See the tab at the top of this article to understand the process for these selections.
#100: Mark Price
Resume
All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (‘93)
All-NBA 3rd Team: 3x (’89, ’92, ’94)
NBA All-Star: 4x (’89, ’92, ’93, ’94)
NBA Career WS/48: .158 (69th)
NBA Career Offensive Rating: 116 (28th)
Career FT%: 90.4% (2nd)
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 155th
Mark Price could be considered the Steve Nash prototype for a series of entertaining Cavs teams in the late 80s-early 90s. Like Nash, Price’s Cavs teams would fall short, at best getting to the Conference Finals in 1992. The ’92 Cavs were quite competitive, finishing off Larry Bird’s career in the Semi-Finals and taking one of the better Jordan Bulls teams to six games in the Conference Finals. A familiar story for Price and the Cavs.
Twice Price’s Cavs won 57 games (in ’89 and ’92), yet both times were beaten by Jordan’s Bulls. Just add Price to the list of players denied a Championship by Jordan (they absolutely could have won in ’92).
Price had a great supporting cast: Brad Daugherty and Larry Nance, which also drew parallels to the late 2000s Suns with Nash, Amar’e and Marion. Mark Price was ahead of his time and would have ranked much higher on this list if his career lasted longer. He’s destined to miss this list in the future as guys like James Harden are destined to make it.
#99: Tom Chambers
Resume
All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’89, ’90)
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’87)
NBA All-Star: 4x (’87, ’89, ’90, ’91)
Top 10 NBA Points: 3x (’87, ’89, ’90)
Role Player on one Runner-Up: 1993 Suns
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 96th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 120th
In a way, the power forward, Western Conference version of Mark Price. Chambers was a high volume, high scoring power forward who also couldn’t quite get to the finish line. In 1987, his Sonics got to the Conference Finals but fell to the Lakers. In 1989 he was with the Suns, got to the Conference Finals…and lost to the Lakers. In 1990, against Chambers’ Suns got to the Conference Finals but fell to the Trail Blazers. By the time the Suns got to the finals in ’93, Chambers was a role player as Charles Barkley had arrived and taken Phoenix to the next level.
Still, a solidly strong career for Chambers during a tough era for the NBA. Winning MVP in the 1987 All-Star Game, while only an All-Star Game, was impressive considering the stacked nature of the Western Conference team. He also had a 60 point game in 1990. Chambers’ only real detriment is that defensively he wasn’t much and Advanced Metrics aren’t too kind to him. But there are enough deep runs in the playoffs that he shouldn’t be discredited.
#98: Tim Hardaway
Resume
All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (‘97)
All-NBA 2nd Team: 3x (’92, ’98, ’99)
All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (’93)
All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’90)
NBA All-Star: 5x (’91, ’92, ’93, ’97, ‘98)
Top 10 NBA Points: 2x (’91, ’92)
Top 10 NBA Steals: 2x (’91, ’92)
Top 10 NBA Assists: 8x (’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99)
Career NBA Assists: 14th
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 87th
There are two sides to the Tim Hardaway story. The first half is the offensive side, the free wheeling Run TMC Warrior side. Hardaway was a fast point guard who was a key member and arguably the best player on some good early 90s Warrior teams. Unfortunately he then blew out is knee. He still came back strong and found himself in Miami after being traded.
This is where Hardaway lost his chance to become a top 50 guy. The Miami Heat were a solid team when Jordan was around, and became arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference after Jordan retired. The key word is arguably. Despite high seeding, the Heat constantly lost to the lower seeded New York Knicks and ruined any Championship runs Miami could have made. The Heat probably had one realistic crack at the Championship in the lock-out shortened 1999.
After the Heat upset the Knicks (after many players were suspended, allowing the Heat to come back down 3-1) in 1997, they were beaten by the Bulls. But, it looked like a sign of things to come. In 1998, the 2nd seeded Heat lost in five to the 7th seeded Knicks. Hardaway had a big series, but it wasn’t enough. In 1999 the Heat were the #1 seed in the East and the Knicks barely made the playoffs. This time Hardaway fell apart, being a major reason on why the Knicks pulled off the upset as Hardaway put up a 9 PPG, 6 APG, 27% shooting series. Hardaway proceeded to put up another stinker of a series in 2001, when both the Knicks and Heat were evenly matched, with a 8PPG, 5 APG, 29% shooting series. Had Hardaway come through in either of those series, perhaps Miami makes a Finals run. Once Alonzo Mourning has his kidney issues, the window had closed on Miami’s and Hardaway’s title hopes.
Can’t ignore his success obviously, but he could have had a better career for sure.
#97: Manu Ginobili
Resume
NBA Sixth Man of the Year: 1x (’08)
All-NBA 3rd Team: 2x (’08, ’11)
All-NBA Rookie 2nd Team: (’03)
NBA All-Star: 2x (’05, ‘11)
2nd or 3rd Best Player on two Championship teams: ’05 Spurs, ’07 Spurs
Role Player on two Championship teams: ’03 Spurs, ’14 Spurs
Role Player on one Runner-Up: ’13 Spurs
Career Win Shares: 97.5 (86th)
Career WS/48: .202 (20th)
Best Player on 2004 Gold Metal Olympic Team
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 143rd
Gets big credit for being one of the best Advanced Metrics players in the league as well as a key member for four of the Spurs titles. He was one of the best perimeter players throughout the mid 2000s, only the Spurs style often held him back. None the less, without him the Spurs don’t win all those championships.
