Well first of all I’d like to thank all of you in advance for voting for my juggernaut greatest team of all time. But before you do, let me tell you a little bit about why you will undoubtedly do so...
Starting lineup...
PG- Magic Johnson
SG- Jerry West
SF- Rick Barry
PF- Dirk Nowitzki
C- Dwight Howard
Bench...
Derrick Rose
Mitch Richmond
Joe Johnson
Chris Bosh
Robert Parish
I’m not going to go into minute detail on every player (unless that’s what you guys want...) But I think you guys know who guys like Magic Johnson & Dirk Nowitzki are. Instead, I’m going to tell you about why I picked this team & how it fits together so well...
Once I snagged the best point guard of all time (a shocker at #5), my strategy was to surround him with guys that could score on anybody & shoot from anywhere, then hopefully take Phil Jackson a round before I finished my starters, and then grab the biggest, strongest bruiser I could to grab rebounds. I obviously wanted good defenders when I could but I would prioritize offensive skill. Kind of the anti-Cal approach 😁
That’s exactly what i was able to do & I’m thrilled with how it turned out. West, Barry, & Dirk were all scoring machines, West averaging 27 a game for his career before the 3-point era. Barry is the player to have led the NCAA, ABA, and NBA in scoring. And Dirk’s fadeaway is probably second only to Kareem’s sky hook as an unstoppable shot. Dwight is the perfect guy to man the paint, as he was a tank who averaged 12+ rebounds 11 times and led the league in blocks twice.
But Phil Jackson was the real key to making this team special. The guy is an 11x champion in 20 seasons. That’s unreal. 30 teams in the league and he won the championship OVER 50% OF THE TIME. And this team is tailored to him. His triangle offense was all about spacing and finding the best shots. With Magic finding my 3 guys at the 2-4 spots, there wouldn’t be a team out there that could stop em.
“But hey man, hey, hey, hey! All of Phil’s championships were with the best players ever! That’s why he won so many!”
And that’s exactly what he has here. (West was basically the Kobe of 40-50 years ago) Phil’s got a team of disciplined, high IQ guys that will run the system to perfection.
To go with my starters, my bench has some great complimentary pieces. If i want to go fast & athletic, I can put in Rose (MVP winner), Richmond (highly underrated 5x all nba), and Bosh, move Magic to the 4 and put Bosh at 5. If i want to go old-school i can put Parish in for some of his patented jumpers with the 20 foot arch, and yet he can still gracefully run the floor like a gazelle. Oh and did you know that my late round selection, Joe Johnson is 12th all-time in 3-pointers made?
Some other points of note....
Despite the fact that I prioritize offense, I ended up with a very strong defensive group. Magic & Barry both led the league in steals, West was 5x all defense and Dwight was a 3x DPOY.
I have incredible passing. Magic is the GOAT at pg, but West led the league in assists once, Barry averaged 5 per game in his career, and Rose averaged 7-8 per game during his MVP era prime. Again this fits perfectly with Phil’s offense.
And finally, these guys are winners. Rose and Johnson are the only ones on my team without a title. 4/5 starters have won a finals MVP, with Magic taking home 3. They’re being led by the biggest winner of them all. The coach with the highest winning percentage and the most championships of all time.
Alright. My speech is now over. Go ahead. Do the inevitable. Shower me with your votes.
