Lebron James/Larry Bird vs Tim Duncan/Shaquille O'Neal

[Matt15]

Which duo would you rather build a new team around?

[Cavsfansince84]

I feel like Duncan/Shaq would be slightly redundant though still likely to win many titles. LeBron/Bird gives you multiple playmakers at close to a goat level and great outside shooting. So in terms of peak/prime years I think I'd lean slightly towards LeBron/Bird but taking longevity into account I might go Duncan/Shaq. The only thing that could swing it back is if LeBron is still playing at close to an mvp level for the next 2-3 years.

[bledredwine]

Today's game?

I take Lebron Bird for the point abilities.

Back in the day? I'd take Duncan Shaq for the combination of paint defense and post game. Surround those two with perimeter players and they'd have killed.

[OdomFan]

Duncan and Shaq. Bird and Lebron play the same position and I think Bird would rather compete against him.

[Cavsfansince84]

Duncan and Shaq. Bird and Lebron play the same position and I think Bird would rather compete against him.

While there's some truth to your bolded point Bird would absolutely thrive as a stretch 4 in today's nba. So I don't see there being much of a detriment to combining LeBron with Bird other than each having the ball a little less.

[OdomFan]

Duncan and Shaq. Bird and Lebron play the same position and I think Bird would rather compete against him.

While there's some truth to your bolded point Bird would absolutely thrive as a stretch 4 in today's nba. So I don't see there being much of a detriment to combining LeBron with Bird other than each having the ball a little less.

The league would be more entertaining with them going against each other tho imo. So i'd rather see that.

[HBK_Kliq_33]

Peak Shaq\Duncan team would be dominating defensively and offensively. Bird and Lebron would just be a great offensive duo. Bird would be an average defender in today's league. Peak Shaq would be the best defender in the league besides Duncan. Peak Shaq is far better defensively than Bird could ever dream of being. That defensive gap alone is enough to pick Shaq\Duncan.

[GeorgeMarcus]

LeBron and Bird. They provide optimal versatility, and would both benefit from each other's playmaking.

A Shaq/Duncan front court would yield diminishing returns IMO. Duncan worked well enough with D Rob but D Rob could operate away from the basket more effectively than Shaq, and was better equipped to switch onto quicker defenders.

[No-more-rings]

No wrong answer imo, but i don’t think Shaq/Duncan would be any more redundant than Lebron/Bird. You couldn’t maximize both of their playmaking abilities which is important imo, with Duncan/Shaq Duncan would be just fine playing power forward and he’d know who the better offensive player is between the 2.

[NO-KG-AI]

Bird and Lebron cover way more bases and make for more potential roster flexibility. Shaq and Duncan have a ton of overlap.

Duncan’s best ability on offense is in the post and rolling to the rim. Both are best on defense in the paint. I dunno. I think Duncan gets diminished a lot for having to fit around Shaq.

[ShotCreator]

Bird and Lebron cover way more bases and make for more potential roster flexibility. Shaq and Duncan have a ton of overlap.

Duncan’s best ability on offense is in the post and rolling to the rim. Both are best on defense in the paint. I dunno. I think Duncan gets diminished a lot for having to fit around Shaq.

They'd develop synergy because of Shaq's put-back/lob/deep catch gravity but other than that it's not ideal.

No one is leaving Shaq. Not even to double Duncan on the opposite side of the post.

[euroleague]

Bird/Lebron

That combo is far better offensively and arguably better defensively in today’s nba. Bird could play Center/PF against most of today’s players.

Bird
Lebron
PJ Tucker
Trevor Ariza
Eric Gordon

Hard to beat how those 2 can elevate roll players, and there’s less rim protection needed in today’s league.

[G35]

I think you can add more talent to Shaq/Duncan that will get used than you can with Lebron/Bird.

For example, the Celtics added Dennis Johnson who became integral part of the offense/defense.

If you added Dennis Johnson to the Bird/Lebron duo, he becomes what? A spot up 3pt shooter at best.

With the Shaq/Duncan duo you can add ANY type of guard and it will raise the level of the team since that team will need ball handler to set up the offense and get the ball to their sweet spots.

To Shaq/Duncan you could theoretically add:

Magic
Kobe
Stockton
Isiah
Nash
Pippen
Kawhi
Curry
Jordan

There would be a significant increase to the ceiling of the team.

If you tried to add those same players, there would be more overlap and diminishing returns since Lebron always plays PG on offense and SF on defense. I think it would be harder to incorporate talent around Lebron/Bird......

[Statlanta]

If you tried to add those same players, there would be more overlap and diminishing returns

You could say the same for TD/Shaq.

Both are slow. Even on their best day. So even though they were All-D type players at their peak, there are only certain types of defensive schemes you can play with them.

And both in their prime can't shoot FTs meaning you can't rely on them in a 4th quarter where a Manu, TP, Wade, Kobe type can take over.

[kendogg]

Hard to go wrong with either but Duncan/Shaq would be a matchup nightmare for teams while LeBron/Bird is also hard as you need 2 elite perimeter defenders but that duo is easier to defend than Duncan/Shaq, who can score through single coverage like wet tissue paper.

[henshao]

There are very few hypothetical teams to which Larry Bird could be added in which he does not improve them. Off-ball, on-ball, wing play, post play. Lebron could not change from his usual MO of ball-dominance one bit and Larry would still thrive.

Meanwhile, Duncan is, annoyingly, considered a power forward by many when he spent at least half his career technically at center and even more so as "true" center of the Spurs. Though Duncan and Shaq are both top tier talent they're very redundant and I don't expect would even work as well together as Duncan and the Admiral did; to make a long story shorter having two centers even of top 10 talent is going to provide diminishing returns

[RCM88x]

I actually lean Shaq/Duncan here, they both cover for eachother well on both sides of the floor IMO, atleast for non spacing big men. Ultimately having two forces like that will be more of an issue for average teams than Lebron-Bird would IMO.

The floor with Lebron-Bird would be higher due to the fit, but theres so much potential with Shaq/Duncan it would be hard to pass up.

[NY 567]

A lot more versatility and better fit with LeBron and Bird, so I'd go with them