THE 50 GREATEST PLAYERS IN NBA HISTORY
One of the most frequently asked questions that I encounter besides “how tall are you?” is either “who is the greatest player you’ve ever played against?” or “who is the toughest player you’ve ever played against?” Depending on who's asking the question and their knowledge of basketball, I typically give a couple of different responses. There's a big difference between “the greatest” and “the toughest.”
The game of basketball has been around for a long time now and it has evolved over the years from when Dr. James Naismith first tied a peach basket to an old barn post and the players were shooting two-hand set shots, to today where the game is played on a global scale with some of the finest athletes in the world. There were great players back in the beginning of the game, just as there are great players now. I don't know if it's ever totally fair to compare players from one era with players of another. Periodically you see sports aficionados coming up with hypothetical computerized scenarios of, say, the great Green Bay Packers of the Sixties versus the New England Patriots of the new millennium. It's impossible to really say who the best players are or which team would come out on top. But it's a fun exercise and it creates a lot of heated conversation among the fanatics and all of us.
I was lucky to play during perhaps the greatest era of NBA basketball. My NBA career spanned two decades essentially, 1980 – 1996. Some of the greatest NBA players ever to play the game played during those years. I remember as a rookie in 1980 marveling at the incredible Dr. J. and I’ve also been able to witness the new era of NBA basketball that was brought to us by Ervin “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.
All in all, I was privileged to play against over thirty of the all-time fifty greatest NBA players. I'm going to go through the whole list and share my thoughts with you in regards to either actually playing against them or watching them while I was still a youngster. They are listed in alphabetical order, and if you want to find the actual numerical order in which they are listed by the NBA, you can check out their website at NBA.com
Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley was a riot to play against. He's one of the guys who always had fun out there, yet because of his tremendous talent he could dominate a game at both ends of the floor. Given the fact that he was only about 6’4” and weighed in at an impressive 250 pounds, he gave all of us big guys fits because of his quick leaping ability and great instincts for the ball. Because of his seemingly arrogant personality, Charles didn't get the respect due to him consistently throughout his career. But he definitely goes down as one of the all-time greats!
Charles is one of only two guys I can ever remember actually dunking on me, in which I challenged the shot with everything I had, yet I still got dunked on. Actually, I don't feel too bad, because he dunked on the whole team!
This is how it played out. Charles was playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and I was playing with the San Diego Clippers. Charles was running the ball down the court at full speed and he essentially took off from the foul line. He flew right by our point guard, Norm Nixon, and then he went by our shooting guard, Derek Smith. He kept right on coming past our small forward, Greg Kelser, and then past our power forward, Terry Cummings. He wasn't just going by them – he was going up and over them. I saw all this play out as if in slow motion and by the time I reacted to what was going on, Charles was already halfway down the lane and past three of our guys. I jumped with all I could to challenge his shot as the last line of defense before the basket, but Charles just kept rising up and over me too and threw the ball down to the basket with such terrific force that it just brought the house down. If it wasn't such a “fantastic moment,” it probably would've been one of the most embarrassing moments for me on the basketball court.
When you play against the best as in a great player like Charles, you can't help but admire some of the things they can do on the basketball court. Besides, it’s what the fans come to see!
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Happy Holidays!
James Donaldson
