When it comes to Larry Nance Sr., younger generation basketball fans likely know him best as Pete and Larry Nance Jr’s dad, while the old heads are more likely to remember him as one of the greatest dunkers of all-time. In fact, Nance the elder was so revered for his dunking prowess that he carried nicknames like Mr. Slambassador, the High-Atollah of Slamola, and the Flying Sun. There are worse fates than being known as the father of two NBA players and a ferocious dunker, but Nance deserves to be remembered for having one of the most unique skill-sets the NBA has ever seen.
Nance received sparing honors over the course of his career. He was selected to just three all-star teams, received a single MVP vote in 1989, and was named to an all-defensive team three times. Certainly, from his trophy case alone, Nance does not appear to have the resume of a top-100 player. However, in this instance, beauty is hiding in play sight. Nance was a 6 ’10, stat-sheet stuffing, athletic freak who, in a lot of ways, was the prototype for today’s NBA player. He is the only player in NBA history to have regular season averages of 17+ points, 8+ rebounds, 2.2+ blocks, a .546+ field goal %, and a .750+ free throw %. Although playoff success eluded him, he was equally unique in the postseason. He is the only player in NBA playoff history to average 15+ points, 7.5+ rebounds, 2+ blocks, a .540+ field goal %, and a .740+ free throw %. His career stat line also registers favorably with advanced statistics as he’s well within the top-100 all-time in Win Shares, Player Efficiency Rating (PER), Value Above Replacement Player (VORP), True Shooting Percentage, and Effective Field Goal Percentage.
Larry Nance is not in the NBA Hall of Fame, nor is it probable that he ever will be. His brilliance has gone unnoticed going on four decades, and that is unlikely to change. However, despite playing for middling Phoenix and Cleveland teams, it is clear that his unique career is one of distinction. Had he played for Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, or Chicago, Nance would be a household name. Still, given that he carries the only career stat line of its kind in NBA history, Nance is an easy inclusion within the top-100 basketball players of all-time.
Wayne Gretzky is not only the greatest hockey player of all-time, but also the greatest athlete that the four major North American sports have ever produced. The gap between “The Great One” and everyone else in hockey history is as deep as, well, the ‘87 Oilers. That second spot, though, is up for grabs. There are compelling arguments to be made for Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Patrick Roy, and even Sidney Crosby. The most compelling argument, however, goes to a player who is often dismissed from the conversation altogether, and that’s Alexander Ovechkin. There are flaws on Ovechkin’s resume. In fact, every player listed above has a major flaw on their resume. Lemieux was hardly a defensive stalwart, and he had just six seasons in which he played more than 67 games. Howe played in a league with six teams, which made his path to awards and championships the easiest of anyone in the conversation. Crosby was robbed of parts of several prime seasons due to concussion symptoms, and he has the fewest Hart/Vezina trophies of the group. Orr was essentially done by age 27, and played in the expansion era, which was the weakest in the history of the NHL. Roy won only half as many Vezinas as a rival goaltender (Dominik Hasek). They all have flaws. Aside from the very real North American bias that exists in these conversations, any “hate” (or let’s call it “lack of love”) for Ovechkin at the second spot exists under the mistaken assumption that a flawless candidate exists.
Goals are the goal
Before we move to Ovechkin’s resume, let’s tackle the biggest criticism that gets levied against him: “he’s just a goal scorer.” First, that’s not close to being true–and we’ll get to that shortly–but even if it were, there comes a point when an athlete is so superior at the most important skill in a sport, that none of the other stuff matters. Michael Jordan is the greatest scorer in the history of the NBA. He has the highest scoring average of all-time and led the NBA in scoring a record 10 times. Nobody in the modern era has ever come close to matching Jordan’s scoring. Nobody is out there dissing Jordan’s scoring because he never finished in the top 5 in assists. Alexander Ovechkin has led the NHL in scoring a record nine times. Nobody in the modern era of hockey has ever come close to that. We’re not talking about a good goal scorer, we’re talking about, by far, the greatest goal scorer of all-time, and that distinction has little to do with his status as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, and everything to do with how much more he dominated his era than any player in history. The obvious counter is to point out that Jordan won six championships to Ovechkin’s one. However, Ovechkin’s competition hardly has Jordan-esque championship totals themselves. Lemieux and Orr seem to be the most popular choices at the second spot, and they each won two championships. They also had the luxury of playing with Jaromir Jagr and Phil Esposito–two of the top 20 greatest players of all-time–among others. Ovechkin has had no such luxury with Washington.
