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All Right, Welcome into the Webstroit with Nick Great Podcast YouTube show like rate, subscribe review. This is our special serialized edition of the show as we countdown the fifty greatest NBA players of the last fifty years. If you missed our first episode in this series, we laid out the parameters. We told you the guys who were too old for the list, we told you the guys who just missed the cut on the list, and we gave you guys fifty to forty nine where Bernard King and
Carmelo Anthony heard their names called. Today, we are going to give you the next five guys forty eight through forty four.
There listen most of these names. I'm certain you know.
There might be one name in particular you don't know, but you damn well should.
So we will do all of that.
Demonse, who's my co host sidekick if you will for the regular podcast, We'll be shouting out in the names and will at some point ask some questions. We also have callers involved to ask some of the questions that you, the audience are thinking about. But we will start with number forty eight, the forty eighth best player of the last fifty years in the NBA. One Tiny Nate Archibald.
Number forty eight, Tiny Archibald.
So tiny Naight.
Archibald's resume reads as follow. He is three time first Team All NBA, three time first Team All.
NBA, two times second Team All NBA.
And the reason if you do know his name, you probably know him when he was a Kansas City King, where he won a scoring and assist title in the same season. Averaged thirty four and eleven that year, the only player in league history to ever wins scoring and assist titles in.
The same season.
I believe the only players to ever win it at any point in their careers.
Are Lebron, Wilt, Harden.
And Russ. He did it in the same year. He also has two top five MVP finishes, and his careers kind of into two parts pre and post Achilles. But before the Achilles injury he averaged twenty seven and nine, not for a season, not for a couple of seasons, but for six seasons. But you guys know, we try to put a heavy emphasis in this show on postseason accomplishments.
His postseason resume is thin.
However, post Achilles injury, he went to Boston and we don't think of him as burden.
The Kale perish that was the latter part of the nineteen eighties.
In nineteen eighty one, you could argue during the Celtics playoff run that he was their second best player behind Larry Bird.
Kale wasn't Michail yet.
He averaged fifteen and six during that playoff run, again arguably their second best guy. He was absolutely outstanding in Game seven of the eighty one Eastern Conference Finals against a devastatingly good Philly team.
Philly team that would.
Win the title a couple of years later, arguably the greatest team ever a couple of years later once they get Moses and thirteen and twelve in the clinching game of the NBA Finals. For Tiny Night Archibald, his inclusion is somewhat controversial. I understand that, but five time first or second team All NBA. Keep in mind when people were arguing Klay Thompson got snubbed from the NBA's all time seventy five lists, and one of the first names they said should be taken off was Nate Archibald. Clay
zero time first or second team All NBA. Reggie Miller, who made the NBA's all seventy five list, isn't making my top fifty zero time first or second team All NBA. I've had to listen to weeks of Kyrie Irving should have been Top seventy five. Kyry Irving one time second team, zero time first team. So tiny Nate Archibald demons with three first teams, two second teams, two top five MVP, finishes a thirty four and eleven year and the keep art of a champion. He's number forty eight on the list.
Go ahead, Hyan, Pops Lea've talked basketball basically every single day since I've known you. Yeah, the name tiny Archibald has never come up. Okay, Yeah, Paul Pier's team at Ray Allen, maybe they've come up.
Why is he okay? So tam Mac, we've talked about Tamac. By the way, is the same number of first or second team All NBAS as Archibald.
He has five of them, just like Archibald.
And if t Mac at some point in his career was a key piece of a champion the way Archibald was, he'd have made it. But the other guys you mentioned, Ray Allen one time in his career was first or second team All NBA. Paul Pierce, as consistent as he was, one time in his career was first or second team All NBA. So again, like you were not consistently or even briefly a consensus top ten guy if you don't have more than one first second All NBA team appearance.
And am I giving him a little benefit of the doubt because of what he could have bandoned? Not for the Achilles, Yes, because thirty four and eleven is thirty four and eleven. Twenty seven and nine for six years is twenty seven and nine for six years. And can't argue well the playoffs would have been too big for him, not with what he did for the eighty one Celtics.
That's why he comes in at number forty eight, which brings us down to a name everybody knows, number forty seven, one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players of all time, Dennis Rodney.
Number forty seven, Dennis Rodney.
