The Celtics allowed a season high 12 3-pointers to the San Antonio Spurs (19-6), resulting in a 15 point loss. Boston now falls to 12-11 on the year, following two consecutive losses in the state of Texas.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 22 points, while Tiago Splitter chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds. San Antonio put on a clinic for ball movement. They racked up 28 assists on their 38 made shots. Six players had at least three assists for the Spurs.

Rebounding was a concern going into the game, but the Celtics held their own on the glass. Each team ended up with 38 rebounds. Despite being a rookie, Jared Sullinger led the Celtics with seven rebounds. Tim Duncan grabbed 12 rebounds but struggled offensively, only making two shots.

The largest discrepancy in the game came at the free-throw line. Boston was called for eight more fouls than San Antonio, who also attempted 12 more free throws. Doc Rivers was visibly upset on the sideline by the lack of calls in his team’s favor. He may have had some validity. The Spurs were not called for their first foul until 28 seconds into the second quarter.

Jason Terry was again assigned to the bench for the second consective game. He scored 18 points, and appeared comfortable in the role of sixth man. That should not be a surprise as Terry won the 2009 Sixth Man of the Year Award. Paul Pierce also scored 18 points to lead the Celtics in scoring along with Terry.

Courtney Lee, Terry’s replacement in the starting lineup, was solid with 11 points and 5 rebounds. He did miss several timely shots late in the game that would have put a Celtics’ comeback within reach though.

While the Spurs came out victorious, it may have come at a costly price. Manu Ginobili suffered a quad contusion in the second quarter after colliding with Chris Wilcox. He would never return to the game, finishing with just three points.

The Celtics trailed by only three points at halftime, before being outscored by 12 in the second-half. The Celtics have now lost their last four road games. Boston will look to snap that streak when they head to Chicago to take on the Bulls this Tuesday.

They will then return home to play Cleveland the next day.

Oct 1, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) is interviewed by media during media day at the Spurs practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

San Antonio is the team that just never has to rebuild.  They posted the best record in the West last year, winning 50 games in the shortened 66 game schedule, posting a .758 win percentage.  Their core is old, but the Celtics have an old core, too.  That makes this the battle of two aging powerhouses.

Tim Duncan may be on his last legs, but he’s still better than most of the post men in the league, and Manu Ginobili has continued to play on a high level, as well.  Tony Parker is still in his prime.  That Big Three, along with a host of up and coming role players has the Spurs primed for yet another deep post-season run.  They swept both the Jazz and Clippers in the first two rounds, but were unable to cope with the high powered Thunder.

Both the Spurs and Celts were a series away from meeting in the NBA Finals, so let’s examine how things could break down if they get over the hump and meet this year in the Finals.

Point Guard

Rajon Rondo / Dionte Christmas vs. Tony Parker / Patrick Mills / Cory Joseph

Tony Parker has remained at the top and is coming off what many consider to have been his best pro seasons so far.  Rajon Rondo is only getting better.  Watching these two square off will be a real treat, and both have the speed to stay in front of one another.  Parker and Rondo may be the two quickest point guards in the league, and both are great at getting into the paint to set up teammates.

Rondo ranked higher than Parker in ESPN’s rankings, as Parker came in at 16th and Rondo at 12th, but the difference is that Parker has a better championship pedigree, as he’s won three rings to Rondo’s one, including one Finals MVP in 2007.  It’s tough to say which point guard has the edge, but both teams rely heavily on them to create, and the way they handle one another will obviously be a crucial determining factor in the outcome of a Spurs-Celtics series.

Both teams have uncelebrated backups, but Patrick Mills looked great in the 2012 Olympics, even against the high powered U.S. squad, as he put up a tournament high 21.2 points per game, more than U.S. Leading score Kevin Durant.  This suggests Mills could be groomed for a larger role with the Spurs.

While many realize that the Olympics give host to a number of role players performing large roles for their countries, the Australian team outperformed expectations on the shoulders of Mills.  Dionte Christmas will have his hands full with Mills in the second unit, though Christmas could pose some problems of his own, as he shot 45 percent from behind the arc in summer league.

2011 first round pick Cory Joseph will not see much court time.

Overall, it really comes down to which point guard you favor between Rondo and Parker, because they will see the lion’s share of the minutes.  It’s pretty evenly matched.

