Greatest Athlete Of All Time

[useless]

I'd imagine that more people on the planet try to become soccer players than any other sport, so to reach the pinnacle of that discipline really takes some doing as there's much more competition. Rodger Federer for example may be the greatest tennis player of all time, but if there had been millions of people trying to become a tennis pro throughout the ages, like you get with soccer, then who knows there may well have been another even greater than he. To become the greatest soccer/football player of all time when every other person on the planet has the same dream, takes some doing.

[A'Villan]

22 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

In that series, 3-1 down, against the team with the record for most wins, he led both teams in points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks. 

I don't think any other basketball player in history could have done that, against that team and in that scenario.

For me, that cemented him as the greatest. 

When he retires, his stats are going to be ridiculous. No one else will come close. 

I suppose it's how you define success.

For me, basketball is a team game, sure you need individuals to perform, but I'll take a superstar team over a team of superstars every time.

Jordan understood this and listened to his coaching staff, and eventually developed trust in his teammates to take on a greater role than him going it solo.

Tim Duncan is a better player than LeBron James for me, his dynasty and legacy has championships in three different decades. He lead the TEAM to that record.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, both understood the team game, and because of that they were part of dynasties that will be greater than any LeBron took part in.

Miami Heat with James made four consecutive finals, okay, that's pretty special, and they won two. With three top 5 draft picks in their prime, you'd expect as much.

LeBron's a special, special player, but he's not basketball's greatest. Not for me. He might be in terms of my favourite personality, I think he holds himself really admirably.

As for THAT season. Golden State won one more game than the Jordan led Bulls to break the regular season record. So they were one regular season game better.

I'd argue that the Jordan led Bulls would be the best candidates, but I'd say the Bird led '85-'86 Celtics, and a few others would have a real good crack at knocking them off.

Okay that series was an absolute masterclass by LeBron, no two ways about it, the record for numbers he put up shows his influence.

Westbrook's triple double statistics were absolutely through the roof one season. No one had ever done it before, for an 82 game season, not a 7 game series.

I don't know. I'm not a Westbrook hater, but I'm certainly not trying to model my game around his. I just don't get the GOAT argument for LeBron. Any of them.

[DCJonah]

21 minutes ago, A'Villan said:

I suppose it's how you define success.

For me, basketball is a team game, sure you need individuals to perform, but I'll take a superstar team over a team of superstars every time.

Jordan understood this and listened to his coaching staff, and eventually developed trust in his teammates to take on a greater role than him going it solo.

Tim Duncan is a better player than LeBron James for me, his dynasty and legacy has championships in three different decades. He lead the TEAM to that record.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, both understood the team game, and because of that they were part of dynasties that will be greater than any LeBron took part in.

Miami Heat with James made four consecutive finals, okay, that's pretty special, and they won two. With three top 5 draft picks in their prime, you'd expect as much.

LeBron's a special, special player, but he's not basketball's greatest. Not for me. He might be in terms of my favourite personality, I think he holds himself really admirably.

As for THAT season. Golden State won one more game than the Jordan led Bulls to break the regular season record. So they were one regular season game better.

I'd argue that the Jordan led Bulls would be the best candidates, but I'd say the Bird led '85-'86 Celtics, and a few others would have a real good crack at knocking them off.

Okay that series was an absolute masterclass by LeBron, no two ways about it, the record for numbers he put up shows his influence.

Westbrook's triple double statistics were absolutely through the roof one season. No one had ever done it before, for an 82 game season, not a 7 game series.

I don't know. I'm not a Westbrook hater, but I'm certainly not trying to model my game around his. I just don't get the GOAT argument for LeBron. Any of them.

Lebron is the epitome of a team player. I don't think anyone else has made their team mates better. 

Lebron leaves the cavs and they are the worst team in the nba. He comes back and they are instantly title contenders. 

Jordan left the bulls to play baseball, the year he came back they won a similar amount of games to when he wasn't even there. 

 

[A'Villan]

52 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Lebron is the epitome of a team player. I don't think anyone else has made their team mates better. 

Lebron leaves the cavs and they are the worst team in the nba. He comes back and they are instantly title contenders. 

Jordan left the bulls to play baseball, the year he came back they won a similar amount of games to when he wasn't even there. 

 

Superstar quality and team player are not necessarily the same thing. You can have both traits, either or, or neither.

I would say Jordan had both, and due to the chemistry that the Bulls developed achieved a shot in the playoffs without him.

I would say LeBron has the former, and due to the lack of team morale and chemistry Cleveland, probably among other influences, were shit.

But I feel like both of us have made arguments to consider, and so I'd like to agree to disagree from this point.

[John]

I used to think he was: 

[theboyangel]

2 hours ago, John said:

I used to think he was: 

Dope 

[RunRickyRun]

Bob Hayes may have been faster than Usain Bolt. He ran a wind assisted 9.91s 100m on a cinder track which took 20 years (long into the era of synthetic tracks and fully professional sprinters) to beat.

His hand-timed anchor leg at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, again running on a cinder track, is credited to be between 8.5 and 8.9s which is possibly the fastest a human being has run.

I think with modern equipment, training and money (Hayes switched to Gridiron at 22) he certainly would have been comparable to Bolt and perhaps could have beaten him.

[Amsterdam_Neil_D]

That little Peaty fella is head and shoulders above the rest in the swimming pool at the moment.

He has taken 1 sec off a 50 M event is a couple of years.  One for future greatness I am sure of it.  He destroys records for fun it seems.

 

[osmark86]

For the sheer insanity of the feat itself, I'd say Alex Honnold.

Edited August 4, 2019 by osmark86

[tonyh29]

On 17/07/2019 at 14:32, BOF said:

Ah, I see we finally have a Jim Thorpe thread.

Bit late to the party but I just read an article about him.

may as well close the thread , it’s Jim Thorpe and everyone else is just wrong 

[BOF]

19 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

Bit late to the party but I just read an article about him.

may as well close the thread , it’s Jim Thorpe and everyone else is just wrong 

[Mark Albrighton]

Don’t know about the greatest, but el Salvador had a breezy charm to it. 

 

[meregreen]

Jesse Owens. To do what he did was amazing. But to do it in front of literally thousands of people who thought of him as untermensch, was immense. 

 

 

[Xela]

Excellent work @Mark Albrighton

I was always a Wires man myself. 

[Phil Silvers]

Stacy keibler

[Dom_Wren]

On 14/07/2019 at 01:33, OutByEaster? said:

Bo Jackson might be worth a shout.

 

THIS. End thread.