Hoops

Who is Australia's GOAT?

Seems there is confusion between the GREATEST v the BEST!

Greatest Australian player may not necessarily be our best player on court or the one whom played in the best competition etc...

If we are seeking Australia's best player then we need to look at some variables that can show this, however the greatest player Australia has ever produced, to Australians, may not be the best player rather the one who did many great things for their country!??

Not so easy to nominate someone like Bogut taking into account his injuries and setbacks which stopped him from playing and representing his country, which would have probably put him at the op of the list no matter what Gaze or Jackson did...

But, Jackson and Gaze IMHO sit atop the list purely because we are asking for our own greatest player, the one who did the most for us in every respect, perhaps...

In concurrence LJ, and you'd sure get more than 20,000 watching if she was playen in the NBL.

The whole "Gaze shouldn't be GOAT because he played in the NBL" argument is stupid.

Think of Oscar Schmidt..

Taking these criteria into account I would change my selection to be L. Jackson and A. Gaze...

This is what they reckon is the criteria for the NBA G.O.A.T., just for a bit of a read. Doesn't distinguish between men or women, so I guess WNBA could be included...

The Olympics could also be something we credit more than they do in the USA!

Player must have multiple championships.
Player must have multiple Finals MVPs.
Player must have multiple league MVPs.
Career PER has to be 25 or more.
Career total win shares have to be 200 or more.
Having notable defensive achievements is a plus.
Player must be in the Hall of Fame.

The requirements are strict because role players, who have multiple rings, have to be eliminated quickly. There is no need to bring these guys in the discussion to prove a point. It’s stupid so let’s eliminate them quickly from any Greatest of All Time argument.

The numbers eliminate the bias and eye test. Do not come here with the eye test because that’s subjective like hating or loving a song. Save that for NBA League MVP discussions.

Never ever discuss eras. This will get anyone in trouble. Talking about a particular playing time, such as the 1970s or 1990s, is subjective. The debates will go in circles and get rehashed.

Older generations have fond memories of their time while watching the current time for comparison. The newer generations do not have that luxury. Let’s eliminate era talk completely.

Besides, players are not in control of their competition in any era. They’re only in control of the basketball and what they can do with it. That’s it. They play whoever is in front of them. It is not their fault if they are in a weak or strong era.

Determining the skill level of their competition is also subjective. It’s too hard to judge. Basically, discussing different eras is a grey area. Do not go there.

The Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is not the perfect single number advanced statistic, but it is currently the best we have. Observing points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentages is fine.

With that mind, those building block numbers are not enough in this realm. Different positions, such as guard and center, yield different expectations. Efficiency unifies everyone and it’s simpler to observe. The career PER of 25.0 is chosen because many players cannot maintain that average.

Not fulfilling the 25 average does not make or break the player, but it’s a high watermark that further supports a player’s bid for the GOAT title.

The win share metric is about winning. The win share data shows us the better winner because it is an estimate showing how many wins a player contributed.

The metric also incorporates defense and offense. The number 200 is chosen because it’s an extremely high standard that not many obtain over a career. Currently, only 5 players have career total win share over 200.

If the player does not have any rings, league MVPs, and Finals MVPs then they are eliminated.

The NBA GOAT criteria has some holes, but after years of listening to debates, looking at numbers, and observing trends, this is the result. If you think/feel this is stupid then most likely your favorite player did not fulfill the requirements to be the Greatest of All Time.

I like Mike's list, but Lindsay Gaze should take #10 for his outstanding achievements when Australian basketball had it tough. Being selected to a World Champs All-Star 5 and going to 3 Olympics was pretty impressive. And you just have to look at his coaching results afterwards.

From memory, Palubinskas didn't play enough to get into the list, even though he was an amazing shooter.

as BigAds mentioned, Jackson has never dunked on anyone from the Exum family so how can she be the GOAT?

For me, it's Lauren Jackson. No other player we've produced, male or female has ever been in the discussion for best player on the planet in their generation.

Lauren Jackson by a country mile. Gaze gets the people's award.

Seriously, Lauren Jackson is the GOAT Aussie, with Gaze and Bogut to follow.

Jackson has done everything except win Olympic gold. She came up againsg arguably the best generation of US females of all time.

Well, without a clear criteria we are kind of left to our own subjective views are we not?

For me it is who could be the match winner in a game at the highest level he or she can play in...

Therefore for me, it is L. Jackson & A. Bogut.

They are proven match winners in their own right and anyone who tries to compare females with males is slightly retarded in their comparison, you can't distinguish between them because they can't play in the same league!

Grant Robertson from Adelaide. Far and away the best. Still playing international ball and dominating

Ian Davies?

Gaze right now because of his all-round contribution at all levels and in all competitions.

Bogut maybe in three years time if he stays healthy and represents the Boomers.

The question was GOAT not who's played the most games or scored the most in the NBA or even seen the most court time.
Kirk Penney played sweet FA in the NBA but there is no way the Sean Marks is better than him just because he played what 12 years in the show?

I'd go with Gaze, Bogut would be a close second. Longley has the most credentials but wasn't a star on that Bulls team whilst Bogut is a fringe star with the Warriors.
Gaze was just ridiculously good.