Ranking the Greatest NBA Players of All Time

Yesterday, Michael Jordan's long time duo, Scottie Pippen, made the following statements:

"Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to ever play the game. I may go so far as saying LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game."

Hours later, Pippen was bombarded by reactions, mostly violent, via Twitter.

Well, you can't blame the guy. When he was a Trail Blazer back in 2000, he also said his Trail Blazer team was the best team ever formed. His team went on to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Now, will anyone listen to this guy again?

For once, I have to agree with Yahoosports expert Kelly Dwyer with his article, and I quote:

"No, James hasn't surpassed Jordan in any meaningful way yet. He hasn't won jack, in comparison to MJ's six titles. He hasn't simultaneously won a Defensive Player of the Year in the same season he led the NBA in scoring, though that might be Dwight Howard's(notes) fault more than anything else. And because James joined the Miami Heat midway through his career, he'll never be looked at as the singular drive behind any championships he earns. After all, when Jordan won his first ring in 1991, Pippen hadn't even made an All-Star team by then."

As unchangeable as the fact that the sun rises in the east, His Airness, Michael Jordan, was, is and will always be the greatest player who ever played the game. I rest my case.

So ballers, let's clear the air and rank the top 10 greatest NBA players of all time individually. And the top first five, second five and third five of all time, obviously this is by position. Good luck!

Here's the list where you can choose from:

CENTERS

Kareem Abdul Jabbar (6 rings, 6 MVP, 2 FMVP)

Wilt Chamberlain (2 rings, 4 MVP, 1 FMVP)

Moses Malone (1 ring, 3 MVP, 1 FMVP)

George Mikan (5 rings)

Shaquille O'neal (4 rings, 1 MVP, 3 FMVP)

Hakeem Olajuwon (2 rings, 1 mVP, 2 FMVP)

Willis Reed (2 rings, 1 MVP, 2 FMVP)

Bill Russell (11 rings, 5 MVP)

Wes Unseld (1 ring, 1 MVP, 1 FMVP)

Bill Walton (2 rings, 1 MVP, 1 FMVP)

Robert Parish (4 rings)

Bob Petit ( 1 ring, 2 MVP)

David Robinson (2 rings, 1 MVP)

POWER FORWARDS

Charles Barkley (1 MVP)

Karl Malone (2 MVP)

Kevin McHale (3 rings)

Tim Duncan (4 rings, 2MVP, 3 FMVP)

Dirk Nowitzki (1 MVP)

SMALL FORWARDS

Rick Barry (1 ring, 1 FMVP)

Elgin Baylor

Larry Bird (3 rings, 3 MVP, 3 FMVP)

Julius Erving (1 ring, 1 MVP)

John Havlicek (8 rings, 1 FMVP)

Sam Jones (10 rings)

Scottie Pippen (6 rings)

James Worthy (3 rings, 1 FMVP)

LeBron James (2 MVP)

Dominique Wilkins

Bernard King

SHOOTING GUARDS

Clyde Drexler (1 ring)

George Gervin

Oscar Robertson (1 ring, 1 MVP)

Jerry West (1 ring, 1 FMVP)

Michael Jordan (6 rings, 5 MVP, 6 FMVP)

Kobe Bryant (5 rings, 1 MVP, 2 FMVP)

Allen Iverson (1 MVP)

POINT GUARDS

Nate Archibald (1 ring)

Bob Cousy (6 rings, 1 MVP)

Walt Frazier (2 rings)

Magic Johnson (5 rings, 3 MVP, 3 FMVP)

Pete Maravich

Earl Monroe (1 ring)

John Stockton

Isaiah Thomas (2 rings, 1 FMVP)

Jason Kidd

Steve Nash (2 MVP)