Which Franchise would win using all-time peak players?

[Anfernee]

OK. So this is a little video game-like, but if every franchise could assemble a roster using any player that has ever played for them, and each player would be at their peak level career-wise, which franchise would win title?

Examples:

Miami Heat

Shaq/Morning
Bosh/Odom
LeBron/Rice
Wade/Allen
Penny/ T. Hardway


Houston Rockets

Hakeem/ Howard/ Mutombo/ Ming
Barkley/M. Malone
T. Mac/ Pippen/ Rice
Drexler/Harden
Mark Jackson/ K. Smith

[LAZERUSS]

OK. So this is a little video game-like, but if every franchise could assemble a roster using any player that has ever played for them, and each player would be at their peak level career-wise, which franchise would win title?

Examples:

Miami Heat

Shaq/Morning
Bosh/Odom
LeBron/Rice
Wade/Allen
Penny/ T. Hardway


Houston Rockets

Hakeem/ Howard/ Mutombo/ Ming
Barkley/M. Malone
T. Mac/ Pippen/ Rice
Drexler/Harden
Mark Jackson/ K. Smith

If it were even possible, you could play 100 games, and they would probably split them. I mean, let's get real here, the talent levels are nearly equal.

[Prometheus]

um... the lakers...

[maybeshewill13]

Lakers ?

Magic/Nash
Kobe/West
Baylor
Malone
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt

[moe94]

Lakers take a shit on everything.

[LAZERUSS]

Lakers ?

Magic/Nash
Kobe/West
Baylor
Malone
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt

Nash and Malone? Not as Lakers.

But you could add Worthy and Goodrich.

[secund2nun]

Orlando Magic would have one of the deepest front court

C: Shaq, Ewing, Howard
PF: Webber, Ben Wallace, Kemp

The rest of the team wouldn't be that great though aside from Tmac and Penny

[Genaro]

Lakers and Celtics would make the finals every year.

[maybeshewill13]

Nash and Malone? Not as Lakers.

But you could add Worthy and Goodrich.
He said any player who has ever played for the franchise, and they are in their prime.

[moe94]

Nash and Malone? Not as Lakers.

But you could add Worthy and Goodrich.

OP is suggesting that it can be anyone who ever played at their peaks.

For instance, the Raps can have peak Dream playing with peak Carter/T-Mac/Bosh. :rockon:

[russwest0]

Lakers ?

Magic/Nash
Kobe/West
Baylor
Malone
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt

Holy shit, shut it down, this one is over.

Don't forget Gary Payton as well. God daymn.

[secund2nun]

For Miami you forgot Gary Payton

Miami Heat

Shaq/Morning
Bosh/Odom
LeBron/Rice
Wade/Allen
Payton/Penny

Lakers:

Magic/Nash/Payton
Kobe/West
Baylor/Worthy
Malone/Gasol/Rodman
Shaq/Kareem/Wilt/Howard

[LAZERUSS]

OP is suggesting that it can be anyone who ever played at their peaks.

For instance, the Raps can have peak Dream playing with peak Carter/T-Mac/Bosh. :rockon:

These types of arguments are moot. I shouldn't have even bothered posting on this topic. It's purely hypothetical.

[maybeshewill13]

Holy shit, shut it down, this one is over.

Don't forget Gary Payton as well. God daymn.
Thought about him, but didn't want to mention him with those names lol.

[Prometheus]

You could take your pick of players who have played for the Lakers, put them in their primes (even if they didn't play for the Lakers while they were in said primes) and they might be able to beat the all-time primes cherry-picked from every other franchise combined.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Lakers could prolly beat a peak team that has peak players from every franchise:lol :lol

CP3
MJ
Bird
KG
Hakeem

will prolly still take the L to the lakers:lol :lol

[Prometheus]

Thought about him, but didn't want to mention him with those names lol.

Left out Worthy though :biggums:

[russwest0]

The Lakers would literally win the championship every single year if they played out a prime vs prime thing each season for each team.

[LAZERUSS]

You could take your pick of players who have played for the Lakers, put them in their primes (even if they didn't play for the Lakers while they were in said primes) and they might be able to beat the all-time primes cherry-picked from every other franchise combined.

I doubt it. Using all-time greats, at their peaks, (some on more than one team), and I would think that almost every franchise would be on nearly equal footing.

[moe94]

Thought about him, but didn't want to mention him with those names lol.

But Nash?

What are you saying? Payton > Nash and it's not even a debate worth exploring. :biggums:

[Prometheus]

Basketball is so much better than any other sport for hypothetical arguments like this

[maybeshewill13]

Left out Worthy though :biggums:
On my phone, got lazy :oldlol:

Worthy was brilliant, his stats though aren't super impressive, that's why a lot of newbies leave him off lists. Off the top of my head he was something like a 18/6/3 guy? Doesn't look super impressive to box score watchers.

[moe94]

Basketball is so much better than any other sport for hypothetical arguments like this

Soccer :coleman:

[maybeshewill13]

But Nash?

