If You Could Pick 5 NBA Players, Past or Present, To Create One Starting Lineup...

I like Chamberlain and West. Kareem is also a favorite.

Who could possibly answer this question? There are so many good players!

 

I got no beef with your picks...

Honestly, imagine Stockton having the option of going to MJ, Lebron, or Shaq, and, if they miss, The Worm is gonna get the board for the second chance shot...

Very well thought out...

 

Could MJ still play?
And Kareem could still average double digits, even right now.

 

How about if you keep those five and I choose the opposing team?
Russell, Chamberlain, Bird, Cousy and Elgin Bailor.
Bird, Russell and Cousy stay on one end of the court, Chamberlain and Bailor at the other. Bird's defense makes the other guy miss, Russell gets the rebound, throws it to Cousy. Cousy passes 80 feet to Bailor. Bailor flips it to Chamberlain and he stuffs it. I think it would happen exactly that way about 25 times until Cousy gets tired. There's no substitutions in this game, right? That's why Jabbar and any player since Jordan would be almost useless before halftime and only my team would be able to play 48 minutes.
Did you know Chamberlain averaged over 48 minutes per game one year?

 

Very nice, gotta go with Chamberlain for C, Baylor or Erving for SF (can't stand LeBron), Duncan is a good choice as PF, I like West as an SG (Jordan annoys me also), Johnson or Robertson as PG.

Then again, the Lakers starting 5 is good on paper but not so good in practice, so I guess it's more about team cohesion than anything else.

 

He could probably still hand someone their ass, for at least a short while...

Let's just say that would be a hell of a game...lol

Chamberlain, I've come to agree, is a fair argument at C...

as far as SF & SG, a lot of people don't like LBJ & MJ, but, to deny their vast superiority at their positions (and that's completely disregarding the fact that Lebron is superior at pretty every position on the floor) is way off, IMO...

We're in agreement on PF & PG...

I did find, though, that, upon looking up some stats, that Barkley is comparable to Duncan statwise, for his career...

The problem becomes the fact that Barkley's numbers declined over his career...

Duncan hasn't fallen off at all...

As far as that Lakers team, I said as much would happen when they made these trades...

The cohesion just isn't there, and, probably won't ever be, completely...

I expect Howard & Gasol to be traded (Howard, because, if they don't win it all this year, since that's why he went to LA, he'll leave, and, if they don't deal him, they'll get nothing, since he's a UFA at the end of the year, and, Gasol is more of a liability and a salary cap eater, than anything right now) and, for LA to go into rebuild mode...

 

Lets not make the mistake of comparing that stats of a current player in their prime with the career stats of retired players. Lebron's numbers will come down as he passes his prime and plays on into the twilight of his career.

 

Maybe, but, physically, there is no player comparable to LBJ...

And, as far as decline, Duncan has never declined, so, that's not guaranteed...

 

And that is one of the reasons he is numbers are going to drop off fast as he gets older. He is too dependent on natural ability. Think Allen Iverson. Physicals freaks dont do well in any sport as they get older. They are too dependent on their god given gifts and never learn the skills needed to play past their prime.

When was the last time Duncan has averaged 20 points a game. His numbers are still impressive but he has to spend a lot more time on the bench.

 

Allen Iverson was not even comparable to LBJ...

James is/has been light years ahead of anywhere Iverson ever came close to...

Iverson was one of the most overrated players in the history of the league, and, was not even close to Lebron, physically...

Not a lot of players start to hit their prime 10 years in...

It's been a few seasons, but, he's still averaging 17.3 PPG & 9.7 RPG this season...

That's in comparison to 20.2 PPG & 11.2 RPG for his career...

-2.9 PPG & -1.5 RPG is not a big decline...

 

He was far faster than Lebron. And he relied on that speed as the center of his game. Much as Labron rellies on his size and strenght. As those go Lebron will fall off big time. His game is too dependent on his physical gifts.

I'd say that the stats bear out that for the straight out of high school players like Lebron Kobe and Garnet they have their best years at 27-30 and tend to fall off after 30.

His career numbers are effected by his decline. When he was at his best he was a 22pts/game guy.

 

Speed isn't really a big deal when you only average 42.5 FG%, like Iverson...

And, Lebron's size isn't giving him the ability to drain it from pretty much anywhere on the court...

I mean, just during this 5-game, 30+ PPG streak he has going, he's 55-77 from the field...

That is insane...

But, even still, not a lot players hit their prime 10 years in...

Also, consider the fact that Lebron's stats are far superior to Kobe or KG's at the 10-year mark...

His best season, he was putting up 25.5 PPG & 12.7 RPG, and, he was getting 40.6 MPG...

You have to compare that to the fact that he only gets 29.8 MPG now...

 

Me thinks you are missing the point. Its about players who rely on physical ability. They dont have long careers.

