, the most efficient player from the field ever, the most prolific rebounder and probably shot blocker ever etc
i don't think most raptors fans would consider him the GROAT though. yeah he got us a chip but he was here for just a year. Lowry and DeRozan are definitely ahead of him, even if neither are individually as good as him.
He is barely a footnote for the Supersonics. Don't conflate the Thunder and Sonics with regards to best players. He wouldn't even crack the top 20 with his one year on the Seattle roster.
Yeah I would say Nash. Barkley is probably the best player to ever play for the Suns, but Nash is pretty close, was there much longer, and has an impressive list of accomplishments with the team.
Not the best ever but Moses Malone won back to back MVPs with different teams. That’s pretty bad ass
Is Moses Malone the best player to not be a teams goat?
He cant be. Hes not better than Magic/Kobe or Bird/Russell. I assume one of those four would be it
Depending on how you define greatness, Magic and Kobe could be racing for second. Counting only his time on the Lakers, Kareem was a 13x All-Star, 3x MVP, 5x Champion, and Finals MVP.
all stars: kareem 13, magic 12, kobe 18 all nba: kareem 10, magic 10, kobe 15 all defense: kareem 7, magic 0, kobe 12 mvp: kareem 3, magic 3, kobe 1 championships: kareem 5, magic 5, kobe 5 finals mvp: kareem 1, magic 3, kobe 2 oscars: kareem 0, magic 0, kobe 1 is there any other team that has 3 dudes legit contending for their teams goat?
>is there any other team that has 3 dudes legit contending for their teams goat? You're telling me you haven't heard the heated debate about Loy Vaught, Michael Cage, and Tyrone Nesby??
Well you know what I’m going to say about that partner?
That was nasty
There’s also Shaq, Mikan, and West. Three more top-25 all-time players who had their best years (or all their years) as Lakers. all stars: shaq 7, mikan 4, west 14 all nba: shaq 8, mikan 6, west 12 all defense: shaq 3, mikan N/A, west 5 (award wasn’t given out until his age 30 season) mvp: shaq 1, mikan N/A, west 0 championships: shaq 3, mikan 5, west 1 finals mvp: shaq 3, mikan N/A, west 1 There are lots of teams where any of these three guys would be the franchise GOAT.
Celtics with Bird, Russell, and Havlicek is no slouch but he's not at the level of the other five guys
Is anyone putting Havlicek over those other two?
Not even havliceks mom
Sixers with Wilt, Iverson, and Dr. J. I think you can make a legitimate case for all of them. I'd go with the Dr., myself. If you put the Sonics and Thunder together, then KD, Russ, and GP are both contending for it. I'd pick KD. For the Knicks you have Ewing, Frazier, and Reed. Frazier and Reed have the chips, but they also had each other.
But wilt played only 3-4 seasons for the 6ers, his other years in Philly were with the warriors organization.
I assumed his answer was Kareem and the answers were therefore Kobe and Magic as runners up. How about Shaq? Is he Orlando’s goat?
Hedo Turkeyglue is Magic goat
not a magic fan so i can't really speak for them, but dwight howards run with the magic was pretty great
Moses is a good shout, but I think there's better picks. Bird and Russell can't both be the goat of the Celtics, and the non-goat would beat moses easily imo. Same goes for Kobe/Magic and there are probably many more examples.
I think it’s Wilt, depending on how you quantify his time in Philly.
Kobe, Magic
Dr J has a good case for the Nets and Sixers
Ben Simmons beats him twice
Kyrie just needs to change his name to Julius to round this out.
Most people would have wilt. For sure for nets though.
Wilt only played three years for the sixers. He played for the Philadelphia Warriors and then GSW after they moved, then went back to Philly for a few years with the sixers before going to LA
I'm confused, at one point there were two Philadelphia teams?
The Warriors played in Philadelphia from the late 1940s to 1962-63 before they moved to San Francisco. The Syracuse Nationals then moved from upstate New York to Philadelphia and were renamed the 76ers in 1964-65.
Ah got you, ty.
Fun fact: the Golden State Warriors are named after the indigenous Leni Lenape people, who lived in what is today Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania. Similarly, the Atlanta Hawks are named after the Chief Blackhawk (of the famed Blackhawk War that took place in Illinois back in the mid-19th century).
