A.I. is real popular in the Dime officeMaybe it’s the deluge of D-Wade/Barkley commercials getting major run throughout the playoffs, but we were in a “list” mode today. Going around the office, here is everyone in the Dime crew’s five favorite active NBA ballplayers:
Christian Grant-Fields, aka “Mr. Buckets”
1. Stephon Marbury - He’s the first player I followed from high school to the League. He’s the best player on my hometown team. Born and raised in NYC, and he drops buckets like me.
2. Larry Hughes - I just like his game. People say I play like him. Plus his tats are fire.
3. Carmelo Anthony - Watched him come up, he went to Syracuse and got us a chip, and his game is smooth. Whenever I dunk, I do the “Melo dunk.”
4. Kevin Garnett - Every time he plays like it’s his last game. And he’s the inventor of the Chamber of Secrets (Editor’s note: Christian says if you want to know more about the Chamber of Secrets, come see him at the Reebok Club.)
5. Amare Stoudemire - He’s a beast.
Honorable Mentions - J.R. Smith and T-Mac.
Jed Berger, aka “Hebrew Thunder,” aka “The Jed”
Besides my fantasy team and the Celtics, I don’t really have favorite players. There are players I appreciate more than others, and players that I would 100% pay to watch play. This is a combination of those guys:
1. LeBron James - LeBron is one of the only players in the League that has that Jordan thing going for him when you are going to catch him live. Every time he touches the ball you expect him to do something amazing.
2. Eduardo Najera - No, this is not a joke. Najera is one of the reasons the plus/minus statistic was created. He does a million little things that can positively effect a basketball game without being great at anything. He always hustles, he always boards, he always plays D, and he is an underrated player in terms of the basketball skills he brings to the table.
3. Earl Boykins - Right around the Iverson trade, Boykins was playing out of his cranium for Denver and I literally had to watch him every night. I’ve said this before, to do what Boykins can do at his size is crazy. He’s pound-for-pound one of the Top 50 players in the League.
4. Steve Nash - Another guy that is just incredible to watch play. The passes he makes off the dribble, the way his head is always moving, the way he has the pick and roll with Amare down to a science, and just his overall feel for the game is amazing.
5. Allen Iverson - I just respect his love for the game, which I think is on a whole different level than anyone else in the League. I really believe that.
Honorable Mentions - KG, Shawn Marion, Amare, Steve Blake, Anthony Parker, Josh Howard, Matt Barnes (For years I’ve been saying he can play, even as everyone cuts him) and Brian Scalabrine (I had to find a Celtic to mention, and I figure the most out-of-shape player in the League should really be on my list).
Paul Rivera, aka “PR”
1. Kobe - Best player in the L hands-down.
2. KG
3. A.I.
4. Skip - NYC dude who everyone said wouldn’t make it. Plus his party game is crazy!
5. Jose Barea - Little dude from a little island who went to a little school but still made the L and is on the Mavs playoff roster in his rookie year.
Austin Burton, aka “A-Train,” aka “Muah”
1. Zach Randolph - The subject of my first-ever Dime feature (Issue 19) and one of the most under-appreciated guys in the League. He’s a lock for 20-10 every night, has textbook footwork and post moves, and he’s not the bad guy that everyone thinks he is.
2. Gary Payton - As a Seattle kid, I grew up on GP and Shawn Kemp. The one thing I can do reasonably well on the basketball court is play D, and I love The Glove’s style on that end. I just wish he would’ve retired after last year’s Finals and gone out on a high note.
3. T-Mac - He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants to. When he gets in that zone, no one can stop him. And he passes the rock. And he’s a genuinely cool guy in person.
4. Tim Duncan - I tend to get attached to guys that everyone else hates on (Reggie Miller is my all-time favorite player), and Duncan is one of the most hated-on guys in basketball for no good reason. All he does is win championships and MVPs, yet he gets no love outside of San Antonio.
5. Jamal Crawford - I love all my Seattle guys (Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy, Jason Terry, etc.) but since coming to Dime I’ve been able to watch JC do his thing on the regular at MSG and get to know him as a cool dude off the court. Plus he might have the sickest handle in the League and can drop buckets on anyone.
Honorable mentions - Guys I’ve enjoyed writing stories on who are overall cool peeps (KG, Artest, R. Foye, Marion, C. Frye, Randy Livingston, etc.). Guys who went to Georgetown. And Juan Dixon, because I identify with what he’s come through to get where he is, he’s a little guy and he’s a great shooter.
Naomi Jefferson, aka “Nay,” aka “Weng-Weng,” aka “Is There Meat In This?”