Advantage:  EVEN

Shooting Guard

Courtney Lee / Avery Bradley / Jason Terry vs. Manu Ginobili / Gary Neal / Danny Green / Nando Colo

Mar 31, 2011; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (20) drives around Boston Celtics center Nenad Krstic (4) during the first half at the AT

Off hand, one would be quick to give the edge to the Spurs here.  Manu Ginobili has been one of the best sixth men of the last couple decades, and though he now starts, he’s backed up by another great sixth man in Gary Neal, a red hot shooter capable of having big nights off the bench.  Danny Green proved himself to be a good scorer and defender, too.  So, the Spurs have an elite starter, and good depth.

Then, there is the fact that the Celtics have three elite defenders and all are guys who can play backup point guard while Rondo rests.  Courtney Lee, Avery Bradley, and Jason Terry are all also good three point gunners in their own right.  Avery Bradley could frustrate the hell out of Ginobili, as he did the majority of two guards he faced last season.  That defense should give the C’s a pretty nice way of negating the offensive impact that the Argentine usually has.

The Spurs edged out the Celtics in their only matchup last year, winning 87-86, but Bradley (and the now departed Ray Allen) did their job on Ginobili.  Manu saw only 24 minutes of play and managed to get off only six shots, missing four of them.  They also shut down Kawhi Leonard, who attempted only two field goals.  Danny Green had a pretty big night, going 6 of 13 en route to a Spurs-high 14 points, but the perimeter defense of the Celtics has shown its value against the Spurs wingmen.  Gary Neal had the best night outside Green, with 3 threes and 13 points.  So, it might not even be all about stopping Ginobili, anyway.

Advantage:  Celtics, by a hair

Small Forward

Paul Pierce / Jeff Green / Kris Joseph vs. Kawhi Leonard / (Danny Green) / Stephen Jackson

Oct 1, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during media day at the Spurs practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

Paul Pierce gives a lot of teams trouble, but Kawhi Leonard has shown himself to be one of the best young defenders in the NBA.  He was able to prevent Pierce from having a big night last year when the teams faced, holding The Truth to 15 points on 7 of 16 shooting.  His defense helps narrow the gap since the C’s have a better host of offensive talent with Pierce and a healthy Jeff Green coming back.

Leonard is young and only getting better, but what he lacks is the veteran experience that Pierce has.  As time goes on, the Spurs may rely on Leonard more and more offensively, but at this point in his career, he is an average offensive talent, with above average potential.  That limits any potential of the Spurs have a huge advantage here, and the Celtics still have to get the nod despite the fact that Leonard and his backups Danny Green and Stephen Jackson are both capable scorers with a lot of value off the bench.  Stephen Jackson has declined a lot, and Green is an up and comer, but I don’t see them outweighing the benefits of having a starting caliber backup like Jeff Green.

Advantage:  Celtics

Power Forward

Brandon Bass / Jared Sullinger / Chris Wilcox vs.  Tim Duncan / DeJuan Blair / Matt Bonner

Mar. 27, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan takes a shot above Phoenix Suns center Channing Frye at the US Airways Center. The Spurs defeated the Suns 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

For as good as Brandon Bass and Jared Sullinger may be, they aren’t Tim Duncan.  I realize Duncan has fallen off a lot and said as much in the intro, but he’s still one of the better power forwards in the league and his impact goes far beyond numbers—he changes shots, leads the team, and sets an example for the Spurs younger players.  His impact is very similar to Kevin Garnett’s role for the C’s.

Duncan won’t light up Bass and Sullinger and drop 30, as he may have in his prime, but he will do the small things and help the Spurs win.

DeJuan Blair, despite having no ACL in either knee, has carved out a nice niche for himself as a banger and rebounder, and he’ll body up and frustrate Sullinger in the second unit.

Matt Bonner is a bonafide assassin from downtown.  Wilcox may end up being a true non-factor now that the Celtics have Darko Milicic to allow Garnett to play more power forward.  And that’s the crux of the matter:  Against the Spurs, Celtics coach Doc Rivers may seek to employ KG more at the four, and while using Milicic at center.  Garnett would be a better matchup for Duncan’s declined greatness, and we’re going to take that into consideration.  Still, it’s not fair to roster jostle when making a position-by-position comparison.