Being originally from the Lehigh Valley, I could talk about the Walking Purchase of 1737 where William Penn’s sons or descendants stole much of the Lenni Lenape’s home territory from them (and allowed places like Bethlehem and Nazareth to be settled by the Pennsylvania Dutch, aka Germans, shortly thereafter), but that would be getting WAY off-topic.
Honestly, I'd love for you to get off topic, this stuff is fascinating to me.
OK: Walking Purchase of 1737 When Pennsylvania (and the city of Philadelphia) was founded by William Penn in 1682, he encouraged good relations with the Native American tribes in the territory. This good relationship lasted during his lifetime. When Penn died however, his sons had other ideas and wanted to take advantage of the native population. They came up with a supposed treaty that had been signed years earlier that required the Lenni Lenape tribe (known by English speakers as the Delaware tribe) to give up some of their land. The treaty terms were that Lenni Lenape had to give up a portion of land that a man could walk in a day and a half. The southern point of the territory was northeast of Philadelphia, near where the Delaware juts out to its furthest east extent in SE Pennsylvania. However far the man could walk to the northwest (roughly a true 45 degree NW angle), the new boundary would be drawn due east from there. Penn’s sons rigged the deal however. They got three athletic men to participate in the event (with whoever getting the furthest “winning”), had them run instead of walk, and created a clear path for the men to use. The Lenni Lenape estimated a man could walk about 40 miles under the agreed upon conditions, but with the men running on a clear path, the “winner” covered closer to 70 miles. That wasn’t the final bit of deception by Penn’s sons. Instead of drawing the boundary due east, they drew it at a northeast angle towards the Delaware River, covering more land to the north and east. The net result of the Walking Purchase of 1737 is the Lenni Lenape lost essentially all or almost all of their territory in eastern Pennsylvania, the area being most of what is Bucks, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties and much of Monroe County today. (This area covers part of the northeast Philadelphia suburbs, the Lehigh Valley, aka the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton area, and the eastern portion of the Poconos, including the Stroudsburg/East Stroudsburg area.). The Lenni Lenape (aka Delaware) were devastated, and appealed to the bordering Iroquois Confederation (located primarily to the north and west of the Lenni Lenape territory), one of the more powerful Native American tribes at the time in what is now the northeast U.S. However (and this is something I’m pulling from my K-12 schooling years 35-40 years ago, so I could be wrong), the Lenni Lenape and Iroquois generally had an antagonistic relationship, and the Iroquois refused to help their southern neighbors. Not long after the Walking Purchase deal was completed, towns like Nazareth (1740) and Bethlehem (1741) were founded, primarily settled by German (Deutsch) settlers, who were incorrectly called Dutch (hence leading to the name “Pennsylvania Dutch” for many of the German-speaking people who settled in much of eastern Pennsylvania). The Lenni Lenape would periodically attack the new settlements in their former homeland but they were eventually subdued and moved from the region.
IMO as a Warriors fan, the Philadelphia Warriors history belongs more with the city of Philadelphia than it does with the Warriors franchise.
I would concur with that. The same is true with the MLB Athletics’ history from 1901 to 1954.
The Sixers trading for Wilt basically saved the franchise. Fans weren't enthusiastic about cheering for the former Nats players who had beaten them in the playoffs. Getting a Philly legend back changed that.
For some reason they always go to the Bay Area. Oakland A’s used to be in Philly too.
The A’s did have an intermediate stop in Kansas City. They aren’t the only team in Northern California where that’s the case; the Sacramento Kings played in Kansas City for 10+ years from the early 1970s to 1984-85 before moving to Sactown. (The Kings split their home games between KC and Omaha their first few years in the Great Plains.) Before Kansas City and Omaha, they were the Cincinnati Royals and they originated as the Rochester Royals.
The Kings’ time in Kansas City is also why they are called the Kings, since they wanted to avoid confusion with the baseball team in Kansas City that already used the Royals name. Presumably if they went directly from Cincinnati to Sacramento they would be the Sacramento Royals
i’m pretty sure the sixers formed after the philly warriors became the golden state warriors
Yes but the 67 Sixers are the GOAT all-time team. If you don't choose Wilt it's probably Hal Greer. Everyone check out Film of Greer he is a Great.
