The Definitive* All-Time NBA Top Ten of Former Syracuse Orange

When I said yesterday that we were going to figure out who the all-time NBA top ten former Syracuse Orange wereyesterday, I meant it. So, we took all of your submitted top tens, combined them with some internal picks and now we present you with the definitive* list.

No. 10 - Michael Carter-Williams

*gasp* How the hell did MCW beat out people like Hakim Warrick, Etan Thomas and Jason Hart? It's true that MCW's career and reputation are both still being defined but he's already No. 7 all-time on the list of assists for former Orange and it seems like high expectations for the former NBA Rookie of the Year factor in as well.

No. 9 - Louis Orr

You don't think of Orr when you think of Syracuse greats in the NBA but he's played the 8th-most games, scored the 8th-most points, grabbed the seventh-most rebounds, and dished out the 9th-most assists out of all alums in the league. He did all of that between 1980 and 1988 with the Pacers and Knicks.

No. 8 - Billy Gabor

The forgotten SU NBA legend, Gabor was a superstar at SU and went on to play between 1948 and 1955 for the Syracuse Nationals where he was an All-Star and won an NBA Title in 1955.

No. 7 - Billy Owens

Owens was in the league from 1991 to 2001 and he left the NBA 7th in games played, 7th in points scored, 5th in rebounds, 5th in assists, and 6th in blocks amongst SU alums. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1992.

No. 6 - Sherman Douglas

The General played from 1989 to 2001 and by the time he was done he was No. 5 in games played, No. 5 in points scored, No. 2 in assists, and No. 10 in rebounds (!) for an SU alum. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1990.

No. 5 - Danny Schayes

Son of Dolph had the longest career of any Orange alum in the NBA (18 years). It spanned seven different teams and while he was never a star he was certainly a dependable cog for many squads. He's also 5th in points, 4th in rebounds, 6th in assists, and third in blocks amongst alumni.

No. 4 - Rony Seikaly

The 9th pick in the 1988 NBA Draft, Seikaly became an early face of the Miami Heat franchise, earning Comeback Player of the Year in 1990. He ended up playing through 1999 with the Heat, Warriors, Magic and Nets. When it was over, he finished 6th in games played, 4th in scoring, 2nd in rebounds, and 2nd in blocks amongst alums.

No. 3 - Derrick Coleman

Coleman gets a bad rap for not living up to his hype as first pick in 1990. Still, he was Rookie of the Year, an All-Star once, and All-NBA Third-Team twice. His career spanned fourteen seasons and he finished 4th in games played, 3rd in points, first in rebounds, and first in blocks amongst SU alums. If he had been a lower draft pick, he'd be remembered more fondly.

No. 2 - Carmelo Anthony

You had to figure he was gonna be here. Melo hasn't reached the pinnacle but his NBA career has still been very good and it's not done yet. He's a nine-time All-Star, twice All-NBA Second Teamer, four-time All-NBA Third Teamer, and one-time league scoring champion. He's currently 2nd in games played, first in scoring, third in rebounds, third in assists, and fourth in blocks amongst alums. Not too shabby.

No. 1 - Dave Bing

It had to be Bing. The SU great played 12 seasons in the NBA, mostly with the Pistons but also with the Bullets and Celtics. He averaged over 20 points per game for his career, was named All-Star seven times and won the All-Star Game MVP Award in 1976. He was also scoring champion one season and an All-NBA First-Teamer twice. Even with all the time passed, he's still third in games played, second in scoring, sixth in rebounds, and first in assists amongst alums.

* - Probably not actually definitive