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I think Bird is most vulnerable since he's got the fewest rings on the list outside of Wilt.
Russell would maybe be more like a Garnett in the modern era and may have developed more offense if need be. If he's NOT on the Celtics, do they win all those rings? I mean he won a few player coaching if I remember correctly which is unheard of in these days and a testament to his leadership.
Final point: Barkley gets a raw deal with a lot of these criteria in that he was on shit teams a good part of his career. Once he got to a good team he did things, but his body soon broke down on him. Amazing that at 6-4/6-5 he averaged just short of 12 rebounds for his CAREER. I have always ranked him higher than Malone and challenge anyone to tell me Malone was better at basketball than Chuck. In a freer agency period, he'd have had a few rings.
I like your overall analysis and breakdown though.
>But to me GOATness should be a combo of
>
>1) Individual accolades (50%) - Because it starts with what
>they've accomplished themselves (awards, stats, records,
>etc).
>2) Team success (30%) - as the accolades have to contribute to
>winning (rings, records, etc).
>3) League Impact (10%) - How dominant the player was, how
>influential is he on how the game is played, officiated,
>revered.
>4) Level of difficulty to succeed (10%) - Era matters to an
>extent, talent level of opposition matters to an extent, team
>make up (at the time, not in retrospect due to team success)
>matters to an extent.
>
>If you want to rank by skill level, guys like
>Jordan/Kareem/Duncan/Malone (K and M)/Bird/Russell start to
>lose value because there are more talented players and guys
>like Dream, Magic, Wilt get undervalued due to the high level
>of skill they possessed by their constant lower rankings.
>It's hella inconsistent. Kyrie is much more talented than
>Steph Curry but does he belong anywhere near a top 10
>discussion? F*ck no!
>
>There's NO WAY guys like Giannis or KD should be ranked ahead
>of Steph. They don't have the resume. No matter what you
>think of their 'talent/skill' level.
>
>That being said:
>
>1a) MJ - Obvi
>1b) Bron - Obvi
>1c) Kareem - Obvi
>4) Wilt - because #1 and #3 for him are so far ahead of most
>people, that it makes up for #2 and #4 being a little lighter,
>which he still has had some team success and bridged a few
>eras where he had to play tougher comp and still held his
>own.
>5) Magic - #1-#3 Obvi, #4 = 1st Golden
>Era/Celtics/Sixers/Pistons. Beat all time greats but also had
>all time great help. Dominated the first golden era even as
>his main star support faded. Went to the finals 9 times in his
>career.
>6) Duncan - #1 yes, #2 yes, #3 = never had a losing season or
>won less than 50 games (outside of lockout season) in entire
>career. Never missed the playoffs, 19 seasons with no major
>injuries, won rings in 3 different decades. #4 = Beat
>Shaq/Kobe/Pistons Defense/Bron 2x/Wade/Bosh/Sprewell/Houston
>for his rings. Probably had the most unassuming help (Sean
>Elliot, Avery Johnson, aging David Robinson, Manu, Tony Parker
>and early stages Kawhi). Nothing compared to what some of the
>others on this list had as 'help'.
>7) Shaq - #1 yes, #2 yes, #3 Most dominant player in the
>league for about 6yrs. Hack-a-Shaq. #4 - had to try to go
>through Dream, MJ, Karl Malone, Detroit's D. Had to go through
>Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, Iverson, J-Kidd/K-Mart, Duncan
>(3x), Vince Carter, Dirk for his titles.
>8) Bird - #1-3 Obvi (50% responsible for first golden era,
>great white hope), #4 = where he loses some steam. Played all
>but one year of his career with Parish and Mchale but did win
>multiple titles in the first golden era, beat some all time
>greats but had all time great help too. Also was the first
>era to have to win 4 rounds to get a ring.
>9) Kobe - Obvi IMO so I won't break it down.
>10)Russell - #1 is ok, he's hurt a bit by lack of stat
>tracking and by the fact that rebounding/D, not scoring was
>his superpower. Not to mention the C's were cheat mode in the
>60's and sucked all the best talent to Boston. #2 = Obvi, #3 =
>obvi, his presence in Boston, player/coach, activism,
>continued imprint on the league, black leader for mostly white
>team that dominated an era. #4 = without the lack of cap/rule
>restrictions on team building/Free agent rules, Bill got a LOT
>of help to run the table every year. They also only had to
>win 2 rounds in an 8-9 team league, to get a ring so a LOT
>easier than today.
>
>To me, Russell is the one on this list most likely to fall.
>And the next 5 on my list?
>
>11) Steph Curry
>12) Dr. J
>13) Hakeem Olajuwan
>14) KD
>15) Big O.
>
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