Now, his individual accolades are slim.
We talked just a moment ago about first and second team All NBAS He has zero, and he only has two times. He only two times was third team All NBA. However, two time Defensive Player of.
The Year, and that speaks to it.
We're gonna talk about this, how disrespected defense is on some of these end of year awards or lists. Twice he was considered the single best defensive player in basketball, and yet none of those times was anyone like. Well, that means he's got to be one of the ten best players in the whole sport.
No, that's not how it works.
Seven Dime All Defense First Team, another additional time All Defense Second Team, seven dime Rebounding Champion, And where the majority of his real heft in deserving this ranking is his participation on great teams and his contribution to those teams. So, Dennis played fourteen years in the NBA. Nine of those fourteen he made a conference finals. Six of those fourteen he made an NBA finals. Five of those fourteen he
was an NBA champion. He played one hundred and sixty nine career playoff games, one hundred and two full seasons of playoff games, averaging ten rebounds per game.
In those playoff games.
He was a massive part of the mini dynasty in Detroit. He was a massive part of the final three championships for the Bulls with Michael he In those three finals, he had to guard Shawn Kemp.
Karl Malone, Karl Malone, wear.
Them out, tire them out, and make them work on when they had the ball through his defense. And it is not a coincidents that despite the fact that he was not as good as he once was and the Bulls were the two time defending champs that in ninety eight.
You saw it in the last Dance.
How much rope they gave him because they knew in the biggest spots they needed him. Also, it is interesting because when you talk about the greatest defenders that are nonsenters, greatest non center defenders of the last fifty years. Dennis Robmin's going to come up, Scotty Pippens's going to come up. Not one of the greatest ever, but Ron Harper was a hell of a defender. What do all three of those guys have in common? Oh, they were all in
the ninety six to ninety eight Bulls together. That's very interesting because I you know, I was told Michael always guarded the other things. Was Michael guarding the fourth best player on the other team. I'm gonna have to look into that.
But Rodman was a massive part of winning throughout.
The entirety of his prime, and so I understand he doesn't have the traditional numbers that go along with a placement on this list, but he was such a dominant defensive force that.
I think there's no question he on this list.
I thought he got snubbed from the NBA's original top all time Top fifty. I'm glad he was included on the updated top seventy five. We'll take a caller on Dennis Rodman's career before we wrap up with him.
What's up Nick and Devon's It's a from LA I'm a longtime Nick Wright. Stand first time caller, And my question for Nick is about Dennis Rodman. Can a guy who can't even score be top fifty of all time? To me, it's giving very much Draymond Green minus the passing, plus the crazy red hair.
Please weigh in, tell me what's right. So Ange's right in this regard.
He couldn't score, and he's not as good as a pastor as Draymond Green.
Now.
Draymond also, we'll see how many more titles he wins, will see how much longer his career goes. Draymond has a case to be on the next version.
Of this list seventy five of the last seventy five something like that. Like Draymond, I'm not.
Dismissing him, but as good of a defender as Draymond is, Rodman I feel was a touch more impactful. In fact, of the last fifty years, the only two guys who are hands down better defenders than Dennis Rodman are a chem Olajuan and Tim Duncan.
After that, there's you know, Dennis is at least.
In the argument with everybody else, and that first title he won with Chicago again, I want to remind people out of that series win the Bulls. The seventy two win Bulls jumped out to a three to nothing series lead, and then only once they were down oh three, did George Carlin's infinite wisdom let Gary Payton start to guard Michael Jordan.
He gave Michael fix.
I know Michael acted in the last dance like he didn't go look at the box scores. He gave Michael fix, and all of a sudden Seattle wins Game four, Then Seattle wins Game five.
Now all of a sudden game six. It felt like the Bulls had to win it.
Michael still is deal o' Gary Payton and Dennis Rodman throws up a nine to nineteen five and three wild guarding shown camp in the next two years in the Fires guarded Karl Malone and gave Malone fits both series when Malone.
Was had one and it was winning MVPs in this league.
So, Dennis Rodman, if we're going to value defense at all, and you're one of the five greatest defensive players last fifty years, you've got to be one of the fifty greatest overall players of the last fifty years.
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All right, let's see the next guy on the list. Very different player than Dennis Rodman. Not known for his defense, instead known for his scoring. It's number forty six, Dominique Wilkins.
