text: who are the best basketball players in the world? including michael jordan!!!!!!?   the best point guard to ever play the game would be magic johnson. he passed the ball like no one else could. and to be able to play all five positions, that is deadly. he is also the reason for the fast break.   the best shooting guard to ever play the game is michael jordan. he could score better than anyone guard who played the game. he is the reason kobe plays the game. there are many and plenty that try to imitate him. plus he is well known all over the world. i would even go as far as to say elgin baylor, but elgin's competition during his time was not as quick or as strong as michael's era.   the best small forward to play the game is larry bird. i would say dr. j or scottie pippen or even george gervin but because larry could put his team on his back and go get it. . . .he could shoot the rock, post you up, dish the ball, drop a dime and he even had a couple of shake and bake moves in his game. that is what makes him the best.  the best power forward would be either charles barkeley or karl malone. karl ran the floor better than charles, plus he had an automatic 12-16 foot jump shot. but charles could shoot from anywhere on the floor and dribble that ball up the court and put a move on you. they both could rebound the ball, well. so i think it is a tie with those two. it is just sad that neither one of them won a championship.   the best center would have to be either kareem or hakeem (from the rockets) kareem has scored the most points in the nba and had an unstoppable sky hook. he controlled the boards and blocked shots. hakeem did the same thing, just he had a plethora of moves to make big men look bad down in the post. just look at what he did to shaq in the finals, where he tourched shaq for 28 pts per game. plus he ran the floor just like kareem. they both have championship rings, just kareem has a couple of more. i think kareem has a slight edge because of the most unstoppable shot ever. . . .da' hook! god bless you and take care