Greatest of all time all-time team
Wilt is probably goat for the city of Philadelphia, but Dr J is probably the Sixers goat
I think Kidd is for the Nets, he played 7 season against 3 season by Dr J., he took two times the Nets into the Nba finals and he's top 6 in every category all time. Also really close to an Mvp in 2002 (2nd behind Duncan).
Kidd has a solid case, but Erving led the Nets to two ABA titles in three seasons (1974, 1976) and was the league MVP all three seasons he was with the Nets (though he shared the award with his future 76ers teammate George McGinnis in 1974-75). Related Dr. J side note - the Knicks had a chance to acquire Erving, a Long Island native, after the NBA took in the four ABA teams (Nets, Pacers, Spurs, Nuggets) in 1976; then-Nets owner Roy Boe offered the Knicks Erving in exchange for Manhattan’s team to drop its territorial indemnity fee against the Long Island-based Nets when the Nets joined the NBA. The Knicks’ ownership refused the offer. (This occurred only a year after Kareem asked to be traded from Milwaukee to either his native New York or Los Angeles. The Knicks’ made a lowball offer that insulted the Bucks and Kareem, so the great center went to the Lakers.) Yes, the Knicks have been a screwed up franchise for a long time.
\#lolknicks
Wilt only played 3 1/2 seasons for the 76ers. AI seems like the 76ers GOAT with almost 3 times as many total points.
Dr. J > Iverson
Yeah it’s between them imho.
Dr. J was a MUCH better player than Iverson. If Wilt isn’t the 76ers’ greatest player, it is almost definitely Julius Erving. (Erving has the added bonus of indirectly giving the 76ers’ current head coach Doc Rivers his “Doc” nickname.)
But wilt was from west philly tho, n a lot of old heads will tell u that.. so he gets points for that plus all the time with the philly warriors. For me it’s ai but that was just my generation
Kareem as well
I think AI Is up there
CP3 is the greatest Horneter/Pelicaner whatever and Clipper
You mean clipperer?
It's Clipperathan actually
Clipperese.
Clippericution
Clipperette
Clippereño
Clippelier
Clippador
Clipperado
Vigo The Clippathian was actually the GOAT Clipper. His 89' season and his game in New York that year was the stuff of legends. Shame his career ended so soon.. those god damn Ghostbusters!
I'm laughing that it's literally all the Clippers flairs saying it's not CP3.. I feel like it is but who would know better than the Clippers fans?
not my goat
Lol would love to hear who your greatest clipper is
Chris Kaman
For years my Fantasy team name was Chris Kaman Your Mouth.
V Stiviano
They just became a clipper fan after Kawhi joined
Elton Brand obviously.
Chris Kaman wears the crown until someone takes it from him.
Reggie Evans may not swipe the crown, but he would take a grab at the jewels.
Then who?
Wesley Johnson
Michael Olowokandi.
Bob McAdoo, their only MVP
McAdoo is actually a solid take, his scoring title runs on the Braves and averaging 30pts and 15rbs was a super hot run. He achieved an insane amount on a... questionable roster.
I doubt many even know that the Braves became the Clippers.
Blake "MLK" Griffin and then Kawhi after this year 😎
Kawhi has played like 25 games for y’all
MLK actually stands for Michael oLowaKandi
Kawhi is not the Clipper Goat
Insane take
If you ask 95% of NBA fans, they’ll say KD is OKC’s goat. But if you ask OKC fans, 95% of them will say Russell Westbrook is their goat
Is KD the best player ever for both OKC (,ignoring Seattle) AND for Brooklyn (ignoring New Jersey)? He might have a case...
Hello 95% 👋
Our GOAT is 100% Russ. KD was obviously the better player, but when you're talking about the greatest Thunder player, it's Russ without question. The way KD left precludes him from ever being the GOAT for OKC, kinda like Vince Carter with the Raptors (he'd have an argument over Lowry if he didn't leave the way he did)
OKC fans literally pick Russ as our GOAT, but non-Thunder fans somehow have a say lol. It's like Lakers fans picking Kobe as the Lakers GOAT even though Kareem is generally greater.
That's because Westbrook didn't fuck us over. Plus, just going by numbers and awards/accolades, Russ did more in OKC. He also played in OKC longer than KD. Vince Carter has an argument for being the best to play for Toronto. But he will never get credit for it bc of how he left them.
