All-Time Starting team + 6th Man

Who ya got?

Here's mine.

Center - Wilt Chamberlain
Forward - Larry Bird
Forward - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Guard - Michael Jordan
Guard - Jerry West

6th Man Magic Johnson

*******************

People always look at me like I'm crazy when I got Kareem at the forward but I always thought from the first NBA game I saw Lew Alcindor play that he was a forward playing out of position - they put him at C because he was so tall.
But I don't mind having twin towers & I don't mind having Kareem's 18 foot jumper which is commonly forgot but which was real money. I also don't mind the fact that my forward can not only defend but dominate all centers with great ease. I also don't mind Chamberlain being able to destroy all in the paint and dish to a guy who can crash from high post.
*************************

I've struggled with West vs. Magic for years. But the answer comes in the fact that Magic can play 4 positions with great ease - so effectively he plays full minutes. And I get to keep the two greatest outside threats in basketball history. Logo & Airness together destroy all perimeters in the galaxy.

**********************

Now the guy who is entering into the argument to me is LeBron James.

But what are you gonna do with him?
* Replace Logo? That destroys my team concept and LBJ can never shoot like Logo (nor can he shoot like Bird for that matter, nor Kareem. And he ain't getting Jordan's spot.)
{I would be more likely to reach for Kobe Bryant to replace West but it will depend entirely on KB mental attitude on that day. He "goes to sleep" too much and shot-jacks too much to get that starting job.}

* Replace Larry Bird? [I]I[/I] can't replace Bird's all-round greatness with LBJ's all-round greatness - due to Bird's willingness to go to the mats.

He might be able to argue with Magic though as the greatest swingman ever.

************
But that is only my ideas for an All-Time team - of course biased by my timeframe of [I]watching [/I]Chamberlain & Frazier Willis Reed and Jerry Lucas... but also I believe it is accurate to say that will be the most perfect starting team ever.....

How would you set it up? Who's on your All-time Team?

C- Wilt
F-Tim Duncan
F-LeBron James
SG- Jordan
PG- John Stockton

6th- Allen Iverson

It was between Duncan and Bird for the PF spot

edit: this may not be the best team, but It's the one I want to watch

Mine
C-Hakeem
PF-Garnett
SF-Lebron
SG-Jordan
PG-Payton

Lockdown nobody moves:D

[QUOTE=arifgokcen]Mine
C-Hakeem
PF-Garnett
SF-Lebron
SG-Jordan
PG-Payton

Lockdown nobody moves:D[/QUOTE]

no kiddin, that is serious D team right there!!

But you still got another pick - who ya got first off the bench?

C - [B]Wilt Chamberlain[/B]
PF - [B]Bill Russell[/B]
SF - [B]Larry Bird[/B]
SG - [B]Michael Jordan[/B]
PG - [B]Magic Johnson[/B]

6th Man - [B]Kareem Abdul-Jabbar[/B]

I believe these are the six best basketball players of all-time. Not only that, but their skills complement each other perfectly: Bird and Magic's selfless team-play, Jordan's killer instinct, Russell's defense and intangibles, Wilt's rebounding (I'd actually prefer the old Lakers Wilt for this team, rather than the young Sixers/Warriors Wilt) and Kareem's unstoppable offense.

C Shaquille O'Neal
F Tim Duncan
F LeBron James
G Michael Jordan
G Steve Nash


6th - Larry Bird

[QUOTE=stallionaire]C Shaquille O'Neal
F Tim Duncan
F LeBron James
G Michael Jordan
G Steve Nash


6th - Larry Bird[/QUOTE]

Steve Nash is perhaps my favourite player in the NBA.... but just try to imagine him defending Magic Johnson. That wouldn't be pretty.

[quote=arifgokcen]Mine
C-Hakeem
PF-Garnett
SF-Lebron
SG-Jordan
PG-Payton

Lockdown nobody moves:D[/quote]

not bad

[QUOTE=La Frescobaldi]no kiddin, that is serious D team right there!!

