Top Thursdays: The 10 Best NBA Players of the Past 10+ Years

This is going to be a controversial list I'm sure. All Top 10's are controversial since nobody ever agrees. Hopefully this will spark some user comments and conversation. 9 through 1 after the break.

10. Chauncey Billups (Mr. Big Shot, The Guy Everyone Forgets) - People always forget to talk about Chauncey in conversations like this one. He's definitely the 2nd best point guard of the decade behind Nash. He's arguably the best overall point guard as Nash is more offensively focused. Chauncey is a fantastic defender, a top 3 point shooter, automatic from the foul line and of course incredibly clutch. He was the 2004 finals MVP and has won the Sportsmanship Award and the Citizenship Award.

9. Allen Iverson (The Answer) - He's a 4 time NBA scoring champion, 11 time All Star, 2001s NBA MVP and 1997s Rookie of the Year. Iverson is the quintessential scoring small guard. He's the only player since Jordan to average over 30 points per game in 5 different seasons. In the playoffs A.I. has never won a championship but he is 2nd in the NBA all time in points per playoff game.

8. Kevin Garnett (The Big Ticket) - Kevin is the prototype for the new power forward. He's strong, athletic and a great shooter. His many awards include 13 time All Star, 8 time All Defensive 1st Team, 2004s MVP and 2008s Defensive Player of the Year. Of course he was an integral part in the Celtics 2008 championship and he's even won the 2006 Citizenship Award. Until this year he has always been healthy and on the court dominating for the Timberwolves and Celtics. He played 12 seasons on the 'Wolves and many of those seasons were on pretty bad teams. He still managed to take them to playoffs multiple times despite usually being a one man show. Kevin is also one of the most intense competitors the NBA has ever known. Unfortunately for him he is not one of the top 2 big men solely because of a very competitive generation.

7. Steve Nash (Hair Canada) - Nash is the best point guard of my NBA viewing career. The 2 time NBA MVP and 7 time All Star was originally an unknown player when the Suns drafted him. He slowly took over the NBA with his amazing ability to pass and to WANT to pass (which is a rarity in the NBA). Combine that with his superb offensive effeciency and he makes the best point guard in the league. He may not have the size, strength and therefore defensive ability of Billups or Kidd but he is far and away the best pure point guard. In his 2nd term with the Suns he's dished over 11 assists per game, shot 90% from the foul line, 50% from the field and 43% from behind the arch almost every season. Finally, he plays with incredible heart to make up for his size.

6. Kobe Bryant (The Rapist) - I hate Kobe, but all kidding aside he is one of the best players in NBA history. I think he gets a little over rated for his abilities outside of scoring the ball but he is still great all around. He's a 4 time NBA Champion (3 due to Shaq), 12 time All Star and 2 time Scoring Champ. He's one of the best scorers we have ever seen even though he has  slightly lower shooting percentages than some greats. Even though recently the refs have been handing Kobe second chances, he is still a clutch shooter and the guy you want to have the ball at the end of the game. I personally don't like him, but even I have to recognize his skills.

(It's Fake)

5. Tracy McGrady (T-Mac) - He's highly underrated and goes unnoticed because of his injury issues. Some NBA analysts have called him the best scorer they've seen since the 2000s started. He's a 7 time All Star and a back to back NBA Scoring Champion, but sometimes stats aren't enough. If you watched him play during his prime you would have to be blind to not notice how he can just take over a game at the snap of a finger. He has the ability and the talent of the best players in the NBA, but unfortunately his health and his surrounding team has never been very great. From 1999-2007 he was also one the most electric dunkers in the league and since he still had spring in his step, a fantastic perimeter defender. Besides the few times when he and Yao are healthy at the same time he has spent his whole career being a one man team. He is kind of like the Garnett of scorers. Imagine if he went to a great team 2 years ago what could have happened. When healthy he was one of the best players in the league.

