One of the most intriguing debates that fills up bars, living rooms and barber shops across the land surrounds the question of who the top five NBA players of all time are.
In a Bleacher Report AMA, Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade was asked who his top five players of all time are.
“My list has definitely changed,” said Wade. “That’s hard to pick man. MJ (Michael Jordan) is my fave of all time. LeBron [James] is right there. Kobe Bryant. Allen Iverson. If I had to pick one more it would be Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal).”
As always, a top-five list invites all types of controversy and disagreements.
Jordan is on just about everyone’s top-five list, and many have James there as well. For years Bryant didn’t crack most top-five lists, but it seems like his legacy has grown since the end of his playing days.
O’Neal and especially Iverson are certainly interesting choices for such a list.
There may be some recency bias here as well, as a few popular options from yesteryear, such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain didn’t make Wade’s list.
On the other hand, if Wade never saw them play, maybe he can’t fully judge them, thus making it unfair for him to rank them.
