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It is another special episode of What's Right with Nick write In, the podcasting YouTube show where we go through the fifty best players of the last fifty years in the NBA.
We are now.
This is the first episode where we get into the top twenty. So we get to the top twenty, we of course have to give you twenty one and twenty one.
I thought was going to be an.
Incredibly difficult player to rank because of how we're doing this. It's like, oh my god, I'm gonna have to rank him, and then what if he then goes on and wins the title? This year how much that would change things. However, that's no longer a problem because as we're recording this, we are just days removed from him squandering what was almost assuredly his last best chance to win a title. But that should not distract us from the fact he is still an all time great. So let's get right
into it. The twenty first best player of the last fifty years, the point got himself.
Number twenty one, Chris Paul.
So Chris Paul, as we sit here as of recording, has four First Team All NBAS, five second Team All NBAS.
And one third Team All NBA.
He almost assuredly is going to add to that this season, but the All NBA teams have not yet been announced. Is finished second place in MVP voting in O eight is a pop five times He's finished in the top five, seven times he's finished in the top six, and ten times Chris Paul has finished in the top ten in MVP voting. He's a five time assist champ, including winning an assist title aged twenty two and winning an assist title at age thirty six. Fourteen years removed were his
assist titles. He's won the Steels Championship six times, nine times all defense. He also won Rookie of the Year if you're interested in that. He's third all time in career assists and sixth all time in career steals. The regular season resume is one of better than the twenty first best player of all time.
Let's be honest here.
The regular season resume would say it's probably the second greatest point guard ever. The regular season resume would be Magic won, Chris Paul two, depending on what you want to do with Oscar Robertson.
But spoiler alert.
I have four, well, I have three point guards plus Oscar Oscars who worled for the list ahead of Chris Paul.
Because Magic's ahead of him, steps ahead of him, Isaiah is ahead of him.
So why it's because the postseason resume and what that's This was true before this season ended in the most inglorious fashion imaginable is spotty. Now, spotty doesn't mean all bad a guy like Harden. Harden's postseason resume is almost entirely bad. Chris's postseason resume is not entirely bad. So let's go through the plus in the minus of it. Okay,
he is fifth all time in playoff assists. His first career playoff game, he was thirty five and ten, followed by a thirty two and seventeen, followed by a twenty four, eleven and fifteen to close out a series in two thousand and eight the ear he almost won MVP that year and oh eight he took the defending Chain Campian Spurs to seven games in round two, but that was another series where they had control.
Of it and then lost the final couple games.
That ain't great, and however you look at it, you're like, okay. But his second and third best players were David West and Paja Soyakovic. He averaged twenty four and seven for the series. He was twenty two years old, and it looked like only great things were ahead for Chris and the postseason. It's not quite how it worked out, And in fact, you don't have another super noteworthy postseason event until twenty fourteen, So we go from eight to fourteen
without any super great postseason moment for Chris. Twenty fourteen postseason twenty two and fourteen, twenty two points, fourteen assists in a Game seven against the Warriors.
It's actually as.
Of recording, which is we're recording right before the Western Conference Finals get going. It's the last team to beat the Warriors in the playoffs aside from in the finals.
So he did that in Game seven against the Warriors.
In twenty fourteen, he averaged t twenty three to twelve in Round two against Oklahoma City, but they lose. They down two to one to the defending champ Spurs. The next year he has twenty five and ten, including a Game seven buzzer beater. It's like, okay, so he had he had the great playoff moment O eight, then a long gap without it. Then twenty fourteen he beats the young, upstart Warriors. He loses a brutal series to ok se but come on, it's ok see and they have Durant,
they have Rustle. At the time, you're not going to kill him for it. The very next year, he's in a Game seven. He hits the buzzer beater, if you remember it, he kind of got bumped banked in off the glass to win a Game seven. But then his at the time single worst playoff moment immediately followed. They're up three to one against the Rockets. They lose all three games, and it's awful. It's just truly, truly awful.
