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Who's your all time NBA/ABA starting 5

T

TopCatCal

Heisman
Dec 10, 2012
5,483
21,434
0
The 5 I would choose, would be

LeBron James - 6'8"
Larry Bird - 6'9"
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 7'2"
Magic Johnson - 6'8"
Michael Jordan - 6'6"
 
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steelman100

Sophomore
Oct 26, 2023
224
163
11
Bill Russell. Indidually not the best but best team player
Oscar. Controlled the game
MJ.
Tim Duncan
Larry Bird

 
J

JonathanW_rivals

Heisman
Jan 3, 2003
145,534
15,709
0
Players to consider: Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Olajuwon, Duncan, Dirk, Malone, Elgin Baylor, Bird, LeBron, Durrant, Jordan, Kobe, West, Big O, Magic, Curry. Some may add Russell, Garnett, Barkley.

I'll go:
Wilt
Bird
Kobe
Jordan
Curry
 
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Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,748
1,612
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The only variance I accept is depending on how you want to play.

Jordan
Magic
James
Bird
One of Kareem, Russell, or Duncan

That’s the modern lineup. If you wanted to be super big, then you’d throw another big guy in there instead of James, Magic, or Bird.
 
BlueBomb

BlueBomb

Heisman
Apr 3, 2009
10,682
19,498
103
If you can choose players from across generations, then you have to decide on which era you'll be playing in.

Personally, I prefer to play in the rough-and-tumble 80s. That would mean I'd add Lebron. He's got the body to take and deliver the contact. He'd whine about it, of course, but he'd be effective. Jordan is on the team, of course. And Shaq would've been great in that era.

1 -- Magic
2 -- Jordan
3 -- Larry
4 -- Lebron
5 -- Shaq
 
DraftCat

DraftCat

Heisman
Nov 5, 2011
12,777
13,815
113
Curry
Michael Jordan
Larry Bird
Lebron
Shaq

I'd rock this squad in the 90's early 00's
 
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J

JonathanW_rivals

Heisman
Jan 3, 2003
145,534
15,709
0
The most disagreement I see at a position is at C.

So how do the top 4-5 at each position look (from newest to oldest)?
C: Jokic, Shaq, Olajuwon, Kareem, Wilt, Russell
PF: Giannis, Duncan, Dirk, Garnett, Malone, Barkley
SF: Anthony Edwards, Durrant, Lebron, Pippen, Bird, Dr J, Elgin Baylor
SG: Wade, Kobe, Iverson, Jordan
PG: Curry, Stockton, Thomas, Magic, Oscar Robinson, West
 
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A

AGEE11

All-American
Jan 10, 2014
3,222
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Hoskins91 said:
It’s not hard to make the argument he’s the greatest forward ever…
Click to expand...
It actually is easy to say he's not.

All he really has is longevity records and that is due to the pansfication of the league allowing him to player longer than others. MJ would put up 40 a game in this era, Bird would dominate and have much less injuries. Big O basically invented the triple double in an era it was unheard of.

LeBron has had to jump from team to team joining or bringing in other superstars to win titles and that hasn't worked super well for him (4-6 in the finals). Could you imagine Bird, Magic, or MJ with another top ten talent on their team like AD not making the playoffs??? Or a team with Bird, Magic and MJ together not setting every record? No chance that team only wins 2 titles.

I'll go further and say he's not the best forward of his era as Tim Duncan was. Duncan has more titles and didn't have to jump around or draw in top tier players like LeBron. Duncan's cast was also not what LeBron had.

Not saying LeBron is a bad player at all, he is a great player. He's just not as top tier as the media pushes down everyone's throat. GOAT? No chance. Top 10? Maybe.
 
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JonathanW_rivals

Heisman
Jan 3, 2003
145,534
15,709
0
I think the <40 group has hyped up James too much, like they do everything else.
But.... not for certain top 10? Uh, you're not going to find many who agree with you on that. I don't see how you can't have James in at least top 5.
 
Dr.LutherSan

Dr.LutherSan

All-American
Sep 6, 2019
3,631
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AGEE11 said:
It actually is easy to say he's not.

All he really has is longevity records and that is due to the pansfication of the league allowing him to player longer than others. MJ would put up 40 a game in this era, Bird would dominate and have much less injuries. Big O basically invented the triple double in an era it was unheard of.

LeBron has had to jump from team to team joining or bringing in other superstars to win titles and that hasn't worked super well for him (4-6 in the finals). Could you imagine Bird, Magic, or MJ with another top ten talent on their team like AD not making the playoffs??? Or a team with Bird, Magic and MJ together not setting every record? No chance that team only wins 2 titles.

I'll go further and say he's not the best forward of his era as Tim Duncan was. Duncan has more titles and didn't have to jump around or draw in top tier players like LeBron. Duncan's cast was also not what LeBron had.

Not saying LeBron is a bad player at all, he is a great player. He's just not as top tier as the media pushes down everyone's throat. GOAT? No chance. Top 10? Maybe.
Click to expand...
Can you imagine Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, or Michael Jordan not having HOF teammates? How many titles are they winning when Mo Williams is the second best player on the team?
 
H

Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,748
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AGEE11 said:
It actually is easy to say he's not.

All he really has is longevity records and that is due to the pansfication of the league allowing him to player longer than others. MJ would put up 40 a game in this era, Bird would dominate and have much less injuries. Big O basically invented the triple double in an era it was unheard of.

