I picked up a copy of the new Cigar Afficianado magaizine just because his royal airness was on the cover. In the article the interviewer asks Michael to name four other players he would choose around him to create the best team ever. Here was his team: Michael Jordan - shooting guard Magic Johnson - point guard Scottie Pippen - Small Forward Larry Bird - Power Forward Hakeem Olajuwon - Center In his answer he goes on to explain each pick. I dont have it word for word, but he mentions Hakeem over Shaq, Ewing, and others. His reason was that Hakeem had more dimensions to his game especially on the defensive end. He notes that not many people know, but Hakeem is Top 10 in steals all time, and from a TEAM standpoint he would choose Hakeem. He also mentions that he is also bias due to the fact that he never saw the old guys play. Interesting Article... Check it out!
Thats a good choice, I would too.....Greatest center of all time!!!!!! I do admit, I am a little biased.........but still, Hakeem is the Greatest!!
Putting himself on his own team, how modest. haha Then again if you are the considered the greatest player...I GUESS.
That is such a nasty/tasty lineup! Imangine seeing them play together. In their primes, that team woud win every game about 150 - 60. If they played anyone today (ie they're old & out of shape) i think they'd still give the Spurs a run for their money.
No, Bird was a power forward first. He played as much small forward as he did because they didn't feel like benching McHale just so Larry could play his original position. Bird was slow-footed and averaged 10 rebounds per game over his career, after all. That lineup's not too far off from what I would pick. I would take Wilt over Hakeem and Oscar over Jordan, and I might replace Pippen with Russell and slide Bird to small forward. Damn fine list though.
I fully agree with MJ. And as far as Pippen is concerned, remember, Jordan played with Pippen, and he wants the best "team players" on his all-time dream team. There is no better multi-dem player in NBA history than the Pip.
from Drexlerfan22: I now luv you man. However, Jordan is talking about contemporaries and there will always be a raging debate about who could play when. Wilt, Russell and "O" could IMO for years to come. In today's NBA Dream would definitely be asked to play the 4. Russell would too, but the one thing about him that always troubles me is: Could he score enough to offset the best of today's WC pf's if he had to? Maybe. I think most of us think/know Dream could. Wilt may have been capable of doing everything Dream did offensively but defensively Olajuwon was better and playing against better competition. Still, Wilt was in IMO the most dominant player ever and the moves that were not yet invented he could do when he was young, but not as quickly as Dream. "O", damn that's tough. He gives up size and speed to Pip-squeak defensively and couldn't play the 3 today as he did. At the 1 or 2 I can't say I'd honestly replace Magic or Jordan with him. Yet the mere thought of doing so with the rest of that team could make Magic and Jordan more expendable than most would think. Too cool
Great team as far as guys with the killer instinct. They'd just as soon cut your heart out as feel sorry for you. All of them guys are great closer, take no prisoners, beat 'em into submission type players.
hakeem is the best center all-time. he kicked as.s in every major category. he was good at so many things, no other center comes close period.
Interesting. How many games would a team of 12 of the top retired but not too old NBA players win? Im thinkin Olajuwon, Robinson, Malone, Jordan, Stockton, T. Hardaway, Rice, Miller, etc... I mean if theres 12 of em they can all play low minutes.
I didnt know Hakeem was in the top 10 on the all time steals list. The man continues to amaze me. Thats unheard of especially for a big man.
I definitely see what you mean with Hakeem playing the 4, but I don't agree completely. Look at Jermaine O'Neal, he plays center. And Hakeem was far stronger than him. The thing with Hakeem (to me), is that while he certainly would make a great 4, I really think the way he played (on offense, not defense) suited him to play the 5 much, much better. He was a good jump shooter, but he wasn't a catch-and-shoot guy. To maximize him on offense, he has to be the one in the post, passing out. I thought about putting him at my 4, but with Wilt there he's be wasted, hence Russell or Bird. The scoring thing... yeah, I see that, which is why I might just leave Bird at the 4... I'm not really sure. Wilt and Hakeem on offense... I think Wilt was a *slightly* (emphasis on slightly) better passer and better spot-up shooter. Plus he was certainly stronger and a better rebounder. These factors, to me, would make him better on offense than Hakeem on a team full of stars. But Hakeem had the best footwork/post moves in history. Sure, Wilt could do a little more on offense and be a little more dominant, but if you surrounded Hakeem with a team full of jump shooters (NOT stars), I think he would be just as effective as Wilt. Wilt on defense... I don't completely agree with you here. Russell, Wilt, and Dream were all a little different on defense. Russell IMO was the smartest and best in history at guarding a guy one-on-one. He toyed with his man, the way he kept them a few inches out of their favorite spots, etc. He was excellent off the ball too, and had quick hands on steals like Hakeem. But he didn't have the size. Wilt might have been close to Russell's equal guarding his own man and (if testimony of referees is to be believed) might have averaged somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 blocks per game for his career, because of his height and insane athleticism. I hear he blocked 15 shots in his first game. Since blocks and steals weren't counted we'll never know, but Wilt didn't seem disruptive on defense quite like Russell and Hakeem. But I don't know if there were many guys who could cover their own man better than Wilt. Hakeem, to me, was the worst man defender of the three (which is still very good), but I also think he was the best off the ball IN HISTORY. EVER. So in a way, I think it would be fun to have Hakeem alongside one of those two, have Russell or Chamberlain handle the #1 post scorer (much like Otis Thorpe did when he still played for us), and let Hakeem do his thing off the ball. That would be terrifying. Oscar was a natural point guard who proved when he shut out all-star Jack Twyman when Oscar was still in high school that he was a defensive beast, so I still like him alongside Magic... but then again, you might be able to ditch Pippen. You might fit Magic in at small forward, if you had no regard for the man's natural position. That's an interesting thought. I think I like that better than with Pippen. I think. Anyway, looks like I'm positive about: Oscar Magic Bird Wilt ...and that fifth guy is just troubling. Toss-up between a lot of people... Jordan, Russell, Hakeem, and Stockton... and I kinda think about West, Pippen, and Malone, too. Jeez. I have seven candidates for one fifth spot. That just sucks. My modern era team? Probably: PG: Stockton SG: Jordan SF: Magic PF: Bird C: Hakeem Huh. That is damn close to Jordan's picks. With the modern lineup, I'd think about including Pippen and Malone, but other than those two there isn't much question for me. Wow, that was long. I really like this kind of discussion. Here's hoping T-Mac becomes my fifth guy!