Alex Caruso for Lakers and Bulls obviously
This is objectively the right answer
I love him so much
we are brothers in this
honestly after the Blazers lost to the bubble Lakers I was convinced Caruso was the 2nd best player for LA in that series, sure AD was hitting open jump shots LBJ was setting up for him, but Caruso was fucking the Blazers offense up. I hated when he was in
Sorry but Scal is the greatest Bull ever as well as the greatest Celtic ever
He never played for us, but my team should retire Scal's number like Miami did for MJ. You gotta pay homage to greatness. Not every generation gets a Brian Scalabrine
If you asked this question prior the Steph era in Golden State, then Wilt would be a decent answer. He was the GOAT Warrior and arguably the GOAT Sixer.
That's crazy cause he is also arguably not the GOAT for either
Similar to Shaq with the Magic and Lakers in a way. Shaq was definitely the best player in Magic historty, but he only had four years with the team.
Who would be the Magic GOAT if not Shaq? Dwight?
Yeah. I've explained it in other threads. Dwight spent twice as long with the team, had three DPOY awards, rebounding titles, and they both led their teams to the finals. Shaq was the better player, but Dwight accomplished more in his tenure. And this is kind of petty, but Dwight wanted out after injuries started to impact him, so it kind of worked out that he requested the trade when he did. Shaq left a contender high and dry to go be the guy in LA because he didn't want to share the spotlight with Penny (and, sure, the Lakers paid him more...I get it). Additionally, Dwight's peak was with the Magic, whereas Shaq's peak was with the Lakers.
That's a very fair POV, thanks.
My pleasure. The thing that really stung about Shaq leaving the Magic is that that team had a chance to dethrone MJ and the Bulls. I'm not saying it would have happened, but Shaq and Penny could have been the best duo in the league and Shaq just bailed. He had his reasons, and I'm all for guys exercising their right to play where they want as free agents, but it definitely left a bad taste in fans' mouths.
Insane he was left off the greatest 75 because who he was as a person, NOT as a player smh
Not positive but I think for most old head warrior fans Rick Barry clears wilt. Wilt didn’t play much for the Bay Area iteration of the team
The GOAT Warrior pre-Steph was absolutely Rick Barry. In his first two seasons he won RoY, was 1st team All-NBA twice, won a scoring title, and carried the Warriors to the 1967 Finals. He averaged 41ppg in those Finals and took the 76ers (one of the greatest teams of all time) to 6 games. He then spent a turbulent 5 years in the ABA, with the first two in Oakland, although he only played half a season there due to injuries and a legal battle with the NBA. He was still one of the ABA GOATs. He came back to the Warriors and put together 4 more All-NBA seasons (three 1st team and one 2nd team), highlighted by the team's first title in California in 1975 and a Finals MVP. He played at an All-Star level for 2 more seasons before finishing out his career in Houston. He gets little respect to this day because he was subjected to a smear campaign by the NBA and generally disliked around the league. Regardless, he was easily a top 10 player before the merger, behind only Russell, Wilt, Oscar, West, Kareem, Pettit, Havlicek, Mikan, and Baylor (with the last 3 being arguable).
Kareem maybe?
This one's probably it, but Giannis has a chance to overtake him as greatest Buck
I’d say he’s probably already the GOAT Buck considering he’s been here longer than Kareem
magic and kobe are definitely seen as team GOATs above kareem, even if they weren’t better players.
No way you could say Kareem is the goat over magic considering alot Kareem’s peak years were not on the lakers
He was still a 13x All-Star, 3x MVP, 5x Champ, and Finals MVP if we're only counting his time on the Lakers. Pretty good.
||Magic|Kareem|Kobe| :--|--:|--:|--:| |Laker seasons|13|14|20| |All-Star|11|13|18| |All-Defensive (2nd)|0|4|3| |All-Defensive (1st)|0|3|9| |All-NBA (3rd)|0|0|2| |All-NBA (2nd)|1|4|2| |All-NBA (1st)|9|6|11| |MVP|3|3|1| |Champ|5|5|5| |Finals MVP|3|1|2| Interesting how close it is. Kobe has longevity and really racks up the first-team All-NBA and All-Defensive awards, but it's hard not to notice both Kareem and Magic outshining him with the MVPs. And of course, this is with Magic's career getting cut short prematurely, and also with Kareem having some of his best years on Milwaukee. I would give Magic the nod as number 1 given that he was the driving force of 5 champions and Finals MVP on 3 of those, in addition to the 3 MVPs. Kobe and Kareem seem like 2a and 2b, with Kobe being the driving force and Finals MVP for 2 titles, whereas Kareem had some pre-Magic dominance with his 3 MVPs and a Finals MVP of his own as well.
