Can we agree on an All-Time NBA starting five?? Probably not, but we can try!!
keets
Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
Guard --- Oscar Robertson.
Guard --- Michael Jordan.
Forward --- Larry Bird.
Forward --- Lebron James.
Center --- Wilt Chamberlain.
Al H.
0
Comments
As of today for me it would look like
First team
Jordan
Magic
Russell
Duncan
Bird
Second team
West
Robertson
Jabbar
James
Dr J
The second team would win as many games as the first team
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
it's interesting the way we each see the players from different eras. I had originally thought of Bill Russel and Kareem, but I think Wilt the stilt was just too dominant.
This place can't agree that today is Wednesday.
well, in some places it isn't, right???
Good point. With that, I am putting Isaiah Thomas on my first team. The taller of the two.
Magic
Bird
Jordan
James
Kareem
I would have Thomas at the center position, just to piss off teammates Bird, Magic and Jordan!
I tend to think of Magic Johnson as a Forward and Tim Duncan as a Center.
and that's what made them great. They were neither
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
why do we then think of Jordan as Guard when he played more like a Power Forward?? Magic Johnson must be the tallest "Guard" that ever played in the NBA.
Easy on the "we" buster ; ) . I've never thought of Magic or Jordan as anything but guards.
Watching the finals I would have guessed that Kevin Durant was the tallest point guard ever in the NBA. It's why I would take him first over any other player currently playing in the association.
Magic was a point guard 99% of his career EXCEPT for one glorious finals when due to injury he had to play some center. That is off the charts exceptional
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I couldn't improve on Mark's teams........so I concur!
Truth be told keet's and DB's starting five are stellar as well
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Mix things up a bit. How about top five by decade, by US born players, by foreign borm players. Heck lets even go by height, by skin color and by continemt of birth. Heck even go ABA only, NBA only and both leagues. Then toss in the WNBA players.
Doing so would result in some intetsting lists.
Kevin, I think All-Time is best.
Why do you need 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center? I just picked 4 guys who could do it all and Kareem. 4 guys who could pass, shoot, drive to hole, move, set picks, rebound, play defense, do it all. I picked Kareem for defense and because he was unstoppable if he got the ball down low with his sky hook.
I remember the game Magic played center. Great game. He could do it all.
What? Your point alludes me.
Your all time team has 2 definitive guards, two definitive forwards and a definitive center whether you like it or not ; )
Sure in a pinch Lebron could bring the ball up the floor every once in awhile and Magic could post up but seriously all guys on your team have definitve positions.
Your team
Magic PG
Jordan SG
Lebron F
Bird F
Jabber C
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
LOL. silly me. I actually debated not including Kareem and instead maybe a Steph Curry or Kobe.
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
if Magic Johnson is so much better at so many things than Kareem, why do you need to have that Center on your Team?? also, Durant could probably have his own thread, and while I think he is a great player and special talent he strikes me as "weak" in a funny sort of way.
Problem with these fantasy teams is that you have no fantasy opponent. This years GS team took apart all competition including the great LeBron. Add LeBron to the Warriors and you have all the all time super great team that you will ever need.
Exactly what puts Russell as the #1 center of all-time?
Wilt has got to be the #1 Center. I could never figure out how anyone could make a case against him. Russell wasn't as good on offense and Jabbar not as good on defense. Wilt did it all.
I would then go with Jordan, Lebron, Majic and Bird.
Wilt, Jordan and James would seem to be the three must have players on any all-time team. I could see a lot of guys in the other two spots.
Joe, I hadn't voiced that opinion but it was what I thought when I was starting the thread. he AVERAGED over 30 point and 20 rebounds per game over his CAREER!!! to my way of thinking he suffers the same fate as Lebron James: he doesn't have the Championships for the recognition that he deserves based on his overall statistical accomplishments.
despite playing during the same time as Bill Russell and Kareem Adbul Jabbar, Chamberlain doesn't get the same recognition from modern day fans. when I was growing up and watching B-Ball in the 60's and 70's it was Wilt the Stilt who was the undisputed king of the paint.
I can undstand why someone wound have Jabbar ahead of Russell. Besides the 11 titles Russell 14,500 points and 22,000 rebounds. Russell averaged 22.5 rebounds per game for his entire career at 6' 9". Three times he averaged at least 24 rebounds or more for an entire season. His worst year? A mere 18.6 one season. He also averaged better than 4 assists per game throughout his career. Russell blocked shots. In for inch no player ever blocked shots like Bill Russell. But no stats on blocked shots were kept during that era. Bill Russell invented the blocked shot. I have Russell on my all time team because he did it all especially on the defensive end.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Mark, Bill Russell blocked shots with his hands, Wilt Chamberlain blocked shots with his body. they still don't have a stat for that!!! either one of the three would be OK with me and I can't think of a negative thing to say about any one of them. I enjoyed watching all three play, but due to my age I saw more of the guy I watched as Lew Alcindor in Milwaukee.
since that era and until today I don't think anyone has played the paint the same.
