Who would you guys say were the best 15 players of this decade? Kobe, Duncan, and Shaq are the obvious best but what about the rest?
My team:
Starters:
PG: Allen Iverson-his legacy has hit a huge road block recently, but there is no denying that he could be the best little man to ever play the game when its all said and done.
SG: Kobe Bryant-the best finisher in the game. Easy choice.
SF: Paul Pierce-very tough choice. No small forward really stood out. Obviously LeBron is the most dominant and has been arguably the best player in the NBA in recent years, but he he has not made a lot of noise in the playoffs. The same could be said about Pierce though because his team underachieved a lot before KG and Ray came over.
PF: Tim Duncan-To me its not the 4 rings. He was the one star who NEVER lost his character. He was always a class act and maybe for that reason and that reason only, most people believe Kobe is the player of the decade, not Duncan. Duncan did not make a lot of noise, but he always won. Right now he is averaging 20 and 10 this season and he is supposedly on the "decline". Easy choice.
C: Shaq-Most dominant player of the decade.
Back Ups: (4 Guards, 4 Forwards, 2 Centers)
G: Jason Kidd-one of the best playmakers this decade.
G: Chauncey Billups-In a decade dominated by Shaq, Duncan, and Kobe, Chauncey helped lead the Pistons to a championship. He is probably the best free agent pick up of the decade.
G: Dwyane Wade-Maybe the most exhilarating player this decade. He helped lead his Heat team to a championship in 2006 and is the best 2 guard in the league behind Kobe Bryant.
G: Reggie Miller-Yes I know he only played for half this decade, but he is the clutchest player to have never won a championship. He was always a threat late in games.
F: LeBron James-Easily could be above Pierce and maybe he should be, but winning matters a lot. Obviously a team would want him because he probably is the most talented player that has ever come into the NBA.
F: KG-Yes he is a but he was a hardworker who always dominated the game.
F: Dirk Nowitzki: The best shooting big man the game has ever seen.
F: Chris Webber: Honestly no one else came into my mind. There is probably someone I am forgetting about. But remember how dominant he was before the injury.
C: Dikembe Mutombo: One of the best defenders of all time.
C: Ben Wallace: Read above
Honorable Mention:
Guards: Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Vince Carter, Gilbert Arenas, Rip Hamilton, Stephon Marbury.
Forwards: Carmelo Anthony, Jermaine Oneal, Rasheed Wallace, Kenyon Martin, Ron Artest, Elton Brand, Amare Stoudamire, Andrei Kirilenko, Rashard Lewis, Shawn Marion.
Centers: Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh
I'll go with a 12-man roster.
Starters
PG- Steve Nash
SG- Kobe Bryant
SF- LeBron James
PF- Tim Duncan
C- Shaquille O'Neal
Bench
G- Allen Iverson
G- Dwayne Wade
G- Jason Kidd
F- Paul Pierce
F- Kevin Garnett
F- Dirk Nowitzki
C- Dewey Howard
Strange sentiment from a Pistons fan.Obviously LeBron is the most dominant and has been arguably the best player in the NBA in recent years, but he he has not made a lot of noise in the playoffs.
Starters
PG: Kidd
SG: Bryant
SF: James
PF: Duncan
C: Shaq
Reserves
PG: Nash, Iverson
SG: Wade, Allen
SF: Pierce, McGrady
PF: KG, Dirk
C: Yao, Howard
Honorable Mention: CP3, Carmelo, Billups, Gasol, Bosh, VC
The 48 Points in Game 5 were spectacular. Again it was a close call. And the Orlando Magic shot COULD have been one of the greatest shots in NBA History, but Cleveland lost the series so that shot is not as great as it could have been.
Again though LeBron could easily be above Pierce on this list like I mentioned in my first post.
It's hard to find fault with Pierce, admittedly. He's risen to the occasion in a lot of big games, starting in Game 3 of the 2002 ECF against New Jersey. (Although he did miss a couple of free throws that would have tied Game 4 of that series.)
kidd in his prime was better than nash and did more on the defensive end.
kobe best sg of the decade closest we will ever get to jordan
lebron is a freak athlete and why he gets his points not skill.
duncan best pf ever, if he was in the coversation for center he would not be close to #1
shaq- see what he did to guys like sabonis, brian grant, chris dudley, rick smits, mutombo etc
i dont care who the reserves are, the starters can take care of everything
If there's any way possible, I'd switch Nowitzki up to the SF spot.
But if we're strictly talking about SFs.. I think Lebron James should be up there. The guy has won MVP.. took this ty Cleveland team to a perennial contender almost all by himself.