But you still got another pick - who ya got first off the bench?[/QUOTE]

Hmm thats a really tough question.Another all time defender that can cover every position on the floor
[B][I][U]Dennis Rodman[/U][/I][/B]
.I have enough offense in my starting line-up.
Man wow i am loving my all-time team.No pick and roll action against this team.Every player can guard at least 3 positions and rodman off the bench.Wow:roll: :roll: :roll:

I think defense and cohesion is much more important than offense.Because you are gonna have enough offense as it is.Everyone is entitled to their opinion however i just wanted point out some facts.
So probably not a good idea to put nash in your lineup because of his awful defense or Bird for his defense and clashing personalities with jordan.Again even though shaq maybe the most dominant player in history he lacks defensive mentality to be included in this team.So i would pick the best defensive-offensive player combinations and look for cohesion among them.
Anyway thats just me

Why the lack of Russell in the lists?

[QUOTE=arifgokcen]Mine
C-Hakeem
PF-Garnett
SF-Lebron
SG-Jordan
PG-Payton

Lockdown nobody moves:D[/QUOTE]

This

C - Shaquille O'Neal
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Larry Bird
SG - Michael Jordan
PG - Magic Johnson

6th Man: Manu Ginobli (decided it'd be fair to go with the best 6th man ever instead of just another star player that would never sit the bench).

[QUOTE=DStebb716]C - Shaquille O'Neal
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Larry Bird
SG - Michael Jordan
PG - Magic Johnson

6th Man: Manu Ginobli (decided it'd be [B]fair[/B] to go with the best 6th man ever instead of just another star player that would never sit the bench).[/QUOTE]

Lol was reading this and thought of a picture of Manu and his baldness and red it'd be hair.. For some reason :confusedshrug:

[QUOTE=Tmuston Beltics]Why the lack of Russell in the lists?[/QUOTE]

I never saw Russell in his glory days of like 1959.

But I saw 3 of these games, and many more by both players.

{I copied this from another thread}

**************************************************
[B]1967 Eastern Division Finals[/B]

[B]Game 1.
[/B]Russell 20 pts 15 rebs 4 assists
Chamberlain 24 pts 32 rebs 13 assists + 12 blocks

(the blocks were reported by Sports Illustrated.)

[B]That's a Chamberlain quadruple double.
[/B]
[B]Game 2.
[/B]
Russell 14 pts 24 rebs 5 asts
Chamberlain 15 pts 29 rebs 5 asts

[B]Game 3
[/B]Russell 10 pts 29 rebs 2 asts
Chamberlain 20 pts 41 rebs 9 asts

[B]Chamberlain's 41 rebounds against Russell is the NBA playoff record.
[/B]
[B]Game 4
[/B]Russell 9 pts 28 rebs 5 asts
Chamberlain 20 pts 22 rebs 10 asts

[B]Chamberlain with the triple double against Russell.
[/B]
[B]Game 5
[/B]Russell 4 pts 21 rebs 7 asts
Chamberlain 29 pts 36 rebs 13 asts

[B]Chamberlain with the triple double against Russell.
[/B]
*****************

Nobody knew about triple double, or quadruple double back then. There was no such thing. Those terms were invented many years later. But that game 5 brought on a debate that has raged for 40 years.

One of my friends marked his scorecard to show Chamberlain with 16 blocks, but another friend had it with only 15. They still argue about it.

But even without knowing what a quadruple double was (and maybe Harvey Pollack knows the answer), it was plain to everyone that Chamberlain had demolished Russell in every possible way.

****************************
[B]Playoff lines:
Russell 11 ppg 23 rpg 4 apg
Chamberlain 21 ppg 32 rpg 10 apg
[/B]

Wilt Chamberlain averaged a triple double against Bill Russell over the entire series, and had (at least according to Sports Illustrated & some basketball maniacs in the bleachers) 2 quadruple doubles.

