If I could.....................

[Anthony K.]

My 1st pick: Bill Russell. After reading Bill Simmons' book, I have no doubt he is the PF/C I would need to have a successful rebounding/defensive presence.

My 2nd pick: Larry Bird. Two Celtics, I know, but there is no way I don't draft the Basketball Jesus. One of the best shooter/passer/freak athletes of all time. And by freak athlete, I mean guy who could compete in ANY era.

My 3rd pick (If I can have a 3rd) Jordan. No need to explain. I am sure G.O.A.T. is enough.

 

[matfanofold]

My 1st pick: Bill Russell. After reading Bill Simmons' book, I have no doubt he is the PF/C I would need to have a successful rebounding/defensive presence.

My 2nd pick: Larry Bird. Two Celtics, I know, but there is no way I don't draft the Basketball Jesus. One of the best shooter/passer/freak athletes of all time. And by freak athlete, I mean guy who could compete in ANY era.

My 3rd pick (If I can have a 3rd) Jordan. No need to explain. I am sure G.O.A.T. is enough.

Very solid choice(s)!

My opinion, as I gave much consideration to most of the greats of the game before choosing...

Bill Russell:
-Without question a gifted athlete! But I'm not 100% convinced that he could compete in modern times as well as he did in his era.

Jordan:
-Agreed, no need to explain. However, I just truely think that anyone you put around him thats also great, one would have to play second fiddle. And I think it just would not work for this perticular venture.

Bird:
-It was hard not to choose him as my #1, but I decided early on my best 2 would have to be a solid big man and a point guard.


Good choices though!

 

[maxpower]

I was just thinking, if I could start a team with any 2 players from any era(as rookies) Who would it be? It took me a while to sift through all of players worth consideration like..

Jordan
Bird
Magic
Wilkins
Kareem
Wilt
Russell
Erving
Lebron
West

And so on....

I tried to factor in things like ego, longevity, leadership, ect.. All the things that would either help or hinder performance on the court. And after long deliberation, my dynamic duo would be..

#1 Shaq.

Say what you will, but Shaq will net me 10 years of sheer dominance under the rim. More so than anyone before or after. Get him the ball in the paint and score 2 points, period. Which leads me to my second pick...

#2 John Stockton.

In my opinion, he is probablly the best passer to ever play the game(including Cousy). He was agressive, and deadly behind the 3 point line. Knows how to draw attention, command respect, call a game, and find the big man. And he was brilliant at them all!

You can add just about any other 3 players to the mix, and you would have a champion calliber team. Shaq would require 2-3 men guarding him closely and Stockton would require close coverage to the 3. There would always be a 3 on 1 game in their favor. And the difference Stockton would make in that scenerio is his passing ability, selfless play, and floor command. Something the Magic nor the Lakers really ever had in Tandem. Together, they would be unstopable. As good as Karl Malone was, he was no Shaq. And Shaq never had a baller like stockton to work with.

Anyway, Who are your first 2?

I think your two choices are defensible and they'd obviously form a great nucleus. I also like that you considered playing personality as well. For example, Shaq + Kobe was a sick combo talentwise, but obviously the tension created by their desire to be "the guy" made it difficult for them to stick together for 10 years. Stockton is one of the great complementary superstars.

But I still think you're leaving value on the table by taking Stockton. He's great, but with a top notch center, I'd rather give up some passing ability in favor of the ability to drive and create (not that he wasn't good at creating his own shot).

Three pairings I'd pick:

1) Shaq and Magic. Even if Magic wasn't quite as good a passer as Stockton (and it's close), Magic was every bit the floor general. Stockton was a better outside shooter, but Magic wasn't bad and neither guy was taking over games with their 3-point ability (both averaging about 0.5 threes a game). I give Magic the nod over Stockton for his versatility and ability to create some big-time matchup problems.

2) Tim Duncan and Michael Jordan. Great complementary skill sets. Jordan fulfills much of the PG need (he's the floor general, even though he plays the 2). No need for an elite PG with Jordan in the game. The same goes (to a lesser extent) for Kobe and Lebron (both elite scorers with good passing skills).

3) Hakeem Olajuwon and LeBron James. A variation on option 2. These guys could support an unbelievably fast paced full-court game, PLUS they create matchup problems in the half-court. Either one is capable of taking over offensively, but I get the sense that both would be willing to defer to one another whenever it was strategically useful in a game.

 

[matfanofold]

Thanks maxpower, thoes are some formidable duo's you have chosen as well!

I wound up taking Stockton over a true playmaker for the following reason(s). He was probablly the best 3 point shooting point guard I ever seen. I figure any defence would have to spread out so much to guard stockton to the line, and Shaq in the paint that these 2 paired with any other 3 would be, well.. magic! I thought about Nash, but I felt his slashing and play making abilities might detract from Shaqs power down under. I also considered talent like Lebron or jordan, Kobe, ect.. But really wanted a duo to compliment each other, rather than take from each other. Although, If I had to re-do my picks today, or next week, I may have choosen Magic. I'm just stuck on a big guy and a point guard, and although I could bend with the pg position, Shaq has the big man role wrapped up for me.

 

[Uofo2212]

I'll take Oscar Robertson and Kareem, they won one ring together and the inside out game would rival any to date. Basically the 2 most important positions are covered and you go from there. I wanted to take Shaq but his free throw shooting hurts too much.

 

[Tomlinson21RB]

Lets keep it simple and just take Jordan and Pippen. Yeah it may defeat the purpose of the thread but you can't argue with the results. You could argue that Pippen was the best "sidekick" ever in the NBA. He did everything, score, rebound, pass, defend and you wouldn't have to worry about if he could coexist with another star because he already has shown that he can. Without ever having an even above average center or PG, they managed to win 6 titles together and it very easily could have been 8 in a row if not for the retirement.

That combo has to be mentioned in any top duo in NBA history, but I have a few issues with them as the best combo that could be made.

#1. Although Pippen was my absolute favorite player of all time, Jordan made him. You could have inserted any average player in his shoes and the presence, and gameplay of Jordan would have produces a "Pippen". I actually did not think that at first until I saw just how bad he really was without Jordan. Now, I guess some could say he just burned out after Jordan, but it's an ironic coincidence if so.

#2. Jordan, for most of his career, was too much of a play maker and a ball hog to really take advantage of this kind of unrestrictive combo. Sure, you could put any average player around him and they would be better (see Pippen), however put a Lebron or a ShaQ in the mix and Jordans ball time would take considerably from both of there respective games.

Anyway, thats the way I see it.

Having said that, there is no doubt J and P are among the best duo ever to play the game!

I'm late to the party but I can't let you get away with what you're saying about Pippen. Pippen by himself is one of the 50 greatest players to play the game. Jordan did not make him. Did he elevate his game play? Definitely. However, I couldn't disagree more with you and the many other people that say what you said. Remember when Jordan went to play baseball in 1993-94? Here is Pippen's stats for that year:

22.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 5.6 apg, 2.9 stl, 0.8 bpg while shooting .491% from the field

If you're talking his Houston/Portland years then yes, his numbers were down without Jordan. If I remember correctly, in Houston he had Barkley, Olajuwan, and Drexler to take touches away. In Portland he was the aging veteran off the bench playing on an ultra dysfunctional team. Combine those factors with age and I think it wasn't a lack of jordan that reduced the production.

As for my answer: MJ and Russell. Perfect mix of defense and offense with both being extremely motivated to get the next ring.