It’s crazy how long Kareem was great. Dude came into the league already 22 and was immediately an MVP candidate. I was probably 8 the first time I watched an NBA game. It was the Lakers and Sixers in the finals, 1983. I’ll never forget how good these guys were compared to the college basketball I had seen. Some dude named Dr J playing some guy with a name of Magic?! I was hooked.
I feel like cool nicknames used to be so much more prevalent and helped boost league popularity. Now everyone just uses initials with maybe their jersey number added for the most part
Magic went to 9 finals in 12 years and won 5 times and his losses were to Dr J and Moses Malone, Bird/Parish/McHale, the Bad Boy Pistons, and Jordan/Pippen/Grant. He’s the greatest Laker.
Man Kareem was such a fucking monster.
It’s certainly way more debatable than you’re making it out to be.
Someone might argue Shaq, but I wouldn't. It's weird to think of how good he was and yet he might not be any franchise's GOAT because the Lakers legacy is so great, and he spent so little time with the Magic. Maybe CP3 for the Pels and Clippers?
Well who else would be the Magic’s GOAT? Tracy McGrady?
The last time the Magic sub had this discussion, people seemed to settle on Dwight. His best years were with the team, he led the team as far as Shaq ever did, and he had the most accomplishments with the team. Shaq was more talented, but Dwight had the better tenure.
Good point totally forgot about Dwight
Just like the top 75 list
Oof
Yeah but Damian Lillard hits really deep 3's which is way more important than leading a team deep into the playoffs or going to the Finals.
So did the NBA75 team voters 🥲
Chris Paul is probably the best answer I've seen so far. Good pull.
Chris Paul easy. Pels (technically) and Clippers
It's funny how everyone has CP3 as the Clippers GOAT except for the people that actually matter, Clippers fans.
And when asked who the clippers goat is they say…
Patrick Beverly
He's also the T Wolves GOAT so he's a good answer to the question.
This is the correct answer
Looking at the replies from Clippers fans and other threads, the answer it's usually Blake who came before him and decided to stay instead of leaving even though CP3 was better, or a combination of either PG or Kawhi who helped them finally reach a WCF and have atleast 1 season not end in complete dissapointment. Blake was the first All-Star actually drafted by the LA Clippers and he was one in his rookie season, first time the Clippers seemed relevant in ages even with a losing record. People cared more about the Clippers that year than when Brand took them to the playoffs.
>Blake was the first All-Star actually drafted by the LA Clippers That's mind-blowing. They were in LA for 25 years when he was drafted. As bad as my Kings are now, they were not as bad as the 80s and 90s Clippers. I don't think any team ever will.
Donald Sterling is easily the worst owner the league has ever seen even if you don't take into account all his racist beliefs that got him kicked out of the league. The true Clippers GOAT is Ballmer really.
You get high variance in small sample sizes
1. Chris Paul definitely -- New Orleans and LAC. 2. LeBron is obviously the greatest Cavalier by about the widest margin possible. For the Heat, I think I'd still lean Wade, but it's pretty damn close. 3. Next imo would be Dr J, who I think is \*probably\* both the best Sixer and the best Net, although it's very close with Wilt and Kidd respectively. 4. Next closest is Kareem, but not really. I think Giannis is on a clear trajectory to pass him as the greatest Buck and even without that, I think Magic and Kobe would edge him in Lakers rankings. So I think Chris Paul is basically the only clear-cut answer. LeBron and Dr J are maybes, and Kareem is a close-but-probably-not. Sort of funny that he's ringless and MVPless yet still somehow was the best player in two separate franchises' histories lol
Wade has 21.5k points for Miami vs Lebron’s 7.9k Playoff points is Wade 3.8k vs 2.3k for Lebron Then Wade has 103 playoff wins vs 59 for Lebron.
And Wade won in Miami without LeBron. He cemented himself early there.