******************************************

Russell's teams were stacked, that's why they won. People can say what they want, but that's just fact. After watching Chamberlain thoroughly dismantle Russell in every possible way - and not just in that 67 series, either - he isn't ever going on any of [I]my[/I] all-time teams, so sorry.

C - Shaquille O'Neal
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Larry Bird
SG - Michael Jordan
PG - Magic Johnson

6th Man - Karl Malone


Everyone in this line-up would be tall (or at least the right size) for their positions.

As for Karl Malone, he'd win a title with this line-up, so eh... :confusedshrug: Just added him for the hell of it.

[B]C:[/B] Bill Russell
[B]PF:[/B] Tim Duncan
[B]SF:[/B] Larry Bird
[B]SG:[/B] Michael Jordan
[B]PG:[/B] John Stockton

[B]6th:[/B] Lebron James

This team really can't be touched.

[QUOTE=JustinJDW][B]C:[/B] Bill Russell
[B]PF:[/B] Tim Duncan
[B]SF:[/B] Larry Bird
[B]SG:[/B] Michael Jordan
[B]PG:[/B] John Stockton

[B]6th:[/B] Lebron James

This team really can't be touched.[/QUOTE]

My team would probably destroy that team.

[QUOTE=Scholar]C - Shaquille O'Neal
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Larry Bird
SG - Michael Jordan
PG - Magic Johnson

6th Man - Karl Malone


Everyone in this line-up would be tall (or at least the right size) for their positions.

As for Karl Malone, he'd win a title with this line-up, so eh... :confusedshrug: Just added him for the hell of it.[/QUOTE]


Actually, on second thought, maybe LeBron would be a better 6th man, simply because he could play all 5 positions without a problem really.

would be interesting to see:

C - Yao Ming (7'6")
PF - Shaq (7'2")
SF - Nowitzki (7'0")
SG - Durant (6'11")
PG - Lebron (6'9" - 260+ lbs)

vs

C - Hayes (6'6")
PF - Barkley (6'5")
SF - Baylor (6'5")
SG - Iverson (6'0")
PG - Mugsy (5'3")


:oldlol:

gona try this on NBA 2K!

or how about All-Muscle team vs All-Skinny team:

C - Shaq
PF - Malone
SF - B.Wallace
SG - Lebron
PG - Magic
6th man: Barkley or Rodman

vs

C - Manute Bol
PF - Nowitzki
SF - Durant
SG - Reggie Miller
PG - Iverson
6th man: Tayshuan Prince or Rip Hamilton

C:Shaquille O'Neal
PF:Bill Russell
SF:Larry Bird
SG:Michael Jordan
PG:Earvin Magic Johnson

6th Man: Tim Duncan/Oscar Robertson

C Kareem Abdul Jabbar
F [B]Karl Malone[/B]
F Charles Barkley
G Michael Jordan
G [B]John Stockton[/B]

6th man: LeBron James

kareem abdul jabbar
kevin garnett
kevin durant
michael jordan
chris paul

i dont need 6 man:rockon:

Hakeem Olajuwon
Dirk Nowitzki
Larry Bird
Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson

6th man: barkley

Magic is feeding the dream under the basket or just feeding dirk and larry for 3s. or they just spread the floor and mj is doing his job attacking the rim against 3-4 defenders lolll

lack of defense a little bit, but if ur opponents cant do anything against ur offense its pretty much done. especially with those shooters. if they dont hit the 3 , just wait for a dunk from mj or hakeem getting a rebound.^^

barkley for more toughness under the rim, if 3s doesnt work out^^,also he had a good ballhandling and makes his team better for fast breaks...

it amaizes me when people pick a ball dominant pg to team with ball dominant isolation players




G Kobe
G Jordan
F Bird
F Duncan
C Wilt

6th man - Shaq


or if you want it built around a pg and complimentary superstars that dont need the ball in their hand