Advantage:  Spurs

Center

Kevin Garnett / Darko Milicic / Fab Melo / Jason Collins vs. Boris Diaw / Tiago Splitter

Mar 25, 2011; Boston, MA, USA; Charlotte Bobcats forward Boris Diaw (32) drives to the hoop against Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett (5) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

It’s first off worth noting that Boris Diaw is in no way an actual center, and is only listed on the depth chart as a center because everyone insists that Duncan is actually a power forward.  Garnett isn’t a center either, so perhaps it’s a moot point.  Even if the Spurs do start Diaw at the five, and the C’s counter with Garnett, expect to see a matchup switch with KG on Duncan and Bass/Sullinger covering the overweight and athletically challenged Diaw.

That said, I already made it clear we’re sticking to the depth charts here, and KG has an advantage over both Spurs “centers.”  Tiago Splitter has shown a lot of promise, but is already entering his prime since it took him so long to finally get to the NBA after spending years in Brazil.  As good as Splitter is defensively and on the boards, his offense should be nothing that Darko can’t shut down in the second unit.  Fab Melo and Collins are both unlikely to see much time if these teams met in the Finals.

Advantage:  Celtics

Coaching:

Doc Rivers vs. Gregg Popovich

I’m not used to calling the C’s coaching at a disadvantage, but Pop is one of the best coaches of all-time.  Defense has been his calling card, and he’s developed a number of average NBA players and made them into stars.  Leonard appears to be the next, and Pop already compared him to Bruce Bowen.  Both coaches have a great way of maximizing talent, but the fact is that Pop may do it even better than Rivers.  He’s kept the Spurs relevant for over a decade, and Doc just doesn’t have that body of work to speak for himself yet.

Advantage:  Spurs

Outlook

It’s strange to give an edge to the Spurs considering I gave the Celtics the advantage at center, small forward and shooting guard, but the edges there were slim, and the Spurs are still likely a slightly better team.

Sometimes, the parts and components add up greater than the sum, and the team chemistry and ability to enhance one another’s talents has been what has kept the Spurs at the top of the NBA for so long.

Parker/Duncan/Ginobili may be old, but with age comes experience, and they know how to win.  They have the unfair advantage of playing in the West, so we may not get to see these teams meet in the Finals this year, but it isn’t outside the realms of possibility either.

Prediction:  Spurs in 7

Our editors here at the Hardwood Houdini recently asked us if we would be so kind as to compile a list of the 25 greatest players to have ever graced the NBA with the power and beauty of their play.  “Yes,” we said, and then with a suggestively-arched eyebrow and a dusky cloaking to our tone: “we’ll see what we can do.”

As our colleague Andrew Silva says in the introduction to his list, “Sports always seems to have a compulsion to order things, declare a clear cut number one. It’s not good enough to just let it be, because we must quantify greatness.”

“Compulsion” is a good word.  As we learned from High Fidelity, the act of sorting and ranking ephemera into top-whatever lists is a decidedly male trait, an act motivated by a quietly desperate need to maintain some illusion of control over the chaos of modern life, and to assert dominion over competing males through possession of the best opinions and the deepest pools of knowledge.  It’s cost-free, safer than picking bar fights, and allows for less risk of rejection and humiliation than the deployment of Scotch-propped, cologne-stank pickup lines.

Sports, being as masculine a field as there is this side of iron-smithing, provide an excellent outlet for this compulsion.  As such, the sports media landscape is littered with these sorts of lists.  There are whole TV series devoted to the pastime; entire books written in service to it.  Bleacher Report seems to exist purely for the sake of listing, relisting, and listing again Top 10s, 25s, and 50s along as many lines of segmentation as can be conceived: Best Ever, Best Now, Most Winningest, Best Youngest, Richest, Dirtiest, Ugliest, and on into forever.

A Google search for “25 greatest nba players” returns 17,300 results.  A search for “50 greatest nba players” sends back 101,000.  How might we contribute amidst the din?

After some deliberation, we decided that we were less interested in our own opinion on the 25 greatest than in finding some way toward an objective approach.  After all, we’ve never actually watched 10 of the 25 who we ultimately included, you know, play basketball, apart from in bursts of a few seconds in grainy highlight film.  Without the time or resources to build our knowledge base up through the hard graft of film and print immersion, any opinion-based ranking that we could come up with would be inherently dishonest and a little hacky.

So we decided to let the numbers tell our tale.  Though this was the ideal approach given our circumstances, it would not be without complications.  While they don’t actually lie, the numbers have been known to mislead.  Wilt’s famous single-season average of 50 points per game, Oscar’s triple-double season average, Russell’s career average of 22 rebounds per: these numbers are simply not attainable in today’s NBA.  They likely wouldn’t have been attainable even 10 years after they had been established.

