To preface my picks, I tried to pick a basketball team, not just the five best players I possibly could. For instance, there is no possible way Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas could EVER play together. In a vacuum? Sure, they probably could. But I’m not picking this team in a vacuum (actually, they may not even be able to play together in a vacuum. MJ really didn't like Isiah. Like a lot). So zero chance they could play together (same for Shaq and Kobe. Sure, they won 3 titles together. But they almost burned LA down in the process. I’m not risking their ego battle on my team). Instead, we know MJ-Pippen, Oscar-Kareem, Stockton-Malone, West-Wilt, and LeBron-Wade can play together quite well. Same with some combination of MJ, Magic, and Bird (since it would cost $14 for just those three, it’s impossible to get all three. Unfortunate). I tried to pick players who could complement each other’s basketball ability and play well as a five-man unit. That was a huge deciding factor in some of my picks. I also value defense when forming a team. It’s much harder to stop someone from scoring the basketball than it is to actually score. Plus, as long as you take MJ or Kobe at your 2 guard, you should have enough scoring from them to carry your team before you even count the complimentary scoring the other four players will give you.
Tim Duncan (2002-03): 23.3 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 3.9 APG, 0.7 SPG, 2.9 BPG, 51.3 FG%, Regular Season MVP, First Team All-NBA, First Team All-Defense, Finals MVP, Won NBA Championship
Karl Malone (1996-97): 27.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 55.0 FG%, Regular Season MVP, First Team All-NBA, First Team All-Defense, Lost in NBA Finals
Charles Barkley (1992-93): 25.6 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 52.0 FG%, Regular Season MVP, First Team All-NBA, Lost in NBA Finals
Pretty similar based on just the numbers, right? Aren’t the biggest calling cards of Malone and Barkley (especially Malone) their statistical dominance, whereas Duncan was supposed be more of an intrinsic value? If I made it a player A, B, and C with just the stats, you could probably figure it out (the blocks would give away Duncan, the higher scoring to Malone, the higher remaining rebounds to Barkley), but you’d probably think about it more than you thought you would. So if I could get all the intrinsic value of Duncan without sacrificing the MVP-caliber stats, why wouldn't I? Barkley was the easiest to eliminate. He was fantastic that year and throughout his career (a remarkable rebounder despite only being about 6'4" who played like a Power Forward, but ran the floor like a guard), but I’ll probably have enough offense at some of the other positions, and Barkley was a liability defensively. Duncan and Malone, on the other hand, were First Team All-NBA players at their peaks. Duncan was more consistently dominant on the defensive end, but Malone could definitely hold his own. What was a clear advantage for Duncan though (you know, other than the fact that he’s inexplicably $2 cheaper), was that defensive presence. Malone was the better offensive player (he’s the second all-time leading scorer and could be the roll man in the pick-and-roll in his sleep), but as I said earlier, I’ll probably have enough offensive firepower at the other positions (plus, Duncan is no slouch with the ball. The guy can score the basketball. Bank shot or not). Also, Duncan has four more championships than Malone and Barkley combined (4-0 in rings, 5-3 in Finals appearances). That has to count for something. So Duncan starts my team. $3 spent, $12 to spend on the other four positions.
The next pick I made was at the center. Given the choices, it would be pretty hard to pick a bad center. The gap between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (at $5) and Hakeem Olajuwon (at $1) was the smallest of the five positions for me. Is Kareem better than Hakeem? Absolutely. Is he $4 better when I only have $15 to spend? Probably not. Sure, Kareem is probably a top 5 player ever (at worst). But Hakeem is a top 15 player ever (at worst). To get a top 15 player of all-time for only $1? Another great value pick. Wilt was also pretty tempting at $3, and I know of many people (my Dad, definitely) who would jump at the chance to take him at that price, but I just couldn’t justify passing on Hakeem for only $1, even for a player as great as Bill Russell or Wilt. So I have my two big men: Hakeem Olajuwon ($1) and Tim Duncan ($3). $4 spent, $11 to spend on the final three positions.
I wanted to take LeBron so bad. I really did. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s my favorite current NBA player, so I wanted him on this team. And I could absolutely rationalize LeBron-Frazier in my final two positions. But the five small forwards, as a collective group, are better than the point guards. And given the way I wanted to build my team, Magic Johnson ($5) and Scottie Pippen ($1) were the two perfect choices to fill out my starting five. There were five combinations I could achieve with $6 (Magic-Pippen, Oscar-Durant, Isiah-Dr. J, Stockton-Bird, and Frazier-LeBron). Isiah-Dr. J was the easiest to eliminate because I don’t want MJ killing Isiah. If MJ threatened to sit out the 1992 Olympics if Isiah was picked, he definitely wouldn’t play for me if I had Isiah. Sorry Doc. Blame Isiah. The next one to eliminate was the Oscar-Durant combo. I know All-NBA and All-Defense teams are not a perfect science, but they at least give us some sense of who were the best overall and defensive players, respectively, were in that era. Oscar Robertson made a total of zero all-defense teams. Not a one, first or second team (in fairness, neither did Magic). He was obviously a brilliant offensive player (to this day, he’s the only person to ever average a triple double in a season, and he’ll probably be the only one ever to do so, unless LeBron decides to kill himself going after it for 82 games. Which he won’t. Because he wants to win a championship every year), and is probably better than Magic defensively, but he also wasn’t exactly known as a “team player.” Durant has been phenomenal in his young career, but he doesn’t even belong on this list. Either Elgin Baylor and John Havlicek should occupy one of final small forward positions over Durant given how the rest of the positions were chosen. It looks like the picture picks the five best players at their respective positions of all-time. Every other player on that list is (or at least could have a very good argument for being) a top five player at their position. Durant is not quite there yet. He’s on his way, but a few scoring titles and an MVP award doesn’t put you in that conversation just yet.