I remember there was a guy who lived across the street from us, he had a "Bucks" bumper sticker on his car bumper. I think I was 16 years old when I realized it was for Ohio State!!!
I'll never understand how in a team sport, winning a championship means anything in a GOAT discussion.
Far too many great players to list who never won championships because of inferior teammates. It's not their fault.
On Russell, I agree he was the greatest defensive center, but here he gets rewarded by being on a team so good they didn't need him to score. Wilt was as good or nearly as good as Russell defensively but far superior offensively......it's not even close.
Win Shares; Wilt 247, Russell 164.
Agreed Wilt had to score and Russell didn't which skew many things.
Al, yes I could live with Wilt, Jabbar and Russell in any top three order and be able to defend it.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
We just about had this team for real in 1992
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
hey, I could be happy with 5-6-7-8-9 as a Team any day!!!
For the ABA list I would include:
And that team might beat any. I'll toss in George Gervin but I'm not sure where
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
That team would get absolutely chewed up on the glass and Maravich was a sieve on D. . Magic can't play the 3 or the 4. For sure at long intervals
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
He actually grabbed fewer available rebounds than Dennis Rodman, who was a far more versatile defender.
But that's neither here nor there. For me, anyway, to be on the all-time team, you gotta be an offensive threat and Russell wasn't.
But hey, he's your pick and that's cool.
**But that's neither here nor there. For me, anyway, to be on the all-time team, you gotta be an offensive threat and Russell wasn't.
**
to be sure, I think to be "All-Time" you really need to be a two-way player which is why my opening list is structured the way it is. those five hombre's were pretty balanced, they could score seemingly at will but were also good at the other end of the court.
Lebron James and Michael Jordan are at the top not in small part because of their quickness, agility, superb reflexes and the knack to know where they should be. Larry Bird is right behind them, he seemed intuitive in his ability to know where he should be on the court. I enjoyed watching Robertson and Alcindor working together, I can only imagine how Oscar would have been with the more dominant Chamberlain set-up in the paint.
with all the players we have mentioned I suppose their names could be put in a hat to draw five. there probably aren't many combinations that would disappoint us.
Agreed. Russell had all those rebounds because there were more missed shots, hence more rebounds, and also because the average league height was smaller.
Rodman was probably a better defender than Russell. Rodman could guard Jordan, Magic, and Shaq, and do it well in each case. That alone shows his true defensive capabilities.
I think if you are building an unstoppable team that having the actual best all-time player at each position may not accomplish that feat. There is only one ball to shoot. Someone has to do the dirty work too.
Magic
Jordan
Bird
Rodman
Jabbar
I believe with this team you have everything you need. There are more than enough inside/outside scoring options that Rodman doesn't need to score, just play defense and get rebounds. The team has height, defense, unstoppable offense, and defensive/offensive flexibility. They can match any team imaginable. Any opposing team that has Lebron on it, I simply assign Rodman to Lebron. Simple. One assignment; get in Lebron's face, guard him hard, and frustrate the hell out of him. Game over.
if only it was that easy.............................I could counter with Lebron leaving Rodman grasping for air as he heads for the hoop, but what's the use.
If Jordan couldn't leave Rodman grasping for air as he headed for the hoop...I doubt Lebron could
Michael Jordan's strength was his quickness, jumping and shooting ability, but he isn't Lebron's match when it comes to physical strength. that strength coupled with his quickness would be the advantage Lebron would use against Rodman. I'm not saying Lebron would dominate Rodman or win every time, because I don't think he would, but I believe he would have more success against him them MJ.
Based on what you are saying, then Lebron would have more success vs. any defender than MJ...and Lebron didn't.
no, I don't think I said that at all.
Speaking of D. No real surprises
Green, Hobert and Leonard the cream of the crop.
mark
2016-17 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM
Position, Player, Team, Total Points (out of 200 possible)
Forward Draymond Green, Golden State, 198
Center Rudy Gobert, Utah, 196
Forward Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio, 192
Guard Chris Paul, LA Clippers, 140
Guard Patrick Beverley, Houston, 110
2016-17 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM
Position, Player, Team, Total Points (out of 200 possible)
Guard Tony Allen, Memphis, 80
Guard Danny Green, San Antonio, 68
Center Anthony Davis, New Orleans, 58
Forward Andre Roberson, Oklahoma City, 53
Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee, 35
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
PG: Steph Curry
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Larry Bird
PF: Hakeem Olajuwon
C:. Shaquille O'Neal