Furthermore, the NBA’s stat tracking was something of a work in progress through the first 30 years or so of its existence.  Rebounds weren’t counted at all until 1951; minutes played weren’t tallied until 1952.  More than 20 years later, the league decided to start separating the rebounds into offensive and defensive, and also keep track of steals and blocks while they were at it.  Turnovers followed in 1978, and then, two years later, the three-point line was instituted, which fundamentally altered the way the game was played.

Beyond the incomplete nature of the league’s historical records is the problem of value.  What do the traditional per-game averages that have been tracked from the dawn through today actually mean?  How might one stack Scottie Pippen’s 16.1 PPG/6.4 RPG/5.2 APG career against John Stockton’s 13.1 PPG/2.7 RPG/10.5 APG and say which is better than the other?  Are rebounds more important than assists?  If so, by how much?  What does a difference of 3 points per game really amount to in the grand scheme of things, especially when looked at absent the context of what these players’ teammates were doing around them?

Complications aside, we were convinced an answer could be found here.  So, we picked up our graphing calculator, slipped into our pristine, white lab coat, and set off in search of…a formula.

It’s important to note that we are not mathematicians.  Our only qualifications for attempting this sort of thing are a good, working knowledge of the Basketball-Reference Play Index and Microsoft Excel, and an ability to count, add, subtract, multiply, and divide at a high school level.  Finding our formula involved a fair amount of semi-blind flailing and stumbling about in a trial-and-error quest for the right combination of numbers.  We’d call it mad science, but even Victor Frankenstein knew a thing or two about anatomy.

We did have an end in mind, though, and that’s usually enough to get one started.  Our goal was to develop a scoring system that would combine the things that most people judge a player’s career by (production, titles, and accolades) into one number which, when ranked high to low, would sort the players in a way that, at the very least, made sense.  Also, it couldn’t tell us that Wilt was the greatest player of all time, which is difficult to make happen when using per game numbers for a guy who averaged 30.1 points and 22.9 rebounds as a base.

At the end of several days of tinkering (our first attempts routinely had Steve Nash at #25; there was a lot of work that needed to be done), we came up with something that, apart from one or two entries, actually does a fairly good job of making sense.  Before we get to the list, here’s a little peek behind the curtain at our process:

The Formula

We started by setting a baseline for player inclusion based on production, role, and time served.  Using Basketball-Reference’s handy Play Index, we generated a list of players who had recorded a career PER of 17.5 or above, while averaging a minimum of 25.0 minutes per game over the course of 410 (five full seasons) or more games played.  Our starter list was 162 players long, with Kareem on the top and Micheal “’A’ Before ‘E’ Except When It’s Me” Williams on the bottom.  We were on our way.

Next, we set about calculating what we call the Simmons Number (SIM).  This is an idea that we ripped straight from a column written by Bill Simmons during the 2006 playoffs, in which he sought a way to quantify postseason performance in a way that would be as uncomplicated as it would be meaningful.  Per the author (relevant text bolded):

We get carried away with basketball statistics nowadays, as evidenced by the new book that rated Allen Iverson as the 90th best player in the league during his MVP season.  Why make it so complicated?  Just add up the point, rebound and assist averages for franchise guys during the playoffs: If the number tops 42, you’re probably talking about a pantheon guy.  You could even call it the 42 Club, just as exclusive as the Five-Timer Club on SNL, only without the NBA equivalent of Elliott Gould.

This seemed as good a place as any to set about finding the single-number solution to our problem.  For each player on our list, we added together their career regular season per-game averages in points, rebounds, and assists, then did the same for their playoff equivalents.

It might be helpful to use actual player statistics to illustrate what we’re doing.  We’ll take Glenn “The Big Dog” Robinson, a house favorite at Kuts HQ.  He put up career regular season per-game averages of 20.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.  In the playoffs, those numbers were 13.8, 4.7, and 2.0.  Simple arithmetic gives us SIMs of 29.5 (regular season) and 20.5 (playoffs).

In the grand scheme of things, big individual numbers don’t amount to much unless they translate to team wins, so our next step was to find a way to spike the SIM based on how much winning the player had done in his career and, more to the point, how much of a role he had played in said winning.

To do this, we took a look at each player’s Win Shares total.  Win Shares attempt to quantify how much of an impact a player had on his team’s success by crediting him with X number of the team’s wins (you can read a detailed description of how Win Shares are calculated here).