G Magic
G Miller
F Pippen
F Rodman
C Russell

6th man - Stockton

it would be a waste to mix the 2 types of teams together

[QUOTE=kennethgriffin]it amaizes me when people pick a ball dominant pg to team with ball dominant isolation players




G Kobe
G Jordan
F Bird
F Duncan
C Wilt

6th man - Shaq


or if you want it built around a pg and complimentary superstars that dont need the ball in their hand

G Magic
G Miller
F Pippen
F Rodman
C Russell

6th man - Stockton

it would be a waste to mix the 2 types of teams together[/QUOTE]
This is why I think my team is the best. So far three other people agreed with me.
Hakeem
Garnett
Lebron
Jordan
Payton
Defensively nightmare literally this is the best defensive lineup to me
Offensively let Phil run his triangle offense with Hakeem and garnett inside.

[QUOTE=arifgokcen]This is why I think my team is the best. So far three other people agreed with me.
Hakeem
Garnett
Lebron
Jordan
Payton
Defensively nightmare literally this is the best defensive lineup to me
Offensively let Phil run his triangle offense with Hakeem and garnett inside.[/QUOTE]

lebron doesnt understand the concept of sharing when he plays with other superstars

hes almost averaging 30 on a team with wade and bosh... and a bunch of great complimentary players

i just think birds a better team player and better suited for the sf position on a stacked roster

To many of us are picking our favorite players as opposed to a team that's would have great chemistry. I mean, you can pick any players you want, why would you pick guys that are liabilities like bird, magic, russell, and rodman?

PG Pippen
SG Jordan
SF James
PF Duncan
C Olajuwan

6th Garnett

That tean can shoot, pass, play man defense, help defense, rebound, post up, has size, athleticism, speed, intangibles, can switch everything, and are versitle. And all can play multiple positions.

Shaq
Duncan
Bird
MJ
Magic

6th- Lebron

bill laimbeer
horace grant
sprewell
redd
earl manigault

6th man -world b free bitch

[QUOTE=97 bulls]To many of us are picking our favorite players as opposed to a team that's would have great chemistry. I mean, you can pick any players you want, why would you pick guys that are liabilities like bird, magic, russell, and rodman?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, Bill Russell - what a huge liability he was on those 11 championship teams.

Whilst Russell is the greatest centre of all time, I can't pick him for my all time team. Sure, he would be great defensively in any era - he would be measured at close to 6"11 in todays NBA and those arms of his....those insanely long arms (I've read that he has a 7"5 wingspan) would make Lebron/Wade/Rose etc think twice before driving to the hoop. If he bulked up a little, I have no doubt he would be alternating DPOY awards with Howard.

However, his offense would be an issue. He was undoubtedly a good offensive player in his own era - only Wilt and Bellamy were better scorers from the centre spot, and he was the best passing big man for most of his career as well. But....he was clunky. That's probably the best word to describe his offense. From what I've seen, he didn't appear to have any go to 'moves' to rely on in the post (maybe he had a baby hook shot. Thats the only thing resembling a 'move' that I've seen). He seemed to just chuck up shots in the general vicinity of the hoop. More often than not, they didn't go in.

So, I'll go with....

C - '77 Karee.......actually no.......'94 Hakee......hmmmmmm. Hang on......ummmmmmm.........shit. Can someone help me out? :confusedshrug:

PF - '03 Tim Duncan. A no-brainer. The evolutionary Russell. Great leader and teammate, great defender, great passer out of the post. He wouldn't care if he only shot the ball 5 times a game - all he wants to do is win.

