How do you rank Melo, Pierce, Butler, and PG13 all time as of today?

[dygaction]

Wanted to include Iguodala but figured he does not really belong. Feel free to put him in if Iggy ends up ahead of anyone.

[MiamiBulls]

1. Pierce
2. Butler
3. George
4. Anthony

[Fundamentals21]

1. Jimmy Butler - proven player with great track record, and constantly clutch in the playoffs.
2. Pierce - Finals MVP and more of a 2nd tier superstar, but still a great and reliable franchise guy.
3. Carmelo - Torn between 1st and 2nd fiddle, but was a great scorer in his prime.
4. George - Least of the 4, but a great 2 way player and #2 on any team.

[penbeast0]

Butler and Pierce -- top 100 of all time, probably not top 50.
Carmelo and George -- 100-200 range, George better on the court, Carmelo on the court more.

[TheGOATRises007]

What's the argument for Pierce over PG-13?

[JimmyFromNz]

What's the argument for Pierce over PG-13?

I think we can agree George peaked higher as a two way player, the OKC outlier season would be PG's biggest claim as a peak. Whilst I guess on paper making a couple more all NBA teams within a smaller pool of forwards at the time (consider Pierce's competition there) is a plus?

As a whole though PG just wasn't consistently as good of a player as Pierce throughout his career and achieved less. We see that stastically (see basic and advanced), through longevity and the relative team success of each when surrounded with real talent.

I thought PG's trajectory with the Clippers would have been the something that eventually catapulted him higher on an all time list, over Pierce for example, yet that's been a significant let down on teams with clear championship potential where he was the clearly designated 2nd best player. Injuries and just some flat out failures really sunk his value here.

There's also that awkward intangible factor (blasphemy on the pc board no doubt) difference between the two players where one elevated their play consistently in the playoffs and 'moments' whilst the other developed a very well known nickname post some frisky early runs with Indiana. Take that for what it is worth, but I dont think it can simply be dismissed if we want to be real about how eaches career played out.

My list would be

Pierce - slightly lower peak than other two depending on how you measure, but better career longevity and body of work.
Butler/George - even yet dependent on how much weight you put into a couple of Jimmy's 'part time star' playoff run.
Melo - clearly last.

[Cavsfansince84]

1. Pierce/PG13. Probably both in the top 55-60. George lower due to missed games. Only 8 real full seasons in 14 as a pro.
3. Butler. Probably around 60-70. Too many missed games. Might have Butler over George due to the two finals.
4. Melo. Around 90-100.

[trex_8063]

1. Pierce
2. Butler
3. George
4. Anthony

Like this^^^.
Worth noting that, as of '24, probably the largest gap [in terms of places between] for me exists between George and Melo.

[rate_]

How is Jimmy not #1? 2 Final appearances and and 3 conference Finals without a bonafide superstar on his team. Miami Jimmy has won plenty of playoff series as the underdog. 2022 Jimmy playoffs was a 12 BPM and 30 PER level player in 17 games. 5X all defense team. Pierce, PG13, Carmelo are all below him clearly. Pierce wasn't even the best player on his championship team.

[rand]

Wanted to include Iguodala but figured he does not really belong. Feel free to put him in if Iggy ends up ahead of anyone.

All time rankings are dominated by accolades and volume so Iggy will naturally be placed at the bottom but for actual team construction, Iggy > Melo pretty clearly IMO.

[JimmyFromNz]

Wanted to include Iguodala but figured he does not really belong. Feel free to put him in if Iggy ends up ahead of anyone.

All time rankings are dominated by accolades and volume so Iggy will naturally be placed at the bottom but for actual team construction, Iggy > Melo pretty clearly IMO.

I guess that depends on what we mean by team construction.

Is Andre more portable into a broader set of teams? Yes, as literally any elite wing defender and secondary ball handler would be.

Though we also saw in Philly that Andre was very limited in any role requiring him to be a lead option or scorer.

[dygaction]

Wanted to include Iguodala but figured he does not really belong. Feel free to put him in if Iggy ends up ahead of anyone.

All time rankings are dominated by accolades and volume so Iggy will naturally be placed at the bottom but for actual team construction, Iggy > Melo pretty clearly IMO.

yes, that lucky bustard turned 31 in 2015, and had played in 7 of the next 8 NBA finals since then before hanging up.

