If you ever want to get an NBA fan heated, debate them over which players belong in the top 10 of all time. It’s an impossible task to organize so much greatness and winnow them down to 10 deserving entrants. On top of that, everyone has their own opinions on who should make the cut and which players deserve to rise and fall.
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Tell a Kobe Bryant fan that Kobe isn’t in the top 10 of all time and violence will ensue. Try to suggest that Bill Russell shouldn’t be there because he played against lesser competition and the old heads will revolt. There’s just no way we can all agree on this.
Still, it is a lot of fun to have these discussions. Reggie Miller and Dan Patrick got into it yesterday, and their opinions frequently diverged. Perhaps most notable was that for a business that abhors “dead air,” Miller put so much thought into his answers that he frequently went silent for more than five seconds at a time. That’s how seriously he considered each player’s candidacy.
Miller had a few rules up front that he followed. The older generation, as far as he’s concerned, is out. That means Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson don’t make the cut. Jordan, LeBron, Magic, Bird and Kareem are shoo-ins. That leaves five spots for everyone else.
Miller carefully considered Steph Curry and Kevin Durant for inclusion in his top 10, saying, “They’re both outliers, and they both changed the game.” He fawned over Steph’s revolutionary shooting and Durant’s skill level and scoring ability for his height before saying, “I would probably put Steph in the top 10 before KD.”
Whose spot would he take, though? Miller went down the list, saying that you can’t take out Hakeem, you can’t take out Shaq, and you can’t take out Kobe. “Are you taking out Tim Duncan?” he asked, and that’s where Patrick cut him off with a simple, “Yes.”
That answer blew Miller back in his chair as Patrick made his point clear. “I would put Steph in over Tim Duncan,” he said, but Miller pushed back by saying, “I cannot do that. I will say this: I cannot take out someone who is the best at their position over Stephen Curry.”
As Patrick countered by pointing out that Steph is the greatest shooter of all time, Miller said that Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time. That’s why these discussions are so difficult, because you’re exclusively talking about guys who are or were the best at what they do.
Miller really wrestled with this one. “Five chips versus four chips, ’cause you gotta count those, too,” he said, saying that Duncan had an edge because of his rings. Both players won two MVP awards, so that part is a wash.
Reasonable basketball minds can differ on who belongs higher on the list between Duncan and Steph. At the end of the day, though, you have to commend Miller for being open-minded enough to have the discussion and carefully consider each side. Too often, basketball fans dig in with their own take and refuse to acknowledge any alternatives.
It really just comes down to what you seem to be more important, and for Miller, the slight edge in rings and the status as the best to ever play his position was enough to convince him that Duncan just barely deserves a spot over Steph.