Using Win Shares is preferable to simple win-loss record because it acknowledges that, say, Magic Johnson (37.1 SIM, 36.1 MPG, 77 games played, 12.7 WS) might have had a bit more to do with the 1984-’85 Lakers’ 62 regular season wins than Bob McAdoo (16 SIM, 19.0 MPG, 66 games played, 2.9 WS).

To spike the SIM, we calculated the average Win Shares for our 162 players (96.0 for the regular season, 9.0 for the playoffs) then calculated the percent over or under the average that each player’s total represented.  The Big Dog produced 39.8 WS during the regular season, 58.55% below our average.  For the playoffs, those numbers were 1.3 WS and -85.56%.

We applied these percentages to each of our players’ raw SIMs, using them as a factor by which to calculate percent increases or decreases.  Harebrained?  Probably.  Effective?  You’ll just have to wait and see.  For Glenn, 29.5 RS SIM + (29.5 RS SIM * -.5855) gives us a weighted regular season SIM of 12.227.  20.5 PO SIM + (20.5 PO SIM * -.8556) gives us a weighted playoff SIM of 2.960.

The next step was simple: add the two SIMs together.  However, there was still some more spiking to do before we arrived at our final score.  We wanted also to give extra credit to players whose numbers improved during the playoffs, and ding those whose numbers fell off.  This was done by simply calculating the percent difference between the two SIMs.  Big Dog’s postseason SIM was 18 percent lower than his regular season SIM.  Thus, we took the sum of his regular season and playoffs SIMs (15.187) and dropped it by 18 percent (12.453).

With the players’ on-court stats and impact on team success taken care of, we next needed to account for the last two pieces of our puzzle: titles and accolades.  This we did fairly simply through more number-spiking.  We gathered the MVP shares (you can read a brief description here) that each player had accrued over the course of his career.  To us, MVP shares are preferable to actual MVP awards because they credit players for receiving votes for second-place, third-place, and so on.  We then added up all of the MVP shares that had ever been awarded (120.941), then calculated the percentage of those that each player owned, using the resultant number to spike the SIM sum once more.  Big Dog is the proud owner of 0.001 MVP shares, which account for slightly more than 0.00% of the total MVP shares awarded, and amount to next to no impact on his SIM sum.

We used a similar method to credit the players for the championships they had won.  We crudely estimated that 780 championship rings had been given out over the course of NBA history (65 championship teams, 12 players per team).  We tallied up how many titles each player on our list had won, then calculated the percentage of the total rings that they owned.  As Big Dog was on the ’05 Spurs’ title team, he owns a 0.13% championship share.  We used this number to give his SIM sum one last spike, punching it up to 12.469.

By our measurement (known from here on out as the K. Score), Glenn Robinson ranks as the 156^th greatest player in NBA history, sandwiched between Billy Knight (12.638) and Paul Millsap (12.250).

While our system is not without it’s flaws (see players #14 and #8), we’re actually quite pleased with the results.  At least Wilt didn’t come in at #1.

The List

The following lists our 25 Greatest Players in NBA History by K. Score (to view our colleagues’ lists, click here, here, here, and here.  For a look at the top 25 of today, click here).  Each listing shows the player’s K. Score, points, steals, and assists per game, Simmons Number, Win Shares, MVP Shares, and titles won.  For comparison’s sake, it also shows where they ranked in the 2009 first edition of Bill Simmons’ The Book of Basketball, and SLAM magazine’s 2011 Top 500 list.  We also threw in a couple of fun facts to break up the monotony.  Enjoy!

#25. Bob Pettit – Forward/Center, St. Louis Hawks, 1955-’65.
K. Score: 119.68
Regular Season: 26.4 PPG, 16.4 RPG, 3.0 APG (45.6 SIM), 136.0 WS
Playoffs: 25.5 PPG, 14.8 RPG, 2.7 APG (43.0 SIM), 11.7 WS
MVP Shares: 2.682 (2 Awarded)
Championships: 1

Simmons Rank: 17^th
Slam Rank: 14^th

Nickname: “Dutch”
Fun Fact: First player to surpass the 20,000 point mark; shares a birthday with Frank Sinatra, Shelly from Twin Peaks, and Edvard Munch; pioneered an early version of the faux-hawk.