And the previous year, when I said the twenty fourteen season, we're not going to kill him for it, We're not going to kill him for it. But he had those back to back terrible turnovers. So twenty fourteen, he has the terrible turnovers in the final fifteen seconds against Russ and they lose a critical game to Okay, see, they lose the series, but it's like, were they were the Clippers really the better team or was that Katie and Russ? Okay, the next year, they are better than the Rockets. They're
up three to one and they blow it. In his defense, the most notorious game of that series was the Game six meltdown. He did have thirty one and eleven, but he's.
Still attached to the loss.
Twenty eighteen is supposed to be his most. He has forty one, seven and ten to eliminate the Jazz to advance for the first time in his career. Forget the finals, the Western Conference Finals, and they are beating an all time great Warriors team, and then he hurts his hamstring Game five and the team collapses without it. It's like, Okay, is he ever gonna have another chance.
As good as this.
In twenty twenty, he's on a Thunder team that's supposed to be rebuilding. They lose in round one to Houston by two. In game seven he did have nineteen eleven and twelve Houston wins.
Okay, that's not really on him.
I'm sorry. I was twenty twenty. I didn't say that right. That was the bubble year. But then last year, last year the Chris Paul resurgence, if you will. He's on Phoenix, this Phoenix team that had never sniffed the playoffs before he gets there. He goes there. He averages twenty one and ten to sweep Nikola Jokic out of the playoffs in round two to get to his secondary Western Roundwands finals, and he had thirty seven and seven to clinch that series.
Then in the Conference finals he averages twenty four and nine against the Clippers and to clinch that series to get to his first career finals forty one and eight, one of the single greatest playoff games of his life to get to the finals. In his first career finals game, he's thirty two to nine, but the Sunder.
Up two to zero and then they lose four straight and then this year, what did we see?
First game of the playoffs thirty and ten against the Pelicans to eliminate the Pelicans thirty three and eight, going in NBA all time playoff record fourteen to fourteen from the field, it's the MAVs series. Unbelievable Game one, unbelievable Game two, and then just a total no show, awful the final five games.
So what do you do?
Chris Paul's regular season resume far out shines. Isaiah Thomas is neck and neck, if not as far as true point guard play better than Steph Curry, and he does have some great postseason moments, but repeatedly in the biggest spots. The point God does not play his biggest ball. So it's hard for me to have them higher than right outside the top twenty. And if I'm being honest, I don't I think this is gonna end up being his last best shot. Last year up two to oh in
the finals. This year, a sixty four win team up two oh on a MAVs team, no one except for me pick to go anywhere. They only have one all star in Luca and it wasn't just on him, but he was not good. The final five games of that series, So I don't want to spend this time knocking him to the twenty first greatest player ever? Why is he not hired? That's why he's not hired. We've got a couple of callers that want to chime on Chris Paul. Let's hear from it.
What a knit look at this new audience, Gonna make sure I'm Krispy up here. Top fifty of the last fifty, Hugh, Now, CP three's my homie, but he was my third favorite clipper. I was a Blake guy, and then DeAndre just was flying through the sky and lops city hits. And you know who Chris Paul was. He was the adult in the room. Chris Paul is the one that leveled everything out. Yeah, we didn't realize our full potential, but without Chris Paul,
I don't think we even sniffed that. So I got respect for CP three, who's still out here cooking, looking better than ever. That's what happens when you become a vegan. Hey Man had me on the podcast for real instead of the little clips.
We chopping up two chains?
All right, boy, hey Nick, how you doing?
Melissa ruling here? Nashal, NBA reporter for Fox Sports. Great list, by the way, but I have a question for you, Chris Paul. I think we can agree. He's an incredible passer, an incredible playmaker, and incredible defender. Heck, I'd even say he's one of the top five NBA point guards of all time. So my question for you is, is the reason why he's not higher on your list because he never won a championship. If he had won a title, would he've given him a little bit of a higher nod?
