UNT Eagles 2016
06-15-2025, 02:39 PM
My All-Time (if they were in their primes) Spurs Team:
Starting C: David Robinson (he could shoot threes back in the 90s and he'd be perfect for the modern NBA, think Jokic)
Starting PF: Tim Duncan (sure his game isn't as modern, but he's extremely smart and he'd make it work, plus think of that defense even in today's NBA, and modern teams couldn't guard both big men in the paint)
SF: George Gervin (not the greatest defender, but solid enough and could create his own shot at any time without being a ball hog, basically was similar to Kevin Durant in his prime)
SG: Bruce Bowen (hear me out... maybe a bit of an odd pick, but think Thabo Sefolosha on those early 2010s OKC teams but on steroids, Bowen is arguably the greatest defensive wing of all time and a bit of a one trick pony on offense but that's okay... you start out games by setting the tone on defense)...
PG: Tony Parker (Was tempted to go Johnny Moore or even James Silas here, and Moore was the best prototype point guard but couldn't really shoot, Silas was the opposite, Avery Johnson is just a poor fit for today's game, and I'm not putting Rod Strickland and I'd never consider someone like Chris Paul [or Tracy McGrady, Kevin Martin for instance] who barely played with the Spurs near the end of their career.) Parker was a very flawed player and it's tough to find a Spurs starting caliber PG in their history who could shoot threes very well at all, which is a big detriment in today's NBA. But the chemistry with other guys in this starting lineup couldn't be understated, and Parker in his prime was a speed demon who could score and set up just about anyone on the dribble drive)
---BENCH---
-6. Manu Ginobili (too obvious)
-7. Kawhi Leonard (don't like the guy at all, but can't see how you completely leave him off the team, plus the second team would need defense and more scoring than just Manu)
-8. Victor Wembanyama (as good of a fit of a modern NBA center as it gets but this anchors the second team defensively, spares both Robinson and Wemby of too many minutes, but in this scenario you would mostly want him hovering around the paint on offense, with the occasional pick and pop three in play for Wemby)... unfortunately in terms of big men there is a massive drop-off from here, which is why I am picking...
-9. Stephen Jackson. (It was either him or Robert Horry, but Jackson was just so well rounded on both ends despite being a bit of a turnover machine and magnet for technical fouls. In this scenario he'd be coming off the bench and mostly spelling Duncan, so he'd be mostly a defensive star with the ability to potentially score by brute force against smaller wings in smallball or take traditional PFs off the dribble. He wouldn't have the ball too much and much of his job would be spotting up for threes offensively, at which he was often legendary.)
-10. Johnny Moore. (At some point you need a traditional point guard to be a reliable backup, and even while other guys like Manu and even Kawhi can sometimes handle those duties, you want a real backup and for when Parker randomly struggled which he often did.)
-11. Sean Elliott. (Another very well rounded small forward type player and you can't have enough multitalented wings in today's NBA, no way was I leaving him off the team)
-12. Brent Barry. (It was him or Steve Kerr, and Kerr's best days weren't with the Spurs.) This deep in the roster you want someone who does a couple things extremely well, like three point and free throw shooting, even if they aren't the most well rounded. Also, Barry often played point guard and was decent enough defensively there in his Spurs prime, even against quality PGs like Chauncey Billups.)
-13. Danny Green. (Controversial pick? Maybe. But I'm filling out a roster and he's to me the closest thing to Bruce Bowen if something were to happen. Bowen, in practice and in theory, was one of the hardiest, most durable players of all time. Green could shoot threes from everywhere unlike Bowen and was as close as it gets defensively to Bowen in the modern NBA, but was more flawed in terms of streakier and a complete nightmare ballhandling at times even if he was a much better free throw shooter. Plus, you can occasionally pair Green with Leonard off the bench, and Green definitely played his best basketball over the course of his NBA career next to Kawhi Leonard.)
--INACTIVE LIST--
14. James Silas. (The objectively third best point guard to play a meaningful amount of time with the Spurs [once again, sorry Avery but you're out], and better pure scorer, call this Tony Parker injury insurance.)
15. Robert Horry. (Felt like going big here was a no-brainer, even the 2004-05 version of Horry would be great in today's NBA, though not a post scoring threat he did pretty much everything else even in his early Spurs years especially 2005. Other more traditional big men just weren't good enough... Tiago Splitter was too flawed, Nazr Mohammed and Jerome Kersey didn't play here long enough, Oberto was....? a lunch pail guy? Will Perdue was solid but not amazing, and Kevin Willis was way past his prime and not good for more than 20 minutes by the time he got here. Malik Rose's archetype was not cut out for today's NBA. Dejuan Blair was a joke, Aldridge was soft and unclutch, Marjanovic on a minute plan would be interesting but he mostly excelled against weak third-string type competition, and the Ferry/Bonner/Bertans types were too one dimensional. None of the pre-Robinson teams had a great big man.)
Honorable mentions? I think Boris Diaw might honestly be the biggest snub, but his defense was too soft and he refused to shoot open threes most of the time.
