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Take 5 With Kyle Harrison: Favorite Basketball Players Of All Time

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Welcome to the 2nd edition of ‘Take 5 With Kyle Harrison’. Each week we dish Kyle a new topic, challenging him to pick his Top 5. This week: Favorite Basketball Players Of All Time.

Alright, I’m back for week 2, and we’re going with my favorite basketball players of all time. Keep in mind this ISN’T the top five of all time, but my five favorite guys.

I’ve been a basketball player since I was a little guy, so if I tried to pick the top five of all time, not only would I get all jammed up trying to only choose five, but this post would be entirely too long. Also keep in mind I’m 26 years old, so I was too young to really remember the days of Larry Bird, Magic, and all of the legends who came along during that time and before them.

So, here are fives dudes that I’d drop everything to watch:

#1 Michael Jordan

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I think 99.9% of hoops fans would agree that there was no better person to watch play the sport. From his young days when he attacked the hoop fearlessly dunking on anyone that was dumb enough to stand in the way, to his older days of perfecting his famous fade-away jumper. After a few years in the league when he committed to playing defense (arguably one of the best defenders of all time), the puzzle was complete and we were all fortunate to be able to watch the greatest player to ever pick up a basketball. No matter what sport you played, you wanted to be like Mike.

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#2 Kobe Bryant

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I know I know, another obvious choice. But, that being said, as of now (LJ is on his way), Kobe (IMO) is the closest thing we’ve got to MJ. From his killer mentality, to his fall away jumper, to his tenacity on defense, to his leadership (was questioned, but he’s a great leader now), to his 4 Championships, MVP award, scoring titles, Nike deal, Gold medals…you get the idea.

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#3 Lebron James

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I’m not sure if there’s been a player in ANY sport that has had so much hype by the age of 13, and then come into the professional ranks and play even better than expected. Last year’s MVP can do things on the basketball court that we’ve never seen a guy his size do. From him dunking on the entire Pistons team in the playoffs two years ago, to watching him lead the Cavaliers from the second he stepped on the court his rookie season, this kid is ahead of his time.

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#4 Chris Paul

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From the time I saw SportsCenter about 8 years ago when Chris Paul scored 61 points in honor of his grandfather, I instantly became a CP3 fan. I watched him tear it up at Wake, and have enjoyed watching him tear the NBA apart for the past 4 years. Clearly he’s an incredible talent, one of the best we’ve seen… but what impresses me most about Chris Paul is his leadership ability.

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#5 Allen Iverson

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Now, before you all start hating (which I’m sure you’re already doing in your head), remember, these is my favorite dudes to watch, not the 5 best players of all time (though I think he’s in the discussion of the top guards of our generation). Anyone remember when AI first got in the league and was dunking on EVERYONE?! It was out of control watching a little dude get up on people like that! Even more exciting than his dunks early in his career was how at least 10 times again, he put someone on ice skates!! I’ll never forgive him for what he did to Jordan, but outside of that, his ability to shake people was second to none. Remember what he did to Lou in the corner of the Lakers/Sixers series? Shook that cat, stepped back on him, hit a 3 in his face and while Lou was still on the ground from getting shaken up, AI gave him a look, and stepped over that cat on his way back down the court to play defense. Priceless.

These are five guy’s that I’d drop everything to watch, and each brings something different/unique to the table. Clearly there are other players like D-Wade, Pippen, Shaq, Nash, Dwight Howard, Reggie Miller, Chris Mullen, and tons more that qualify, but these 5 have been the dudes who I’ve enjoyed the most.

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About the author: A Tewaaraton winner now playing for the MLL’s Denver OutlawsKyle Harrison has been a star in college and the pro’s.  He is one of the few lacrosse players embracing social media and giving fans a way to connect with him online daily.

Tune in next week – same time, same place – for another round of Take 5 With KH18. In the meantime, follow Kyle on Twitter and check out his Yardbarker blog!


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