Listen to answer her question absolutely, unequivocally yes, And in fact, the guy who you're about to hear is number twenty, who's going to be my far and away most controversial inclusion.
He would be higher than him.
He also, I don't want to give the list away, but I haven't mentioned Charles Barkley, I haven't mentioned Karl Malone. Those are best players without a ring. Chris Paul would be ahead of it. But instead those are players also without a ring who won a league MVP. He did not like it's he would if he had won a title last year or this year, he would have at least had an argument of him versus Isaiah Thomas, but
he didn't, so he doesn't. And de Marcellus's point, those Clippers teams didn't lose a lot of series where they had clearly the best team. You lose to the Warriors, you lose to the Thunder, but they were in position where they could have won those series. And Chris, this is why it's hard for little guys to dominate the NBA playoffs.
He got dinged at the wrong time. He turned the ball over at the wrong time.
He's an all time great player, and analytics say he is the second greatest point guard ever. But he needed to have one start to finish unimpeachable postseason.
He didn't.
That's why he's just outside the top twenty. Number twenty is going to be the single most controversial inclusion. Folks will say he does not even belong on the list. I feel like I might have him too. Well, we'll do that next.
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All right, welcome back in What's Right with Nick Wright podcast, as we are now officially to the top twenty of the fifty best players of the last fifty years and a little context here. The NBA released its fifty Greatest Players ever at its fifty year anniversary, and there was one incredibly controversial inclusion. They included Shaquille O'Neill. Now, Shack did not have the resume. You don't even eve in the league a half decade, exactly a half decade. He
did not have the resume to be included. But it was so clear he was changing the game. It was so clear how dominant he was. He was already from almost the moment he walked into the league an MVP candidate. They said, this list is going to look dumb in two years time if we don't have Shaflan. So I'm following their league and the twentieth greatest player of the last fifty years. And what's going to look dumb about this is not including him. What's going to look dumb about this is not having him.
Higher number twenty. Luka Danci, Now let me say this.
We are recording this before the Western Conference finals began, so by the time you guys hear this, he maybe will have carried a MAVs team to the finals, which will be the most impressive individual effort in a postseason since Lebron and O seven with no All Stars, carried that Cavs.
Team to the finals.
But even if he doesn't get to the finals, this is not going to be debatable.
Here's where we're at with Luca.
He's two to first team All NBA, but that might be three time first team All NBA by the time you see this, once the All NBA teams are released, he's either going to be first or second team. This year, as a nineteen year old rookie, he averaged twenty one to eight and six. The three years since his rookie season, he's averaging twenty eight, nine and nine. For his career, he's twenty six, nine and eight his MVP finishes are fourth place, fifth place, sixth place, not in that order.
His three years his second, third, and fourth year in the league. But where Luca truly distinguishes himself is what he's done in the postseason, which is quite simply be one of the greatest postseason performers we have ever seen. Already the headlines, he is second all time in playoff points per game, behind only Michael Jordan. He is twelfth all time at present, might move up higher in playoff assists per game, tied with Chris Paul.
He is third all time in.
Playoff three point shooting percentage, behind only Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. As far as guys that take at least seven a game shooting over thirty eight percent or over thirty seven percent, Dame Lillard's the only other person on that list. It's those four guys, so three of the greatest shoes we've ever seen. Wait and Luca the context of it. He has played as as of recording four
career playoff series. Two came against the Clippers, years the Clippers were favored to win the title, where Kawhi and Paul George were healthy for both series. The two best wing defenders in basketball. That's who we had to deal with his first two career series. His third playoff series, he missed the first three games up because he was injured. Come into it and Rudy Gobert is there. He's won
three Defensive Player of the Year awards. His fourth career series, he's up against a sixty four win juggernaut in the Phoenix Suns with Chris paul A, nine time All Defense Guy Mikal Bridges, allegedly one of the best wing defenders in the league. So how has he done well through those four series? He is averaging for his playoff career thirty three to nine to nine. No other player in playoff history averages thirty six and six. He averages thirty three,
nine and nine. He's played twenty three career playoff games. Six of them he's gone for forty plus. That's the nineteenth most forty point playoff games in NBA history already, and he's done all of this with zero All Star teammates. Ever, so let's go through year by year For Luca twenty twenty against the Clippers, his first career playoff game ever, he scores the most points for anyone in NBA history. Making their playoff debut, he has forty two points, seven rebounds,
nine assists, three steals. Game four of that series, down to one a critical spot, he has forty three points, seventeen rebounds, thirteen assists, and hits a buzzer.
