90's All-Stars vs. 00's All-Stars match-up. Who'd win? Please give an objective analysis.?

Question

90's Team - Olajuwon (C), K. Malone (PF), Pippen (SF), Jordan (SG), Stockton (PG)

00's Team - Shaq (C), Duncan (PF), Lebron (SF), Kobe (SG), Iverson (PG)

Answer 1

90's hand down. the fact that we can not even win a gold medal in international play proves this. not because we are less talented,but now players are void of fundamentals. those 90's players you write of were all well rounded in every facet of the game as where nowadays its all about how many great dunks you get or how many points you score. how many tatoos can fit on a players arm. the fundamentals have left the game and the basketball "purest" have found other sports to watch.......

Answer 2

80s would win, easily. Kareem was kicking Olajuwon's butt when he was 39 years old.. he made first team all NBA at age 39, over Olajuwon. Bird is easily the greatest forward of all time. McHale would destroy Karl Malone. You've got Magic. The 90s team has a whole bunch of guys who never won anything. Add up the rings for each decade team and you'll see what I mean. Also, I think you should have put Robert Parrish on the 80s teams as a third center, rather than Bill Laimbeer. The 80s team has only 3 guys who never won a title. The 90s team has 8 guys who never won anything. The 2000's team has 9 guys who've never won anything, although, among the guys who've not won anything, all of them are still playing, so they still have a chance The up-and-comers only have two guys with championship credentials. Anyone wanna rely on Carmello Anthony to bring them a championship? Good luck with that. Plus, USA National teams consisting of 2000's players and "up and comers" can't even beat Greece. You have to totally knock them out of any competition between these teams you've listed. The 80s team has far more championship experience... they're the best team. Both the 80s and 90s teams have 8 "Top 50" players (Parrish would have made 9 for the 80s) But I like your selections for each decade (except for the pick of Laimbeer over Parrish). Good job! EDIT: Oh, one other thing: Dennis Johnson over Mark Price as an 80s guard. Dominique is a good choice, you also could have gone with James Worthy.

Answer 3

90's. They won't have been included in the 50 greatest Players if they were not great. But let's dissect it one-by-one shall we?

Shaq vs. Olajuwon: Olajuwon, they both met in their prime and Shaq was a no contest.

Karl Malone vs. Timmy: Karl put him to school in 97 and 98. They were at prime at the time.

Pippen vs. Lebron: Maybe an advantage for Lebron since he is stronger and more athletic... But this would be a slim advantage since Scottie is a terrific defender.

Jordan vs. Kobe: Jordan was just too damn terrific for Kobe period.

Stockton vs. Iverson: Although I really hate Stock's dirty tactics have to stick with him.. He is a 'purist'. Iverson what can I say I really love the guy but when it comes to point guarding skills have to give it to Stock, man.

Answer 4

I say 90s b/c add up the championships. 14 for the 90s and 11 for the 00s. Plus any team with Jordan is going to be a winner.

Answer 5

Have to go with the 90's All-Star team.

olajuwan vs Shaq
olajuwan too quick meaning foul trouble for shaq

malone vs duncan
duncan can hurt you inside and from short distance

pippen vs lebron
pippen was named to numerous defensive first teams for a reason... stopping top scorers

jordan vs kobe
jordan more reluctant to get his teamates involved including the likes of a paxon or kerr

stockton vs iverson
stockton less likely to turn the ball over...great decision maker

4 to 1 90's team

Answer 6

I think Magic deserves to be a part of the 1990's team as he did play in the 1990-1991 and the 1995-1996 season. But just going by your format, that would be a pretty good matchup without Magic. With Magic, it would be a lopsided victory going to the 90's team. But even without Magic, I would still take the 90's team because if you look at their lineup, they are more team oriented players while the 2000's team features a lineup of great individual players with the exception of Duncan. You can make a case for Shaq but in his prime, he often bulldozed over most of his opponents. LeBron is finally starting to understand when he should be a team player and when he should take over a game. However, having too many score first mentalities on a team and not enough distributors can often lead to problems. Here is my analogy of how the statistical outcome will look like.