Lebron
Kobe
KG
Duncan
Shaq
Assuming were using their peaks. No need for a pure point with that interior defense and scoring.
PG: Kidd
SG: Bryant
SF: James
PF: Duncan
C: Shaq
Any one who has Nash starting really wants their bigs to get into foul trouble trying to cut the slack Nash will be giving.
1st Team
Iverson
Kobe
LeBron
Duncan
Shaq
2nd Team
Nash
Wade
Pierce
Garnett
Yao
3rd Team
Kidd
McGrady
Anthony
Dirk
Howard
Nash / Kidd / CP3
Kobe / AI / Wade
LeBron / Pierce / T-Mac
Duncan / KG / Dirk
Shaq / D12 / Ben Wallace
agreed. Nash should definitely be listed as the starting PG on all-decade team given his two consecutive MVP trophies, despite the blank of rings. Lebron has yet to earn a ring either but it's only a matte of time that he'll get one with another franchise like Knicks. If Pierce makes the squad of decade as the starting SF, I'm afraid there will see plentiful arguments and controversies, not only for Lebron but also a list of other candidates. At least Paul Pierce isn't anywhere even close to the other 4 convincing starters.
Dirk may exceed Tim in terms of individual capabilities, which however is easily prevailed over by Tim's 3 rings this decade. Anyway a ring polishes players to make them look more valuable than they really are, and such deceitful anointments often work well enough to bring these players some honors they don't deserve, or at least an overpaid contract like the case of Breath.
All Decade Team 2000-2009
Starters
G Jason Kidd (4x Assist le, 2x Finals Appearance)
G Kobe Bryant (1x MVP, 2x Scoring le, 1x Finals MVP, 4x NBA Champion)
F LeBron James (1x MVP, 1x Scoring le, 1x Finals Appearance)
F Tim Duncan (2x MVP, 2x Finals MVP, 3x NBA Champion)
C Shaquille O'Neal (1x MVP, 1x Scoring le, 3x Finals MVP, 4x NBA Champion)
Bench
G Allen Iverson (3x Scoring le, 1x MVP, 1x Finals Appearance)
G Dwayne Wade (1x Scoring le, 1x Finals MVP, 1x NBA Champion)
G Steve Nash (2x MVP, 3x Assist le)
F Kevin Garnett (1x MVP, 1x DPOY, 4x Rebounding le, 1x NBA Champion)
F Dirk Nowitzki (1x MVP, 1x Finals Appearance)
C Ben Wallace (2x Rebounding le, 4x DPOY, 1x NBA Champion)
C Dwight Howard (2x Rebounding le, 1x DPOY, 1x Finals Appearance)
If you won a regular season MVP this decade, you automatically qualify imo.
Last edited by Nahtanoj; 12-19-2009 at 11:26 PM.
Starters
G Jason Kidd
G Kobe Bryant
F LeBron James
F Tim Duncan
C Shaquille O'Neal
F Kevin Garnett
G Dwayne Wade
F Dirk Nowitzki
G Chris Paul
C Dwight Howard
G Steve Nash
G Allen Iverson
Iverson making anyone's first team is a disgrace.
Despite what people say of him now...
MVP
Main man on a team that went to the Finals
Top two scorer this decade...
He was considered one of the best players in the league from 2000 to 2005
You mean the guy who dragged a mediocre 76ers team to the Finals and won a Finals game from the best team this decade practically single-handed?
How soon we forget.
It's weird to see Pierce get respect. Back in the early 2000's, he never seemed to relish the "leader" role, which is why Antoine stepped into that role. Even now, he's a captain, but seems to share leadership with KG.
I guess it's also strange to think that a Celtic will be going into the Hall of Fame, since our last HOF'ers were from the Bird era IIRC.
Bupkis.
G Kidd
G Kobe
F Lebron
F Duncan
C Shaq
Reserves
Dirk
Garnett
Pierce
Nash
Wade (take him over Iverson any day)
Paul
Manu - I want him on any team when healthy that needs to win a game for his compe iveness and he is as accomplished as anyone combining his international and NBA careers.
Hard to leave off and the injured reserve on the roster - Iverson, Gasol, Ray Allen (nice to have a pure shooter)
Starting Lineup
PG: Jason Kidd
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Tim Duncan
C: Shaquille O'Neal
Reserves
Guard: Steve Nash
Guard: Allen Iverson
Guard: Dwyane Wade
Forward: Dirk Nowitzki
Forward: LeBron James
Forward: Kevin Garnett
Center: Yao Ming
On second thought I'll replace Yao with Ben Wallace.
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