Beating three to win the game.
In the elimination game of that series, he has thirty eight, nine and nine. He also, by the way, is the all time record holder by a mile for most points per game in NBA history and elimination games. For the that series, he averaged thirty one to ten and nine. One game ruined his averages because he only scored like thirteen points because Marcus Morris was so sick of Luka Doncic hitting him in the head that he stomped on Luca's ankle after the play and he had to miss
most of the game. The very next year, they are playing the Clippers again. Game one thirty one ten and eleven, Game two thirty nine to seven and seven.
They win them both.
Game three with a chance to go up three to zero and shock the world, they didn't.
Was it Luca's fault? Well, I don't know. He had forty four to nine and nine game.
The game five series tied two games apiece, he has forty two, eight and fourteen, and then in game seven, a game they lose.
Oh you're up two zero, you lost? What does that say about you? Well, I don't know.
In Game seven, again with Koir Paul George guarding him the whole game, he had forty six points, seven rebounds, fourteen as sixts. For the series, he averaged thirty six, eight and ten. And then this year Round two against the sixty four win defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns. Game one, forty five to twelve and eight, Game two, thirty five points on twenty two shots, facing elimination in Game six thirty three, eleven and eight, they win by
twenty seven. And then Game seven in Phoenix, he scored twenty seven in the first half. The Suns scored twenty seven in the first half. He had thirty five, ten and four, and it killed his playoff averages because he'd have to play in the fourth quarter. Luka Doncic is already one of the greatest playoff performers ever, and I'm recording this before they even play in the Western Harmonds Finals.
Might made the finals by the time you hear this, no matter what happens in the series against the Warriors, the only thing that could happen is that I have him too low. Luka Doncic is the twentieth greatest player of the last fifty years. At a minimum, we now have a caller that, if it is who I think it.
Is, I know is going to take massive issue with this. Let me hear.
Nikk you just couldn't wait, could you? You just could not wait. It is the year twenty twenty two. It is only the year twenty twenty two. And let me make sure I'm looking at this shit right, Luka Doncis is already a better player. Thank Kevin Garnett, David Robinson. I'm just pointing out there, Kole, while I'm just pointing.
Out the egregious ones. Come on, man, wait a little while. It's too soon. It's too soon and too wrong.
But it's bo I love you. It's not too soon. It's not too row. Kevin Garnett. As much as I adorn put up his five best playoff games ever, Luca has already got five better go game for game. Kg's best game ever is a thirty two and twenty one in a Game seven of Western Conference semifinals. Luke, I told you did forty four to nine and nine facing elimination.
I had a game Sevemary scored forty six. David Robinson, who again I adore he had thirty six and sixteen is the best playoff game he ever had, thirty six and sixteen. Luca did better than that in.
His first playoff game ever. KG, God love him, KG. What was the story on him?
Can't get out of the first round, can't get out of the first round, can't get out of first round until he got legitimate teammates. Lucas never had another All Star on his team. Is staring at a conference finals as I record this, maybe in NBA finals by the time you hear it. It was not wrong to put Shaquille O'Neil on the fifty Greatest Players in NBA History
list when it came out. It is absolutely not wrong to put Luka Ancic on the fifty greatest players the last fifty years, nor is it wrong to have him in the top twenty. He is never had a.
Bad playoff game.
