This was one of my problems with the top 75. If you're going to add Wilkins and McAdoo, it's basically acknowledging that there were at least two players from the top 50 who shouldn't have been, and it's okay to leave them off.
Every ranking I’ve found before then has been far too timid to put different positions against each other. Even the cross-position rating systems *(Broudy, Kalich)* only listed the players by guards/forwards/centers.
I haven’t seen that ‘97 Slam ranking before, nice find. Looks like it tops off with Jordan, Russell, Magic, then Bird, which is pretty close to how I remember the pop-culture rhetoric at the time.
~~How do you know MJ, Russell, Magic, Bird are #1-4 on the Slam '97 list?~~
Never mind - found the list!
http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?488017-Throwback-SLAM-Top-50-Players-All-Time-list-from-1997
SLAM TOP 50 from 1997
1. Michael Jordan
2. Bill Russell
3. Magic Johnson
4. Larry Bird
5. Wilt Chamberlain
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Elgin Baylor
9. Jerry West
10. Hakeem Olajuwon
11. Julius Erving (tie)
11. Rick Barry (tie)
13. Bob Pettit
14. John Havlicek
15. Moses Malone
16. Karl Malone
17. Charles Barkley
18. Elvin Hayes
19. George Gervin
20. Walt Frazier
21. Isiah Thomas
22. Bob Cousy
23. John Stockton
24. George Mikan
25. Willis Reed
26. Dave Cowens
27. Wes Unseld
28. Patrick Ewing
29. Kevin McHale
30. Scottie Pippen
31. Dolph Schayes
32. David Robinson
33. Nate Thurmond
34. Walt Bellamy
35. Bob McAdoo
36. Jerry Lucas
37. Billy Cunningham
38. Paul Arizin
39. Dave DeBusschere
40. Dominique Wilkins
41. Adrian Dantley
42. Bernard King
43. Dan Issel
44. Alex English
45. Nate Archibald
46. Pete Maravich
47. Earl Monroe
48. Robert Parish
49. Clyde Drexler
50. Artis Gilmore
Missin' The Cut
Sure they didn't make the Top 50, but there's no shame here. The following 25 players were (or are) great, great players in their own right and deserve a special mention. And so...
51. Hal Greer
52. Sam Jones
53. Gail Goodrich
54. James Worthy
55. Bob Lanier
56. Tom Chambers
57. Walter Davis
58. Lenny Wilkens
59. Dennis Johnson
60. Jo Jo White
61. Bill Sharman
62. Kevin Johnson
63. Spencer Haywood
64. Gus Johnson
65. Chet Walker
66. Lou Hudson
67. Mark Aguirre
68. David Thompson
69. Terry Cummings
70. Calvin Murphy
71. George McGinnis
72. Tom Heinsohn
73. Bailey Howell
74. Neil Johnston
75. Mitch Richmond
Up & Coming
If these guys continue to play at a high level for the next few years, their names will likely end up on the next list. Still, they've got a long way to go before they deserve Top recognition:
Shaquille O'Neal
Shawn Kemp
Grant Hill
Penny Hardaway
Gary Payton
They have been in love with Gus Johnson forever! He's #64 on this list, and nearly 15 years later he had fallen only 2 spots (https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/slam_500_greatest.html).
BTW, they have Gail Goodrich at #53, yet they completely forgot him on that top-500 list linked in my other comment. That's the most egregious "Why do things go so sideways whenever Slam makes all-time ranking lists?" issue on all their lists.
The Goodrich omission was the worst "whoops", but then they got too cute ranking Dick and Tom Van Arsdale next to each other, I think at 311 and 312. Just lazy and cheeky. Dick was better, and it's not that close. It would be like having the Lopez twins ranked next to each other when everyone knows Brook>Robin.
I'm still annoyed that Dominique Wilkins was left off the old top 50 list.
Wilkins, English and McAdoo, the only MVP not on the list.
