Can you honestly say that at anytime in his career he was as good as the guys above him? I won’t argue too much if you want to quibble about Barkley or Dirk, but I’d move them down before I moved Stockton up. I think those guys were better at their peaks though and the MVP and 1st Team All-NBA numbers back me up.

Stockton never once finished top 5 in mvp voting, only twice was considered the best player at his position. Peak matters to me more so than longevity and Stockton just didn’t have the peak to be in tier 3. I’d also point out that everyone in tier 3 was clearly the best player on their team. Stockton wasn’t. He had Malone.