After his rookie year, He's been first team or second team. We'll see how he finishes this year of his first or second team, but likely first team All NBA this year, which would mean after his rookie year, he has finished top six six MVP voting every year, First Team All NBA every year, averaged thirty plus in the playoffs every year. Again, no one has ever averaged in the postseason thirty points, six rebounds, six assists. Luca averages thirty three points, nine rebounds,
nine assists every Luka Doncic's playoff moment. It's either the only other guy to do it is Jordan, The only guy ever to do it is Lebron, The only guy I ever.
To do it is Wilt.
He is going to go down as one of the ten greatest players ever. It is not too far to say he's already one of the twenty greatest players of the last fifty years. Number nineteen is a player that Luca already has a better regular season resume then, but Number nineteen made his money in the postseason. We wrap up today's episode with him next All Right, Welcome back in What's Right? Nick Right Podcast special episode as we count down the fifty greatest players the last fifty years.
Number twenty was Luka Dncic, it's gonna be wildly controversial.
Number nineteen will not be.
Number nineteen is a guy everyone respects, everyone loves, and I think everyone has right about in this range.
Number nineteen Dwayne Wade.
Dee Wade's regular season resume is good, but not elite. His regular season resume two time first Team Well NBA, three times second team All MBA, three time third team All NBA. He finished top five MVP voting twice but never won. He won one scoring title. He was three time All VPS. That's about the end of the regular season wresiding. So how could he be this hive? Because d Wade made his money at money time until his body gave out on him. He was a dominant playoff
performer from day one. He went to five NBA finals, he won three titles, and he was the best player on one of those title teams winning finals MVP, so he was the second best player obviously on the other four finalists, winning two more rings two thousand and five averages third. So just from he comes into the league three toh four by five his second year in the league. In d Wade's defense, Lebron had not yet made the playoffs.
Same draft Class d WAD two thousand and five, final three games of round two averages.
Thirty five, eight to eight.
He has a forty eight and six and thirty six and seven in games two and three of the conference finals in his second year in the league against the defending champion Detroit Pistons. Now it's not enough. They end up losing that series. Detroit goes on to the finals, obviously, but he was immediately awesome again year two, final three games of round two averages thirty five to eight to eight.
And then in games.
Two and three of a series against Detroit that they would go up to one on the defending champion Pistons, he gives you forty points, eight rebound, six assists, and then thirty six points and seven rebounds Game three.
Detroit would go on to win.
But then the next year is where the d Way legend really grows, down two to Dallas in the NBA Finals.
This is what he does.
In the final four games down oh two, he has a forty two point of forty two to thirteen. Down two one, he has a thirty six and six. Series tied two games of he has a forty three and four and then up three to two. He has thirty six points, ten rebounds, five assists for steels, three blocks to win the title. One of the greatest finals performances by anyone ever. In fact, one would argue, I would argue that the only finals performance.
Is better than what d Wade did.
No.
Six were authored by Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Jannis Sontani Kubo. Those Jordan had a couple that were better than this, Lebron's had a couple that were better than this, Giannis had last year's, and then it's d Wade. He and by the way, Game five series tied two games apiece, down one two seconds left in overtime, d Wade gets fouled, hits both free throws. That was his third year in the league. He's a Finals MVP and with an all time great finals performance.
Then bit of a dry spell oh nine, he.
Has forty one to five in a game six to stave off elimination against Atlanta. Twenty ten, he faces the Big Three in Boston in Round one, averages thirty three, six and seven, including facing elimination, has a forty six, five.
And five, but the Big Three beat them.
Then twenty eleven Lebron comes to town that twenty eleven postseason, though Dwayne Wade was better than Lebron James. In twenty eleven, he averaged thirty seven and five to knock Boston out of the playoffs, and then in the finals he averaged twenty seven seven and five. Was the best player on the Heat by far. Lebron was not with it that series. We all know the story there in Game two, which Game two, the whole NBA history is different if the Heater able to hold onto that lead. In Game two,
he had thirty six points, five rebound, six assists. They lose that series. But let's if the Heat had managed to win that series, d Wade would have been Finals MVP on a team with Lebron twenty twelve, when the Heat finally do get their first ring. He had a forty one to ten to close out the Frisky Pacers in twenty twelve, and in those finals he had twenty average twenty three, six and five. Now he has two rings.
