It’s the fastest way to start a basketball-related argument. Entire books have been written on the subject: Is Kobe better than LeBron? Was Magic better than Bird? Was Wilt better than Russell?

But a basketball player’s on-court production and value is inextricably linked to the other nine guys on the floor. That’s why it’s foolish to solely judge players on the number of championships they win and why even the most advanced statistics will never fully isolate one player’s contribution to a game.

Most of a player’s value comes from how their skill-set fits with their teammates and how it forces the other team to react in terms of how they use their personnel. You can see this every year in the playoffs: as teams advance, the value of their players fluctuates depending on their match-ups.

Against Memphis, a team that ran most of its offense through Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in the post, the post defense of Oklahoma City’s Kendrick Perkins, Nazr Mohammed and Serge Ibaka was invaluable. But when the Thunder played the Mavericks, a team with a radically different type of front-court, the trio could barely stay on the floor.

In Dallas’ second-round sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dirk Nowitzki was the best player on the floor. That’s because the Mavericks were built to maximize his offensive strengths (surrounding him with pure shooters to punish double teams) and minimize his defensive weaknesses (starting two versatile defenders -- Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion -- in the frontcourt).

If Dirk didn’t have Jason Terry and Jason Kidd spotting up, his ability to draw double-teams would be far less valuable. On the other side of the ball, without Chandler and Brendan Haywood protecting the rim, his poor defense from the front-court would have doomed the Mavericks. Conversely, if Terry and Kidd, both spot-up shooters, didn’t play with a guy who could generate open looks for them, they would be nearly useless in a half-court offense. Chandler and Haywood weren’t nearly as valuable with Charlotte and Washington respectively because they weren’t playing with a dominant frontcourt scorer who negated their inability to do much offensively.

Building a championship team is like constructing a jigsaw puzzle: the pieces need to fit together. Dirk has consistently outplayed Pau Gasol throughout their careers, but that doesn’t mean Los Angeles would be a better team if they switched teams. Due to Andrew Bynum’s inability to stay healthy, Gasol played the bulk of the minutes at center in the Lakers’ two championship runs, matching up against Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard. A Lakers' team with Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom needs Gasol’s passing, rebounding and defensive ability more than Dirk’s unparalleled offensive efficiency.

If the different nature of the roles two seven-foot European jump-shooting power forwards have on their teams makes comparing them difficult, what’s the point in rating the value of a point guard verse a center? It’s like comparing an offensive tackle and a safety in the NFL.

You can compare the value of different players skill-sets, but once again, much of that value is tied into who their teammates are. There are far fewer good centers than point guards, and a great center can have more of an effect on a player’s defensive effectiveness, so in a vacuum, an NBA GM would always take the bigger player.

But unless they are starting an expansion team or initiating a complete rebuilding process, no one makes roster decisions in a vacuum. A team with a strong front-court, like Dallas or Los Angeles, would rather have Chris Paul or Deron Williams than Dwight Howard. It doesn’t make them better players or worse players; it just makes them different players.

Is Player X better than Player Y? If there’s not a vast talent gap between the two, the honest answer is rather unsatisfying: “It depends”.