Hobbs...fair point. I think you can go both ways on the Isaiah thing. Maybe a better way to say it is that he didn't play like a traditional superstar on those teams. It's not like he was shooting 25 times a night...so, as you say, he sacrificed numbers for titles. Even still..that's very different from the MJ, Hakeem, Shaq mold we've seen over the past decade or so.
I think some of you are forgetting how good Isaiah was. He could score 40 points, get 12 assist, and shoot 48%. This is from a 6'1" guard. He's also 3rd all-time on the assist list (above 9000 club). So, not only could he score, but he could dish. The guy was better than even Payton's heyday in the fact that he won two rings. He's no Shaq. But still. Isaiah, to his credit, knew that he needed some big men (rebounders and defenders) to help him get over the hump. It's also important to know that "sacrificing ones number" is not only about doing it, but knowing "HOW" to do it. It's not just a decision. You actually have to have the innate knowledge of how to make passes and get those assist in the first place.
IMO there aren't many superstars in the league right now. Shaq Duncan Garnett Kobe(when he plays a team game) Everyone else is more on the star level. Superstars are guys that can take the team onto their shoulders, dominate their opponent and get them over the top. All 4 of the guys above have that quality(even if Kobe isn't doing it right now). The deal with the Pistons is that they have a squad loaded with stars and good role players. Stars Rip Wallace x 2 Billups even Prince (great playoff guy) Role James(underrated scorer and passer), Hunter(decent scorer & defender) Williamson(average bigman) Okur(promising big man) On the Lakers side of things, who do they have? Shaq Kobe That's it! If you are a GM do you want a broken down Karla and/or Glove? Are you going to build your team with guys like Medvedenko, Fisher, George, Rush, Russell, Cook? I'll take the team loaded with stars over one with a pair of superstars and a bunch of scrubs any day.
i can't go that far. thomas was a far better player than Rip. far better. i don't see Rip as a HOFer. again...i don't guess i mean that Thomas was a lesser player than others...but only that he tempered his game in a way that we don't typically associate with superstars in the game today. kobe gets labelled as a superstar guard...but his style is FAR different than Thomas'. Hard for me to articulate what I mean by this....get it???
Man, I'm still kinda amazed that had LA not barely managed to force overtime, this series woulda been a sweep. I think it's interesting that almost everyone, including me, thought the Lakers would pull out game 5. Probably because, even though we had seen the Pistons teamwork and coaching doing it with lesser talent, most of us still thought "but the Lakers have Shaq and Kobe, that's gotta be good for at least one more win." Beautiful to watch. Wonder if they'll be able to retain both Okur and Rasheed...?
The key to Detroit's success is that they have a team loaded with stars with games that complement perfectly together. There are a lot of teams that are loaded with stars (ie. Dallas) that are never going to win squat.
As a Kings fan, I must object to your inclusion of Peja Stojakovic in your list; the kid's soft, disappears in the playoffs, and can't even create his own shot. If anybody on the Kings belongs on this list, I'd remove Stojakovic's name and replace it with Webber; for whatever opinion you may personally have about his game, and whatever no-longer-true belief you may happen to have about his ability to deliver late in the game, even at 75% (I'd say that he was probably around 60% for the playoffs), he's still better than Peja.
