The GOAT- Basketball

[drcoastline]

Who is your GOAT?

My pick "Pistol" Pete Maravich. Only three seasons in college (freshman were ineligible at the time) Only eight season in the NBA, pre three point line and pre hand check rule. Hands down the best ball handler and passer of all time. One of the best scorers. He was years ahead of his time.

Holds all time high scoring for college. Averaged 44.2ppg, Again only played three years, no three point line, no shot clock.

Number six on all time list of players to average 24 points, 5A, 4R per per game, 5x all star, 1977 31ppg five points ahead of nearest competator, 50 points or more 4x, one game 68 points, pre three point line.

[Norm K]

Maravich, oh Maravich
Just a boy
Twenty-two
Made his mark
At LSU

Something like that anyway ...

Probably the greatest college player ever. Most certainly the best ball handler. Imagine how unstoppable he'd have been had he been allowed to carry the ball as they do nowadays. I read somewhere that he'd have averaged over 57 points per game if he'd had the benefit of the three point line. I don't clearly recall the number, but that's pretty close.

_

[Bugsinrugs]

I’ll go with MJ. Such a graceful and fearsome athlete. Really enjoyed watching him.

[Baz]

Yeah....gotta say Jordan all the way....

[onewhippedpuppy]

Jordan. Most fierce competitor I’ve ever seen in any sport. The best ever, LeBron is a whiny little b!t$h in comparison.

[Nostril Cheese]

Jordan...

Like its a question at all?

[pwd72s]

6'3" Jerry West

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgYTcU2BeMY&t=9s

also:

The NBA Logo is Jerry West, a Lakers basketball player that inspired the logo. The photo caught the designer’s trained eye for good reason. Even when reduced to a silhouette, it seems to glide across the page. It’s a dynamic image that accurately captures the nature of the sport.

[mattdavis11]

I think the best voted among themselves. Larry Bird.

[911boost]

Jordan

[Rodney Nelson]

Diana Taurasi !!!!

She has 4 Olympic gold medals and will be playing in this years Olympics in Japan
She also plays in the off season in Russia. Check out her stats they are amazing. She is the WNBAs GOAT 100% She gets respect from all the top NBA players.

[sammyg2]

If you include work on and off the court, gotta be:

Jerry West

Career highlights and awards

As player:
NBA champion (1972)
NBA Finals MVP (1969)
14× NBA All-Star (1961–1974)
NBA All-Star Game MVP (1972)
10× All-NBA First Team (1962–1967, 1970–1973)
2× All-NBA Second Team (1968, 1969)
4× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1970–1973)
NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1969)
NBA scoring champion (1970)
NBA assists leader (1972)
NBA 35th Anniversary Team
NBA 50th Anniversary Team
No. 44 retired by Los Angeles Lakers
NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1959)
2× Consensus first-team All-American (1959, 1960)
Third-team All-American – AP, UPI (1958)
2× SoCon Player of the Year (1959, 1960)
No. 44 retired by West Virginia Mountaineers
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2019)


As executive:

8× NBA champion (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2015, 2017)
2× NBA Executive of the Year (1995, 2004)


Career playing statistics
Points 25,192 (27.0 ppg)
Rebounds 5,366 (5.8 rpg)
Assists 6,238 (6.7 apg)


Career coaching record
NBA 145–101 (.589)

Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

Medals
Men's basketball
Representing United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1959 Chicago


Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938)[3][4] is an American basketball executive and former player. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch", for his ability to make a big play in a clutch situation, such as his famous buzzer-beating 60-foot shot that tied Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks; "the Logo", in reference to his silhouette being incorporated into the NBA logo; "Mr. Outside", in reference to his perimeter play with the Los Angeles Lakers; and "Zeke from Cabin Creek", for the creek near his birthplace of Chelyan, West Virginia. West played the small forward position early in his career, and he was a standout at East Bank High School and at West Virginia University, where he led the Mountaineers to the 1959 NCAA championship game. He earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor despite the loss. He then embarked on a 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and was the co-captain of the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, a squad that was inducted as a unit into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

West's NBA career was highly successful. Playing the guard position, he was voted 12 times into the All-NBA First and Second Teams, was elected into the NBA All-Star Team 14 times, and was chosen as the All-Star MVP in 1972, the same year that he won the only title of his career. West holds the NBA record for the highest points per game average in a playoff series with 46.3. He was also a member of the first five NBA All-Defensive Teams (one second, followed by four firsts), which were introduced when he was 32 years old. Having played in nine NBA Finals, he is also the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP despite being on the losing team (1969). West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996.

