##6 and 5 -- Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan

When you get up here to the Top 6, you are working in rarified air.  My top 6 guys (Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain, Duncan, James, Johnson, Jordan) have


23 MVPs (average of almost 4)


18 Finals MVPs (average of 3)


58 first-team all-NBA's (average of almost 10)


They rank 1-2-3-5-9 and 11 in MVP Award Shares --  https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/nba_mvp_shares.html


They are the top 6 all-time in playoff Win Shares -- https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ws_career_p.html yet despite huge minutes also rank 1-6-8-11 and 14 in WS/48 for the playoffs.


They rank 1-2-3-5-10-12 in most Win Shares as a First-Team All-NBA player.  http://bkref.com/tiny/5a8Og


OK, so enough of that.  These are the best 6 guys.


#6 Magic Johnson -- Magic Johnson had 155.8 career WS, MILES behind anyone else in the top 6.  Every other member of the top 6 had over 200 Win Shares.  They are ##1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 all-time.  Magic is #24.  We obviously know the reason for this was Magic's tragic AIDS diagnosis.  But, whatever is the case, it is hard to move him above these guys when every one of them has him by 50+ Win Shares.  That is like 7 extra seasons of low-level all-star ball or 3 seasons of MVP-level ball.


Let's examine Magic's case for moving up -- well, was he more productive on a per minute basis?  No.  Of the 6 guys, he only has a WS/48 better than Duncan.  So, how about VORP (sometimes VORP more accurately measures high production players).  No, he is the worst of the group for whom VORP can be calculated.  (Wilt has no VORP).  How about we just count up 10 WS seasons -- OK, Magic had 11, great.  That is the same as Jordan, but worse than Duncan (12), Wilt (13), LeBron (14) and Kareem (16).  Advanced stats are not Magic's friend.  You want some support for the old guys' "Magic is a pale imitation of Oscar" storyline, line up Oscar's WS and Magic's per season.  Oscar wins all 13 years.  All 13.  Magic wins none.


In NBA/ABA history, there have been 58 seasons where a guy had over 17 Win Shares.  Magic had no such seasons.  Zero.  Magic's best season was the 68th best season of all-time.  Alex Groza has two seasons higher on the list.  Bob McAdoo has one.  More to the point, the 5 guys I have ranked above Magic have 27 such seasons. 


So, all of these advanced stats do not favor Magic moving out of 6th.  So what does he have to hang his hat on?  He has 3 MVPs, 3 Finals MVPs, 2nd in career assist, 5 titles, 9 Finals, his offensive rating is 121, which is 3rd best all-time behind Chris Paul and Reggie Miller.  He has 9X First-team All-NBA wins.  From 1983-91, Magic was regarded as top 3 in MVP balloting 8 times.  So, there is a lot to recommend about Magic. 


But, in my opinion, he has to stop here for two reasons other than Advanced Stats:  1) his career was cut short; whether that be fair or not or "his own fault" or not, it is true.  The 5 guys in front of him played longer and were more productive over the long haul; and 2) Every player above Magic on my list was regarded at some point in his career as a "plus" defender.  Jordan, Kareem, Wilt, LeBron, Duncan, all feared defenders.  When Magic came into the league, the old guys who had watched basketball said, "My lord will they have to hide him on defense."  By 1988, the Pistons had decided that they would play a three-guard offense and go to whomever Magic was guarding.  This is a statement made by the Pistons' actual players.  Imagine saying this about any of those five other guys.  Duncan, Kareem and Wilt are top 5 in career Defensive Win Shares.  LeBron and Jordan are ##22 and 23.   Magic? 63rd, just behind George McGinnis and Terry Cummings. 


So - Magic Johnson was a great player, but I have him at #6 overall, just behind....


#5 Tim Duncan - now, Duncan makes it this high on the list because he is the second greatest team defensive anchor of all-time behind Bill Russell.  Duncan is #2 in Defensive Win Share, #3 in career Defensive Rating.  Tim Duncan had 16 seasons with a Defensive rating equal to or under 99.  He had 9 seasons with a Defensive rating of 95 or lower, both all-time records.  Duncan was the on-court offensive and defensive star of the Spurs from 1998 through 2015.  That is almost impossible to believe.   Tim Duncan has more .16 or greater WS/48 seasons (18) than even Kareem -- http://bkref.com/tiny/4cGul


The only thing that kept Duncan from winning his 6th title is his coach's bizarre decision to take him off the floor at the end of Game 6, 2013.  Duncan owns the NBA playoff season with the most one-player Win Shares (5.9WS, LeBron had 5.8 one year) one of the few playoff records not owned by LeBron or Jordan.


Duncan had a stretch where he went 2-1-1-2 in MVP balloting.  He is basically Bill Russell playing in the modern era with good offensive skills.  10X first-team all-NBA, 15X all-NBA overall.


So, if I love Tim Duncan so much:  1) why don't I marry him; and 2) why isn't he top 4?  Well, Duncan suffers from one issue that is similar to Magic.  He only had one 17+ WS season.  Like Magic, Duncan was actually a better player in the playoffs, therefore, his regular season stats suffer by comparison.  But make no mistake, Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward of all-time, and the #5 all-time greatest player. 


(Final Note - I really never cared for Tim Duncan on the court - super whiny, seemed remarkably conceited, never committed a foul.  But again, give the Devil his due.)