Twenty thirteen, Monster Game four against the Spurs. They're down two to one or the Heat and d Wade is thirty two points, six rebounds, four assists, six steals to even the series two games a piece before obviously the Ray Allen shot in Game six and the Lebron masterpiece in Game seven. In that Lebron masterpiece, by the way, though famously Lebron had thirty seven and twelve Chris Bosh had zero. That game came down to the final minutes. Dweighted twenty three to ten in that game and average
twenty four and five for the series. Unfortunately for d Wade, that was he had only had one more great postseason moment twenty fourteen. His knees were shot. He was no good. He was a big reason why the Heat lost and twenty sixteen, I will give him credit. A resurgent Dwayne Wade playing for Miami Eastern Conference.
Semi finals twenty sixteen. The Calves are waiting.
The Calves with Lebron are waiting in the Eastern Conference Finals and d Wade is playing Toronto.
It goes seven games.
He averages twenty six points, six rebounds, four assists.
But they lose in seven.
It would have been unbelievable to see that team take on Lebron and the Calves.
I don't think they would have a shot. Would have been a good theater, so d Wade's playoff flame didn't.
Burn as long as you would like, but it burned so incandescently hot. One of the greatest finals performances ever, another excellent finals performance and a loss because Lebron wasn't good enough in twenty eleven, a great wingman performance in twenty twelve and twenty thirteen. All of that combined with the fact that he is at least in my estimation, if we're ranking two guards of the last fifty years, it goes Michael Kobe Wade.
He is was always and I.
Didn't even mention one of the more underrated defenders in his position, even though he never won an MVP. I feel very comfortable with him exactly where he is the nineteenth best player of the last fifty years.
One Dwayne Wade. We have a caller that wants to ask a question about d Wade.
What's up?
Nick?
Your own from Fox Sports. So with Dwayne Wade, he is awesome. I cannot make any argument against him. But looking over his career resume, one thing that did stand out was the fact that he only had two first Team All NBA nods and just two top five MVP f images. So my question for you is, did you take that into account and does that say something about how good Dwayne Wade actually was at his best?
Thanks?
Absolutely, I took him new account.
If d Wade had won a league MVP and was like six time first team All NBA, then he'd be higher on this list. But because his regular season resume is a guy who probably should be in the thirty five to forty five range, his postseason resume is a guy that should be in probably the eight to fourteen range. You put them together, you comment at nineteen. Demonse's been sitting here listening to rant about these players. He also has a d Wade question.
Go ahead, Yeah, by putting Wade this high, you're kind of saying something about Lebron.
That's it.
I mean, it just sounds like he won his first two titles because he had a top twenty player on his team. You know, if you got two top twenty guys all time on your team, it kind of feels like an underachievement to only win two titles.
Well, would that would be correct if for the four years they were together they had two top twenty all time guys, but they didn't because twenty eleven in the finals Lebron didn't play like a top two hundred all time guy. That's one title they didn't win twenty fourteen. The entire playoff series, d Wade was like fifteen points per game. He wasn't top twenty player in the league, much less all the time.
The two years.
Where they both were, Lebron was at his apex and d Wade was at his near apex, they won both Tigers. So I understand the point. But there the problem for d Wade is after the twenty thirteen season his knees were shot. The problem for Lebron is twenty eleven, he's spit the bit or else they'd have won that title. D Wade was good enough, but a huge part of d Wade's legacy comes years before Lebron joins the team. What he did that six postseason will never be forgotten.
It's one of the greatest finals performances ever. It helps Shack solidify his himself post Kobe, and so I'm very comfortable with it. Dwayne Wade the nineteenth best player of the last fifty years. He has three rings. We start off next week's list with a couple of guys with no rings, So how did they get here. We'll discuss that next week. It is what's right with the great special episode fifty greatest Players in the last fifty year