That basically leaves the choice between Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James. It’s a virtual tie between those three for me (if I had to rank them, it’d be Magic, Bird, LeBron as of today, but wow, is it close). So for me, it came down to the players that were effectively paired with them: John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, and Walt Frazier. That choice was much easier to me. Scottie was the clear standout (Scottie, Frazier, Stockton, in that order). He’s among the most versatile defensive players ever, and he proved he was a great player, even without Michael Jordan (he won’t have to play without MJ on my team, but still). Just look at his 1993-94 season, without MJ, when he led the Bulls in every one of the five major statistical categories. Not a misprint. And also in 1999-2000, when he led the Portland Trail Blazers one quarter away from defeating the Shaq-Kobe three-championships-in-a-row-bound Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. But right, he can’t play without MJ (but hey, he clearly proved he can play with MJ, which may be more impressive). Scottie was one of the best all-around players in the NBA during his career. There was really nothing he couldn’t do. He’s the ultimate fill-in-the-blanks guy (at least until LeBron came along). A basketball team needs a guy like that, and Scottie proved that he was more than comfortable doing what needed to be done to get the win. Stockton was as solid a point guard as there ever was (and could probably still play today. Seriously), and Frazier was dynamic on those two Knicks’ championship teams of the early 1970s. But Scottie fits my team better. Magic and Scottie it is.
The biggest hole in this team is outside shooting. Scottie was a decent outsider shooter who developed that shot throughout the duration of his career (he was a terrible jump shot early in his career). MJ was automatic from inside the three-point line (especially near the rim), but he was only 32.7% career three-point shooter. Magic was similar to MJ in that he was great around the rim, but was even worse than MJ from beyond the three point line (30.3%) and didn’t have as reliable a jumper. Still, given the choices, there are really only three or four guys who you could consider elite outside shooters (Bird, West, Durant, and possibly Dirk, given his position). Another potential issue could be against a team with a quick point guard and two super-athletic wing players (think OKC pre-Harden trade). Magic’s defense was clearly not his strong suit, and he often struggled defending smaller, quicker guards. If a team had two super-athletic wing players that would demand MJ and Scottie’s attention, which would force Magic to guard the point guard, it could make for some easy baskets. Duncan and Hakeem can only provide so much protection at the rim. Eventually, Magic’s defense will be exposed.
The greatest strength of this team is obviously its devastating defensive potential. Four all-world defenders will be able to hide the defensive inability of Magic in most cases, and Magic will be able to just guard the worst offensive perimeter player, 1-3, while MJ and Scottie take the two better ones. Good luck scoring at the rim with Duncan and Hakeem patrolling the paint. Good luck even getting to the paint with MJ and Scottie checking you. If Magic can just sit on a shooter and play passing lanes rather than his man, scoring against these five will be almost impossible. This team can also be exceptional in the versatility of the offense. All five can run the floor at an elite level for their position as they are all incredibly athletic (even Duncan. Have you even watched Tim Duncan?). Magic led the most famous transition offense of all-time with the 80s Showtime Lakers, so he could absolutely run with these guys. Imagine Scottie Pippen instead of James Worthy (comparable offensively, especially in transition) and Michael Jordan instead of Michael Cooper (Magic would be too giddy to contain himself). And if they can’t run? Doesn’t matter. You can’t stop them in the half-court either. Magic is the greatest creator in the history of the game. He’ll get open shots for Duncan or Pippen, both of whom will be able to score from mid-range and at the rim (or Duncan in the post). Hakeem is arguably the most creative offensive post player in history. He could score any way he wanted to from the post. Just give him the ball on the block and watch out. Oh, and then if all else fails, there’s Michael Jordan. No one was better at creating his own shot from anywhere on the floor than MJ. Any team that has Michael Jordan will be able to score the basketball.
So there you have it. That’s my five. Five incredible basketball players, but more important, five incredible basketball players who would be able to play well together. Good luck beating them.
PG: Magic Johnson ($5)
SG: Michael Jordan ($5)
SF: Scottie Pippen ($1)
PF: Tim Duncan ($3)
C: Hakeem Olajuwon ($1)
Who’s your best five? There are so many fantastic combinations, you really can’t go wrong.