Olajuwon & Jordan lose...and it's Karl Malone's fault! [USA Today]

You have here,

the best player in the history of the game.
unfortunately, the best power forward in the game.
and then you have the second best player of his generation, (the first being the best of all time probably), a top five in his position all time.


all three were damn good athletes.

Atleast the article writer picked the 90s decade.

 

I think the 80's team would kick ass too, but 90's comes in second.

Not sure If Wilt can dominate against some of the centers/PF of today...kind of reminds me of Yao against the likes of Ben Wallace or Amare, when Yao first came into the league.

80>90>60>today

 

But the article writer is a dumbass who claimed that Boris Diaw is the best center in the game today.

 

Ok, I'm bored and I'll bite. The article's premise is, of course, flawed. The 1 center, 1 forward and 1 guard format provides matchups from hell in a 3 on 3 game that gives the 60' team a hell of an advantage because it negates their severe speed disadvantage against the 90' team. Not quickness: speed.

The 60's team couldn't stop the 90's team offensively. Defensively the 90's team would have an extreme edge excepting Malone who is just too damned big to play against West. Replace Malone with Clyde and the 90's team eats them alive.

 

Whichever team had Jordan would win.

 

Good luck scoring against an inside-outside defense of Hakeem and Jordan.

That's all I have to say.

 

hakeem, jordan, and me might still be the best team.

90's easily.

edit: actually, i take back the easily. the 00's team would be hell to matchup with. shaq one on one would be almost impossible, and kobe and lebron are basically unstoppable one on one players. now hakeem and jordan are also unstoppable, but i'm not sure malone is. i don't think they'd have the D, but assuming the chemistry worked, it would be the most physically gifted of the teams (shaq and lebron are probably two of the 4 most physically freakish guys ever along with jordan and wilt).

 

Here's my picks:

1. 90s team

The 90s team should have Charles Barkley at PF. If you take Malone and Barkley at their primes, Barlkey is the winner. Regardless, you have the two best players at their positions of all time, Hakeem and Jordan. Easy win for the 90's team.

2. 80s team

Magic Johnson (best player ever, imo) is the x-factor here, but even with him, the 90s team has too much to overcome. I would go so far as to add in Akeem in place of Moses Malone, but the more polished Hakeem would still eat his lunch, although he might get punched for it.

3. 60s team

This team is over-rated. Not to take away from these guys, but the level of competition is just way, way higher now. Wilt dominated statisticly because he rarely had competition at center...except in the playoffs, where he was clearly outshone by the Celtics' team play and strong center position.

4. Current team

Raw talent and raw strength just doesn't do it for this team. In fact, I don't agree with the roster at all- I would take KG, Yao and Steve Nash, then there would be some serious competition.

5. 70s team

I don't have much to say about this team except: where is Dr. J?

 

You know, I'm just pleased that they did the right thing and named Olajuwon as one of the top 3 players of his decade. We all know he's the greatest, but he's so often completely over-looked that I wouldn't have been surprised if they went with Robinson instead.

Those other teams are all fantastic. There would be no shame at all in "losing" to any of them.

p.s. How exactly did Julius Erving not make the 70's squad?

 

Tim Duncan is on the 90's team?

 

Some Boston lover must have picked the teams otherwise you could have 70's of Jabbar, Gervin and Erving or how about Jabbar, Hayes and Erving.

 

Didn't Wilt, West, and Oscar play in an era when double-teams were illegal? That's a huge consideration. When did they legalize double-teams?

 

Wilt will eat Shaq for breatfast, lunch, and dinner on any day.

Jordan is great. But when playing against Wilt, Oscar, West, Bird, Magic and other greats, he would not get much star treatment that bail him out on two ends.

 

I hope I'm not the only one who thinks that the argument against players of older eras not having the "same level of competition" is ludicrous. For argument's sake, let's just take Wilt Chamberlain...since most people are convinced he wouldn't be considered anything close to dominant in today's NBA.

Wilt had guys like Walt Bellamy and Bill Russell as peers. In the waning years of his career, he had to contend with Lew Alcindor. If that's not "good competition," then I don't know what is. You can make claims about the "level of competition" all you want, but he played against a bunch 6'9" 230 lb. guys. If anything, his size advantage is comparable to Shaq's in their respective eras. Moreover, you can make the argument that Shaq has had lower levels of competition at the center position than Wilt ever did.

Just take Wilt Chamberlain for what he is: a 7'1" 275 lb. player with a soft touch around the basket. A high jump champion capable of reaching over the top of the backboard. A man with unbelievable stamina due to his experience in track-and-field who averaged 46 minutes a game for his ENTIRE career.

I'll concede that he won't average 50/20 in the modern era, nor would he be able to score 100 points in a game. Nonetheless, I firmly believe he'd be a more dominant big man than guys Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett.

 

My father has told me that the refs used to let Bill Russell maul Chamberlain on defense. He said if they had called it fairly nobody would have stopped Wilt. Celtic bias anyone?

 

My dream frontline (all-time) is Olajuwon at C and Duncan at PF...can you imagine

 

I'm not old enough to have seen Wilt play, there has to be some truth to it.

Look at the way Shaq used to get butchered in the paint or the way referees allow Yao to get hacked down low. I'd imagine Wilt used to get the same type of treatment.

 

I agree with declan... replace Malone with Clyde and it's not close... Chuck would be fun to watch as well, but Malone's about the worst choice for 3-on-3, especially looking at the other rosters.

Whether you're playing 5-on-5 or 3-on-3, Olajuwon is the only one on that list who could defend any of the other centers straight up while demanding a double team on the offensive end. His quickness advantage over the others would be lethal in a 3-on-3 game.

 

Don't misunderstand the premise: could Wilt, West and "O" played with anyone? Damn right, but they never had to play the game at the speed it was in the 80's when Dream and Jordan cut there teeth.

The 3 on 3 matchup of the 60's and 90's team breaks down like this:

Wilt vs. Dream: Wilt was an athletic freak - every move in the book - but Dream's wingspan was almost as large and he was quicker. That's probably a size issue, but Hakeem still is the most uniquely built basketball player I've ever seen and developed moves Wilt wouldn't have bothered to attempt in his era. I'd have killed to see this match-up but I don't have any problem believing Dream would hold his own.

West vs. Malone: Idiotic matchup. Malone would have to run with West and both would offensively abuse each other. West's quickness and passing gives him the clear edge.

Jordan vs. "O": Robertson is probably the greatest basketball player of all- time and I loved the guy in every way I never could Jordan. But Oscar never played against a guy with Jordan's size, quickness or skill. The "Big O" would actually have to watch his dribble - unthinkable - and I believe Jordan would have torn him up. Still love "O" better.

All loyalties aside I do think the West/Malone mismatch would be critical and the only way the 90's team would win is to run those guys out of the gym. Very doable IMHO.