 #24. John Havlicek – Forward/Guard, Boston Celtics, 1963-’78.
K. Score: 120.62
Regular Season: 20.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.8 APG (31.9 SIM), 131.7 WS
Playoffs: 22.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 4.8 APG (33.7 SIM), 19.3 WS
MVP Shares: 0.217 (0 Awarded)
Championships: 8

Simmons Rank: 13^th
Slam Rank: 17^th

Nickname: “Hondo”
Fun Fact: Drafted as a wide receiver by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 1962 NFL Draft.

#23. David Robinson – Center, San Antonio Spurs, 1990-2003.
K. Score: 121.18
Regular Season: 21.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.5 APG (34.2 SIM), 178.7 WS
Playoffs: 18.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.3 APG (31.0 SIM), 17.5 WS
MVP Shares: 3.123 (1 Awarded)
Championships: 2

Simmons Rank: 28^th
Slam Rank: 25^th

Nickname: “The Admiral”
Fun Fact: In 1993-’94, became the fourth player in NBA history to record a quadruple-double (2/17/94 vs. Detroit; 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks) and the fourth player in NBA history to score 70 points or more (4/24/93 at the Clippers, 71 points on the last day of the season).

#22. Scottie Pippen – Forward, Chicago Bulls/Houston Rockets/Portland Trail Blazers, 1988-2004.
K. Score: 121.40
Regular Season: 16.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.2 APG (27.7 SIM), 125.1 WS
Playoffs: 17.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 5.0 APG (30.1 SIM), 23.6 WS
MVP Shares: 0.716 (0 Awarded)
Championships: 6

Simmons Rank: 24^th
Slam Rank: 27^th

Nickname: “Pip”
Signature Highlight: The Ewing Dunk

#21. John Stockton – Guard, Utah Jazz, 1985-2003.
K. Score: 121.89
Regular Season: 13.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 10.5 APG (26.3 SIM), 207.7 WS
Playoffs: 13.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 10.1 APG (26.8 SIM), 21.4 WS
MVP Shares: 0.161 (0 Awarded)
Championships: 0

Simmons Rank: 25^th
Slam Rank: 22^nd

Middle name: Houston
Celebrity Lookalike: David Duchovny

#20. George Mikan – Center, Minneapolis Lakers, 1949-‘56.
K. Score: 122.20
Regular Season: 23.1 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 2.8 APG (39.3 SIM), 108.7 WS
Playoffs: 24.0 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 2.2 APG (40.1 SIM), 17.0 WS
MVP Shares: N/A
Championships: 5

Simmons Rank: 36^th
Slam Rank: 29^th

Nickname: “Mr. Basketball”
Celebrity Lookalike: Harold Lloyd

#19. Elgin Baylor – Forward, Los Angeles Lakers, 1959-‘72.
K. Score: 124.01
Regular Season: 27.4 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 4.3 APG (45.2 SIM), 104.2 WS
Playoffs: 27.0 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 4.0 APG (43.9 SIM), 15.4 WS
MVP Shares: 1.659 (0 Awarded)
Championships: 0

Simmons Rank: 14^th
Slam Rank: 12^th

Nickname: “Mr. Inside”
Fun Fact: Holds the record for most points in an NBA Finals game with 61 (Game 5, 1962); also holds the record for career rebounds per game (13.5) for players standing 6’6” or shorter.

#18. Kevin Garnett – Forward, Minnesota Timberwolves/Boston Celtics, 1996-present.
K. Score: 124.24
Regular Season: 19.3 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 4.0 APG (33.9 SIM), 181.6 WS
Playoffs: 19.5 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.5 APG (34.0 SIM), 15.1 WS
MVP Shares: 2.752 (1 Awarded)
Championships: 1

Simmons Rank: 22^nd
Slam Rank: 30^th

Nickname: “The Big Ticket”
Top 5 Playoff Games: Read about ‘em here.

#17. Moses Malone – Center/Forward, Utah Stars/Spirits of St. Louis/Buffalo Braves/Houston Rockets/Philadelphia 76ers/Washington Bullets/Atlanta Hawks/Milwaukee Bucks/San Antonio Spurs, 1975-‘95.
K. Score: 125.33
Regular Season: 20.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 1.3 APG (34.2 SIM), 167.1 WS
Playoffs: 22.1 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 1.5 APG (37.6 SIM), 13.7 WS
MVP Shares: 2.873 (3 Awarded)
Championships: 1

Simmons Rank: 12^th
Slam Rank: 15^th

Middle name: Eugene
Fun Fact: Holds record for most consecutive games without fouling out (1,212).

