All-Time NBA Team

I heard Dari Nowkhah and Jalen Rose pick their all-time NBA starting fives today on Mike and Mike and it made me think about my own. One of the caveats of the decision was to pick a team that would play well together, and not just one that had the best players per se. Since I'm not debating anyone on this, I'm going to put together a complete 12 player roster for what would be my all-time NBA team.

Starting Lineup:

C - Hakeem Olajuwon; 7'0" 255 lbs. - Career averages: 21.8 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 3.1 bpg, 1.7 spg. .512 FG%, .712 FT%

F - Tim Duncan; 6'11" 248 lbs. - 20.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 2.3 bpg, 3.1 apg, .508 FG%, .688 FT%

F - Larry Bird; 6'9" 220 lbs. - 24.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 6.3 apg, 1.7 spg, .496 FG%, .376 3P%, .886 FT%

G - Michael Jordan; 6'6" 195 lbs. - 30.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.3 apg, 2.3 spg, .497 FG%, .327 3P%, .835 FT%

G - Magic Johnson; 6'8" 215 lbs. - 19.5 ppg, 11.2 apg, 7.2 rpg, 1.9 spg, .520 FG%, .303 3P%, .848 FT%

Bench:

C - Shaquille O'Neal 7'1" 325 lbs.: 23.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.7 bpg, .582 FG%

F - Charles Barkley 6'6" 252 lbs.: 22.1 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.5 spg, .541 FG%, .735 FT%

F/G - LeBron James 6'8" 240 lbs.: 27.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 7.0 apg, 1.7 spg, .479 FG%, .329 3P%, .744 FT%

G - Reggie Miller 6'7" 185 lbs.: 18.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.1 spg, .471 FG%, .395 3P%, .888 FT%

G - John Stockton 6'1" 170 lbs.: 13.1 ppg, 10.5 apg, 2.7 rpg, 2.2 spg, .515 FG%, .384 3P%, .826 FT%

G/F - Scottie Pippen 6'8" 210 lbs.: 16.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.2 apg, 2.0 spg, .473 FG%, .326 3P%, .704 FT%

C/F - David Robinson 7'1" 235 lbs.: 21.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, 3.0 bpg, .518 FG%, .736 FT%

This team is pretty much the greatest players I've ever seen play, but I nearly added Bill Russell to this squad. The only reason I didn't is because of his low FT%, and since I didn't see him in person, I felt compelled to only include one free throw line bricklayer on the team (Shaq at 52.7%). Another glaring omission is Kobe Bryant, but that is only because there is no way his ego would mesh with Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. On top of that, Kobe is (and I mean this as no slight to him) a poor man's MJ. It seems as if he does everything Jordan did, just not quite as well.

The versatility on this team is it's strength. The starting line-up can run; even Larry Bird and Tim Duncan ran the floor well in their prime. In addition, Jordan would undoubtedly be the primary offensive weapon, and none of the bigs in the starting five would clog the lane and would allow for a well-spaced floor to operate. In addition, nearly everyone on this team save Barkley and Stockton, can play 2-3 positions. This team can go small, with Duncan at the five, James and Pippen at the forwards and Jordan and Stockton at the guards. Conversely, it can bang in the paint, with Shaq, Barkley, Bird, LeBron and Pippen on the court together. The possibilities for this team are, in my opinion, endless.