All-Time best basketball all-star team?

[matrix2004]

OK Basketball fans, let's here your picks as the best of the best of all time. Your 'Dream Team' starting five. Here's my picks:

C- SHAQUILLE O'NEAL : I think he could take on and beat both Chamberlain and Russel, even in their prime. So what if he couldn't act or rap- he could sure dominate!(free throws not included)

PF- KARL MALONE : Ridiculous amount of points scored aside, he is everything you could want in a PF- score at will in the post, outmuscle people for rebounds and duarable as an anvil. Sure he had a lame nickname-' the mailman', but maybe that's why he went 'postal' on the rest of the league. Hell, I'd be angry too if my best friend (Stockton) wore gay looking shorts.

SF- LARRY BIRD : Toughest choice; but he gets my pick cause he was just so damn good. Not just a great shooter- like casual b-ball fans think, but a pretty complete player. He could score (duh!), rebound and was a phenomenal passer. The fact that he could totally dominate a game without posessing any athleticsm whatsoever gives him extra props. White man couldn't jump- but he could sure as hell do everything else!

SG- MICHAEL JORDAN : Well Duh! If you need to know why I picked him, then you obviously don't know what a basketball is...Or gatorade... Or been exposed to a television set for the last 20 years in the entire english and even non-english speaking world.

PG- MAGIC JOHNSON : Another tough call, but hey remember- they don't call shitty players 'Magic'. I know he played defense like a broken pylon, but he did EVERYthing else so damn well. He could score at will (apparently with the ladies as well), rebound well for a guard and as for his passing- did I mention the word 'Magic'. Most people WISH they had a 'magic johnson'....He WAS!

 

[Back Burner]

Sounds about right.

I would have loved to see Russel or Chamberlain match up against Shaq.

 

[to-guy69]

In order to be the considered one of the BEST of all time, in my opinion, you would NEED to have been a CHAMPION. As great as Karl was, he NEVER won the big one so i wouldn't put him on the list.

He also had the luxury of playing with one of the top 5 point guards of all time (1st in steals and 1st assists all time) threading him the ball to a tee for over 20 years which actually made him better than he actually was.

 

[matrix2004]

In order to be the considered one of the BEST of all time, in my opinion, you would NEED to have been a CHAMPION. As great as Karl was, he NEVER won the big one so i wouldn't put him on the list.

He also had the luxury of playing with one of the top 5 point guards of all time (1st in steals and 1st assists all time) threading him the ball to a tee for over 20 years which actually made him better than he actually was.

So if not Malone, then who would you pick as the all time best at the Power Forward position?

 

[Spode]

I would make some space on this team for Dr. J and replace Shaq for Wilt. 6th man would be pistol pete

 

[Bush League]

Chris Mihm?

*runs*

 

[shack]

Kareem? Oscar? Vince?

Unrelated question to Bush League: Are you trying to spell "Caballero"?

 

[Spode]

Kareem? Oscar? Vince?

You lost me at Vince

 

[matrix2004]

Kareem? Oscar? Vince?

Vince? Vince who?.....Lombardi? NAhhh...he's over in football! LOL

 

[the_big_E]

how could you not include Yogi Stewart in this list!!!

 

[healer677]

But free throws ARE a part of the game....

Not Shaq - for pure scoring.....Wilt or Kareem....for D Russell. Shaq has never thrown down 100 points in one game and if you've never seen the sky hook from 15 feet out, you cant defend it - besides Kareem has what? 38 000 career points? Russell has what? 11 rings in 14 years - or something like that. Any one of those three would be a good choice - there was a recent SI article re. this topic and the writers agreed that Shaq would be number 4 on that list.

I like the Mailman.....but I also like Sir Charles....although check Elgin Baylors numbers....you might be impressed.

Bird is a good choice too. Micheal and Magic is tough to beat.

 

[matrix2004]

But free throws ARE a part of the game....

Not Shaq - for pure scoring.....Wilt or Kareem....for D Russell.