Number forty six, Dominique Wilkins.
So.
Dominique Wilkins is one time first Team All NBA, four time second Team All NBA, two time third Team All NBA.
His honors are as follows.
He was a scoring champion for his career, He's twenty five points per game. For a decade, he averaged twenty eight points per game. He's fourteenth on the all time scoring list. He finished runner up in the nineteen eighty six MVP voting and he.
Has two other top fives.
Now the knock on Dominique never made round three.
However, you've got to look at who knocked him out.
He got knocked out twice by Milwaukee, And I promise you you're about to be introduced to a player on that Milwaukee.
Team that gets forgotten the history.
But it was that Milwaukee team at Sidney Moncreef and Marcus Johnson. The Hawks were under dogs and both the series they lost to them, they beat them once, we lost them twice. Who else did they lose to? Well, they lost to Boston three times. Was Dominique supposed to beat Bird Michale p No, he wasn't. Lost to him three times, lost to Detroit twice. Was supposed to beat those Pistons.
He wasn't. Then in the nineties when.
He was still relevant. Guess who beat him in the nineties the Bulls and Shack's magic. So you look at who was knocking a Dominique out, you want to crush him for not beating Milwaukee. I'd rather just give those Milwaukee players credit, which we're going to do shortly.
But you're he was outgunned consistently outgunned. However, he did have a chance.
Nineteen eighty eight was his chance. The Celtics were on their last legs. Now, I don't think they could have ever beaten that Pistons team. But in Round two nineteen eighty eight Epics series against Boston, they're up three to two on Boston, trying to send Boston home. Game six, Dominique those third ten and four and they lose by two. Okay, so now game seven against Boston again, Game seven, this is your moment, Dominique, how are you gonna respond? At
the Boston Garden. Game seven, Dominique had forty seven points and they lost by two.
Again, I'm just not holding it against him.
He averaged thirty one for the series, but it's burn Mikale Parrish on their last legs. So I'm not holding against Dominique that he was not able to get past teams that were just clearly and obviously more talented than him. Now, if he had more playoff success, he's skyrockets up this list. I think a lot of people would argue that Dominique in a vacuum was better than Clyde Drexler. But Clyde Drexler went to three finals. Two is the best player
and won a title is the second best guy. So that part has to matter, but it can't be all that matters. Now, go ahead, what's caller? I don't know who you are, but you're on live talking about Dominique Welcomes.
Obviously you're really thorough and you care a lot about rules and order when you put things together. You take these lists seriously. So for all the time we've spent on this, I just I don't remember any of the qualifications being pointless victories and dunk contests thirty years ago. I just, for some reason, I don't recall that on the checklist. Dominique seriously.
Okay, So I know this caller by the way, and I don't know if we have the ability to at some point put up a shot of his shot Demanse. I don't know if you noticed what I noticed there, But that's Gabe, and Gabe's got a very you know, a palatial beach of state.
He could have taken that video anywhere he wanted to do.
I think it's a coincidence or you know, a happy accent, that he took that video in front of not only a liquor cabinet, but a liquor cabinet that is prominently featuring two two hundred dollars bottles of place Azul tequila. I see you, Gabe. Also, yeah, I mean look at that. That's not one, that's two. I mean that's a good three thousand dollars worth of liquor just behind them. So
that a little distracting. But Inerston gave trying to you know, he's trying to pocket shame over all the other callers. I understand, But Dominique, these are one of those things where domin the legend of that dunk contest overshadows how good he was again twenty five points per game for his career, number fourteen on the all time scoring list, and twenty eight points per game for a decade, and
then loved who loved basketball so much? My man went to Greece and was getting buckets when he was damn near forty.
That doesn't really help you on this list, but it's relevant to me.
So I think Dominique, when you ask guys who played against him, he was a dominant scorer, and so he's just barely ahead of Carmelo, dominant scorer of his era. I think Dominique was a touch better, and while Carmelo did make a conference finals, Dominique never did. Carmelo never had a game like in the playoffs like Dominique did. The forty seven in game seven in the Garden. Again, you're up three to two on Boston. You have a
chance to finally exercise those demons. You go thirty five, ten and four in game six and you lose by two. And then you score forty seven out dueling bird and you lose by two again. I'm not holding that against you. We'll be right back with number forty five.