1. D-Wade
2. KG
3. A.I.
4. Baron Davis - ’cause he made rockin’ knee braces fly.
5. (tie) Brandon Roy and Jesus Shuttlesworth - Because J.S. reps NY and the 206 (even though he’s not really from either place).
Pat Cassidy, aka “Cass”
1. Allen Iverson - He was the face of my city for a decade. Every time he took the court in a Sixers uni, he was Philly passion and the underdog spirit personified.
2. Ray Allen - If I could have anyone’s game in the NBA, I would want Ray’s.
3. KG - Nobody plays with more fire and more passion than Kevin Garnett. I’ve always said that it could be a random Tuesday night in Milwaukee, playing a meaningless game, and KG would attack like it’s Game 7. I love that about him.
4. Kobe Bryant - He’s the best basketball player on the planet.
5. J.J. Redick - One of my favorite college players of all-time and arguably the best pure shooter alive. His game reminds me a lot of my own.
Honorable mention - Aaron McKie. I’ll always love the core guys of the 2001 Sixers Finals squad: AI, Eric Snow, Dik, George Lynch, etc., but Aaron McKie’s my guy. Those dudes fought through three ridiculous teams - Vince’s Raptors, Reggie’s Pacers and the Ray/Dogg/Sam Bucks - just for the right to battle the best of the Lakers recent championship squads; and they all did it while dealing with crazy injuries. McKie, one of our hometown guys, had a fractured ankle but was still up to guard the other teams’ best perimeter players every night.
Justin Leonard, aka “Boy Wonder”
1. Baron Davis - He’s an animal in the League, and his playground game is bananas.
2. Steve Nash - Nobody can do the stuff he does every night.
3. Amare
4. Jamal Crawford - Crazy handle, crazy jumper, clutch shooter.
5. Kobe
Josh Gotthelf, aka “Gun Show”
1. Baron Davis - Unguardable. When he’s healthy, he’s the most exciting player in the League.
2. Chris Paul - Can single-handedly control the tempo of a game.
3. Paul Pierce - So many offensive weapons. Can shoot off the dribble, handle, penetrate, post-up, spin move - he’s got everything in his bag of tricks. Only Kobe has more weapons.
4. Dwyane Wade - Incredible competitor. Hates to lose and steps up when it matters most.
5. Gilbert Arenas - You have to guard him the second he steps over half court. And he genuinely looks like he’s having a great time out there.
Jon Abraham, aka “Game Genie”
“The Celtics starting five.”
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:17 am
Philipp says:
How come you hardly have any european players on your lists? I thought at least Boki Nachbar or Jose Calderon would have played their way into your hearts…. Do I sense a little bias?
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:03 am
alvy says:
Of course, not one Chicago Bull on ANYONE’S list. Are you guys still upset about the Charles Smith play?
That’s fine - we’ll leave room on the bandwagon for you when we dispatch the Pistons in 5.
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:45 am
Bron says:
lol you really thought calderon would make that list? neither of those guys are top 10 anything.
Bron Bron aka Lord-Have-Mercys List:
Stevie Franchise: (houston rockets version, not knicks version)
Tmac: If it weren’t for the injuries, could be kobe
Kobe: not a fan but game respects game and he kills when he wants
Marion: (gotta show the UNLV love)
Shaq: 4 rings and still has fun
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:14 am
Joeman says:
Yeah Alvy,
Ben Gordon OWNS the MSG and not even a Honorable Mention.
What’s up with that.
Bulls bet the nets in six to go to the finals!!!!
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:47 am
Damian says:
1. Baron Davis – Basketball aficionados know the deal.
2. Kobe Bryant – Flat out, the most prolific scorer in the league since “Wilt the Stilt.”
3. Allen Iverson – The most dynamic player in the league coupled with a heart as big as ball he plays with.
4. T-Mac – His back ailment did not just come from poor conditioning. It is as a result of carrying a basket ball team through to the playoffs and possibly to the second round.
5. Amare Stoudamire – The “Man Child” moniker has never been more fitting.
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:49 am
RNT says:
My list, not that you care:
1. AI - the coolest player in the L and one of the few guys how was HOT in the Jordan era and who is still driving and dishing.
2. Deng - the Future
3. Wade - the best in the world, when healthy
4. Kobe - should be the MVP
5. Luke Walton - just for the girls
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:10 am
The Shot says:
Nicely played alvy. Watching Ben Gordon rain jumpers can be flat out comical.
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Superfly says:
Don’t believe the hype. Some of the names on these lists were retarded. I find it increasingly difficult to believe how media types can go on boosting up players that are great individually but have not won anything in their NBA careers (Steph, KG, Larry Hughes, Paul Pierce). Hebrew Thunder, in spite of choosing non-supertar types actually made more sense than almost everybody else. And as my peers have noticed, what’s up with this stupid obsession with NYC, Boston and Philly?
