All time starting five, version 2.0

By Adam Riggs         


Well Ben decided he was going to put together an all starting five position team.  His criteria are players that could actually sustain a full NBA season together and not want to kill each other.  In an attempt to follow suit with picking players that could meld themselves into a team over the course of an 82 game season here is my all time starting five:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd

I like jack of all trades players and with Kidd you get the ultimate for a point guard.  He has almost unparalleled vision, plays good defense and can rebound.  The man led two teams to the NBA finals with Keith Van Horn, Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin as the second, third, and forth best players on the team.   Those teams ran into the Lakers, and Spurs.  He is unselfish to a fault at times passing up what could be easy layups but on this team he would not have to worry about being unselfish.  I believe that he is the best suited pg to provide balance for a lot of egos and talent.

Who I also consider

John Stockton

Gary Payton

Shooting Guard

John Havlicek

This guy was amazing and could score, pass, rebound, defend and was as clutch as they come.   He played furious defense (8 First or Second team all defense in NBA).   He was absolutely beast like in his prime.  His prime numbers would make Lebron jealous.  He averaged 28.9ppg, 9.0rpg, and 7.5apg in the 70-1 season and is the Celtics all-time leading scorer with over 26,000 career points.   He is also durable in 16 NBA season he averaged 79 games a season.

Who I also considered:

Pistol Pete Maravich

George Gervin

Small Forward

Oscar Robertson

I know that he is more of a guard but he is like Lebron in which he could play 3 positions interchangeably. He is Mr. Triple Double himself.  Over the course of his career he had 181 triple doubles and the next nearest is nearly 50 behind him.  In the 61-62 season he average 30.8ppg, 12.5 rpg, and 11.4apg.   He was not a good defender but impacted the game so much offensively that it completely trumps anything on the other end.  He could score, and efficiently as well with a career 48.5 fg%.    He was a great scorer but also maintained an unselfish attitude as well while averaging nearly 26ppg, he also had nearly 10apg. 

Who I also considered:

James Worthy

Larry Bird

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki

The reason why he is on this team is because he is the ultimate team player, and is one of the most humble super-stars to every play the game.   He is able to do that while being one of the most clutch players of this time period, and plays a great all-around game.  Dirk is a great team rebounder, and during the playoffs he is one of the most prolific players in the history of the league.  One of only 4 players to average 25+ppg and 10+rpg. On this team outside shooting will be an issue and he is a 38% 3 point shooter, and career 48% shooter.   Also he is the best offensive player of this generation PERIOD.  I also consider durability and he has never missed more than 9 games in a season in his 13 year career

Also considered:

Tim Duncan

Bob Pettit  

Center

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

The career leader in points scored, and a tremendous defensive player.  The only problem would be ego, but I think with the passing ability in this group his ego would be pretty well stroked.   He and Dirk would combine for the two most unguardable shots to defend.  The euro one foot jumper, and the sky hook.  The good thing for this team is that they are shot one in the high post and the second in the low post.   Only twice has he played under 73 games in a season in 21 years in the NBA.

Also considered:

David Robinson

Bill Russell

            I know there are a lot of players on this team that are 26,000 point scorers and very much primary scorers but I feel like this team would grow together over the course of an NBA season. In this lineup you have so many great passers that it would be impossible to use a zone defense against them especially with Kareem sitting in the post.   They would be a tremendous rebounding team as they have plus rebounding at every position. 

The defense could be worrisome with Robertson in there but I think with Kareem to anchor the middle with Havlicek helping on the perimeter, it should be well enough.  Another weakness of this team could be its biggest strength which is the ability to pass the ball.  Even though these players are good at taking care of the basketball there might be times where they may overpass which could cause turnovers. 

            Ben team is quite the matchup problem on the defensive end but I feel like I have some pretty good horses here.  What team do you think would win?