Welcome back in.
What's Right with Nick Right podcast and YouTube show. We are counting down in a special series, the fifty greatest players of the last fifty years. We have given you guys fifty through forty six, some previously in a different episode, some earlier in this very episode, but.
We are now at number forty five. Number forty five.
Is a name everybody knows, and he at least has one game everybody knows. But I don't know if people know how big of a big game player Big Game James actually was.
Number forty five is, of course James Worby.
Number forty five games worthy.
Now, he does not have the individual accolades to deserve to be on this list, aside from that thing you see right there, Finals MVP in nineteen eighty eight, but he's only two time All NBA Third Team. He was never top five or top ten league MVP boat getter. So how does he get here? Well, it's not like his individual numbers were bad. He averaged twenty and six for eight years from twenty from nineteen eighty five to
nineteen ninety two. But it is about his contribution to winning and the fact that he was at his best in the biggest spots, not just that famous Game seven of the finals. Let's go through it. He's a three time champion with six finals appearances. He was somewhere between the second or third best player on those teams depending on the year. We're talking about one one hundred and forty three career playoff games, Okay, one hundred and forty three,
and it was two full seasons. Across all of those games, he is thirty seven minutes per game, fifty four percent shooting on averages of twenty one, five and three. So we can think about that cross more than a decade of deep playoff runs twenty one, five and three on fifty four percent shooting. That's his playoff averages, which means his playoff averages are better than his regular season averages. As far as minutes fuell go percentage points, he got
better in the biggest spots. Eighty one times he scored at least twenty in a playoff. Eighty one times James Worthy scored at least twenty points in a playoff game to open the nineteen eighty seven finals against Boston. Now keep in mind with the eighty seven finals that you're against bast Since his long rivalry the eighty six Celtics, some people would argue is the greatest team. Ever, how does he start those finals thirty three, nine to ten?
Then next year, how does he end the finals? And this is I mean, this is where he got his nickname Big Game James thirty six, sixteen and ten in Game seven of the Finals against a Pistons team that would win the next two titles, including sweeping the Lakers out in the very next year, a dominant, great Pistons team.
Now you feel badly for the Pistons. You know anything about NBA history.
Game six was the Isaiah Thomas Sprain ankle game probably should have won the series right there. They had a tough call go against them with the Kareem shot at the end of Game six.
But James Worthy can't control that.
Control what he can control thirty six, sixteen to ten in forty four minutes of a Game seven of the Finals. By the way, Game four of the Finals the next year, Magic is out with an injury and James Worthy drops forty points. So keep that in mind that the first time Magic's not around for a key playoff game. Now they end up losing Detroit Swepton. James Worthy drops forty points. The playoff numbers are just absolutely out of this world. So I think people focus just on that Game seven,
just on that Finals MVP. We're talking two seasons worth of playoff games where he's twenty one to five and three on fifty four percent. Let's go to a caller who is a question about James Worth. Hey, Nick, it's Matt from DC, just moved to LA where everyone is obsessed with the Lakers.
Okay, now I get big game James.
He came through in the clutch and a lot of big.
Playoff games, but he was always the second or third best guy on his own team.
Okay, he always had Magic or Michael or Kareem.
If this guy played for any other team, nobody would have ever heard about him.
So I don't think he belongs in the top fifty.
So you all as an apology, not me so much, Ma Newton Muggsy.
So listen, much love for min Newton Muggsy. But I actually think that's the opposite is true. I think if he played for another team, he'd have a bunch of all nbas. He might have some top five MVP finishes.
He's the number one pick of a draft. He won.
He's the best player on the national champion in college again Michael Jordan. His gravity pulls in all the accolades or everything, but the famous Carolina team that Jordan hit the game winning Chuck Ward James Worthy the best player on that team.
Like again, number one pick of a draft.
It just happened to be the number one pick of the draft went to a Lakers team that was, you know, winning championships in the midst of you know, had just won championship a couple of years earlier. So because Magic and Kareem are there, and then Byron Scott later he never got the volume other guys would get.
But I think it's undeniable how clutch he.
Was, how productive he was, kind of how much of a key he was for what I believe to be the greatest team of the nineteen eighties. And you could argue he was on the greatest team ever in the Lakers of the eighties.