Assists
Edge: 1990's Team

-> The 1990's team will play more of a team game and will look to pass first and score second. It also doesn't hurt to have an All-Time assist leader in Stockton running the show. <-


Steals
Edge: 1990's Team

-> The 1990's team is a better defensive team so they will generate more steals. Jordan, Pippen, Stockton, Malone, and Olajuwon were all elite defensive players in their own rights. Stockton also happens to be the NBA's All-Time steals leader. <-


Rebounds
Edge: 2000's Team

-> This area clearly favors the 2000's team by having a bulldozer in Shaq at center, a strong rebounder in Duncan at PF, and a beast in LeBron at SF. They will crush the 1990's teams frail frontcourt. <-


Free Throws
Edge: 2000's Team

-> The 2000's team will thrive on pounding the ball inside to get easy points or free throws (whichever comes first). If that strategy fails, they still have 3 wing men who are capable of driving to the hole and drawing the foul. Therefore, I think the 2000's team will end up shooting a lot of free throws. <-


Intangibles
Edge: 1990's Team

-> Michael Jordan's ability to will his team to victory when everything fails would be challenged by Shaquille O'Neal's crunch time track record dominance. MJ has been able to lead his team to victory under the most intensive playoff finals condition while undergoing a severe flu illness and yet, Shaq has been known to miss games over a toe injury. Judging from what history has taught us, you should never bet against Jordan. <-


Conclusion

Even though, the 2000's team may outrebound and shoot more free throws than the 1990's team but I think the outcome victory will go to the 90's team and here are my reasons why:

The 1990's team will play more of a fitness game since their 2 big men in Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone are versatile players who prefer to manuever their way around the basket instead of drawing inside contact head on. The 2000's team will try to feed the ball to Shaq or Duncan so they could pound inside on every chance they get, in hopes of wearing the opposing team down. If that doesn't work then Kobe or AI will try to drive and score on their own. LeBron will probably be the only wing men trying to get everyone involved as the team's point forward. I don't think the 2000's team possesses enough legitimate outside threats besides Kobe. AI's shot is erratic and LeBron prefers to drive to the hole rather than shoot from beyond the arc. How do you think Daniel Gibson's name got famous so fast?

I don't think the 2000's team chemistry will mesh as well as the 1990's team. Stockton will run the offense for the 90's team and get everyone involved. I believe the 1990's team will play more of a team offense while the 2000's team will play more of an individual one-on-one kind of offense. The 90's team have high percentage shooters in Stockton, Pippen, and Jordan on the perimeter, which will force AI, Kobe, and LeBron to stay close to them on defense. That would open up the middle for Olajuwon and Malone. Shaq is not a superior defender and will not be quick enough to stay with Olajuwon's blazing footwork or keep up with the Dream's mobile postgame inside. Duncan is a good defender but he won't be able to stop Malone's most deadly weapon - the fadeaway shot. Even though, the 90's team may be a bit smaller in terms of size and strength but they more than make up for it in speed.

The 1990's team will also play better defense because 4 out of the 5 starters have made numerous appearances on the All-NBA Defensive 1st Team during their career while Stockton has been voted to the All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team 4 times. The only players on the 2000's squad who has made the All-NBA Defensive 1st Team were Duncan and Kobe while Shaq only made it to the 2nd team. Stockton, Jordan, and Pippen would create havoc on defense, attempting so many steals that it would prevent any kind of fluid ball movement for LeBron, Kobe, or AI. Hakeem Olajuwon is a smart defender who will look to strip the ball out of Shaq's hands before he can go up for a shot. Karl Malone can match Duncan in terms of body strength and may be able to force him into taking some bad shots.

So there you have it. Defense wins championships and clearly, the 1990's team has that edge over the 2000's team. The 90's team also play more of a team concept and have a higher probability of developing better chemistry in comparison to the 2000's team, who besides Duncan and LeBron, are more known for their flashy individual game instead of their team oriented skills. The 1990's team has better defense, better chemistry, better team play, more efficient outside shooters to compliment their inside game, and Michael Jordan's intangible desire to win. So now you tell me, who do you think will win the match?

Answer 7

All I know is that if Jordan is never born Phil Jackson gets no rings in Chicago and isn't even considered for the laker job. Zero rings and he'd be working at a carwash right now.

Answer 8

Hah, no contest. MJ alone would take them 00's team to school.