Starting C: David Robinson (he could shoot threes back in the 90s and he'd be perfect for the modern NBA, think Jokic)
Starting PF: Tim Duncan (sure his game isn't as modern, but he's extremely smart and he'd make it work, plus think of that defense even in today's NBA, and modern teams couldn't guard both big men in the paint)
SF: George Gervin (not the greatest defender, but solid enough and could create his own shot at any time without being a ball hog, basically was similar to Kevin Durant in his prime)
SG: Bruce Bowen (hear me out... maybe a bit of an odd pick, but think Thabo Sefolosha on those early 2010s OKC teams but on steroids, Bowen is arguably the greatest defensive wing of all time and a bit of a one trick pony on offense but that's okay... you start out games by setting the tone on defense)...
PG: Tony Parker (Was tempted to go Johnny Moore or even James Silas here, and Moore was the best prototype point guard but couldn't really shoot, Silas was the opposite, Avery Johnson is just a poor fit for today's game, and I'm not putting Rod Strickland and I'd never consider someone like Chris Paul [or Tracy McGrady, Kevin Martin for instance] who barely played with the Spurs near the end of their career.) Parker was a very flawed player and it's tough to find a Spurs starting caliber PG in their history who could shoot threes very well at all, which is a big detriment in today's NBA. But the chemistry with other guys in this starting lineup couldn't be understated, and Parker in his prime was a speed demon who could score and set up just about anyone on the dribble drive)
---BENCH---
-6. Manu Ginobili (too obvious)
-7. Kawhi Leonard (don't like the guy at all, but can't see how you completely leave him off the team, plus the second team would need defense and more scoring than just Manu)
-8. Victor Wembanyama (as good of a fit of a modern NBA center as it gets but this anchors the second team defensively, spares both Robinson and Wemby of too many minutes, but in this scenario you would mostly want him hovering around the paint on offense, with the occasional pick and pop three in play for Wemby)... unfortunately in terms of big men there is a massive drop-off from here, which is why I am picking...
-9. Stephen Jackson. (It was either him or Robert Horry, but Jackson was just so well rounded on both ends despite being a bit of a turnover machine and magnet for technical fouls. In this scenario he'd be coming off the bench and mostly spelling Duncan, so he'd be mostly a defensive star with the ability to potentially score by brute force against smaller wings in smallball or take traditional PFs off the dribble. He wouldn't have the ball too much and much of his job would be spotting up for threes offensively, at which he was often legendary.)
-10. Johnny Moore. (At some point you need a traditional point guard to be a reliable backup, and even while other guys like Manu and even Kawhi can sometimes handle those duties, you want a real backup and for when Parker randomly struggled which he often did.)
-11. Sean Elliott. (Another very well rounded small forward type player and you can't have enough multitalented wings in today's NBA, no way was I leaving him off the team)
-12. Brent Barry. (It was him or Steve Kerr, and Kerr's best days weren't with the Spurs.) This deep in the roster you want someone who does a couple things extremely well, like three point and free throw shooting, even if they aren't the most well rounded. Also, Barry often played point guard and was decent enough defensively there in his Spurs prime, even against quality PGs like Chauncey Billups.)
-13. Danny Green. (Controversial pick? Maybe. But I'm filling out a roster and he's to me the closest thing to Bruce Bowen if something were to happen. Bowen, in practice and in theory, was one of the hardiest, most durable players of all time. Green could shoot threes from everywhere unlike Bowen and was as close as it gets defensively to Bowen in the modern NBA, but was more flawed in terms of streakier and a complete nightmare ballhandling at times even if he was a much better free throw shooter. Plus, you can occasionally pair Green with Leonard off the bench, and Green definitely played his best basketball over the course of his NBA career next to Kawhi Leonard.)
--INACTIVE LIST--
14. James Silas. (The objectively third best point guard to play a meaningful amount of time with the Spurs [once again, sorry Avery but you're out], and better pure scorer, call this Tony Parker injury insurance.)
15. Robert Horry. (Felt like going big here was a no-brainer, even the 2004-05 version of Horry would be great in today's NBA, though not a post scoring threat he did pretty much everything else even in his early Spurs years especially 2005. Other more traditional big men just weren't good enough... Tiago Splitter was too flawed, Nazr Mohammed and Jerome Kersey didn't play here long enough, Oberto was....? a lunch pail guy? Will Perdue was solid but not amazing, and Kevin Willis was way past his prime and not good for more than 20 minutes by the time he got here. Malik Rose's archetype was not cut out for today's NBA. Dejuan Blair was a joke, Aldridge was soft and unclutch, Marjanovic on a minute plan would be interesting but he mostly excelled against weak third-string type competition, and the Ferry/Bonner/Bertans types were too one dimensional. None of the pre-Robinson teams had a great big man.)
Honorable mentions? I think Boris Diaw might honestly be the biggest snub, but his defense was too soft and he refused to shoot open threes most of the time.