What are you saying? Payton > Nash and it's not even a debate worth exploring. :biggums:
Nash was definitely better than Payton IMO.

[Prometheus]

Nash was definitely better than Payton IMO.

:facepalm








Defense.

[moe94]

Nash was definitely better than Payton IMO.

If offense was the only part of the game, maybe.

[secund2nun]

Lakers could prolly beat a peak team that has peak players from every franchise:lol :lol

CP3
MJ
Bird
KG
Hakeem

will prolly still take the L to the lakers:lol :lol

It would be close, but I'd pick all other franchise team would win because of depth unless you limit it to a 10 man roster, but even then depth would be an advantage:

PG CP3/Stockton/Thomas
SG Jordan/Wade/Clyde
SF Lebron/Bird/Durant
PF Duncan/KG/Barkley
C Hakeem/Robinson/Ewing

vs

Magic/Nash/Payton
Kobe/West
Baylor/Worthy
Malone/Gasol/Rodman
Shaq/Kareem/Wilt/Howard


I'd go with a starting lineup of:

Lebron
Jordan
Bird
Duncan
Hakeem

[SHAQisGOAT]

Lakers, on paper at least. But when factoring on and off the court chemistry plus some other intangibles, I might say Celtics. 76ers probably 3rd (on paper).

[wakencdukest]

Magic/Nash/Payton/Van Exel
Kobe/West/Richmond/Jones/Goodrich
Worthy/Baylor/Dantley/Rice
Malone/McAdoo/Gasol/Rodman/Hawkins
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt/Howard/Mikan/Divac

[LAZERUSS]

Magic/Nash/Payton/Van Exel
Kobe/West/Richmond/Jones/Goodrich
Worthy/Baylor/Dantley/Rice
Malone/McAdoo/Gasol/Rodman/Hawkins
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt/Howard/Mikan/Divac

All at their absolute peaks. Pretty good roster.

Then add Jackson with assistants coaches of Riley and Sharman.

[Boston C's]

Payton/Gus Williams
Allen/D.J
Dale Ellis/Schrempf
Kemp/X Mcdaniel
Haywood/Sikma

Sonics team...yea not really stackin up to the other franchises but still really good lol

[LAZERUSS]

Payton/Gus Williams
Allen/D.J
Dale Ellis/Schrempf
Kemp/X Mcdaniel
Haywood/Sikma

Sonics team...yea not really stackin up to the other franchises but still really good lol

And KD.

[EnoughSaid]

Rose
MJ
Pippen
Rodman
Noah

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[LAZERUSS]

Rose
MJ
Pippen
Rodman
Noah

:eek: :eek: :eek:

And a peak Gilmore.

[NumberSix]

This is quite easily Miami.

[MrC1991]

Rose
MJ
Pippen
Rodman
Noah

:eek: :eek: :eek:

We'll never get to see Rose's absolute peak. :(

[SHAQisGOAT]

Rose
MJ
Pippen
Rodman
Noah

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Gilmore > Noah, and since you're putting Rodman (his peak was with the Pistons, call it "only" defensive peak if you want), Bulls can have Nate Thurmond at C.

[FireDavidKahn]

Orlando Magic would have one of the deepest front court

C: Shaq, Ewing, Howard
PF: Webber, Ben Wallace, Kemp

The rest of the team wouldn't be that great though aside from Tmac and Penny
....Webber never played for Orlando.

[Rekindled]

Magic/Nash/Payton/Van Exel
Kobe/West/Richmond/Jones/Goodrich
Worthy/Baylor/Dantley/Rice
Malone/McAdoo/Gasol/Rodman/Hawkins
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt/Howard/Mikan/Divac

you know your team is stacked when prime wilt is your 3rd string center

[LAZERUSS]

The Celtics would have to be in the mix.

Hell, you could throw in a peak Pistol, Tiny Archibald, and KG, along with guys like Bird, McHale, Sam Jones, Havlicek, Russell, Cowens, Walton, Allen, Pierce, Rondo, DJ, and other's that I am sure that I am forgetting off of the top of my head.

[Boston C's]

And KD.

Shit...insert at starting SF its hard to remember him playing in Seattle :(

[LAZERUSS]

Magic/Nash/Payton/Van Exel
Kobe/West/Richmond/Jones/Goodrich
Worthy/Baylor/Dantley/Rice
Malone/McAdoo/Gasol/Rodman/Hawkins
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt/Howard/Mikan/Divac

I forgot about McAdoo. A PEAK McAdoo would be a force with almost any combination of those guys.

And don't forget a peak Spencer Haywood, either.

The Lakers could have a lineup with players, at their peak, who averaged 29.7 ppg (Shaq), 30.6 ppg (Dantley), 31.0 ppg (K Malone), 31.2 ppg (West), 34.5 ppg (McAdoo), 34.8 ppg (Baylor), 34.8 ppg (Kareem), 35.4 ppg (Kobe), and 50.4 ppg (Chamberlain.)

And then Rodman, Wilt, Howard, and even Magic on the glass.

