Thought this would be an interesting summer thread. If you had to choose which basketball position would you like your star player to be which would you pick? Players in the last twenty years that have been the best players on their teams during championship runs: Point Guards: Chauncey Billups (1) Shooting Guards: Michael Jordan (4), Kobe Bryant (2), Dwayne Wade (1) Small Forwards: Lebron James (2) Power Forwards: Tim Duncan (4), Kevin Garnett (1), Dirk Nowitzki (1) Center: Shaquille O Neal (3), Hakeem Olajuwon (2) I would go with Power Forward, what about you guys?
I'll take a star 'two-way' Center all day, every day, in any era. A look back at legit, championship Centers over the years... George Mikan (5 rings), Bill Russell (11 rings), Wilt Chamberlain (2 rings), Willis Reed (2 rings), Nate Thurmond (1 ring), Moses Malone (1 ring), Abdul-Jabbar (6 rings), Olajuwon (2 rings), David Robinson (2 rings), and Shaq (3 rings).
true but remember the game has evolved and most of these centers lived in a time where height gave people a big advantage. but I would also go with either a Power Forward or a Center. However, I would take a Tim Duncan over a Shaq
Ur list just shows that position doesn't really matter. What matters if that player is the most dominant/best player in the L right now...
Right now TODAY, I'd take a SG. For a couple reasons: 1) The NBA is a wing player's game currently the ways the rules are. 2) SG is by far the most scarce position. Getting someone significantly better than anyone else will give you a big edge. PG for example is so loaded, you can add the 15th best one and get him cheap, and he'll still be a very solid role player. SG, I can't even name 15 solid ones, maybe 3, but 2 are breaking down (Kobe and Wade). If there was a 2nd position, I'd pick a C. It is fairly scarce, but outside of Hakeem, I can't think of a center that you could trust late in the game. Having a closer is a big advantage, and Centers are RARELY ever that.
Lets see...the top 2 players right now are Lebron James and Kevin Durant. I pick Small Forward. Dominant athletic scoring punch of a SG but with a size advantage. They also have the capability of doing a little of everything from shooting 3s, passing, rebounding, shooting FTs, and blocking. They have the potential to take over the game in any aspect!
It's convention to always build around a center. A center that is elite on both offense and defense. In this modern age of basketball you can argue it even being just as important to have an elite center because you can plug just about anybody in the other 4 positions and you have a contender, see Howard's Magic. But personally, if I can get a swingman with length and athleticism, I would pick that over a center. If I can get a Durant, Lebron, or even a early 2000 T-Mac type player then I would choose to build around them because today's game is so perimeter oriented and those types of players are pretty much unstoppable with the rules in place. Point guard is a no because there are so many good point guards anyways. And the only power forward I would consider building around is the stretch point forward ala Dirk.
Gotta be a big man, because they can impact the game defensively in ways that perimeter players just can't while being just as effective offensively. I went with center but I'd be fine with a PF in the mold of Duncan/Garnett as well. But hey, you take what you can get. Easier to find a 6'6 guy who can score 15-20 points a game than a center who can chew gum and dribble at the same time these days.
In today's game, Small Forward. They've become the do-it-all players of the NBA, capable of guarding the most positions and making a major defensive impact, while also being the primary shot-creators and playmakers on their teams. It is, after all, the LeBron and Durant era.
It's not a case of position, but dominance of a player. Saying that, the most dominant players need height, agility and range to be truly dominant in today's game. a tall SF for me
Got to be a center because a center can impact the game defensively more than anyone else can while still being important offensively.
Get any superstar (or close to-) that's available somehow, regardless of position. Then build around that. Basically build around Lin.
Small Forward, because the best Small Forwards can be their team's best playmaker, defender, and shot-creator. The best Small Forwards can do it all, like bring the ball up the court and initiate plays, guard positions 1-4 effectively, shift positions in different lineups without a dropoff in performance, shoot from mid-range and 3-point range, cut to the basket, etc. Other than a 6'9" Magic Johnson at Point Guard, no other position in the game has that potential. Center would be the 2nd most important position to me because of that position's weakness in the current incarnation of the NBA, but it loses out to the Small Forward position because Centers are usually not their team's primary playmakers.
good point about small forwards, it really has become a wing dominated game, with the 3 second rule and our changes
