If you could have a hall of famer at one position, which position would it be? (long)

[A-Train]

Let's say you have the option of getting a player that will spend his entire career for your team with hall of fame caliber play, but you have to choose what position he will play. The rest of your team will be filled with average to good players for that player's entire career. What position do you pick?

The traditional pick would, of course, be center, but the argument can also be made that HOF centers have generally had more help when they won championships. Russell had as many as 6-7 hall of famers playing with him at any given time. Jabbar had Magic and Oscar averaging 20, 8, and 6. Wilt didn't win anything until he teamed up with Jerry West. Shaq had Kobe. David Robinson didn't win anything until Duncan took over. The two notable exceptions would be Olajuwon and Walton. Walton probably had the weakest supporting cast of any NBA champ. Olajuwon's supporting cast was, of course, the 1994 Denver Nuggets and the 1995 LA Lakers, both of whom beat the Sonics in the playoffs...

The only notable power forward to lead his team to a title is Tim Duncan. Yes, for argument's sake, I'll consider him a PF for this discussion, just because that's what he has traditionally been listed as. Besides, I had to include him here just to give the power forward position a little boost. Power forwards, traditionally, have been considered support players and not go to guys, although lots of PFs have had considerable success...Malone, Barkley, Elvin Hayes, Elgin Baylor.

With the exception of Larry Bird, small forwards, overall, have had the most success as "second bananas", for lack of a better word. Pippen, Ginobili, Horry (third banana?), Jamaal Wilkes, and Shawn Marion, to name a few

Jordan is the obvious argument for shooting guard, but this position is littered with "close but no cigar" guys that were good, but just not good enough. Iverson, Carter, McGrady, Dominique Wilkins, George Gervin, Pete Maravich, and Clyde Drexler until late in his career.

Point Guard is where the argument really gets interesting. NBA champions, over the years, have had point guards that have ranged from Hall of famers (Magic, Isiah) to role players (Derek Fisher, Kenny Smith, Ron Harper). There have been so many point guards that have had different skill sets, this position is really hard to define. Recently, the "floor general" point guards (Nash, Parker, Billups) have had more success than the "scoring" point guards (Francis, Marbury, Arenas). Wade is kind of like the point gaurd version of Hakeem in that everything seemed to line up perfectly for him during his title run. It will be really interesting to see his career unfold after Shaq retires. I think the point guard is the "position of the future" so to speak, with the NBA pushing a more up tempo game.

If I had to list the positions right now in terms of importance, I'd go with

1) point guard
2) center
3) power forward
4) shooting guard
5) small forward

[peleincubus]

i dont really think its that important what position it is. if a player is good enough then he will win. and the better his supporting cast is the less good that player has to be.

and how good the coach is factors in also. just not as much.

[vincentt]

I voted center cause they just don't make them like how they use to :D

[arno_ed]

I voted for Center with point guard as a second choice. I still believe it si the most important position. A centre can change the game on two sides of the floor(if he is good enough). A veru good PG can change the game only on the offensive end. and not so much on the defensive end. It is much harder for a perimiter defensive player to have so much influence on the game than a Post defensive player.

[JumpMan]

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird wished they were seven foot for a reason.

[pradaxpimp]

PG hands down

[jmwilliamson]

I voted center. Call me old fashioned if you will, but even in the best of days there are never more than three or so hall of fame caliber centers in the NBA. Other positions are just so much easier to fill with quality players.

And while we're on the topic, you know what I don't understand? Why are good point guards so rare. I recently read an article that talked about how only 2% of the worlds population is 6'2 or taller, and that explains why it's so difficult to find the elusive combination of tall/athletic/skilled basketball players. But point guard is the only position in the NBA where you can be 6 foot even and still do well, so that being the case, shouldn't there be boat loads of athletic/skilled point guards?

[LOSDOG]

Center is the hardest position to fill. Especially a Hall of Famer(Dream, Shaq, Wilt, Etc...)

[Mikeylu]

with the rule changes..and the Lack of officiating in the paint...i would say point guard or shooting guard...

[nyquil82]

Charles Barkley, either cleveland steamer or "Ass to Mouth"

[TheBornLoser]

Point guard. If I can have one point guard, who is a floor general and scorer like Magic Johnson, and a defensive maniac like Gary Payton, and if you can just fill the other 4 parts with B list/good players, he will give you a championship.

[JeopardE]

Rashard Lewis.

[Mehdi]

Originally Posted by JeopardE Rashard Lewis.

LOL...Center for sure

[roswell raygun]

Great topic, A-Train.
I think the best way to answer you question is to look at the NBA championship teams that fit your description (one Hall of Fame talent surrounded by average to good players).
In what I consider the modern era (Post-Celtics dynasty, 1970 to the present), very few teams of this sort have won NBA titles. As you noted, most Hall of Famers with rings played with at least one other Hall of Famer.
The teams:
1975 - Golden State (Rick Barry, small forward)
1977 - Portland (Bill Walton, center)
1978 - Seattle (Dennis Johnson, shooting guard, who's not yet in the Hall of Fame, but is a considerable candidate, especially with a sympathy vote in light of his recent death)
1994 - Houston (Hakeem Olajuwon, center)
2005 - San Antonio (Tim Duncan, power forward)
2007 - San Antonio (Tim Duncan, power forward)
There are a few assumptions, of course: DJ as a Hall of Famer, for example. I don't think anyone from the 2004 Pistons will be enshrined at Springfield. And someone like Parker, Ginobli or even Robert Horry could reach Hall of Fame status and knock the Spurs out of this category.
But from these limited findings, it's obviously advantageous to have a dominant big man, especially if you count Duncan as a center.

But while there are only a few NBA champions who fit your description, the sample size of runners-up is huge. From memory:
2007 - Cleveland (LeBron James, multiple positions, probably best described as a point forward. While anything can happen, his chance of having a Hall of Fame career is very large; his teammates' chances are very small)
2006 - Dallas (Dirk Nowitzki, power forward).
2003 - New Jersey (Jason Kidd, point guard)
2002 - New Jersey (Jason Kidd, point guard)
2001 - Philadelphia (Allen Iverson, shooting guard)
2000 - Indiana (Reggie Miller, shooting guard)
1996 - Seattle (Gary Payton, point guard)
1995 - Orlando (Shaquille O'Neal, center)
1994 - New York (Patrick Ewing, center)
1993 - Phoenix (Charles Barkley, power forward)
1992 - Portland (Clyde Drexler, shooting guard)
1990 - Portland (Clyde Drexler, shooting guard)
1986 - Houston (Akeem Olajuwon, center)
1981 - Houston (Moses Malone, center)
1980 - Philadelphia (Julius Erving, small forward)
1978 - Seattle (Dennis Johnson, possible Hall of Famer)
1977 - Philadelphia (Julius Erving, small forward)

Although some players appear more than once, that's 5 shooting guards (if you count DJ), 4 centers, 3 point guards, 2 power forwards and 2 small forwards plus one wild card in LeBron.
I hope this shines some light on your question. It's possible to win big with a dominant player at any position, but my order of preference is:
1. Center
2. Shooting guard
3. Power forward
4. Point guard
5. Small forward

[weslinder]

Big Man - either center or PF of Duncan's size and talent. That is, unless I can specify Magic, and then I'd just play him wherever I needed.

[Dr of Dunk]

Originally Posted by weslinder That is, unless I can specify Magic, and then I'd just play him wherever I needed.

I was just about to type that. lol.