So I think number four.
If anything, thinking about it, I might have ranked James too low, which brings us to a guy that the whole world has ranked too low.
Number forty four, Sidney Moncreve.
So, Sidney moncree is four time All NBA Second Team, one time All NBA First Team, And nobody knows this, but now you do.
In the nineteen eighties, what two teams had the best records? You probably know that you're like the Lakers and the Celtics.
Correct, what team had the third best record of the eighties the Milwaukee Bucks.
Did they have a bunch of stars?
Nope, Marcus Johnson's a very good player, just made the Hall of Fame. And Sidney moncree But so here's where we've got to get, respect to defense. So Sidney Montcreeve two times defensive Player, of the Year while averaging twenty one points per game in his prime. So this guy's giving you twenty points per game on better than fifty percent shooting. He's six four and he's winning multiple Defensive Player of the Years. He was top five MVP voting once.
It's five time All Defense. He's the best player on a team that made the conference final three times. And this is important. Much like we talked about with Dominie. Here's who beat him in the playoffs. He got beat by Doctor J, Sixers four times, Bird Celtics three times, the Bad Boy Pistons twice, and Dominique Talks once. He also beat Dominique Talks two times. But Sixers, Doctor J, Sixers, Bird Celtics, and the Bad Boy Pistons those aren't fair fights.
And yet he was their deep playoff run semi playoff runs every year.
So let's go through some of these playoffs.
Nineteen eighty three he swept Bird Celtics, averaging twenty three, seven and four again while playing all world defense. It was and then that year they played the Sixers. They were the only team to take even one game off the Sixers.
The reason the Sixers.
Didn't go faux faux fo the way Moses Mullan said they would Sixers. The eighty three Sixers are arguably the greatest team ever. The only team to beat him was Sidney Monkers Bucks. That's nineteen eighty three, nineteen eighty five. I know we're not allowed to talk about this, but it happened. He averaged twenty seven five and five while guarding a shooting guard you might have heard of named Michael Jordan, beating them three games to one.
That happened. People act like it didn't happen. It happened. How could it happen?
Jordan was six and oh because we don't count the times he lost in the six and oh round one nineteen eighty five, Sydney Moncrief guarding Jordan twenty seven five and five, his team wins three games to one. Nineteen eighty six, he had twenty three in a game seven win while injured against doctor j and older doctor j Admodley and a young Charles Barkley, and they beat the Sixers. Finally, nineteen eighty seven, down three to one to Bird trying
to beat Bird again. Had back to back playoff career highs of thirty three and thirty four to force the Game seven that they then lost. So I don't know Howdney Moncreek. If you average twenty one a game for the prime of your career, annual defensive player of the Year, and you beat Burden a playoff series once, and you beat Michael on the playoff series once.
And you beat Doctor j and Charles Barkley in a playoff.
Series once, and you're on a team in the eighties that's relevant every single year, and yet you're not making the top seventy five list. It's just criminal demons. I know you have very strong Sydney montcreef opinions.
What's up? I mean, this guy sounds like a good player.
Yeah, but best player on a three time conference finalist put you at top fifty.
I mean, Paul George did that. Okay?
Are you?
Are you really just trying to flex that you know older players.
No, I'm not trying to flex that I know older players. However, we must give respect to our elders that have earned it. And I understand the idea that he did the same thing technically that Paul George did, but he did it's not the same thing as what Paul George did, And Paul George in the Defensive Player of the Year, and Paul George doesn't have the moment Moncrief had, and so I just he has been oddly.
Forgotten to history.
Again, I want to resay, there's people like he never made the finals. What was the year he was supposed to when the Sixers were making them every year in the early eighties, or when the Celtics were making them every year in the mid eighties, or when the Pistons were making them every year in the late eighties.
Like, there's that's who you had to go through.
You had to go through Doctor j and Andrew, Tony and Moses, and you had to go through Bird McHale and Parish. Then you had to go through the bad boy Pistons. It was a stack deck. Two time Defensive Player of the Year. I think he was the second most egregious omission of the top seventy five lists the
NBA just released. As it happens, the very most egregious omission of the NBA's top seventy five lists is our number forty three player on our countdown of the top fifty, and we will reveal him next week.