So here’s my top 5 real players, by position:
PG: Tony Parker (France) coz he’s one of the best at the point, has a cute girl and is a better rhymer than Chingy, AI and Shaq combined
SG: Manu (Argentina) coz he single-handedly wins so many games for the best team in the NBA
SF: Deng (Sudan, UK) coz he’s survived civil war, massacred the defending Heat and keeps it real
PF: Gasol (Spain), coz he’s won more world championships than everyone on Team USA put together
C: Yao (China), because he’s the best center in the NBA and he doesn’t talk shit
Honourable mentions:
Calderon (Spain), Leandro Barbosa (Brazil), Andres Nocioni (Argentina), Garbajosa (Spain), Dirk (Germany), Nash (Canada), Kirilenko (Russia), Kristc (Serbia?), Nene (Brasil), Varejao (Brasil) and so many others…
Not one Yankee, not one NYC, Boston or Philly player. And don’t tell me that team wouldn’t rip it up in the playoffs. Even without Nash and Dirk all the other teams would be hiding behind their stars and stripes asking Mr Stern to no longer allow superior imports to dominate the game.
If I had the money I would set up an NBA team like I do on the Playstation: no US players allowed. I always win and in real life I would win too.
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:54 pm
2D says:
Having Najera on your list isn’t crazy at all. I remember when he used to play here in Dallas, he was without a doubt THE fan favorite. Nobody on that team could energize the building better than he did, not even Nash. The Mavericks got rid of the two hardest working guys on the team when they let Nash go and traded Najera in the same summer (and to make matters worse, both moves were made just so they could sign lazy Erick Dampier). The Mavericks completely lost me as a fan that summer, I don’t care how many rings they end up winning with their “improved” team.
May 3rd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Cliff says:
Why Does Christian Grant-Fields have such low self-esteem?
May 3rd, 2007 at 1:50 pm
karan says:
my fave 5:
1. starbury: for the same reason anyone still likes him, even after all the not winning… he can BALL!
2. vince carter: ya, talk about not having heart blah blah… but he still is the greatest dunker of all time AND when he gets in the zone, his game’s a thing of beauty
3. KG: probably the best player in the L NOT to have a ring
4. the glove: the player whom i wanted to model my game after growing up… GP is my favourite of all time
5. AI: no explanation neccessary
honourable mentions: ron ron, c-webb, wade, b. diddy, agent 0
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:18 pm
The Jed says:
For the record, I seriously considered Calderon as a hon. mention.
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
VA Dos says:
KOBE???????? Only one person put Kobe on their list, and you have got to be out right retarded. He may posses tremendous talent and skill, but unless this becomes a one-man-team sport, this guy is no better than the average player. Basketball is a TEAM sport, not, “hey its the Lakers, time to watch Kobe play”
HIs last game stats: 34pts, 1 ASSIST (AHAHAH are you kidding me?) and 6 turnovers. wise up dime guy.
May 3rd, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Austin Burton says:
Superfly, you just put together a team of five All-Star caliber starters. OF COURSE they’d rip it up in the playoffs. I could put together a team of All-Star caliber U.S.-born players that could do the same thing: Kidd, Kobe, Marion, Garnett, Duncan.
(The reason for so many NYC/Philly/Boston guys is because of hometown. Jed-Josh-Jon are all from Boston, Justin-Christian-PR are all from NY and Pat’s from Philly. Nay and myself are from Seattle.)
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Young J says:
Top 5 top players for me are diff. than the team I’d put out there, but I think the best TEAM would be:
1.) Nash, PG - Can do anything you need him to do. Pass, score, play a bit of D, get on streaks to get his team going, rebound for a little guy.
2.) Kobe, SG - Good defender (albeit a little overrated on D), obviously can score, clutch. I don’t like him, but I’d have to have him on my team.
3.) Deng, SF - Real quick, brings insane amounts of energy, can pass, rebound, score, block, defend.
4.) Amare Stoudemire, PF - Brings more rebounding and some blocking. Also need a low post score. Just need to keep on top of his defense. Sometimes he’s a little slow on rotating and his awareness isn’t the best. This was my toughest choice.
5.) Marcus Camby, C - Need superb defense, blocking, rebounding. Camby does that. Just need to make sure he’s going all out. s
As long as egos wouldn’t get the better of them, this team has it all. Every player can rebound with efficiency, we have shot blockers, guys that can steal, match up 1 v 1 with most players, inside and outside scoring, great passers, they have good handles on the ball, and could play at a fast or slow tempo.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Superfly says:
Austin, I’m impressed. If you had mentioned people like Carmelo, AI, Le Bron and the other players that grace Dime’s covers, I would have had to laugh.