[Narigo]

Butler
Pierce
George
Melo

[Dr Positivity]

1. Jimmy - Dragged two teams to the finals, great intangibles and defensive effort
2. Pierce - Best offensive career of the group
3. George - Always seemed a little too laid back personality wise to me, probably overrated on D after the leg injury, to his credit he's had to play with weak fit beside Kawhi
4. Melo - Suffered a bit from playing most of his prime before the stretch 4 popularity, one way player

[Doctor MJ]

Wanted to include Iguodala but figured he does not really belong. Feel free to put him in if Iggy ends up ahead of anyone.

All time rankings are dominated by accolades and volume so Iggy will naturally be placed at the bottom but for actual team construction, Iggy > Melo pretty clearly IMO.

I guess that depends on what we mean by team construction.

Is Andre more portable into a broader set of teams? Yes, as literally any elite wing defender and secondary ball handler would be.

Though we also saw in Philly that Andre was very limited in any role requiring him to be a lead option or scorer.

Agree and I suppose I'll go ahead and give a list:

1. Pierce
2. Butler
3. George
4. Iguodala
5. Melo

[Doctor MJ]

How is Jimmy not #1? 2 Final appearances and and 3 conference Finals without a bonafide superstar on his team. Miami Jimmy has won plenty of playoff series as the underdog. 2022 Jimmy playoffs was a 12 BPM and 30 PER level player in 17 games. 5X all defense team. Pierce, PG13, Carmelo are all below him clearly. Pierce wasn't even the best player on his championship team.

I think you've got a point. I don't have Pierce high ahead of Jimmy on my list, and I'll be evaluating again in the future.

[Doctor MJ]

Wanted to include Iguodala but figured he does not really belong. Feel free to put him in if Iggy ends up ahead of anyone.

All time rankings are dominated by accolades and volume so Iggy will naturally be placed at the bottom but for actual team construction, Iggy > Melo pretty clearly IMO.

yes, that lucky bustard turned 31 in 2015, and had played in 7 of the next 8 NBA finals since then before hanging up.

Melo was just unlucky that the Warriors wanted a solid leader who could take on different levels of primacy while playing great defense himself and building a strong defensive culture that the young guys could grow into. If only they'd wanted an individualist scorer who wasn't good enough to have primacy on their team and was a liability on defense, Melo would have been just what they were looking for!

[parsnips33]

God I actually used to dream about a Harrison Barnes+ for Melo sign-and-trade lol

[sp6r=underrated]

How is Jimmy not #1? 2 Final appearances and and 3 conference Finals without a bonafide superstar on his team.

Paul George's career is very arguable to me in comparison to Jimmy Butler. Losing in the CF over the Finals is fairly close. And greater durability allowing your team not to be an 8 seed is a positive.


I would pick George over Butler given Minnesota and Philadelphia and his better durability. At the very least I don't see anyway how you can think this is a no-brainer unless ring counting has evolved to the point where we count furthest round advanced to for guys who didn't win a ring.

FWIW ( all 3 are close and can see arguments for all 3)

1. George
2. Pierce: Even tough Butler peaked as the better player Pierce's far greater durability over Butler is enough to make up the difference. Rare case where durability wins out.
3. Butler

gap

4. Melo: I don't hate Melo. He played for my team and was one of the few brightspots during a miserable era of Knicks basketball. But his peak is well below George/Butler. It isn't close enough to carry you to championship contender status and he's a player whose value in the NBA declines as team talent rises.

[Special_Puppy]

How is Jimmy not #1? 2 Final appearances and and 3 conference Finals without a bonafide superstar on his team.

Paul George's career is very arguable to me in comparison to Jimmy Butler. Losing in the CF over the Finals is fairly close. And greater durability allowing your team not to be an 8 seed is a positive.


I would pick George over Butler given Minnesota and Philadelphia and his better durability. At the very least I don't see anyway how you can think this is a no-brainer unless ring counting has evolved to the point where we count furthest round advanced to for guys who didn't win a ring.

FWIW ( all 3 are close and can see arguments for all 3)

1. George
2. Pierce: Even tough Butler peaked as the better player Pierce's far greater durability over Butler is enough to make up the difference. Rare case where durability wins out.
3. Butler

gap

4. Melo: I don't hate Melo. He played for my team and was one of the few brightspots during a miserable era of Knicks basketball. But his peak is well below George/Butler. It isn't close enough to carry you to championship contender status and he's a player whose value in the NBA declines as team talent rises.

Was Melo ever a top 7-8 player in the league?