#16. Oscar Robertson – Guard/Forward, Cincinnati Royals/Milwaukee Bucks, 1961-‘74.
K. Score: 135.53
Regular Season: 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG (42.7 SIM), 189.2 WS
Playoffs: 22.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 8.9 APG (37.8 SIM), 13.6 WS
MVP Shares: 2.479 (1 Awarded)
Championships: 1

Simmons Rank: 9^th
Slam Rank: 5^th

Nickname: “The Big O, Donut”
Fun Fact: If he wanted to open a coffee shop in Texas, he could call it Bronco Roasters, which is an anagram derived from his name.

#15. Charles Barkley –Forward, Philadelphia 76ers/Phoenix Suns/Houston Rockets, 1985-2000.
K. Score: 163.22
Regular Season: 22.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 3.9 APG (37.7 SIM), 177.2 WS
Playoffs: 23.0 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 3.9 APG (39.8 SIM), 19.5 WS
MVP Shares: 2.438 (1 Awarded)
Championships: 0

Simmons Rank: 19^th
Slam Rank: 20^th

Nickname: “The Round Mound of Rebound”
Favorite Food: Pizza

#14. Dirk Nowitzki –Forward, Dallas Mavericks, 1999-present.
K. Score: 169.91
Regular Season: 22.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.6 APG (33.8 SIM), 168.9 WS
Playoffs: 25.9 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.6 APG (38.8 SIM), 22.5 WS
MVP Shares: 1.804 (1 Awarded)
Championships: 1

Simmons Rank: 37^th
Slam Rank: 55^th

Commentary: You know what?  Deal with it.

#13. Hakeem Olajuwon –Center, Houston Rockets/Toronto Raptors, 1985-2002.
K. Score: 175.77
Regular Season: 21.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.5 APG (35.4 SIM), 162.8 WS
Playoffs: 25.9 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.2 APG (40.3 SIM), 22.6 WS
MVP Shares: 2.611 (1 Awarded)
Championships: 2

Simmons Rank: 10^th
Slam Rank: 13^th

Nickname: “The Dream”
Signature Game: Eviscerates David Robinson in Game 2 of the 1995 Western Conference Finals (41 points, 16 rebounds), a 106-96 victory in a series that Houston would eventually win 4-2.  Runner up: his quadruple-double (18 points, 16 rebounds, 11 blocks, 10 assists) against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 29, 1990.

#12. Kobe Bryant – Guard, Los Angeles Lakers, 1997-present.
K. Score: 178.02
Regular Season: 25.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.7 APG (35.4 SIM), 162.4 WS
Playoffs: 25.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.7 APG (35.4 SIM), 28.3 WS
MVP Shares: 4.054 (1 Awarded)
Championships: 5

Simmons Rank: 15^th
Slam Rank: 10^th

Middle name: Bean
Opponent’s Take: “He just pisses me off on the court.  You stress him out and he might speak some Spanish to you and you’re like, ‘What are you talking about?’  I know you’re from Italy or somewhere, but his charisma and just the way he’s so poised, it just gets under my skin.” –Glen “Big Baby” Davis

#11. Larry Bird – Forward, Boston Celtics, 1980-1992.
K. Score: 182.35
Regular Season: 24.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 6.3 APG (40.6 SIM), 145.8 WS
Playoffs: 23.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 6.5 APG (40.6 SIM), 24.8 WS
MVP Shares: 5.693 (3 Awarded)
Championships: 3

Simmons Rank:5^th
Slam Rank: 9^th

Nickname: “The Legend”
Coolest merch: The 1996 Hallmark Larry Bird Keepsake Ornament

#10. LeBron James – Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers/Miami Heat, 2004-present.
K. Score: 187.72
Regular Season: 27.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 6.9 APG (41.7 SIM), 133.3 WS
Playoffs: 28.5 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 6.7 APG (43.9 SIM), 24.3 WS
MVP Shares: 4.389 (3 Awarded)
Championships: 1

Simmons Rank: 20^th
Slam Rank: 31^st

Nickname: “King James”
Effect on Post-Foul Exasperation Rating Scale (P-FERS): Catastrophic.

#9. Jerry West – Guard, Los Angeles Lakers, 1961-1974.
K. Score: 195.56
Regular Season: 27.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.7 APG (39.5 SIM), 162.6 WS
Playoffs: 29.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 6.3 APG (41.0 SIM), 26.7 WS
MVP Shares: 2.090 (0 Awarded)
Championships: 1

Simmons Rank:8^th
Slam Rank: 11^th

Nickname: “Mr. Clutch”
Fun fact: Played under the most German-sounding succession of coaches in NBA history: Fred Schaus and Butch Van Breda Kolff.