When Team USA went to the World Championships they got whipped because US players are only concerned about playing in ways that appear on the stat sheet: points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, etc. So instead of giving a pass that may allow someone else to give an assist they’ll keep the ball until they can give an assist themselves (i.e. Le Bron); they’ll gamble for a steal or a block and mess up the whole defensive scheme when the gamble doesn’t pay off rather than contain the player they’re guarding and force him to miss a shot(i.e. AI). These types of flaws are the very essence of modern NBA basketball.
But I was impressed by your starting five. Kidd and Duncan are the ultimate winners. They really do just play to win and that overrides their desire for personal stats. Marion seems to love the personal stats but is willing to sacrifice them for winning. I’m not sure about Kevin Garnett. Someone said he plays a regular season Milwaukee game with the intensity of a game 7. I think the problem is he plays with more intensity in a regular season game against Milwaukeea than in a game 7.
And Kobe? Well, who knows what’s going on in Kobe’s head? Would he be willing to be the third best player on his team (after Kidd and Duncan) or would he go into a sulk if he wasn’t allowed to dominate the whole game every game? There’s no doubt in my mind that he has the ability to be the greatest player of his generation, but I don’t think he will ever have the self confidence to do what Jordan did in Barcelona 92 where he was willing to just be part of the team, not worry about his stats and just have fun playing beautiful basketball.
But then again, that was a team led by winners: Magic, Bird and Jordan. I think the problem of this generation of US players is that they are so focused on stats and highlights that without individual stats and spectacular dunks to protect them they feel naked, worthless. This is further emphasised by the media which promotes players because they are spectacular and have nice stats, whilst the most amazing players of this generation are largely ignored because they just play real good basketball rather than spectacular, stats-based basketball.
Foreign players that make it to the NBA, however, seem to actually remember how to play team basketball, even when they aren’t the Kidds and Duncans of this world.
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Wilde says:
Technically speaking Duncan isn’t U.S. born either
THat is all
May 4th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Sheen says:
I think people have missed the point of the article. The Dime crew were picking their top five favorite active players in the league; not the five best, not the five most capable of winning a championship, not the coolest five international guys. If they wanna rep their hometowns, I say go for it. You can’t fault them for not having a certain player on their list if he’s not one of their favorite players. That being said,
1. Kobe - Deserved the MVP last year. Best player on the planet at the moment. “If you’re triple teamed, pass. If you’re doubled, try to make something happened. If you’re playing one-on-one, kill him.” (Phil Jackson to Kobe before Game 5, Lakers vs. Suns)
2. Shaq - Childhood idol while he was playing for the Magic. Hated him for leaving, got over it eventually, watched him and Kobe dominate the competition pretty much at will.
3. Jason Richardson - Gotta show the hometown kid some love. Oaktown’s finest finally has some support behind him, and I sincerely hope the knock the Mavs out of the playoffs and back into the stone age. It’ll be fun watching Mark Cuban have the meltdown of a lifetime. Any up for a little action on when he has his first heart attack?
4.Luke Walton - It’s nice to see a genuine role player these days. I was sad to see him so banged up this year; he’s an incredibly intelligent athlete, more than making up for his shortcomings in the physical ability department.
5. Sebastian Telfair - I always root for the little guy. I wonder if he’ll have a home next year?
May 4th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Monina says:
I completely agree with Sheen. I understood that the purpose of the Dime staff’s personal Top Five lists was just for entertainment, and to encourage Dime readers to have fun with it and share their own personal lists. Attacking the Dime staff by calling them “biased”, “retarded”, and “stupid” is not necessary. Lighten up, y’all! Just because you disagree with someone doesn’t make them wrong, or “biased”, “retarded”, or “stupid”. And don’t forget that “media type”-people are just people, just like you.
May 8th, 2007 at 12:18 am
firestarter says:
I agree that this is the 5 FAVORITE players, not necessarily the 5 best players…so here are my 5…
1. Kobe-the best player period, should have been the MVP 2 years running…what he has done with what he has…
2. Grant Hill-classy always makes it look easy..
3. Nash-he does amazing things with the basketball, and i’m not talking dunks….
4. Tayshaun Prince, another one of those guys who is smooth as silk….(plus he a so.cal guy)
5. Shaq-Diesal is just unstoppable when he’s healty…he has been dominant so long, I still love to see him play when he’s on…plus he always looks like he’s having fun…
May 12th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Jason says:
Austin and Naomi…No love for Martell, Adam, Will, Marvin,or KBurleson?
May 16th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Christian says:
Damn Cliff,
Way to come at the kid! Lol. You can come by, I’ll drop some buckets on your back neck too. There is enough to go around… Lol