Metta Sandiford-Artest took to X recently to share his list of the top five NBA players of all time. Sandiford-Artest also shared his reasons for including them, and it makes for an interesting read.
“Top 5 NBA players of all time.
1. Wilt Chamberlain – most dominant ever.
2. Bill Russell – most rings ever.
3. (Michael Jordan) – 6 rings and quit because it was too easy. No competition.
4. Stephen Curry – 4 rings, one team.
5. Larry Bird – dominated with no bounce at all.”
The 43-year-old is entitled to his own opinion, but the moment you leave LeBron James off a list like this, you raise eyebrows To not consider James the GOAT is perfectly reasonable, but to not have him in the top five is absurd.
LeBron has won four championships, four Finals MVPs, and four MVPs, and is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. His 19 selections to All-NBA teams is a record and the 38-year-old is also a 19-time All-Star, which is tied for most in league history. LeBron’s resume is well clear of that of the likes of Stephen Curry and Larry Bird at this point, and there is no debating that.
Sandiford-Artest’s reason to have Bird on there is a bit of a ridiculous one too, as not having bounce shouldn’t exactly be a factor here. His reasoning for adding Curry there is quite strange as well when you consider one big name that he left out here, Kobe Bryant.
Sandiford-Artest was a teammate of Bryant’s and the two won a championship in 2010. That made it five titles with the Los Angeles Lakers for Kobe, who never played for another franchise.
As for the three others who made the list, you can’t really argue with them being there. Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest ever while Bill Russell has the most championships in NBA history with 11. Last but not least, Wilt Chamberlain is, as Sandiford-Artest states, the most dominant player in NBA history.
NBA Fans Reacted To Metta Sandiford-Artest’s List
While those three were good picks, this still ended up being quite a bizarre list. It unsurprisingly went viral and NBA fans reacted rather negatively to Sandiford-Artest’s top five.
One said this is a terrible list.
https://twitter.com/YoTeamASS/status/1721960395739430915
A fan was left bemused that Bryant was left off the list.
Kobe helped you win a ring with a broken finger on his shooting hand 😂 pic.twitter.com/LwXY0Dcu6Z
— Brandon (@clickthatfollow) November 8, 2023
A fan bluntly told Sandiford-Artest to delete his account.
Delete your account
— NephewOfTheKing👑 (@BuiltbyRoyalty) November 7, 2023
One fan thought the explanation behind Bird’s selection was hilarious.
The Larry Bird “Dominant w/ No bounce at all” had me spit up my coffee 😂😂😂
— Jerry Hairston, Jr. (@TheRealJHair) November 7, 2023
A fan brought up how Bryant and Tim Duncan should be ahead of Curry based on the explanation given for his inclusion.
Kobe and Duncan both won 5 with one team too… so by your logic they’re above Curry
— Koby ☯︎ (@halibuckets) November 8, 2023
While you appreciate the fact that he gave his reasons instead of just listing them out, the explanations just don’t really make a ton of sense. As the last fan stated, you can use Sandiford-Artest’s logic to come up with other players who’d be more qualified to be on his list.
Metta Sandiford-Artest Hailed LeBron James As The GOAT Earlier This Year
What makes this whole thing just that bit more confusing, are his past comments on LeBron. Sandiford-Artest stated that LeBron is the GOAT over his favorite players, Bryant and Jordan.
“Stats say LeBron James is number 1. Even if I’m an MJ 23 and Kobe guy, and I can make arguments for MJ being he retired twice, King James did what he had to do. He used his IQ and got it done. Wilt, Cap, Shaq, MJ, LBJ, Kobe, Bird, Russel, etc. In no order, but number 1 is Akron.”
To go from this to not having LeBron in his top five just a few months later seems really odd on his part. It’s not as if James has completely fallen off since then, as he is averaging 25.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game this season. Sandiford-Artest either didn’t think this through or has changed his mind for reasons that we are unaware of.
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