#8. Karl Malone – Forward, Utah Jazz/Los Angeles Lakers, 1986-2004.
K. Score: 199.77
Regular Season: 25.0 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.6 APG (38.7 SIM), 234.6 WS
Playoffs: 24.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 3.2 APG (38.6 SIM), 23.0 WS
MVP Shares: 4.296 (2 Awarded)
Championships: 0

Simmons Rank:18^th
Slam Rank: 18^th

Nickname: “The Mailman”
Relevant Seinfeld quote: “You know he’s a postman, don’t you?” -Jerry Seinfeld

#7. Tim Duncan – Forward/Center, San Antonio Spurs, 1998-present.
K. Score: 208.28
Regular Season: 20.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 3.1 APG (34.7 SIM), 175.9 WS
Playoffs: 22.3 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 3.4 APG (37.8 SIM), 30.6 WS
MVP Shares: 4.207 (2 Awarded)
Championships: 4

Simmons Rank:7^th
Slam Rank: 8^th

Nickname: “Merlin”
Best commercial: This one.

#6. Shaquille O’Neal – Center, Orlando Magic/Los Angeles Lakers/Miami Heat/Phoenix Suns/Cleveland Cavaliers/Boston Celtics, 1993-2011.
K. Score: 216.20
Regular Season: 23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.5 APG (37.1 SIM), 181.7 WS
Playoffs: 24.3 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 2.7 APG (38.6 SIM), 31.1 WS
MVP Shares: 4.380 (1 Awarded)
Championships: 4

Simmons Rank: 11^th
Slam Rank: 4^th

Best movie: Blue Chips
Best song: “No Hook”

#5. Magic Johnson – Guard/Forward, Los Angeles Lakers, 1980-’91, 1996.
K. Score: 219.06
Regular Season: 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG (37.9 SIM), 155.8 WS
Playoffs: 19.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 12.3 APG (39.5 SIM), 32.6 WS
MVP Shares: 5.129 (3 Awarded)
Championships: 5

Simmons Rank:4^th
Slam Rank: 6^th

Nickname: Uh, “Magic”
Fun fact: Hails from Lansing, Michigan, home of John Smoltz, Al Capone, and Burt Reynolds.

#4. Bill Russell – Center, Boston Celtics, 1957-’69.
K. Score: 234.36
Regular Season: 15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, 4.3 APG (41.9 SIM), 163.5 WS
Playoffs: 16.2 PPG, 24.9 RPG, 4.7 APG (45.8 SIM), 27.8 WS
MVP Shares: 4.827 (5 Awarded)
Championships: 11

Simmons Rank:2^nd
Slam Rank: 3^rd

Middle name: Felton
Gives you the chills when: The past and present come together.

#3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Center, Milwaukee Bucks/Los Angeles Lakers, 1970-’89.
K. Score: 273.00
Regular Season: 24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.6 APG (39.4 SIM), 273.4 WS
Playoffs: 24.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.2 APG (38.0 SIM), 35.6 WS
MVP Shares: 6.203 (6 Awarded)
Championships: 6

Simmons Rank:3^rd
Slam Rank: 7^th

On-court Fashions: Incredible.
Off-court Fashions: Even better.

#2. Wilt Chamberlain – Center, Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors/Philadelphia 76ers/Los Angeles Lakers, 1960-’73.
K. Score: 320.08
Regular Season: 30.1 PPG, 22.9 RPG, 4.4 APG (57.4 SIM), 247.3 WS
Playoffs: 22.5 PPG, 24.5 RPG, 4.2 APG (51.2 SIM), 31.5 WS
MVP Shares: 4.269 (4 Awarded)
Championships: 2

Simmons Rank:6^th
Slam Rank: 2^nd

Middle name: Norman
“Big Three Club” motto: We fun. 

#1. Michael Jordan – Guard, Chicago Bulls/Washington Wizards, 1985-’93, 1995-’98, 2002-‘03.
K. Score: 330.20
Regular Season: 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG (41.6 SIM), 214.0 WS
Playoffs: 33.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.7 APG (45.5 SIM), 39.8 WS
MVP Shares: 8.138 (5 Awarded)
Championships: 6

Simmons Rank:1^st
Slam Rank: 1^st

The Near-Ultimate: The Up-and-Under Game.
The Ultimate: Even still.