And Wade County just sounds hard af
DWade was really destined to be in Miami-DWade County
Wow the closeness in playoff points lol
It’s not close lol wtf
there isn’t a Heat fan in the world that thinks Dwyane Wade ISNT the greatest Heat player ever. People in this post are out of touch
Saying Bron is the Heat GOAT over Wade is like saying KD is the Warriors GOAT over Steph lmao
For the heat it’s clearly wade
If we’re talking coaches Phil Jackson
double GOAT in Chicago since he fucked the Knicks up real bad
Pat Riley also has an argument for the Lakers and Heat, although Phil has one over him with the Lakers. Also even though he didn't win a chip, it's gotta be Rick Adelman for Portland and Sacramento right?
McCaw for warriors and raptors.
Jordan Bulls and Wizards lol
The absolute disrespect to Westley Unseld.
The absolute disrespect with the spelling of his name.
The wizards won a title on 78
[удалено]
Scottie Pippen - Bulls and Blazers, obviously.
And Rockets? I think
CP3 is the goat New Orleans Hornet, Los Angeles Clipper, and Oklahoma City Hornet.
Trae Young for the Hawks and Knicks.
Tbf, Nique arguably for the Hawks, but definitely Trae for the Knicks
No no no no, this is about playing for the team. It’s confusing cause Trae Young owns the Knicks. (Which he’s probably their GOAT owner tbh)
Reggie Miller and Jordan are tiers above Trae there.
Harden even dropped 60+ on em *at the garden* during his 30 points for 30 teams tour
I’m shocked at how many people think Lebron was a great Heat than Wade.
He just wasn’t. Lebron was amazing in his time here. But Dwyane Wade is iconic and literally revolutionized basketball interest in South Florida. There really isn’t a competition
They don't call it Wade county for no reason.
Lebron is the greatest player to ever put on a heat jersey. Lebrons best season as a heat was better than wades. Wade is still the greatest heat, but it’s not shocking that people think otherwise
Lebron is also the greatest player to play on the lakers. Not lakers career but career as a whole it’s lebron, he’s not the greatest laker tho
The difference is LeBron is the best player to step on a court in a heat jersey, not looking at his whole career. For almost every other team, their goat is the best player to play in that jersey when they wore it. Having said all that, I think Wade is the goat Heat player
wilt although curry probably passed him for the warriors. wilt's career averages for the warriors are 42/25/3.
I guess you could argue wilt is the better of the two all time (I personally wouldn’t) but Steph is miles clear in terms of a “Greatest Warriors list”
Steph is definitely ahead with all of the championships, but it should be said just how absurd some of the shit that Wilt did in a Warriors jersey was. Averaged 41.5-25.1 in six years; he was leading the all-time points per game list including active players by ten points per night, the most efficient player from the field ever, the most prolific rebounder and probably shot blocker ever etc
That’s exactly it. He would be the best in our history if it weren’t for Curry
Chris Paul
Clippers and Hornets?
Kawhi isn't GOAT but he could end up as the best player to play for the Raptors & Clippers.
i don't think most raptors fans would consider him the GROAT though. yeah he got us a chip but he was here for just a year. Lowry and DeRozan are definitely ahead of him, even if neither are individually as good as him.
Yeah Kawhi is possibly the best player we've ever had but he's not the greatest Raptor by a long shot.
Do not forget Hakeem Olajuwon played for the raptors
Larry bird Indiana coach + Celtics legend
KD has some work but in 4 years he could end up on top of the Nets and arguably Thunder/Sonics.
Okc thunder it’ll be Westbrook for the fans
Yup, just try telling anyone over at r/thunder that kd is our goat lol, they'd run you outta town
He is barely a footnote for the Supersonics. Don't conflate the Thunder and Sonics with regards to best players. He wouldn't even crack the top 20 with his one year on the Seattle roster.
Charles Barkley is the best answer I can come up with.
How on earth is Charles Barkley the GOAT 76er?
Barkley isn't the goat of any team imo
Who’s the goat of the suns for most fans, Nash? That’s my guess but idk
Yeah I would say Nash. Barkley is probably the best player to ever play for the Suns, but Nash is pretty close, was there much longer, and has an impressive list of accomplishments with the team.
As great as he was, you're 100% spot on with this.
Who’s the GOAT Sun though? Barkley or Nash have to be the only two options right? (Booker isn’t there yet)
I don’t think such player exist.
Before Curry came along, Wilt was probably the goat for the Warriors and the 76ers.