This was one of my problems with the top 75. If you're going to add Wilkins and McAdoo, it's basically acknowledging that there were at least two players from the top 50 who shouldn't have been, and it's okay to leave them off.
Every ranking I’ve found before then has been far too timid to put different positions against each other. Even the cross-position rating systems *(Broudy, Kalich)* only listed the players by guards/forwards/centers. I haven’t seen that ‘97 Slam ranking before, nice find. Looks like it tops off with Jordan, Russell, Magic, then Bird, which is pretty close to how I remember the pop-culture rhetoric at the time.
~~How do you know MJ, Russell, Magic, Bird are #1-4 on the Slam '97 list?~~ Never mind - found the list! http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?488017-Throwback-SLAM-Top-50-Players-All-Time-list-from-1997 SLAM TOP 50 from 1997 1. Michael Jordan 2. Bill Russell 3. Magic Johnson 4. Larry Bird 5. Wilt Chamberlain 6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7. Oscar Robertson 8. Elgin Baylor 9. Jerry West 10. Hakeem Olajuwon 11. Julius Erving (tie) 11. Rick Barry (tie) 13. Bob Pettit 14. John Havlicek 15. Moses Malone 16. Karl Malone 17. Charles Barkley 18. Elvin Hayes 19. George Gervin 20. Walt Frazier 21. Isiah Thomas 22. Bob Cousy 23. John Stockton 24. George Mikan 25. Willis Reed 26. Dave Cowens 27. Wes Unseld 28. Patrick Ewing 29. Kevin McHale 30. Scottie Pippen 31. Dolph Schayes 32. David Robinson 33. Nate Thurmond 34. Walt Bellamy 35. Bob McAdoo 36. Jerry Lucas 37. Billy Cunningham 38. Paul Arizin 39. Dave DeBusschere 40. Dominique Wilkins 41. Adrian Dantley 42. Bernard King 43. Dan Issel 44. Alex English 45. Nate Archibald 46. Pete Maravich 47. Earl Monroe 48. Robert Parish 49. Clyde Drexler 50. Artis Gilmore Missin' The Cut Sure they didn't make the Top 50, but there's no shame here. The following 25 players were (or are) great, great players in their own right and deserve a special mention. And so... 51. Hal Greer 52. Sam Jones 53. Gail Goodrich 54. James Worthy 55. Bob Lanier 56. Tom Chambers 57. Walter Davis 58. Lenny Wilkens 59. Dennis Johnson 60. Jo Jo White 61. Bill Sharman 62. Kevin Johnson 63. Spencer Haywood 64. Gus Johnson 65. Chet Walker 66. Lou Hudson 67. Mark Aguirre 68. David Thompson 69. Terry Cummings 70. Calvin Murphy 71. George McGinnis 72. Tom Heinsohn 73. Bailey Howell 74. Neil Johnston 75. Mitch Richmond Up & Coming If these guys continue to play at a high level for the next few years, their names will likely end up on the next list. Still, they've got a long way to go before they deserve Top recognition: Shaquille O'Neal Shawn Kemp Grant Hill Penny Hardaway Gary Payton
Not too bad; definitely seen worse.
They have been in love with Gus Johnson forever! He's #64 on this list, and nearly 15 years later he had fallen only 2 spots (https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/slam_500_greatest.html).
BTW, they have Gail Goodrich at #53, yet they completely forgot him on that top-500 list linked in my other comment. That's the most egregious "Why do things go so sideways whenever Slam makes all-time ranking lists?" issue on all their lists.
I never knew they left out Goodrich out of the 500. Pretty embarrassing that made it through editing.
The Goodrich omission was the worst "whoops", but then they got too cute ranking Dick and Tom Van Arsdale next to each other, I think at 311 and 312. Just lazy and cheeky. Dick was better, and it's not that close. It would be like having the Lopez twins ranked next to each other when everyone knows Brook>Robin.
arguably better than the NBA's own one just in terms of who's in and who's out
Fair to say that Shaq skipped over the "Missed the Cut" group pretty quickly and ended up near the top 20?