JoeTyler said:

MJ and the Bulls would have won EIGHT NBA titles in a row if not for that insane experiment in the MLB...

No way they'd beat the 1993-94 Rockets. Or the 94-95 Rockets.

Did you know that as a Chicago Bull, MJ had a losing record against the Rockets?

I would have loved to have seen them meet in the Finals during those years, though.

RodeoSchro said:

JoeTyler said:

MJ and the Bulls would have won EIGHT NBA titles in a row if not for that insane experiment in the MLB...

No way they'd beat the 1993-94 Rockets. Or the 94-95 Rockets.

Did you know that as a Chicago Bull, MJ had a losing record against the Rockets?

I would have loved to have seen them meet in the Finals during those years, though.

we'll never know...

The Bulls always had trouble with the Warriors in Oakland as well, but they're a totally different team in June. They only met twice a year. While it's true we will never know, a fired up MJ in a 7-game series would drive Vernon Maxwell out of his mind lol. I doubt the trade for The Worm would ever happen had MJ not retired, leaving Olajuwon free to completely dominate Cartwright/Longley.

RodeoSchro said:

JoeTyler said:

MJ and the Bulls would have won EIGHT NBA titles in a row if not for that insane experiment in the MLB...

No way they'd beat the 1993-94 Rockets. Or the 94-95 Rockets.

Did you know that as a Chicago Bull, MJ had a losing record against the Rockets?

I would have loved to have seen them meet in the Finals during those years, though.

I disagree. Would the Jordan & Pippen era Chicago Bulls have beaten both Houston Rockets teams? No.

But one of them? Oh hell yeah!

And remember, regular season AND playoff season are two different things.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Only Russell Alcindor Wilt Jordan Magic and Bird can be number 1. Those 6. Than 2nd tier Duncan (maybe even 1st tier now. ..) West Robertson Baylor and Dream the next tier.

Magic ahead of Oscar???? HELL no. Look at the numbers Oscar put up in a more physical NBA. He's an immortal, right up there with Wilt, Jordan, Russell & Kareem. Shit, Kareem will tell you that - read his autobiography 'Giant Steps'.

uPtoWnNY said:

Beautifulstarr123 said:

What about Julius Erving (Dr.J)?

He'd be in my next 10.

Why would you rate the Dr. so low? I thought he´d be at least in your top ten, if not top five.

Maybe my childhood memories are a bit blurry but I remember the Doctor as one of THE all time greats.

KoolEaze said:

uPtoWnNY said:

He'd be in my next 10.

Why would you rate the Dr. so low? I thought he´d be at least in your top ten, if not top five.

Maybe my childhood memories are a bit blurry but I remember the Doctor as one of THE all time greats.

Of course The Doctor is an all-time great. But not everyone can make the top 10. Doc would be in the next five, along with Baylor, Kobe, Shaq & Isiah. That ain't chopped liver.

TonyVanDam said:

RodeoSchro said:

No way they'd beat the 1993-94 Rockets. Or the 94-95 Rockets.

Did you know that as a Chicago Bull, MJ had a losing record against the Rockets?

I would have loved to have seen them meet in the Finals during those years, though.

I disagree. Would the Jordan & Pippen era Chicago Bulls have beaten both Houston Rockets teams? No.

But one of them? Oh hell yeah!

And remember, regular season AND playoff season are two different things.

That would have been a very intruiging matchup. The Rockets could match the Bulls' depth and athleticism with a young Robert Horry (Pip and Horry would have been the most fascinating matchup in the series), Kenny Smith et al. But the team with Glyde on it may have been tougher for the Bulls than the 1st title team.

Plus, the Bulls never played a team with a *dominant* center in the Finals. To see Jordan's Bulls face off against Houston with Dream at his peak would have been great.

uPtoWnNY said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Only Russell Alcindor Wilt Jordan Magic and Bird can be number 1. Those 6. Than 2nd tier Duncan (maybe even 1st tier now. ..) West Robertson Baylor and Dream the next tier.

Magic ahead of Oscar???? HELL no. Look at the numbers Oscar put up in a more physical NBA. He's an immortal, right up there with Wilt, Jordan, Russell & Kareem . . . .

But was the league *better* than it was in Magic's era? And it's not as if the league went soft in the 1980's -- in fact, it became more competitve and arguably more athletic. Magic was the best player in a decade filled with all-time great teams and players.

Nobody's saying Big O isn't an immortal. But Magic is too.

Being the driving force behind 9 Finals appearances and 5 titles notwithstanding an early retirement makes the difference for Magic.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Magic ahead of Oscar???? HELL no. Look at the numbers Oscar put up in a more physical NBA. He's an immortal, right up there with Wilt, Jordan, Russell & Kareem . . . .

But was the league *better* than it was in Magic's era? And it's not as if the league went soft in the 1980's -- in fact, it became more competitve and arguably more athletic. Magic was the best player in a decade filled with all-time great teams and players.

Nobody's saying Big O isn't an immortal. But Magic is too.

Being the driving force behind 9 Finals appearances and 5 titles notwithstanding an early retirement makes the difference for Magic.

They're both immortal, but I put The Big 'O' slightly ahead of Magic. He's the ONLY player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an ENTIRE season. His skill set was fucking sick. As the NBA's first 'big' guard, he set the standard Magic and others would follow.

I don't hold it against Oscar (or Wilt) that they didn't win more titles. It's not their fault they didn't always have the right supporting cast. But when they did, you saw the results.

http://www.nba.com/2012/history/features/03/12/season-of-giants-oscar-robertson/

uPtoWnNY said:

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

But was the league *better* than it was in Magic's era? And it's not as if the league went soft in the 1980's -- in fact, it became more competitve and arguably more athletic. Magic was the best player in a decade filled with all-time great teams and players.

Nobody's saying Big O isn't an immortal. But Magic is too.

Being the driving force behind 9 Finals appearances and 5 titles notwithstanding an early retirement makes the difference for Magic.

They're both immortal, but I put The Big 'O' slightly ahead of Magic. He's the ONLY player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an ENTIRE season. His skill set was fucking sick. As the NBA's first 'big' guard, he set the standard Magic and others would follow.

I don't hold it against Oscar (or Wilt) that they didn't win more titles. It's not their fault they didn't always have the right supporting cast. But when they did, you saw the results.

http://www.nba.com/2012/history/features/03/12/season-of-giants-oscar-robertson/

Of course, that argument can be made.

I have much respect for Big O, whom I've met personally. Unfortunately, like Jerry West, he played in the Russell Era. He is to Magic what the Logo is to Jordan. If either O or Logo (and throw in Doc as well) had won just another NBA ring or two, they'd be no-brainers for this conversation.

To me Jordan is the greatest guard ever, the overall greatest to me is Wilt Chamberlain