4. LeBron James (The King, King James, Akron Hammer) - I know many people are going to have a problem with this ranking. "Lebron NOT IN THE TOP 2?!" Crazy as it is, it's true. Let's start with the good. Earning the title of Rookie of the Year in his first season, as well as the league MVP last year, it is clear that Lebron is special. In 2008 he was the NBA Scoring Champion and has already been to 6 All Star games. Currently, he is better than Kobe, and has been the best player in the NBA for the past 2 seasons, but that doesn't hold true career wise. Lebron is able to play 4 positions at a very high level and makes everyone around him better. A good way to describe him is as  a 2nd string Michael Jordan, which still makes him amazing. The problem I have with LeBron is his extreme lack of efficiency. His career foul shot percentage is only .738 and from 3 it's only .328. Despite this he still is 5th in the league in 3 point attempts which is ridiculous. The guy is an amazing athletic talent and can put up points, assists and rebounds. Unfortunately his lack of efficiency, clutch performances and over zealous shooting attitude puts him lower on the list. If this list was made in another 5-10 years you can rest assured he would be #1.

3. Dwyane Wade (D-Wade) - D-Wade is the 2nd best player in the NBA today and the 3rd best of the past 10 years. Already a 6 time All Star, won an NBA Championship and was the NBA Finals MVP as he out-did teammate Shaq for that honor. He was last seasons Scoring Champion and even beat out the best point guards in the league 2 years in a row in the Skills Challenge during All Star Weekend. He's like a small LeBron if LeBron was clutch, an NBA Finals MVP and the most dedicated player on the court. He is constantly going all out and getting himself nicked up or tossed to the ground. Wade is also always coming up in the clutch on offense and defense. Just this season there are many different cases of Wade coming up with a big steal and score to win the game in the closing seconds of the 4th or OT.  The biggest flaw he has is his terrible 3 point percentage. Luckily he doesn't put up too many shots.

2. Tim Duncan (Big Fundamentals) - Tim doesn't get enough credit because he isn't flashy or talkative. Despite that he's the Peyton Manning of NBA, the pinnacle of constancy and solid play. The thing he has over Peyton is 4 Championship Rings and THREE Finals MVPs. In the Regular season he's been award MVP twice and Rookie of the Year in 1998. He's been an All Star 12 times and made the Defensive 1st or 2nd Team 12 times. Timmy can guarantee you around 20 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks a game spanning a 13 year career. He's unusually loyal by today's standards. Tim has been on the Spurs his whole career and will most likely finish there. The Spurs are arguably the best franchise of the decade due in large part to Tim. He's the best defensive player I've ever seen play inside the paint, and one of the best scoring big man year in and year out. On my Superstar team he'd play power forward because my center would be...

1. Shaq (Superman, Big Aristotle, Big Witness, Shaqctus, Shaq Diesel) - Shaquielle O'Neal has won 4 NBA Championships and matched Duncans 3 Finals MVPs. The only time he didn't win MVP was when Wade won it instead. He's made 15 All Star appearances, 2nd only to the great Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He's a 2 time NBA scoring champion which is remarkable for a new era big man. They normally don't put up 30 points per game like Shaq could. He also won the NBA MVP award in 2000 and Rookie of the Year in 1993. It is amazing how effective he has been for such a long time. He was amazing in the 90s and amazing in the 2000s. Every team he goes on he makes better and this year he could do it again if he leads LeBron and the Cavs to a Championships. Even though he has only been on the NBA All Defensive team 3 times (compared to Duncan's 12), no body in the league wants to go up against Shaq even at age 38. He is going to surely go down as one of the greatest big men the NBA has ever seen and one of the best clutch playoff performers. If it wasn't for Bill Russell's 11 Championships Shaq could be the best ever. In addition Shaq is the most entertaining guy in the NBA and maybe in sports. He's hilarious and if you have ever visited our site you have seen great pictures and videos of the Big Shaqctus doin' what he does.