It should be pointed out that Ginobili also led Argentina to the Gold Metal in 2004, the year the United States screwed it up with the terrible team they threw out there.
The limited minutes and injuries hurt Ginobili’s resume for sure, but at one time he was a dangerous perimeter player that could be counted on to win games. He’s probably the evolutionary Drazen Petrovic.
#96: Alonzo Mourning
Resume
MVP Runner-Up: 1x (’99)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 2x (’99, ‘00)
All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (’99)
All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (’00)
All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 2x (’99, ’00)
All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’93)
NBA All-Star: 7x (’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’00, ’01, ‘02)
Role Player on one Championship Team: ’06 Heat
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 1x (’99)
NBA Blocks Leader: 2x (’99, ’00)
NBA Top 10 Blocks: 10x (’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’99, ’00, ’02, ’06, ’07)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 2x (’99, ’00)
NBA Career Blocks: 11th
NBA Career WS/48: .166 (59th)
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 73rd
Influenced from the great defensive centers of the late 80s and early 90s, especially good friend Patrick Ewing, Mourning was a great defensive center that couldn’t get his team to the finish line. Like teammate Tim Hardaway, Mourning couldn’t get the Heat past Ewing and the Knicks, and his career resume suffered as a result.
As good as Mourning was, being the MVP runner-up in 1999 seems strange in retrospect and also seemed like a slap in Tim Duncan’s face. Nonetheless, someone needed to take over the post-Jordan post-Shaq Eastern Conference and Mourning could have been that guy. Unfortunately, the losses to the Knicks combined with his kidney problems later in his career cut Mourning’s career as a top guy short. He also wasn’t quite as good as Shaq, and not as good as Olajuwon and Robinson before him, or even Mutombo. Mourning can be classified as very good and not great, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Mourning does get some extra credit as he showed to be a great bench guy for the 2006 Heat.
#95: Dikembe Mutombo
Resume
NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 4x (’95, ’97, ’98, ‘01)
All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (’01)
All-NBA 3rd Team: 2x (’98, ’02)
All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 3x (’97, ’98, ‘01)
All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: 2x (’95, ’99)
All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’92)
NBA All-Star: 8x (’92, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’00, ’01, ’02)
2nd Best Player on one Runner-Up: ’01 Sixers
Role Player on one Runner-Up: ’03 Nets
NBA Rebounds Leader: 4x (’95, ’97, ’99, ‘00)
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 11x (’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ‘02)
NBA Blocks Leader: 5x (’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98)
NBA Top 10 Blocks: 11x (’92, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’02)
Top 10 NBA Win Shares: 2x (’97, ’98)
NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 7x (’93, ’94, ’95, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’02)
Top 10 NBA WS/48: 1x (’99)
NBA Career Rebounds: 20th
NBA Career Blocks: 2nd
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 95th
One of the all time great defensive players. Mutombo’s teams always seem to succeed no matter what role he was in. Mutombo showed up in Denver and led the Nuggets to the first #8 seed over a #1 seed in NBA playoff history when they beat the ’94 Sonics. He moved onto Atlanta where the Hawks are a regular Eastern Conference playoff team. He got sent to the Sixers, and provided the defensive anchor on the Allen Iverson-led Finals team. The Nets acquired him to try to slow down either Shaq or Duncan in the finals in 2003. Mutombo then provided solid bench minutes for the late 2000s Rockets, even anchoring a team that won 22 straight games in 2008. He went down in the 2009 playoffs, his body finally broke down in the 2009 playoffs, which was a shame as the Rockets also lost Yao Ming in those playoffs and still took the eventual NBA Champion ’09 Lakers to seven games.
It’s difficult to stress just how good Mutombo was defensively. He was a destructive force in the middle that blocked pretty much anything that came into the paint. If he was around five years later, his presence would have destroyed the slash and kick game. Mt. Mutombo’s defense alone led teams to the playoffs.
The only knock on Mutombo’s career is how Shaq dominated him in the 2001 Finals. If that goes differently, Mutombo is ranked a lot higher.
#94: Yao Ming
Resume
All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’07, ‘09)
All-NBA 3rd Team: 3x (’04, ’06, ‘08)
All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’03)
NBA All-Star: 8x (’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ‘11)
NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 1x (‘08)
NBA Top 10 Blocks: 2x (’05, ‘09)
Top 10 NBA Win Shares: 2x (’04, ‘09)
NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 2x (’05, ’09)
Top 10 NBA WS/48: 4x (’04, ’05, ’07, ‘09)
NBA Career WS/48: .200 (21st)
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 154th
The case against Yao: only 486 games played and only got past Round 1 once.