Not that I'm disagreeing that free throws are a part of the game, but even w/ all those misses, Shaq will still average 25+ pts./game for his career. As for Wilt's 100 pt. game, I think if Shaq went up against those guys in the 60's, he'd score close to 100. Kareem's 38k+ pts.- extremely impressive, but keep in mind it took him 22+ yrs to get there (if Shaq plays 22 yrs...who knows?). It also helped to play w/ a scoring machine of a team like the 'showtime' Lakers (though I think he was even more dominant when he was Lew Alcinder). As for Russell, he's the best defensive C for sure, but his offense wasn't as good as the others. I guess it depends on what you value more -D vs. O. Russell winning all those rings is impressive but I don't put too much value in that; the reverse also holds true- I don't think guys like Barkley & Ewing( to name a few) should lose too much of their greatness because of a lack of rings (factors like supporting staff, etc. come into play).

All in all, a tough call to make on best C of all time- any 1 of the 4 choices would be Ok in my book. I'm naturally a little biased for players of the past 25 yrs cause I got to watch them play regularly. But if all 4 were in their prime on the same floor, I would put my money(small amount lol)on Shaq.

This is why I like being in sports discussions so much - different opinions and perspectives.

BTW- I have seen Baylors stats and they are impressive. But again- Malone in his prime vs. Baylor in his prime, I take Mailman every time. Ditto w/ Barkley.

 

[healer677]

It's never fair to compare different generations of players, in any sport.

Could Tyson beat Ali? Hard to say. It's the same thing for ballers.

It's better to compare Shaq to let's say....the Admiral or Garnett. If you're going to compare generations you can only do it by the numbers - that's it. Simply because they will NEVER play against each other. People will argue this, but unless you have a time machine that can transport players back and fro it'll never happen.

So.....

a more fair comparison would be - by stats only, would a 1990's all star team compare with an 80's, 70's or 60's team. And this is only by stats.

Plus, an all star team won't guarantee wins (it'll guarantee a good show, not necessarily wins i.e. 2004 "dream team" in Athens). In basketball, more times than not, a good system will beat superior talent. Plus with a great team, you'll need a hell of a coach - Riley? Red? dare I say - Tarkanian?

Lets see - a 90's team...running Jacksons triangle offense...with

Shaq, Magic, Micheal, Bird and The Mailman against........

Red's team....with Wilt, West.....Cousy, Havlichek, and Baylor...or yank out either West or Cousy and plug in the Big O

Statistically - that would be an interesting matchup.

The value I place on Russell is in the fact that he played in a winning system and won a lot of rings. There are people who will argue rings validate a player. It depends. There are a lot of players in basketball I would have loved to see play in a winning program....Nique, The IceMan, Elvin Hayes, English, The Hawk....hell even The Pearl or World B Free. But even without rings, these guys were great players in their time.

Hell, if there was a category for distance shooting and accuracy I'd put the Rifleman and Skywalker Thompson in there.lol

 

[shack]

You lost me at Vince

That was a joke. I'll try to be less subtle next time.

 

[to-guy69]

Matrix2004 - I wouldn't pick a power forward for the team....my choice would be Denis Rodman.

-5 time NBA champion with 2 teams
-Best rebounder in his era (averaged 16 a game from '91-'98) with a great "nose" for the ball at BOTH ends of the court
-Timely hard fouls
-Got under opponent's skin unlike no other
-One of the best "role" players ever

He doesn't score but with your chosen talent around him...he wouldn't need to.

 

[kumamake]

IMHO shaq doesnt deserve to be on an allstar team, guy has no talent, all he has his size and if he didnt have that, i dont think he would even be in NBA.

 

[Rounder]

Wilt has to be on the team, and I'm glad somebody finally mentioned Oscar Robertson. He should also be there.

Jordan is obviously a no brainer.

 

[antaeus]

Meadowlark Lemon

 

[Kwazy]

difficult to choose him politically....

Matrix2004 - I wouldn't pick a power forward for the team....my choice would be Denis Rodman.

-5 time NBA champion with 2 teams
-Best rebounder in his era (averaged 16 a game from '91-'98) with a great "nose" for the ball at BOTH ends of the court
-Timely hard fouls
-Got under opponent's skin unlike no other
-One of the best "role" players ever

He doesn't score but with your chosen talent around him...he wouldn't need to.

but he was also a very very good defender!!

 

[Fingers]

PG-Magic Johnson
SG-Michael Jordan
C-Wilt Chamberlain/Russell
SF-Larry Bird
PF-Kevin McHale