After his playing career ended, West took over as head coach of the Lakers for three years. He led Los Angeles into the playoffs each year and earned a Western Conference Finals berth once. Working as a player-scout for three years, West was named general manager of the Lakers before the 1982–83 NBA season. Under his reign, Los Angeles won six championship rings. In 2002, West became general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and helped the franchise win their first-ever playoff berths. For his contributions, West won the NBA Executive of the Year Award twice, once as a Lakers manager (1995) and then as a Grizzlies manager (2004).

[pwd72s]

Yep..Jerry West. I tried to tell you boyz...

Also keep in mind USA with him the star of the team, won Olympic Gold before NBA pros were allowed to compete. Back then it was our college kids against other national (de facto) pros.

[DonDavis]

There ain't "one". Just stop already. Leagues are old enough that a few amazing talents have wowed us all. I'm beat the hell up on this with all sports.

Just think 100 years from now. Do any of you really think one individual could be fairly crowned as GOA...I can't even type that. It's a winless argument.

Sure, any of you can have your own personal favorite. Nothing wrong with that.

Stats, you say? Once we get past the bare bones of total points/goals/runs/baskets...it's all mental gymnastics.

NBA logo? JW logo was anointed in 1971.

Michael Jordan was 8 yrs old.
Lebron didn't get here till 1984.

Just stop beating chests and embrace the amazing skillls we enjoy.

Btw, TB12..GOA...even there, can't do it.

[rusnak]

Air Jordan. The most competitive and all-around complete player. The best offensive and defensive player of his time.

[ckelly78z]

I was always a big Julius Erving (Dr J.) fan back in the 70s, my buddy was a huge Larry Bird fan, so the rivalry between the Sixers, and the Celtics was always good entertainment. Those two were the G.O.A.T.s of that era !

[onewhippedpuppy]

I would also add that I used to be a huge NBA fan and now you can’t pay me to watch. I think their style of play is sloppy and lazy, they don’t play defense and the games are rarely tough and physical. Add in the political and social justice messaging and no thanks, I’ll watch college instead.

[KFC911]

MJ. PERIOD I sez !

But not the best while in college imo... not even close.

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by KC911

MJ. PERIOD I sez !

But not the best while in college imo... not even close.

Which is why I qualified my opinion on Maravich, by referring to him as the greatest college player ever.

The best basketball player ever was Michael Jordan.

_

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by KC911

MJ. PERIOD I sez !

But not the best while in college imo... not even close.

Yeah I agree with that. There have been way more dominant players in college.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I would also add that I used to be a huge NBA fan and now you can’t pay me to watch. I think their style of play is sloppy and lazy, they don’t play defense and the games are rarely tough and physical. Add in the political and social justice messaging and no thanks, I’ll watch college instead.

Same here. Used to be a huge fan.
Dad and I listened to the lakers games on a transistor radio when I was a kid when Chick Hearn was just starting out. Sometimes it would be on TV and we'd watch the game and listen to the radio, before the called it a simulcast.
We didn't miss many games and when we moooved to california we got to watch the games on the boob all the time.
I've been to maybe 25 lakers games at the forum, spent time in the forum club several times. I'm not small by any stretch but it's amazing how huge Vladi Divac is in real life.
But when Dr. Buss died that all started to change.

Now with all the political BS and that superdoosh lame-bron on the team, I'd rather watch paint dry that an NBA game. Wouldn't do it for money.