That’s really it. Yao Ming’s career will always be one of the great injury what-ifs. He was a great player from the moment he got onto the court until the moment he got hurt in the 2009 Semi-Finals. The 2009 Semi-Finals itself is a great what-if, as the Lakers struggled against Yao and the series went seven even after Yao went down.
You can argue Grant Hill as a better injury what-if, but Yao’s Advanced Metrics put him over the top for me. It didn’t surprise me that Yao didn’t need Tracy McGrady to advance in the playoffs. Here’s what you got from Yao: 18-25 PPG, 8.5-10 RPG. Efficient offense. Practically no help except McGrady in big moments. And yet in 2009, Yao was ready to make the leap. Just a shame his body didn’t agree.
#93: Vince Carter
Resume
NBA Rookie of the Year: 1999
All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (‘01)
All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (’00)
All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’99)
NBA All-Star: 8x (’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07)
NBA Top 10 Points: 5x (’00, ’01, ’04, ’05, ’07)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 2x (’00, ’01)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 1x (’01)
2nd in PER: 2001
NBA Career Points: 30th
NBA Career Three Pointers: 6th
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 89th
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 99th
One of my least favorite players of all time mainly for two reasons: he was a massive disappointment considering he could have the best player in the league, and he embarrassingly gave up on the 2004 Raptors, which led to a trade to the New Jersey Nets.
The 1st part: Carter was an unstoppable force inside and the best in-game dunker perhaps in NBA history. He also became known for getting knocked down once and not going back inside as a result, as well as a multitude of what seemed to be ridiculous injuries. His nickname was Wince Carter. And while sometimes he was a great outside shooter, someone with his inside game shouldn’t be sixth all time in three pointers.
The 2nd part: 16 PPG, 3 RPG, 3 APG, 41% shooting in the first 20 games for Toronto in 2004. He gets traded to the Nets and puts this up: 27.5 PPG, 6 RPG, 5 APG, 46% FG. Jason Kidd isn’t that good. And if you need more proof, there’s an interview where he admits he didn’t always try hard. And you wonder why he gets booed in Toronto.
He only gets the jump on guys like Yao because as his career continues he became an effective role player for both Dallas and Memphis, and it did seem he finally realized he wasted a lot of his career. He also was unstoppable in 2001 for a Raptor team that absolutely could have made the Finals (Carter’s last second three in Game 7 just missed). Carter had a monster series in that one, with an opening 35 point game in Philly in game 1, a monster 50 point game in game 3 and a big 39 point game with the Raptors season on the line in game 6. Vince Carter was great for a short period of time, but he should have owned the league.
#92: Carmelo Anthony
Resume
All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’10, ‘13)
All-NBA 3rd Team: 4x (’06, ’07, ’09, ‘12)
All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’04)
NBA All-Star: 8x (’07, ’08, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)
NBA Top 10 Points: 9x (’04, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ‘14)
NBA PPG Leader: 1x (’13)
NBA Career Points: 39th
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 105th
Carmelo may believe he’s just as good as LeBron and Wade, but he’s never elevated his game to win a Championship, only once getting close (in 2009, when he was gift wrapped Chauncey Billups). He’s failed to get past round one in the Western Conference every year he was there except 2009, went to the much easier Eastern Conference, and managed to win one playoff series in five years. He’s had Marcus Camby, Allen Iverson (slightly past his prime, but still more than enough as a 2nd scoring option easily), Billups and Andre Miller to help him.
Look, Carmelo’s on this list at this point as at times he can be an unstoppable scorer. But that’s really it. He’s a negative on defense. He clashes with coaches. He left Denver and Denver won 59 games the next season. His Advanced Metrics aren’t that good. He’s a one dimensional volume scorer. In today’s NBA, that just isn’t going to fly. After an injury plagued 2015, there’s a chance his prime might have passed him by.
He has a 62 point game and he can score. If he can either have an elite team surrounding him or he just gets his head in the game and improves, perhaps Melo can make a run.
#91: Kevin Johnson
Resume
NBA Most Improved Player: 1989
All-NBA 2nd Team: 5x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ‘94)
All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (‘92)
NBA All-Star: 3x (’90, 91, ‘94)
NBA Top 10 Assists: 6x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’94, ‘97)
NBA Top 10 Steals: 1x (’91)
NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 2x (’89, ’91)
NBA Top 10 WS/48: 4x (’89, ’90, ’91, ’97)
NBA Career Assists: 19th
NBA Career APG: 9.1 (6th)
NBA Career Offensive Rating: 118.1 (11th)
NBA Career WS/48: .178 (41st)
Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 93rd
Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 102nd
When he was healthy, one of the more unstoppable point guards in the league. The one time the Suns beat the Lakers in the playoffs, in 1990, KJ torched Magic and averaged a 22-6-11 in the series. KJ was an excellent offensive player who led along with Tom Chambers a very good Suns team every year.
Unfortunately, KJ wasn’t at his best when Charles Barkley arrived in 1993. His two awful games to start the 1993 NBA Finals probably cost the Suns the title (as much as being cost a title against a Jordan team could happen). KJ battled injuries for the next 4-5 years, but at least had a good ending in 1996 and 1997.