SF - '86 Larry Bird. I briefly entertained having Pippen or Hondo here (for their defence) but I need a shooter to spread the floor. And besides, Larry was the greatest rebounding SF of all time, the greatest play making forward of all time and arguably the greatest game 7 player of all time. Those things make up for his suspect man defence :oldlol:

SG - '91 Michael Jordan. He was at his all round best in the '91 playoffs, and the finals especially - he was just about clinging on to his 88/89 athleticism and was passing/playmaking like an elite point guard. Combine that with an insatiable desire/desparation to win his 1st ring and you have something truly scary (go watch game 2 of the '91 finals again. Right now. Go! When he was playing like that, he was unbeatable). He would still be the go to scorer and crunch time assassin, but he wouldn't be playing with Grant, Cartwright and Paxson on this team. We need balance (which is why I shied away from '93 MJ).

PG - '87 Magic Johnson. Another no-brainer. The NBAs greatest ever play maker at the peak of his powers.

[B]EDIT: Actually, I'm not sure that having 2 defensive liabilities in 1 team is a good idea. You can get away with one.....but two? Hmmmmmmmmm. Sorry Magic, you're gunna have to make way for '69 West. That eliminates any speedy or athletic point guards getting a free pass into the lane and gives me an extra shooter. And besides, the ball should be in MJs hands most of the time anyway. [/B]


6th man - '09 Lebron. The most gifted all round player the league has ever seen (along with Wilt). He's probably the perfect utliity player - he can play and excel in 4 positions. He also wouldn't be playing crunch time so there would be very little pressure on him. He could focus on doing what he does best - facilitating and just being an all round monster.


Coach - Phil Jackson. The only choice! Don't ask me which version of him would be the best because I have no clue :oldlol: I guess coaching is all about experience so I'll go with an older Phil - how about '09? :D

Kareem
Duncan
Bird
Jordan
Magic

KG for defensive versatility

Although I would seriously question Jordan's ability to work in an offense where he wasn't ball dominant 50% of the time

[QUOTE=La Frescobaldi]Who ya got?

Here's mine.

Center - Wilt Chamberlain
Forward - Larry Bird
Forward - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Guard - Michael Jordan
Guard - Jerry West

6th Man Magic Johnson

*******************

People always look at me like I'm crazy when I got Kareem at the forward but I always thought from the first NBA game I saw Lew Alcindor play that he was a forward playing out of position - they put him at C because he was so tall.
But I don't mind having twin towers & I don't mind having Kareem's 18 foot jumper which is commonly forgot but which was real money. I also don't mind the fact that my forward can not only defend but dominate all centers with great ease. I also don't mind Chamberlain being able to destroy all in the paint and dish to a guy who can crash from high post.
*************************

I've struggled with West vs. Magic for years. But the answer comes in the fact that Magic can play 4 positions with great ease - so effectively he plays full minutes. And I get to keep the two greatest outside threats in basketball history. Logo & Airness together destroy all perimeters in the galaxy.

**********************

Now the guy who is entering into the argument to me is LeBron James.

But what are you gonna do with him?
* Replace Logo? That destroys my team concept and LBJ can never shoot like Logo (nor can he shoot like Bird for that matter, nor Kareem. And he ain't getting Jordan's spot.)
{I would be more likely to reach for Kobe Bryant to replace West but it will depend entirely on KB mental attitude on that day. He "goes to sleep" too much and shot-jacks too much to get that starting job.}

* Replace Larry Bird? [I]I[/I] can't replace Bird's all-round greatness with LBJ's all-round greatness - due to Bird's willingness to go to the mats.

He might be able to argue with Magic though as the greatest swingman ever.

************
But that is only my ideas for an All-Time team - of course biased by my timeframe of [I]watching [/I]Chamberlain & Frazier Willis Reed and Jerry Lucas... but also I believe it is accurate to say that will be the most perfect starting team ever.....

