Unless his name was Michael Jordan. he led his bulls to 6 championships without EVER playing with an all-star center. Other than Jordan, I don't recall any team ever won without a dominating center (or at least an all-star center) in the 60s, Russel won 9 by himself. in the 70s, Chamberlain, Walton, Jabbar 80s, Jabbar, the Chief. I'll start listing from the mid 80's. 84 Boston - the chief 85 LA - Jabbar 86 Bos - chief 87 LA - Jabbar 88 LA - Jabbar 89 Det - Lambeer 90 Det - Lambeer 91 ~ 93 Chi - no elite center 94 - Hou - the dream 95 - Hou - the dream 96 ~ 98 Chi - no elite center 99 - the twin towers 00 - La Shaq-fu 01 - LA shaq fu 02 - LA Shaq fu 03 - the twin towers can anyone see the pattern here? with the exception of Jordan, all past championship teams had at least one dominating center on their teams... so my argument is... guards don't win championships (at least not by themselves)
I would hardly call a 40 year old Jabbar and Bill Laimbeer a dominating center. Good, yes. Dominant, no. BTW nbalive2005. Are you going to be one of these multiple thread starters that ignore forum guildelines and stickies????
Well, Shaq had Kobe, Lambeer (sp?) had Thomas, Dream had Drexler for one year, and Kareem had Magic. So you could kind of argue it the other way too.
Exactly, you need 2 star players to win a championship...Jordan had Pippen even if we hate to guy...That's why all this crap about trades is ridiculous. We need Steve and we need Yao. They just need to play better with each other...
You are right ... A good big man is what it takes to win a championship. The Rocks have that in Yao Ming, but he and the rest of the team are not near good enough to win just yet. When Yao is ready to be one of the most dominant players in the league I fully believe the Rocks will be a true contender WITH Steve and Cat in the backcourt. No one should get down on Yao because he isnt the best player in the game (or on the team) yet. He is only in his second year!!! Shaq is arguably the most dominant player in NBA history (not the most skilled just dominant) and yet it took him quite a while to get to the championship level. Give Yao, Steve, and Cat some time to develop and the Rockets will eventually be a true contender.
....and, all those teams each had a player that was in the top 5 in the NBA at the time....I'm sure Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, and Magic Johnson had NOTHING to do with those titles... OH MY GAWD! You mean teams with great players win championships?? That's unheard of!
You're a genius NBA live 2005 Everyone knows that it's Lambier that carry Detroit to those two Championships and not Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas, I mean Lambier made the how many allstar games during that span? I mean what has Thomas done .
i don't disagree with the premise....most of the time, big men win championships. i'll cite jordan's bulls and the three-headed guard rotation in Detroit as the exceptions. because in my lifetime, that's been it....the teams with the dominant frontcourt presence has been the champion.
Great Center alone do not win rings; same for Point guards. All champs have good "inside out" / "outside in" games Russell's PG was Bob Cousy, a HOF Kareem's PG was Magic, a HOF Moses Malone was a great Center for the Rox; but didn't have the good PG to help him win the ring for the Rox. He did win one with the 76ers who had a good PF in Mo Cheeks. Rox's Twin tower of Hakeem / Sampson did not win ring because of sub-standard PG. When the Rox won the ring, they had good point Guarad (Cassell and Kenny Smith) to Complement Hakeem.
I think Isiah would resent that "small guard" comment. I'll tell you guys what does work; good guards and good centers working together in harmony. It's on the horizon, some of yous guys need to just relax.
I think that is the first time I have seen Larry Bird referred to as a guard. That is right up there with hold'em calling Mo Cheeks a power forward.
Funny stuff lol. Gj with the Bird and Mo Cheeks dude... I think the Bull shad a more than adapt center in Kukoc Otherwise, yea the defense the big guys provide is just too essential to winning championships =\
These guys (no matter how bad at basketball they were) knew their roles on the team. They were required to set screens for the scorers, clog up the lane on defense and grab the occasional rebound. Even, although very rarely, they scored some points. The point is, they knew their role on the team.
nbalive2005, You are glossing over the details. Guards don't win championships by themselves anymore than centers do. Maybe you should say, a guard LEADING a team to a championship is rare (Magic, Isaiah, Jordan). Leading, as in the leader of a team. In the end it requires a team, and the most talent you have from 1 thru 12, the better your chances. As long as those players complement each other and are willing to take a lesser role, even if they could play a increased role on another team of lesser talent (that's the best way). Rather than having ONE star and a bunch of role players. Have three stars, but two of them are willing to take a lesser role. Because they know that DYNASTY is in there future! I hate it when people say the only reason that so-and-so won ALL those championships (Magic, Jabbar, Russell) is because he had some much talent around him. But yet, if a player only won one or two championships (Hakeem/Duncan) they say they did it alone. But, given MORE TALENT and about 1 or 2 more rings, they'd be open arms to those rings completely forgetting that they were just bashing the idea of "having better players." It's a means to an end. Want a DYNASTY? You better have a lot of talent. Want to squeak out 1 or maybe 2 rings? One or two stars will do. By the way, being a "star" is not cut and dry. It's gradual to that particular player. JJ is an example of a "near All-Star." He's considered a excellent player in terms of talent. But he's willing to take a backseat to Francis/Yao/Mobley. It would be great to have a bunch of "JJ-type" players from 4 thru 12. Boki is next on the list...he could be one of those type player. Solid! I would not consider JJ "just" a role player.
What are you talking about? Luc Longley is the best center of all time!!! And don't forget Wil Winningten. Okay, I'm being stupid.
