I really enjoy All-Star weekend, not necessarilly watching the current crop of NBA stars, but watching highlights of all the legends. So I was inspired (by Manny heh) to do a small, brief tournament of NBA greats to determine what would be the best starting 5. 5 positions, starting out with 8 players at each position. However, I need help on the nominees and wanted yalls input. Keep in mind that I want to place emphasis on "the perfect team" and not necessarily, "the greatest team". Hopefully, this will get players like John Stockton more consideration over someone like Magic for the sake of good discussion (i.e. you would want a pure passing PG, since there would be a tone of scoring options at other positions). Here is what I have so far. Ive probably made some glaring omissions, so please forgive me as I put this together on only 3 hours sleep last night: PG Magic Johnson John Stockton Nate "Tiny Archibald" Bob Cousy Jason Kidd Gary Payton Isiah Thomas Gail Goodrich SG Michael Jordan Jerry West Clyde Drexler John Havlicek Reggie Miller Rick Barry Pete Maravich Clyde Frazier SF Larry Bird George Gervin Alex English Elgin Baylor Dominique Wilkins Julius Erving Connie Hawkins James Worthy PF Karl Malone Kevin McHale Tim Duncan Elvin Hayes Charles Barkley Bob Pettit Jerry Lucas Bob McAdoo C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Hakeem Olajuwon Bill Russell Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Patrick Ewing David Robinson Moses Malone Coach Red Auerbach Larry Brown Phil Jackson Chuck Daly Red Holzman Pat Riley Lenny Wilkens At some of the positions, there were a few people on the bubble. Like Earl Monroe at PG, Mo Cheeks at PG, Wes Unsled at C, Nate Thurmond at C, Calvin Murphy at SG, Dave Bing at SG and Walt Bellamy at PF I also can't think of an 8th coach. Id especially appreciate the input of some of the old-timers (sorry for the phrase ) like BobFinn, Deckard and Behad.
Im thinking of adding a super-sub/bench role to the team also. Nominees: Bobby Jones Vinnie Johnson Ricky Pierce Detlef Schrempf Dell Curry Michael Cooper Thurl Bailey I can't think of an 8th here. I know some of these guys were starters for alot of their careers, but I am focusing more on their years off the bench. Should I include McHale on that list??
Gene, We aren't voting yet!!! This is just to set up the field. The matchups and voting will start tomorrow. Paging Manny ..............................
PG - Magic Johnson - At 6'9 he would cause a lot of match-up problems and his creative passing is a great way to get everyone the ball. SG - Jordan - not much needs to be said here. SF - Bird - His outside shooting and tough firey competitive nature would fit well on this team. PF - Rodman - This team has enough scorers I want a guy who does all the dirty work and who can get in the head of the opponents. I want the early Rodman, not the sideshow he became in his later career. C - Wilt - I don't care what anyone says he is the GREATEST and most DOMINATING big man of all-time.
Doh!!! I knew I was leaving someone important out (3 hours sleep). Who should I bump, Goodrich or Payton??
Summary: I have two shooters/scorers. Jordan and Bird, those guys would be my scorers. Both very good passers too in the high post and on the fast-break. Stockton would be my setup man. Barkley would be my inside bruiser. And Kareem would be my anchor/pivot man (he could pass on high/low post). Think about any missed shots... Barkley the low man and Kareem the high man. Incredible rebounding! I picked Kareem over Wilt because of his passing. No center has ever racked up more assist. Plus his all-around game. Stockton just because of his ability to protect the ball. Maintained a very good FG%, AST and FT%. Also, he would not be relied upon for scoring with this team. I picked Schrempf because he was a do-it-all type of sixth-man. He could play inside or outside. He could play half-court or run the floor. He was good at shooting and FT. All of my players could pass, not only score! And they were good at it too! John Stockton (PG) Michael Jordan (SG) Larry Bird (SF) Charles Barkley (PF) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (C) Red Auerbach - coach Detlef Schrempf - sixth-man This team is not the "greatest" in terms of scoring talent. But they do complement each other well. And that's what's "prefect" about them.
Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Steve Francis Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler Larry Bird, Julis Erving Karl Malone, Charles Barkley Hakeem Olajuwon, Wilt Chamberlain Rudy, Red 6th man Cuttino Mobley
Rudy should be on the coaches thing. if lenny wilkens gets on there with 1 title in 30 years, Rudy is deserving. i actually don't know, did Daly have any other teams before the bad boys? if so he would only be a two-title coach. put toni kukoc on the 6th man list. him coming off the bench on that second bulls threepeat team was crazy in terms of how much talent they had. also, for pg the criterion should be whatever makes flopton lose.
Don't know if this is related, but it probably doesn't merit it's own thread.... This was the first time in 25 years that none of the original dream teamers we're in an all star game...
