Can't wait to see if he passes the @ness Test.

I had Hakeem Olajuwon at #7, and I probably under ranked him. There are some other basketball centers that have more hardware than him, but in terms of pure skills Hakeem might be the greatest basketball center ever.

I had Hakeem at 8, considering just the basketball names I have ahead of him along with the hockey guys he's in good company. 8 is a very good spot for him.

I had Hakeem at #4. I get the older more hyped names will rank ahead of him but Hakeem was a machine. Every story I hear from his teammates are all praise too. Classy dude, won a chip and is down as one of the best centers to ever play the game.

STILL the greatest Rocket to ever play too. STILL will be when Harden retires.

I had Hakeem at #7 for being an excellent scorer, rebounder, and defender who lead the Rockets to two NBA Championships.

Hakeem was a victim of getting Ewing on here since I didn't think Patrick would get even on this and me trying to incorporate 3 sports. Have no problem with him at 8.

7. Mike Webster 

Seasons 

17 

Games 

245 

Career Accolades 

- 9x Pro Bowl Selection 

- 5x All Pro Selection 

- 4x Super Bowl Champion 

- NFL Hall of Fame Inductee 

I put Webster on my list out of respect , can't say I'm an expert on 70's offensive linemen - I'd rather go back and watch the skill guys or defensive backs but by all accounts he is one , if not the greatest center to ever play the game and a stalwart on the offensive side in the Steelers dynasty.

I had Webster at #8. He was the center for 4 Super Bowl winning teams so it's hard to argue his placement in NFL history. That being said if you watch Dermotti Dawson on film you'll see he was the better overall Pittsburgh center.

I had Mike Webster at #9 because he's widely considered the GOAT NFL center and I wanted to give at least one NFL Center some love by putting them on my list. Was a pivotal part of those 4 Super Bowls the Steelers won in the 70s.

The other day I discovered Webster played until 1990, meaning I must have seen him play in real time. It also means he was in Super Tecmo Bowl!! I had no idea. Always assumed he retired a few years earlier, probably before I began watching football in 1986. He wrapped up his career with the Chiefs, paving the way for Christian Okoye.

Pittsburgh, babay!!~

@ness, I confirm: this one is real and legit.

Jun 8, 2020 20:24:18 GMT thereallt said:

I had Webster at #8. He was the center for 4 Super Bowl winning teams so it's hard to argue his placement in NFL history. That being said if you watch Dermotti Dawson on film you'll see he was the better overall Pittsburgh center.

No spoilers BUT...

Dawson made my list too!

6. Bill Russell 

Seasons 

13 

Points Per Game 

15.1 

Rebounds Per Game 

22.5 

Career Accolades 

- 11x NBA Champion 

- 12x NBA All Star 

- 11x All NBA 

- 5x MVP 

- #6 Retired by Celtics 

- NBA Hall of Fame Inductee  

Another one I thought would be higher , there are arguments still made today to Russell being the greatest player of all time , much less the greatest center but I think the further we go away from his generation and the more people today see the wide open basketball being played with the insane offensive numbers - the more people are going to drop him down the list.

I imagine thereallt will have a ton to say going forward.

I had Bill Russell at 5, different rules or not there's no denying he was one of the most dominant players of his era. Stat hounds should be moving him up the list if anything.

I had Russell ranked #4 and he was my 2nd highest basketball Center. 11 rings pretty much says it all. Oh and the Finals MVP award? It's called THE BILL RUSSELL AWARD.

I had Bill Russell at #5 for leading the Celtics to a whole bunch of championships (11! I didn't know it was that many) and putting up video game stats with those 22.5 rebounds per game.

Fwiw my guide to basketball history growing up was a book called 100 Greatest Basketball Players. Jordan was only a few years into his career when the book came out. The author ranked Bill Russell at #1. Gotta say I was more of a Wilt guy though because he put up video game rebounding and scoring numbers.

Pretty fitting number for Russell. 6th for #6.

5. Wilt Chamberlain 

Seasons 

15 

Points Per Game 

30.1 

Rebounds Per Game 

22.9 

Career Accolades 

- 13x NBA All Star 

- 10x All NBA 

- 4x NBA MVP

- 59-60 Rookie of the Year 

- 2x NBA Champion 

- 7x Scoring Champion 

- 11 Rebounding Champion 

- 1x Finals MVP 

- #13 Retired by Sixer 

- Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee 

- Record for 100 points in a single game 

Wilt finishing ahead of Russell would kill most basketball purists , Wilts numbers are gaudy as shit and that's always going to be his case. Fitting he and Russell at least finished back to back to compare. Russell had the title and dominance against Wilt , Russell also had the better team. Wilt has the numbers and insane dominance but both didn't have the competition of todays NBA.

Wilt was my #2. His stats were ridiculous. He put up true video game numbers. 30 points-23 rebounds-4 assists is a career game for most players. Those were Wilt's averages. He was also among the league leaders in assists as a center for a few years. Then there's the legendary 100 point game.

I was a huge Wilt fan growing up despite him playing decades before my time. I would often argue with my Jordan-loving contemporaries- "Look at Wilt's stats before carrying on with this 'Jordan is the GOAT' charade!"

Wilt also is the only guy to give Ric a run for his money for most ladies laid!

I had Wilt at 3, like my number 1 he's a statistician's dream. He's one of the most dominant athletes in any sport.

Wilt just barely missed my list. For all of his dominance he just didn't win like the others on my list. The only exception was Dermotti Dawson but individual football players have far less impact on their team's success than individual basketball or hockey players.

4. Mario Lemieux 

Seasons 

17 

Career Points 

1723 

Career Goals 

690 

Career Assists 

1033 

Career Accolades 

- 2x Stanley Cup Winner 

- 9x NHL All Star 

- 3x Hart Trophy Winner 

- 4x Pearson Award Winner 

- 2x Smythe Award Winner 

- 6x Ross Award Winner 

- NHL Hall of Fame Inductee 

- #66 Retired by Penguins 

I had Super Mario at #9 on my list. I'm actually surprised 2 hockey players are about to finish in the top 4. Very cool to see the diversity of this board.

I had Lemieux ranked #3. I always rank legitimate GOAT contenders high and Mario's case is better than most,

Oh yeah PITTSBURGH, BABAY!!~

I had Lemieux at 4, like LT was alluding to the illnesses and injuries hampered his run at being the greatest. He was flashier than Gretzky and also didn't stray nearly as much from physicality like The Great One did. For stat geeks look up his junior numbers with Laval in the QMJHL, just insane. Plus he had the game where he scored 5 goals 5 different ways, he did some special things not even Gretzky could do.

I had Mario Lemieux at #6 and he should have been even higher. Possibly even as high as #3. Being an idiot, I didn't check out his stats until after submitting my list. He lead the league in points 6 times. Won a bunch of awards. Etc. Etc. Though I did think he lead the Penguins to more Stanley Cup wins than 'just' two.

Also, I guess you can consider this an overcorrection of sorts. See, Lemieux had surpassed Gretzky to become THE guy by the time I got into hockey. So I spent at least a good decade thinking Lemieux > Gretzky. 

I just checked out his minor league stats thanks to Shootist. He wasn't kidding. Those are the hockey equivalent of Wilt numbers.

Hockey fans, where would you rank Super Mario all time? #2 behind only Gretzky? #4 behind Wayne, Orr & Gordie? Top 10?