It's Robinson. He'd have more space than when he was in the league on offense but more importantly he's switchable on D. Compare him to the four remaining 5's and none of them are close either on offense or defense. As for being soft, as long as Olujawan isn't out there.... I'll take my chances against almost anyone.
What makes me think it's reasonable is the fact that Al Horford never made a 3 in college.
To give a little insight- these 5 I thought were of the most debatable:
True, that was like 30 years ago and there still isn't anyone in the NBA who physically looks like Malone.
Disagree about Havlicek and Clyde and I’m a big Clyde fan. Hondo is one of the great winners in sports and those early 70’s Celtics teams won championships with him as the Alpha when he was at the tail end of his career. Clyde was in his prime when the Blazers lost and one reason they lost was he didn’t necessarily have another gear to compete with those Bulls teams when the Blazers really needed it.
I couldn't agree more. I just getting ready to craft a reply but you hit on pretty much every point that I would have wanted to make. Barkley was SUCH a force. Even when he first came into the league. He was a 6'4 1/2" power forward who could guard centers. He was such an explosive leaper. I have been a die hard Celtics fan since the mid 70's and I hated Barkley when he was a 76er but I had to admit that he was a great, GREAT player. I have zero doubt that all 5 of the choices would have been just as great in today's game if not greater. Barkley was a special talent. Draymond Green being mentioned in the same sentence as Barkley is an insult. Green benefited from being someone who was willing to do the dirty work on a team full of all time great shooters. If you put a prime vintage Draymond Green on the 1985-86 Celtics he never would have seen the floor.
I don't think that's fair to Drexler. His career average in three NBA finals is 24.5 ppg, 8.3 rebs, and 6 assists. He was badly outplayed by Jordan in the finals because Jordan is the best ever. Barkley had a great NBA finals against the Bulls but Jordan averaged 41 ppg against him and badly outplayed him too. Jordan did the same thing to Malone in the finals.
I'm a Celtics fan, and no disrespect to Havlicek, who was a great player.
www.basketball-reference.com
I disagree. These guys were forced to practice layups and 10 footers. 3’s were a sideshow. When shooting from deep became ok, great shooters were coming out of the woodwork within a few years. Many of the people we are discussing were money from midrange. They just didn’t practice shooting the 3. Barkley and Malone were killers inside 18’.
But you aren't accounting for how practicing 3s would take away from their time working on other skills. 3pt shooting is a tough skill for any player to get down, modern players struggle to develop their shots often times.
Havlicek also played along side Cousy, Russel, Jones, Heinsohn, Cowens and White. Drexler had Porter, Kersey, Duckworth. Supporting casts matter.I'm a Celtics fan, and no disrespect to Havlicek, who was a great player.
Still, I stand by the assertion that Drexler was better.
Havlicek's teammates included Dave Cowens, JoJo White, Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, Sam Jones, KC Jones, even Cousy for his last year.
(Don't overlook Cowens, who won the MVP in 1973 and finished in the top 4 in MVP voting every year from 1973-76, and 7th in 1972. Was Havlicek the alpha on those Celts' teams, or was it Cowens?)
Clyde's teammates included Terry Porter, Kevin Duckworth, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams, UConn's own Cliff Robinson, and briefly Hakeem (and late-career Barkley) during the Rockets stint.
Clyde played 184 fewer games yet had more win shares (135.6) than Havlicek (131.7).
Clyde also had a higher PER (21.1, vs. 17.5).
As mentioned, he once finished 2nd in the MVP voting. Havlicek's best finish was 4th.
Their points, rebounds, assists, and shooting percentage numbers were similar:
JH: John Havlicek Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com
CD: Clyde Drexler Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com
Drexler played in a lower scoring/more physical era, so his points represented a larger share of his team's offense.
Drexler still ranks 10th all-time in career steals (9th if ABA stats are excluded):
NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Steals | Basketball-Reference.com
Checkout the complete list of NBA & ABACareer Leaders and Records for and more on Basketball-Reference.com
It's true that Havlicek made more All-NBA teams than Drexler, but there were generally many fewer teams/other players to compete with in the (still semi-segregated, pre-ABA merger) 1960s and 1970s than in the following two decades, when Drexler was a 10-time All-Star even during the Bird, Magic, Isiah, Jordan, Pippen, Barkley, Malone, Stockton, Robinson, Ewing, Mullin, Payton et al. era. (Kareem, Moses, and Dr J bridged the eras of Havlicek and Drexler.)
Shooting percentages were also generally lower in the '60s-'70s, even before 3-pointers limited shooting percentages in later years, so it would be hard to argue that Havlicek's era involved a better brand of basketball than Drexler's.
(For example, would Cowens have finished in the top 4 in MVP voting in any year of the 1980s or 1990s, let alone four straight years? No way.)
So, I respect the opinions of those who favor Havlicek. But if he were not a Celtic, he would not have received the acclaim he did.
Drexler earned recognition even in Portland. Imagine if he were in Boston, NY, or LA.
So now you're dunking on Uncle Cliffy to make your point?
No. I'm talking being surrounded by All-Stars and future HOFers.
Drexler isn't on this list but it's an insane visual of what Jokic has been working with...
