lol, always a controversial topic here.
where is john havlicek bro?
A great player, no question his record speaks for itself, and along with the success the Celtics had, while he would certainly make my overall list i regard personally different factors, did they change the game...ala Erving style....
I would never consider the view of another man in regards to the greatness of a particular player to be lesser judgment then mine or better then mine, every person considers different elements when making a call on certain players, some through statistical breakdowns, some through having viewed the player/s, others through personal idolization as an example, what routinely happens when Michael Jordan is mentioned on this board.
See to me Michael Jordan was a great player, no question, he achieved greatness for himself, is team-mates and his ball-club that is not in dispute, apparently he made his fellow players better, and personally i question that in some cases, did those players ever play better before they joined the Bulls or after they left the Bulls....were they better team players within Jackson's system or just naturally took a secondary role because it served the team and the system in place best?
See this is my opinion, that is not a slight on Jordan, in anyway shape or form, but for example Ron Harper was a solid and productive player prior to coming to the Bulls...how did Jordan make him better, was he better player on the Lakers roster when he was there after playing with Jordan.....
Now to my #1 selection Magic Johnson in my humble opinion was a better player, on the basis that he was truly a team player, he deferred the play/shot, created play/s for his team-mates night-in and night-out, he was truly a multi-positional player, which allowed his team the ability to utilise his talents and his team-mates talents to a better level and succesful level.
He played under five head coaches and won championships under two of them, and went to the finals under three of them, demonstrating adaptability to the system placed before him.
He re-established the entertainment component to the game, with showtime and really in my opinion ensured one of the last true rivalries that existed in the NBA with between the Lakers and Celtics - Johnson/Bird, is remembered for posterity.
Also for the record Jordan23, he went thirteen seasons without missing the play-offs which surprisingly enough was his entire career, and never had a losing season to boot, that included a worst season off 53-29, pretty impressive eh??....not that, that makes him a great player...but that was just a little interesting note for your referance...