Obbie VS Motor Mouth NBA Greats

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

As the 2014 NBA Draft gets set to take place in 48 hours, it remains to be seen as to which player/s will emerge as the next superstar/s in this class that could lead to championships as well as a being a future Hall of Famer.

I recently became good friends with Steve Obrien, 35, a native of Methuen, Massachusetts and we decided to compare our lists as to the Greatest Players in NBA History.

Since I'm 51, it's neat to compare generational differences of opinion.

We'll also be doing another list for Major League Baseball.

The list we've compiled doesn't necessarily reflect the order as to how we place these players.

But since Obrien is a Boston Celtics fan, and I've covered the Detroit Pistons through the years, it's nice that we can rekindle the rivalry that was so strong in the 1980's during the Bad Boys Era.

The Bold Names is where we differ.

I welcome you readers to submit your lists.

Here is Our Top 25.

MYSELF:

1. Magic Johnson
2. Larry Bird
3. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
4. Michael Jordan
5. Bill Russell

6. Wilt Chamberlain
7. LeBron James
8. Hakeem Olajuwon
9. Patrick Ewing
10. Julius Erving
11. Jerry West
12. John Havlicek
13. Tim Duncan
14. Dennis Rodman
15. David Robinson
16. Kobe Bryant
17. Karl Malone
18. Rick Barry (Photo With Me)
19. Elgin Baylor
20. Bob Cousy
21. Dirk Nowitzki
22. James Worthy
23. Oscar Robertson
24. Isiah Thomas (Photo With Me)
25. Charles Barkley

STEVE OBRIEN

1. Larry Bird
2. Magic Johnson
3. Michael Jordan
4. Tim Duncan
5. Oscar Robertson
6. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
7. Wilt Chamberlain
8. Bill Russell
9. LeBron James
10. Kobe Bryant
11. Karl Malone
12. John Stockton
13. Isiah Thomas
14. Charles Barkley
15. Hakeem Olajuwon
16. Clyde Drexler
17. Bob Cousy
18. David Robinson
19. Julius Erving
20. Jerry West
21. Elgin Baylor
22. John Havlicek
23. Shaquille O' Neal
24. Dirk Nowitzki

25. Kevin Durant

One of the major factors that I use when I put a player on this list is whether they win a championship.

There are some players that never won a title because of the dominance of a superstar and running into a team that was in the midst of a dynasty.

But I will say this about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Not only did they win championships, but the NBA Finals were played on Tape Delay in the late 1970's and the league was broke.

When Johnson and Bird made the jump to the NBA, they put the league on the Map and that paved the way for the players that followed them.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com