With Nash, West, Payton, and Magic sharing the PG.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Now that I've seen that you said to have any player that played for a certain franchise at their peak, not just peak with that certain franchise, Celtics crossed my mind instantly (and without switching positions much, like Hondo played SG too and was suited):

Cousy/Tiny/Payton
Hondo/Pistol/DJ
Bird/Wilkins/Pierce
KG/McAdoo/McHale
Shaq/Russell/Walton

Coach: Red

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Some really strong leaders, great intangibles and IQ too, most likely some pretty good chemistry while even being able to keep "problems" in check with some of those dudes (Shaq for lack of touches, Pistol doing too much, Tiny hogging...). Forget about the 2nd team, that 3rd team is still beastly :lol And still leaving out Cowens, Parish, Jo Jo, Rondo, Sam Jones, Bing, Westphal, Gilmore, Reggie, Ray...

I'd still give it to the Lakers though, but only on paper.

[RedBlackAttack]

Cavs would be pretty nice.

PG: Mark Price / Walt Frazier / Kevin Johnson
SG: Ron Harper / Kyrie Irving
SF: LeBron James / Larry Nance
PF: Shawn Kemp / Ben Wallace
C: Shaquille O'Neal / Brad Daughtery / Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Coach: Lenny Wilkins

Had to omit guys like Terrell Brandon, Nate Thurmond, Lenny Wilkins, Bill Laimbeer, Carlos Boozer, Antawn Jamison...


Look at the PGs. It's so stacked with Price, Frazier and KJ, I had to move Kyrie to the 2.

The frontcourt of prime LeBron, prime Kemp and prime Shaq? Unstoppable.

[mugiwara]

The Celtics would have to be in the mix.

Hell, you could throw in a peak Pistol, Tiny Archibald, and KG, along with guys like Bird, McHale, Sam Jones, Havlicek, Russell, Cowens, Walton, Allen, Pierce, Rondo, DJ, and other's that I am sure that I am forgetting off of the top of my head.

prime Shaq + prime KG

[LAZERUSS]

prime Shaq + prime KG

Good one...I forgot Shaq.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Good one...I forgot Shaq.

Big Mac also, since I know you love him (better than Kareem in their prime :rolleyes:) People "forget" that players like him, Nique or Payton played for the C's too, even Shaqtus.

[LAZERUSS]

Big Mac also, since I know you love him (better than Kareem in their prime :rolleyes:) People "forget" that players like him, Nique or Payton played for the C's too, even Shaqtus.

A peak McAdoo was not better than a peak Kareem.

But, yes, good list.

[I<3NBA]

Bulls. idc who you got on the other team, Prime Jordan would shit on any team. add Prime Pippen and Prime Rodman and it's really not fair.

[kamil]

Lakers ?

Magic/Nash
Kobe/West
Baylor
Malone
Kareem/Shaq/Wilt

Lakers win this one, but I'd throw in Rodman and James Worthy as well.

[kamil]

Bulls. idc who you got on the other team, Prime Jordan would shit on any team. add Prime Pippen and Prime Rodman and it's really not fair.

I can't think of a better centre the bulls have had in their history than Joakim Noah.

That said;

Noah
Jordan
Pippen
Rodman
Rose

Would make a pretty great team but they'd probably lose to an all time lakers great:

Shaq
Kobe
Magic
Malone
Baylor

[SHAQisGOAT]

I can't think of a better centre the bulls have had in their history than Joakim Noah.



Nate Thurmond
Artis Gilmore
Robert Parish

[kamil]

Nate Thurmond
Artis Gilmore
Robert Parish

I stand corrected, lol. Still, I dont think any of them could take on Shaq or Kareem. Maybe Parish for his defence but on offense...?

[I<3NBA]

I stand corrected, lol. Still, I dont think any of them could take on Shaq or Kareem. Maybe Parish for his defence but on offense...?
Rodman can take on Shaq. he would just egg on Shaq and play mind games and before you know it, Shaq would be ejected.

[SHAQisGOAT]

I stand corrected, lol. Still, I dont think any of them could take on Shaq or Kareem. Maybe Parish for his defence but on offense...?

There's no way to stop prime SHaq but Thurmond would give him hell, he's regarded by many - including myself - as the greatest post m2m defender of all-time. He actually did a great job against Jabbar.

As for offense, Gilmore would be te choice, and many centers called him the strongest they ever faced, including Parish I believe, who still faced young Shaq.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Rodman can take on Shaq. he would just egg on Shaq and play mind games and before you know it, Shaq would be ejected.

He did a great job on Shaq when they faced, Shaq still got his and wasn't ejected.

Peak Rodman though (at least peak defensively, with the Pistons) wouldn't take on Shaq though, he was younger and lighter, more suited to defend forwards and guards, doing a hell of a job. Bulls would've had Nate the Great though.

[annbafan]

Arenas/Dave Bing/Wall
Jordan/Earl Monroe
Bernard King/Caron Butler
Elvin Hayes/Webber/Jamison
Moses Malone/Sampson/Unseld

[3peated]

peak for their team or peak for their career ???