LeBron has had to jump from team to team joining or bringing in other superstars to win titles and that hasn't worked super well for him (4-6 in the finals). Could you imagine Bird, Magic, or MJ with another top ten talent on their team like AD not making the playoffs??? Or a team with Bird, Magic and MJ together not setting every record? No chance that team only wins 2 titles.

I'll go further and say he's not the best forward of his era as Tim Duncan was. Duncan has more titles and didn't have to jump around or draw in top tier players like LeBron. Duncan's cast was also not what LeBron had.

Not saying LeBron is a bad player at all, he is a great player. He's just not as top tier as the media pushes down everyone's throat. GOAT? No chance. Top 10? Maybe.
Click to expand...
Go back and watch an 80’s game. They weren’t even trying on defense until the end of a close game most of the time. People watch highlights of the bad boy pistons and think it was always like that. The early 2000’s was a much more physical, defense dominated period, to the point where they were losing viewership.

He’s made a **** ton of finals and won 4. You look stupid for trying to portray that as a negative.

He’s forty. The fact he is what he is right now is insane. If this were 5 years ago you’d maybe have a point.

Duncan played more as a center than a pf. Look up minutes played where and lineups over his career. Even wanting to be bullheaded about that designation for whatever reason, it’s still not hard to make a case for LeBron.

Get outta here with the “he might not even be top 10” bs. You’d get laughed out of the room if you said that around any serious people.
 
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Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,748
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The NBA hall of fame is really loose with accepting people in, so this might change, but he’s only played with like two guys who I’d say are guaranteed in. Old Wade who couldn’t do it every night anymore, and Davis, who up until recently couldn’t get through a full season.

Saying he’s teamed up with the equivalent of MJ, Bird, and Magic being on the same team is ridiculous. He’s never been on a team as good as the 80’s Celtics and Lakers.

In fact he’s been unlucky because he lost prime years where he could have won more because there was a team on the other side who belongs in that conversation. (The Warriors)

I don’t care about the goat conversation because it’s a waste of time. People feel how they’re gonna feel about it. Saying he’s not on the team is just straight bonkers.
 
Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
44,487
94,901
113
Top 5 players all time:

#1. Jordan
#2. Kobe
#3. James
#4. Hakeem
#5. Wilt

Of course, you have to pick guys who would play well together, so give me:

Hakeem
Bird
Durant
Jordan
Curry

Those aren't the five best, but I do think they'd play the best together out of any other combinations.
 
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AGEE11

All-American
Jan 10, 2014
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Hoskins91 said:
Go back and watch an 80’s game. They weren’t even trying on defense until the end of a close game most of the time. People watch highlights of the bad boy pistons and think it was always like that. The early 2000’s was a much more physical, defense dominated period, to the point where they were losing viewership.

He’s made a **** ton of finals and won 4. You look stupid for trying to portray that as a negative.

He’s forty. The fact he is what he is right now is insane. If this were 5 years ago you’d maybe have a point.

Duncan played more as a center than a pf. Look up minutes played where and lineups over his career. Even wanting to be bullheaded about that designation for whatever reason, it’s still not hard to make a case for LeBron.

Get outta here with the “he might not even be top 10” bs. You’d get laughed out of the room if you said that around any serious people.
Click to expand...
Opinions are like armpits. We all got em and most stink. Variety is the spice of life. Look at the thread above, he's not on a lot of peoples top 5. He is on others.

I watched 80s basketball then and now. Full games. Miss that era desperately. Thank the Lord we have YouTube. I know the NBA numbers are better than ever and good for them, I don't like it. Still watch because I love this game, but I do prefer the 80s.

When talking about top ten players, using championship results is a measuring stick. It's not stupid because it throws your guy in a negative light. Going 4-6 when Jordan went 6-0, Bird was 3-2, Duncan 5-1; will knock you down the level. The ultimate goal is winning titles. Was Golden State really good, yes. So were the Jazz, Suns, and Lakers teams.

Jordan, Kareem, Wilt, Magic, Bird, Big O, Bill Russell, Duncan are 8 people I think rank over LeBron. That leaves people like Curry, Jerry West, Malone, The Dream, and many others LeBron is competing against for the final 2 spots.

As I said before, guy is super talented and a really good basketball player. Just in my opinion and many others, not top 5
 
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AGEE11

All-American
Jan 10, 2014
3,222
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Zissou87 said:
Can you imagine Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, or Michael Jordan not having HOF teammates? How many titles are they winning when Mo Williams is the second best player on the team?
Click to expand...

Bird and flipped the Cs from 29 wins to 61 wins as a rookie. They didn't get Parrish until the next year and drafted McHale afterwards as well. The team was built around him and they won.

Jordan stayed with the Bulls and they built a team around him that won.

Neither jumped to the Lakers to win. They didn't call Barkley and Ewing and say let's get together on a team so I can win. They had teams built around them and won.
 
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C

Catzman

Heisman
Apr 29, 2002
16,884
13,218
113
JonathanW said:
Players to consider: Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Olajuwon, Duncan, Dirk, Malone, Elgin Baylor, Bird, LeBron, Durrant, Jordan, Kobe, West, Big O, Magic, Curry. Some may add Russell, Garnett, Barkley.

I'll go:
Wilt
Bird
Kobe
Jordan
Curry
Click to expand...
No Dr. J?!
 
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