Michael Jordan: The best one-on-one player of all time?

The top one-on-one players of all time: Who would win a tournament?

APMichael Jordan

Someone posed the question to Kobe Bryant, and Bryant couldn't answer it in any other way.

Bryant was asked who would win if he played LeBron James one-on-one. Of course, Bryant said he would come away with the victory.

Which sparked this blog by Erie.com reporter Duane Rankin, who came up with his top 10 list of greatest one-on-one players.

It is hard to argue with the players Rankin had 1 and 2 on his list, and that's Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan. Iverson was one of the quickest players, with the quickest crossover dribble in history. Check out this move he made on Jordan.

Rankin's list is fine, but what would happen if we had a tournament with some of the best one-on-one players of all-time? A good one-on-one player must be quick, have the ability to finish at the basket, possess good ball-handling skills and have a good outside shot. Just because a player is fast on the fast break doesn't mean he has the quickness in a halfcourt set.

Here's my Sweet 16 of one-on-one players, and in my tournament, no centers allowed.

Top four seeds

1. Michael Jordan, considered the greatest basketball player of all-time. Jordan can score from the perimeter and inside of the paint. He can handle the ball, and most importantly, he can play defense.

2. Kobe Bryant is MJ light. He posses all of Jordan's skills, but he is probably a better outside shooter than Jordan.

3. Allen Iverson. He's one of the best one-on-one players because he was one of the quickest players in NBA history. He'd blow past you in a blink of an eye.

4. Kevin Durant poses problems for defenders because of high-level offensive skills. He can shoot, finish at the basket and dribble, and his length causes problems when he plays defense. He's the second coming of George Gervin.

The rest of the field:

5. Dwyane Wade 6. Julius Erving 7.  LeBron James 8. Larry Bird  9. Earl Monroe 10. Isiah Thomas 11. Bernard King 12. George Gervin 13. Rick Barry 14. Nate Archibald 15. Pistol Pete Maravich 16. Andrew Toney.