Points are flawed
Now, about that “just a goal scorer” criticism, which is just code for “doesn’t have huge point totals.” Hockey fans–me included–have a bad habit of obsessing over “points.” I was admittedly ecstatic when Connor McDavid became the first player since 1996 to reach the 150-point mark in game 80 of the 2022-23 season, and then again when he landed right on 100 points in the last game of the season in 2024-25 to extend his 100-point streak to five seasons. Points are fun. However, the fact that a goal, a primary assist, and a secondary assist are viewed equally is an absurdity. The second assist (which accounts for roughly half of all assists) often has little to do with the outcome of a play, and probably shouldn’t even exist (I mean, why not add a 3rd assist?). Even many primary assists are harmless passes that have little to do with the puck going in the net. If assists were fairly valued in the point tally, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation; Ovechkin would be the near unanimous choice. Let’s imagine that world–a world where the creator of the “points” statistic took an extra second to think about whether it made sense. Let’s imagine that a primary assist is worth ½ of a point, and a secondary assist is worth ¼ of a point (rough estimates of what fair values could be). Assuming there are as many primary assists as secondary assists, the average assist would equate to .375 points. This is what that world would look like:
With assists being fairly rated in the points statistic, nearly all of the concerns about Ovechkin’s point totals would be erased. He’d carry a clear points per game advantage over Howe, and his massive longevity advantage over Lemieux would be represented by a 300+ margin in career points. He would have a points lead over Crosby, who some view as the superior player simply due to his point totals. In that world, Ovechkin isn’t even overwhelmed by Gretzky’s production. The numbers in the table above represent a world where points are adjusted for league scoring pace and assists are valued fairly. This is much closer to reality than simply heading over to the points leaderboard and regurgitating a flawed statistic to devalue the greatest goal scorer in NHL history. The point of the game is goals after all, and Ovechkin is the greatest there ever was:
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Ovechkin’s Goal Dominance
1). Led the NHL in goals 9 times which is the most in NHL history. No player to debut since 1979 has done it more than 3 (!!!) times.
2). No player has even finished in the top-5 in goals more than 6 times since 1979.
Editor’s Note: This is my favorite Ovechkin statistic.
3). Finished top-5 in goals 15 times, which is the most in NHL history. No player since the Original Six has done it more than eight times.
4). Most adjusted goals in NHL history (999), 74 ahead of 2nd place (Gordie Howe), 158 ahead of 3rd place (Jaromir Jagr), and 241 ahead of 4th place (Wayne Gretzky).
5). Most seasons with 50+ adjusted goals (11). Nobody else has more than seven (Rocket Richard), and nobody since the Original Six has more than five.
6). Most seasons with 40+ adjusted goals (16). Nobody else has more than 10 (Gordie Howe and Brett Hull). Gretzky and Lemieux have 15 combined (!!!)
Editor’s Note: This is my second favorite Ovechkin statistic.
7). Highest adjusted goals per game in NHL history (.67, tied with Mario Lemieux) despite playing in 575 more games than Lemieux (since 1935). For perspective, Bobby Orr’s entire career lasted 657 games.
8). Only player in the history of the NHL to be voted an NHL First Team All-Star at left and right wing.
9). Most NHL First Team All-Star selections (8) by a forward since the Original Six (tied with Gretzky).
10). Led the NHL in Power Play goals a record six times. No player since the Original Six has done it more than three times.
11). Only player in NHL history to lead the NHL in Power Play goals and Even Strength Goals five times each.
12). One of only four players in NHL history to win three Hart Trophies and a Conn Smythe Trophy.
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Complete Player
Critics like to skewer Ovechkin for not having an “all-around game” in favor of Gretzky, Lemieux, and Crosby. Ostensibly, this means “doesn’t have a ton of assists,” but it really just ends up being a catch-all attempt at hand-wavery and selective reasoning meant to discredit Ovechkin. There are, of course, one-dimensional players, but Ovechkin isn’t one of them, and to compare his responsibilities to that of centers is the surest sign that an argument is not being made in good faith. Ovechkin plays a different position! He is every bit the all-around player as a winger that the aforementioned players were as centers. There has never been a modern elite offensive player who has come close to matching Ovechkin’s physicality. He is the all-time leader in hits among forwards in league history. He has more than three times as many career hits as Crosby, and, remarkably, he managed to do so while accruing fewer career penalty minutes than both Crosby and Lemieux despite playing ~140 and ~600 more games, respectively. Ovechkin is also an uncommonly strong defensive player among elite goal scorers. He has more defensive point shares than the top 10 goals scorers in NHL history with the exception of Jaromir Jagr. Ovechkin’s durability and availability is also unparalleled among elite offensive players. He played at least 79% of Washington’s games in every season of his career. Lemieux had 10 seasons in which he did not reach that mark, and Crosby had 5. When talk turns to Ovechkin lacking an all-around game, these aspects of his repertoire are conveniently left out. Ovechkin’s combination of elite goal scoring, physicality, defensive presence, and durability has never been seen before in NHL history.
Conclusion
While Ovechkin has the second most impressive resume in history, it’s not by a significant margin. The difference between Gretzky and Ovechkin is larger than the difference between Ovechkin and anyone in the top 15. It’s more likely than not that Lemieux would’ve had a superior resume had he been afforded the luxury of Ovechkin’s health, and that could be true for Crosby as well. That makes Connor McDavid a very interesting player to follow over the next 10 years. He has an opportunity to fully realize his career potential the way Lemieux and Crosby could not. If that happens, and he’s able to win a Stanley Cup or two, then Ovechkin’s hold on the second spot starts to become perilous. Until then, Ovechkin has the best case of a group of flawed resumes (relatively speaking, of course).
Despite being the NHL’s all-time leader in regular season wins and second in playoff wins, there is a rather hearty contingent that discounts Martin Brodeur’s status as a top-5 goaltender in NHL history, let alone a candidate to the GOAT goalie throne. The argument goes something like, “Brodeur was a product of a brilliant defensive system in New Jersey. There are many goaltenders who could’ve done the same.” This is an interesting take given that Brodeur won at least 40 games for seven different coaches, and played for 22 seasons. No other goalie has won 40+ games more than three times, ever. That’s quite the heavy lifting by a “system.” Surely, that system would have been copied all around the league, leading to the greatest statistical goalie careers in history? Oh, wait, it was just Brodeur? Hmm. Nevertheless, Brodeur was a fantastic netminder, and he is a legitimate candidate to the goalie throne. It is quite likely that the three greatest goaltenders in NHL history are–in alphabetical order–Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, and Patrick Roy. With all due respect to the Original Six OG goalies, the competition level at that time wasn’t remotely close to what it is in a robust, 30 team league with a fully globalized pool of international talent.
Adjusted for competition level, Brodeur, Hasek, and Roy are the Holy Trinity of NHL goaltenders. Ordering them based on merit is not an easy task. Depending on what specific elements we choose to emphasize, the ordering can change drastically. For instance, Dominik Hasek had the greatest goaltender peak in NHL history. If we order the three based on peak, then Hasek gets the nod. We have to be careful, though, because if we’re talking about peak only, then we need to bring Bernie Parent and Tim Thomas into the conversation, which is, of course, an unintended consequence of focusing solely on peak. If we emphasize longevity and playoff success, then Hasek is at the back of the line. When comparing elite resumes, it makes the most sense to look for a healthy balance between longevity, playoff success, and peak. Roy–the only player in NHL history to win three Conn Smythe Trophies, and the goalie with the most 30-win seasons in league history–seems to have the healthiest balance of all three factors. Despite not having the peak seasons that Hasek had, Brodeur played 531 more games than Hasek, and did so at an elite level. Brodeur wins in a massive landslide over Hasek in longevity, while also coming out ahead in playoff success. Hasek, for his part, has a decided advantage over Brodeur in peak performance.
Even though all three have legitimate GOAT claims, the gap between Roy and Brodeur seems to be smaller than the gap between Brodeur and Hasek. In fact, shoddy Conn Smythe voting might be the only thing keeping Roy ahead of Brodeur. Brodeur was worthy of the Vezina Trophy in each of New Jersey’s three Stanley Cup wins. He set the single-season playoff record for shutouts in 2003 (7) to go with a stellar .934 save percentage and a 1.65 goals against average. He led the 2000 playoffs with a microscopic 1.61 goals against average, and led the playoffs with three shutouts and a .927 save percentage in 1995. In a twist of irony, Brodeur, for all his brilliance, was shut out of the Conn Smythe all three times. Even just one Smythe could’ve added a little more clarity to this pretzeled trio of resumes. Still, Brodeur is unquestionably among the top three goaltenders in the modern era, and he has the resume to prove it.
Brodeur’s Resume
1). Most top-2 finishes in Vezina Trophy voting (7).
2). Most top-3 finishes in Vezina Trophy voting (9).
3). Most top-4 finishes in Vezina Trophy voting (11). Nobody else has more than 8.
4). Most top-5 finishes in Vezina Trophy voting (13). Nobody else has more than 10.
5). Most top-5 finishes in Hart Trophy voting (7) among goaltenders.
6). Led the NHL in wins 9 times. Nobody else has done it more than 6 times.
7). Most 40-win seasons in NHL history (8). Nobody else has more than 3.
8). Won 40+ games for seven different coaches. Again, nobody else did it more than 3 times.
Editor’s note: This is my favorite Brodeur stat.
9). Most wins in NHL history (691). Nobody else is within 100, and only two are within 200.
10). 2nd most wins in playoff history (113).
11). Most regular-season shutouts in NHL history (125). Nobody since 1952 is within 40.
12). Most games played in history by 216 (!!!) and still has the 3rd highest winning percentage of any goaltender with at least 600 games played.
13). Only goalie in history to win four Vezina Trophies* and three Stanley Cups
