Comparison from the present to the past

Just a assumption…

Kobe Bryant- Micheal Jordan

Lebron James- Magic Johnson/Oscar Robertson

Chris Paul- Tiny Archibald/Isash Thomas

Blake Griffin- Karl Malone/Dominique Wilkins

Rudy Gay- Eddie Johnson

Dwight Howard- Nate Thurmond

Pau Gasol- Tough one…Pat Ewing? I dunno honestly

Dirk Nowitzki (this should be a tough one)- Larry Bird

Rajon Rondo- Fat Lever

Dwayne Wade- Derek Harper (pre injury)

Carmelo Anthony- Benard King

Kevin Durant- George Gervin

Kobe Bryant – Michael Jordan

Lebron James – Magic Johnson

Chris Paul – Kevin Johnson

Blake Griffin – Shawn Kemp

Rudy Gay – Scottie Pippen

Dwight Howard – Moses Malone

Dirk Nowitzki – Larry Bird

Dwayne Wade – Walt Frazier

Carmelo Anthony – Elgin Baylor

The rest were tough.

Kobe Bryant – Michael Jordan : Leadership, scoring ability, the athleticism, the determination, the hunger for winning is there… He is the best player in the planet right now… This is just a mere comparison… I’m not saying MJ is Kobe nor Kobe is MJ…

Lebron James – Julius Erving/Magic Johnson/Oscar Robertson in one body: LBJ has the athleticism of Dr. J… The passing ability, unselfishness and court visions of both Magic Johnson and The Big O… The only difference is, they don’t have a big ego compared to the so-called King…

Chris Paul – Isiah Thomas: Lightning quick and has excellent handles… Both can lead a team and both are warriors in their own rights.

Blake Griffin – Shawn Kemp/Karl Malone: His athleticism is out of this world… He reminds me so much of The Reign Man when he was reigning in Seattle… His low post skills are improving game by game that can be comparable to the Mailman…

Rudy Gay – Steve Smith/Scottie Pippen: He has the scoring mentality of a Steve Smith and the athleticism of Scottie… Though, I would definitely say that Gay doesn;t have the all-around capability that Pippen has…

Dwight Howard – David Robinson: Very athletic for a seven-footer… A very good defender in the low post and an excellent weakside shot blocker… With Patrick Ewing coaching him, I think his post moves are getting there consistently… You can definitely see the progress by just watching him now.

Pau Gasol – I can’t think of a player that can compare Gasol… A very skilled big man, high IQ but doesn;t have the athleticism that’s going to awe fans… But his game is purely made for the Triangle Offense.

Dirk Nowitzki (this should be a tough one) A VEEEERRRRY TOUGH ONE dude… I’m thinking Detlef Schrempf only Dirk is thrice as better or and taller. Way off I think…lol

Rajon Rondo – An athletic and faster Bob Cousy? lol…. His court-vision is amazing not to mention his sick passing skills… Yes… His jumpshot has never scared any opponent but his penetration and ability to find the open man makes up for it.

Dwayne Wade – Michael Jordan (please see Kobe)

Carmelo Anthony – Glenn Robinson: A scorer’s mentality but lacks the "it" factor to be mentioned among the all-time greats such as Jordan and Kobe…

Kevin Durant – George Gervin: Baby Ice or Durantula… Both are long, athletic and has knack for putting the ball in the basket… Not to mention Durant’s game has been as smooth now than it has ever been… Much like the Ice Man’s finger roll.

Kobe Bryant-mj

Lebron James-magic and oscar having a baby with cjarles barkley

Chris Paul- john stockton

Blake Griffin-kemp before his problems

Rudy Gay-dr.j

Dwight Howard- bob petit lol

Pau Gasol- kevin mchale

Dirk Nowitzki (this should be a tough one)- elvin hayes

Rajon Rondo- isiah thomas

Dwayne Wade- david thompson before cocaine first 3 years look at his stats

Carmelo Anthony- benard king

Kevin Durant- gervin

1.Kobe-Jordan

2.Lebron-Magic’s passing ability & Jordan’s athleticism

3.CP3-Isiah Thomas

4.Blake Griffin-Barkley’s intensity/Shawn Kemp’s athleticism/Karl Malone’s toughness

5.Rudy Gay-Scottie Pippen

6.Dwight Howard-A more athletic,better skilled Kevin Willis

7.Pau Gasol-Kevin McHale..McHale was also a great passer,rebounder and with clever post moves around the basket..

8.Nowitzki-Kiki Vandeweghe

9.Rajon Rondo-Fat Lever

10.Dwayne Wade-Micheal Jordan

11.Carmelo Anthony-Bernard King

12.Kevin Durant-George Gervin

Kobe Bryant – Elgin Baylor

Lebron James – Magic Johnson/Oscar Robertson

Chris Paul – Tiny Archibald

Blake Griffin – Shawn Kemp

Rudy Gay – Scottie Pippen

Dwight Howard – Walt Bellamy

Pau Gasol – Kevin Mchale

Dirk Nowitzki (this should be a tough one) – Detlef Scrempf

Rajon Rondo – Gary Payton

Dwayne Wade – Walt Frazier

Carmelo Anthony – Bernard King

Kevin Durant – George Gervin

 Dirk doesn’t have the toughness and defensive skills of a Larry Bird… But the offense is similar though…

 Kobe Bryant – MIchael Jordan ( late career)

Lebron James – Michael Jordan  ( early career, MJ averaged 8 rbs and 8 apg in 88-89, he’s the last player I remember filling a score card like Lebron and having elite athleticism too)

Chris Paul – Kevin Johnson

Blake Griffin – Shawn Kemp

Rudy Gay –  Sean Elliot

Dwight Howard – Artis Gilmore

Pau Gasol – Hakeem Olajuwon

Dirk Nowitzki (this should be a tough one) – 

Rajon Rondo – Mo Cheeks

Dwayne Wade – Ron Harper ( pre injury )

Carmelo Anthony – Alex English

Kobe Bryant – Michael Jordan

Lebron James – Oscar Robertson (I know 6-5, 220 lbs isn’t the same as 6-8 250 but for the time period it might as well have been)

Chris Paul – Isiah Thomas

Blake Griffin – Karl Malone

Rudy Gay – Reggie Lewis

Dwight Howard – Nate Thurmond, very good rebounder and defender with the offensive ability to average 20 PPG (hopefully he can start winning a few championships and MVPs and then I can compare him to Russell!)

Pau Gasol – Brad Daugherty

Dirk Nowitzki (this should be a tough one) – Dolph Schayes (going old school for this one, never seen him play even in highlight clips but he was renowned as a PF who could shoot from anywhere, was a dominant scorer and a good rebounder for many years)

Rajon Rondo – I really want to go with Jason Kidd here but since it HAS to be somebody who has retired I’ll reluctantly go with Maurice Cheeks.

Dwayne Wade – Jerry West. Both shooting guards who handled the ball like a PG. Could pass, rebound and defend at a high level. Both also have/had the ability to get to the free throw line with alarming frequency by attacking the basket (West averaged more than 10 FTA per game on five occasions)

Carmelo Anthony – Bernard King (some of Melo’s moves look identical to King’s)

Kevin Durant – George Gervin

I see all the people with the Griffin to Kemp comparisons and I can see from an athleticism point of view but Griffin is already has more ways to score on the offensive end and is a better rebounder and a harder worker than Kemp ever was. Kemps career high in scoring was 20.5 PPG and that was one of only two seasons where he averaged at least 19 PPG. And his career high in RPG was 11.4. Griff looks like he will pass both those marks in his rookie season.