His size and strength is what is allowing him to get the easy looks.

Its a great streak. He is in his prime. But the question is how will he hold up when his natural abilities start to deminish.

No they are not. If Lebron played shooting guard he wouldn't have the FG% that Bryant had at the 10 year mark or the points.

His slightly higher FG% is as much a result of his position as it is his skill. Fowards shoot higher % than guards. That is just the way of the game. Comparing forwards, even with the year he is having he still got to work to catch Malone's 89-90 season.

Yeah he is old. He cant put the minutes in.

 

Or they adapt...

Like Jordan did...

If the majority of the shots he was making were wide open, I could see your point...

He'll probably resort to more shooting, like Jordan...

His slightly higher FG% is as much a result of his position as it is his skill. Fowards shoot higher % than guards. That is just the way of the game. Comparing forwards, even with the year he is having he still got to work to catch Malone's 89-90 season.[/quote]

Seeing as how Lebron has a better shot, and, better decision making/passing skill than Bryant, I still thiink he'd would be better than Kobe, even as a 2 guard...

And, while Malone's 89-90 season is beyond impressive, LBJ's statline, as a whole, is better...

Malone (89-90) averaged 31 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.8 SPG, and, 0.9 BPG...

Lebron (12-13) is averaging 27 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 6.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, and, 0.9 BPG...

Well, I should he's having a more well-rounded season, to be more specific...

You know, in comparing those seasons, both players' FG% is 56.2%, assuming LBJ's holds where it is...

But, he's still playing at the same level when he is in the game...

 

What everyone must bear in mind is that a person's career statistics are heavily impacted by the era in which he played and the number of teams in the league.
At the 50 greatest players of all time dinner in 1996 Chamberlain claimed his huge point totals prove he's the best. Russell responded by reminding him he was the top choice on who should score for his team on every possession. Russell was the third choice for the Celtics and he still averaged 22 points per game.
"Do you mean if you were the first choice you would have averaged 50 points per game?" Chamberlain said.
"No, but I would have averaged 23."
The league only had nine teams when they started. Everyone knew exactly how to defend against everyone. When a bad team plays a great team only twice a year they don't know if their man can defend Jordan or not, so thyey don't try. Therefore Jordan in his first few years was left alone by many defenses who knew they could win the game by leaving him alone and playing tight on everyone else. When Pippen arrived you had to nullify one of them or lose. Most teams lost and people like Rodman looked great.
Also consider three pointers. If you subtract the third point for post-1982 players a lot of them would have much smaller numbers. Add a third point to people like Cousy and Oscar Robertson (my sixth man) and they move up the list.
Who are the top ten in career field goal %?

 

1. Artis Gilmore .5990
2. Tyson Chandler .5851
3. Shaquille O'Neal .5823
4. Mark West .5803
5. Dwight Howard .5773
6. Steve Johnson .5722
7. Darryl Dawkins .5720
8. James Donaldson .5706
9. Bo Outlaw .5673
10. Jeff Ruland .5637

Notice that those are all guys that

A: were center/power forwards, and,

B: pretty much lived in the paint...

 

Thanks. I looked up the rest of the list. Jabbar was 11th, McHale 13th. They all had talented guards to pass off to so they could limit their efforts to high percentage shots.
People like Jordan who had to carry bad teams for years had to take many bad shots.
That's why choosing the best team is not the same as the best five scorers.

 

Oh, no doubt...

 

My team would look like this PG-Magic Johnson,SG- Jerry West, F-Larry Bird,F-Charles Barkley, C- Kareem Abdul Jabbar. All in the Hall of Fame.

 

That would be a tough team...

But, West over MJ?

Barkley over Lebron?

Your PG, SF, & C picks are definitely legit, though...

 

For an ultimate team:
1. Shaquille O'Neal
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Julius Erving
4. Magic Johnson
5. John Stockton
with Pete Carill as coach.

 

I would want Stockton as my pure point guard as well.

SG - Jordan
SF - Magic
PF - Dennis Rodman
C - Olajuwon

Now, I do not think that Stockton or Rodman are the best at their postions ever, but if I were to asemble a rounded team, this would be it.

 

Remember the thread said past and present. lol It's a trick Q ,there's just to many greats to come up with one great starting 5. My opinion!

 

Oh yeah, I agree entirely...

That's what I wanted was peoples opinions...

I was curious as to why West over MJ, and, Barkley over Lebron...

Not really that you need to justify your opinion...

I just was curious about what led you to those decisions...

 

Old school,i'm 63 yrs old,and remember those those older players.Don't get me wrong todays players are the best in the world now.Ever generation get better.I was never a fan of Micheal Jordan,because i'm a big fan of my own M.J.aka Magic,and a young Charles Barkley,would have put pure fear in LeBron James.