Laker legend Robert Horry on why Luka will never be a Top 5 player to him: “No, Luka would never make that… I’m old school. You got to be able to play defense for me. I love Luka’s game, but look at guys like MJ, Kobe, Olajuwon, Duncan, LeBron, Kareem. All these guys, to me, played on both ends”
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Agreed I’ll always prefer a player slightly less impactful on offense as long as his defensive effort is noticeable
Defense matters fr
Would he even be a Top 5 Laker? It’s a steep climb for them.
Saying someone can ‘never’ do something no matter what is just plain ignorance
Spurs legend Robert Horry*
How is this controversial?
Isnt Luka like 26? Why are we having this conversation?
I think Luka will not end his career as a top 5.
Still he’s 26 so he has 7-8 years of his best basketball ahead. Let’s wait when he retired to say if he’s a top 5 or a top 50. Because it doesn’t matter if you are a good defender or not, but how impactful you are on the court.
Steph and Jokic are a good example of outstanding players because their offense.
Isn’t Magic considered a top 5 player and he didn’t really play defense?
I mean him and Bird always fall in the 4th to 7th range.
Magic was bad on d and a lot of people have him top 5. It’s not impossible.
I do agree with this sentiment I suppose. Once it comes down to it, the top guys should be able to force a stop. Its what made Miami so good. Lebron and Wades defense don’t get talked about nearly as much as it should. Their defense created their offense.
This shouldn’t be controversial, defense always matters
Most people have Magic in their top 5. I think he’s the worst defender out of your typical top 5 and yet he still led the league in steals for 13 years.
So not sure Luka can get there. It’s a HIGH bar.
Kareem’s defense was so maligned that they joked about it in one of the most well known comedy movies of the 20th century.
That’s not “old school” people still clearly believe that now too
My man spitting facts
National Basketball Association WINNER Robert Horry
I can appreciate the sentiment, but Charles Barkley was the second best player in the NBA at one point, and he wasn’t much of a defender.
Shaq was the best player in the NBA for years and his defense wasn’t very good.
People in this thread have already mentioned Magic…
Would it be better if these dudes were lockdown defenders? Yeah, but I still don’t think what Horry’s saying here matches up with actual consensus
Not wrong….
What a stupid question to ask. This is not a controversial take, whatsoever.
Podcasters and just people in general over the last few years keep trying to discredit and change the narrative of where we rank/ranked players over the course of history and are trying to almost rewrite things. But this? This is just a sane fucking take.
I don’t think any real person thinks Luka is a top 5 all time caliber player. This isn’t a controversial take in the slightliest. Shouldn’t be at least.
Who are the top players who weren’t great defenders that you’d then be able to compare Luka with?
Curry, Harden, Carmelo, Magic, Bird, Nash, Iverson, Dirk?
He can play defence it’s just he doesn’t until his team is 3-1 down
So this sub has a love affair with Luka that is borderline obsessive but Horry is 100% right. Luka is a generational talent but his lack of defense does knock him down more than a few pegs.
Ya his list. I personally don’t agree with the Steph statement. Man changed the game and has the accolades and championships to prove it. I take Steph over Kobe and even Olajuwon. But that’s just me. Yes, I’m a lifelong Warriors fan.
He’s not wrong
I say the same thing about Joker. How is he being called the best center ever when he’s never even sniffed a DPOY award? He’s never led the league in any defensive stat? He’s an offensive monster but on defense he’s borderline a liability…just like Luka
That Luka vs Booker series was something else. Luka too young to replace any of these guys but he could still improve
Basketball is a two way game . It’s not bowling