How would you set it up? Who's on your All-time Team?[/QUOTE]

That's a good team (mine would best yours though :oldlol: ) but what versions of your picks would you choose? e.g '62 or '67 Wilt? '65 or '69 West? etc

Wilt
Duncan
Bird
Kobe
Jordan

Sixth- Barkley

russell
duncan
bird
kobe
isiah

6th man pistol

[QUOTE=oolalaa]Whilst Russell is the greatest centre of all time, I can't pick him for my all time team. Sure, he would be great defensively in any era - he would be measured at close to 6"11 in todays NBA and those arms of his....those insanely long arms (I've read that he had a 7"5 wingspan) would make Lebron/Wade/Rose etc think twice before driving to the hoop. If he bulked up a little, I have no doubt he would be alternating DPOY awards with Howard.

However, his offense would be an issue. He was undoubtedly a good offensive player in his own era - only Wilt and Bellamy were better scorers from the centre spot, and he was the best passing big man for most of his career as well. But....he was clunky. That's probably the best word to describe his offense. From what I've seen, he didn't appear to have any go to 'moves' to rely on in the post (maybe he had a baby hook shot. Thats the only thing resembling a 'move' that I've seen). He seemed to just chuck up shots in the general vicinity of the hoop. More often than not, they didn't go in.

So, I'll go with....

C - '77 Karee.......actually no.......'94 Hakee......hmmmmmm. Hang on......ummmmmmm.........shit. Can someone help me out? :confusedshrug:

PF - '03 Tim Duncan. A no-brainer. The evolutionary Russell. Great leader and teammate, great defender, great passer out of the post. He wouldn't care if he only shot the ball 5 times a game - all he wants to do is win.

SF - '86 Larry Bird. I briefly entertained having Pippen or Hondo here (for their defence) but I need a shooter to spread the floor. And besides, Larry was the greatest rebounding SF of all time, the greatest play making forward of all time and arguably the greatest game 7 player of all time. Those things make up for his suspect man defence :oldlol:

SG - '91 Michael Jordan. He was at his all round best in the '91 playoffs, and the finals especially - he was just about clinging on to his 88/89 athleticism and was passing/playmaking like an elite point guard. Combine that with an insatiable desire/desparation to win his 1st ring and you have something truly scary (go watch game 2 of the '91 finals again. Right now. Go! When he was playing like that, he was unbeatable). He would still be the go to scorer and crunch time assassin, but he wouldn't be playing with Grant, Cartwright and Paxson on this team. We need balance (which is why I shied away from '93 MJ).

PG - '87 Magic Johnson. Another no-brainer. The NBAs greatest ever play maker at the peak of his powers.


6th man - '09 Lebron. The most gifted all round player the league has ever seen (along with Wilt). He's probably the perfect utliity player - he can play and excel in 4 positions. He also wouldn't be playing crunch time so there would be very little pressure on him. He could focus on doing what he does best - facilitating and just being an all round monster.


Coach - Phil Jackson. The only choice! Don't ask me which version of him would be the best because I have no clue :oldlol: I guess coaching is all about experience so I'll go with an older Phil - how about '09? :D[/QUOTE]

I flirted with the idea of including a players specific year. But as someeone stated, players don't change that much year to year. The situations and circumstances do.

I've met bill russell about 15 years ago. He's nowhere near 6'11. I know people kinda shrink as they get old, but russell looked to be about 6'8.

Magic
Jordan
Bird
Duncan
Hakeem

6th man Pippen, swiss army knife.

[QUOTE=WillC]Yeah, Bill Russell - what a huge liability he was on those 11 championship teams.[/QUOTE]
My point was that were picking the best possible starting 5 and one 6th man. The talent level would be so high that I just could see myself picking guys that are clearly weak or deficient at something as important as offense and defense. Then I gotta factor in that chemisrty is a must and egos must be checked at the door. Everyone knows jordan would be the go to guy. Pippen would be my ball handler and main perimeter defender. James athleticism and ability to fill any void would be huge, while duncan, and olajuwan and garnett are great midrange shooters and can controll the paint definsively.

I feel I could expose magic and birds bad man defense or russell inept offense.