ESPNTheMag.Com Presents: All-World Power Rankings

Who's the best "stealer" in NBA history?

Getty Images

Bobby Jackson has no idea what just happened here.

BEST "STEALER" IN NBA HISTORY? CHRIS PAUL IS RISING UP THE CHARTS, BUT WE'LL TAKE JOHN STOCKTON FOR NOW

What is "All-World Power Rankings?"

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned comes out today. Looks fun, if your definition of fun involves indiscriminantly pulling people from cars and hitting them with instruments. (Ours does. Hey, we're kidding.) We wanted to rank the best steals of all-time, NBA-style. This video pretty much covers that topic, though. We were also thinking about "NFL Draft steals," but that list is somethin' that's been done 100,000 times by every website imaginable. (We'll definitely end up doing it in April, though.) Here now: a list of NBA ball thieves, with clips and such!

TOP 5
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	1 (14)	JOHN STOCKTON	No one is really even close to him on the all-time list for steals. You can read this and watch this for some more proof. If you want to get really meta, Stockton himself is one of the biggest "steals" in NBA Draft history, then he goes out and steals the ball over 3,000 times. Heckuva player. Sidebar discussion: is he definitely the best athlete out of WA?
	2 (410)	MICHAEL JORDAN	Too high? Probably. Dude had some ridiculous clutch steals, though. We like putting him high on lists. Sidebar: how good a defender was he, fo' real?
	3 (21)	JERRY WEST	If they kept steal numbers in his day, he might be No. 1 all-time. He swiped the ball five times a game a couple of times. That's impressive. Sidebar: where do you have his Finals buzzer-beater on an all-time list for that category?
	4 (127)	MAURICE CHEEKS	Weird at No. 4, maybe, but when you hear "Maurice Cheeks," you tend to think of one of two things: (a) "good at stealing the ball" or (b) "popcorn on the floor of the locker room." Or, maybe you think of this. Sidebar: why is it so hard for good players to be good coaches?
	5 (899)	CHRIS PAUL	He had at least one steal for over 100 straight games. Impressive. We'd put him No. 5 already. Here's some "vid." Sidebar: is he winning his first NBA title before or after LeBron James?

HONORABLE MENTION
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	18 (144)	WALT FRAZIER	Dude is awkward as a commentator, but he could swipe the ball in his heyday. Sidebar: are those "Just for Men" commercials ruining his legacy?
	28 (701)	LARRY BIRD	This is too high for him, honestly, but we put it here because of this iconic steal. Sidebar: was this when it truly all started to go wrong for I. Thomas?

RISING AND FALLING
MOVEMENT		WHAT
		ALVIN ROBERTSON (Dude averaged nearly three steals a game in his career.)
		NICK ANDERSON (The poke on Jordan was fun, but ultimately, dat's a footnote.)

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine