NBA all century team!?

Question

If you could have an NBA all century team, give me your 5 players you would pick by each postion.

Answer 1

G Michael Jordan - hands down the greatest ever
G Magic Johnson - pretty close to Michael
F Larry Bird - man, this guy could play
F Julius Erving - the Dr. is in!
C Wilt Chamberlain - only player to score 100 pts in a game

These guys - in their prime - would DESTROY any team they came up against.

Answer 2

Nba All Century Team

Answer 3

I'm going to do 10, just because it's really hard to do just 5... 2 per position. Their listed order is not necessarily who I think is better.

PG - John Stockton - career assists and assists per game leader
PG - Magic Johnson - the most feared PG of all time

SG - Michael Jordan - best player in the history of the NBA
SG - Pete Maravich - can you imagine what his career numbers would have been had he the advantage of the 3 point line? Especially in college.

SF - Larry Bird - No one was as competitive as Bird, nor as confident.
SF - Scottie Pippen - No Jordan team would be complete with out his partner. Was there anything Scottie couldn't do?

PF - Karl Malone - Owns the most postseason points and rebounds among forwards. A true winner, even if he never won the Championship.
PF - Charles Barkely - Made the 1st ballot HOF for a reason. His per game numbers are mind boggling.

C - Wilt Chamberlain - There's not telling what his numbers would be like if they recorded blocks and steals.
C - Kareem Abdul Jabbar - NBA points leader... no question he deserves to be on here. So many championships, too.

There are some great players left off this list, especially at the SF position (like Dr. J and Elgin Baylor), but Scottie was a force in the NBA for so many years, and Larry Bird was one of the most complete players in NBA history.

For those guys who say things like "so and so had no real competition at their positition", they obviously know very little about the NBA's history. Truly, it's hard to compare great players from different generations. Wilt, for example, and Bill Russel, were much larger than the other Centers at the time, and far more athletic.

Magic Johnson played for the greatest Lakers dynasty ever, wheras John Stockton played with a large list of no names aside from Karl Malone. Stockton and Malone, much like MJ and Pippen, carried their teams to rediculous amounts of success. But its also hard to tell what those two pairs' careers would have been like had they not played with one another.

And as aforementioned, what about the players that played before certain stats were recorded, like 3 pts, blocks and steals? As basketball and science have expanded, the game has become much, much more athletic, which makes the feats of guys like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant all that more impressive. Neither of them will probably break any of the major NNBA records because their competition level is just so much higher. Things like salary caps and revenue keep things a bit more even, and unlike the great Lakers dynasties, you can't just "buy" a team of superstars. (Unless you're the Yankees.)

Answer 4

PG-Magic Johnson, although strong consideration would be given
to Oscar Robertson, who is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season I believe. John Stockton also would merit consideration as well, not to mention Isiah Thomas.
SG-MJ, with secondary consideration for Jerry West.
PF-Karl Malone. The two time MVP is arguably the greatest PF to ever play the game, bar none. Charles is great, but his numbers
don't measure up quite as well as Karl Malone's. Bob Pettit would
be another guy to consider here.
C-Wilt Chamberlain. The most dominant player in NBA history, since no one holds as many individual NBA records as Wilt Chamberlain. He is the only player to lead the league in scoring and assists during a season in his career. He was also a dominant rebounder and shotblocker. If you look at his exploits
in volleyball and track and field, a case can be made for him to
be the greatest all-around athlete of alltime. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell would also merit consideration for
this position
SF-Larry Bird. Larry Legend was simply the greatest to play at this position, with all due respect to Elgin Baylor and Scottie Pippen. He could shoot, pass, and rebound well, however, he wasn't the defensive genius Pippen was.
I forgot to add...great post by Adam_C. He truly knows his
NBA history. The league is more diluted with the number of teams they have now, as opposed to the eight team league that
was the NBA for so long. It's easier to get into the NBA now than it was back then, meaning more room for lesser players.

Answer 5

C- Wilt Chamberlain: Most dominant player of all time

F- Bill Russell: Although he played center, I would use him as a power forward. One of the greatest defensive players ever.

F- Larry Bird: The greatest all around player in history.

G- Magic Johnson: re-invented the point guard position

G- Oscar Robertson- super all around player

Reserves: Jerry West, John Havlicek, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin McHale, George Gervin, Julius Erving

Jordan and Pippen wouldn't stand a chance against this team!!

Answer 6

Since you didn't specify which century, I'll give you both.

20th century: Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. I know Erving and Bird were both small forwards but with Wilt in the middle do you really need a power forward?

21st century: Shaquille O'Neal, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd.

Answer 7

PG - Magic Johnson
SG - Michael Jordan
C - Wilt Chamberlin
PF - Charles Barkley
SF - Elgin Baylor

Apologies to Bird, Kareem, Russell, West and Erving- you just can't crack that lineup.. These were the most dominant players at their positions by FAR.

The Doc is my all-time favorite player, but Elgin was the greatest SF ever. Barkely in his prime was the most unstoppable force the league has ever seen. Only MJ kept him from being talked about as the best player ever. Wilt, Magic- have no real competition at their slots. Russell was the ultimate defensive stopper and the anchor of many great Celtic TEAMS, but he wasn't the individual talent that Wilt was- his offensive game pales next to Wilt, Kareem, Moses Malone, Shaq, or even Hakeem (all of whom in their eras, absolutely overwhelmed opponents)

Still you have to account for the Bills- Walton & Russell, in some way- they were great and played best against the other great centers of their time.

Answer 8

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RE:
NBA all century team!?
If you could have an NBA all century team, give me your 5 players you would pick by each postion.

Answer 9

Pg allen iverson best ball handler ever
Sg micheal Jordan best player ever
Sf larry bird one of the best shooters ever great in clutch
Pf Hakeem Olajuwon not his natural position put has the foot work and scoring ability to be a pf
C bill russel best defensive player ever
And ray allen and Kareem coming of the bench

Answer 10

PG- Magic Johnson
SG- MIchael Jordan
SF- Larry Bird
PF- Kevin McHale
C- Bill Russell

Russell is one of the greatest winners is hands down, McHale was as solid as players come and would be a great compliment, Larry Legend, Michael and Magic need no explanation. Probably the three best non-centers to ever play the game.