Choose the best Defender for these Players

[Matt15]

Choose the best defender from today’s league to guard these players. You can’t choose the same player twice

Kobe Bryant
Charles Barkley
Dirk Nowitzki
Dwyane Wade
Shaquille O’Neal

[TheGOATRises007]

Kobe - Ben Simmons
Charles - Bam Adebayo
Dirk - AD
Wade - Tatum
Shaq - Joel Embiid

I was really struggling with Wade, and I'm not sure if I picked a good one for him.

[feyki]

I prefer a great team defence to stop these players. Basketball is not a one on one sport, for sure.

[HeartBreakKid]

Kobe Bryant - Marcus Smart. Smart lower center of gravity and fast hands which will bother Kobe driving, and Kobe won't be able to post him up that easily.

Charles Barkley - Lebron James.

Dirk Nowitzki - Paul George. Comparable length for a perimeter player, much better athlete.

Wade - Jrue Holiday. I was thinking of going with some smaller guards, but they'd probably get in foul trouble if they gave Wade space for a drive. Wade is a bit too fast for Marcus Smart also.

Shaquile O'Neal - Joel Embiid. He's big and moves his feet.

[Jordan Syndrome]

Kobe Bryant - Marcut Smart
Charles Barkley - LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki - Unsure, AD/Bam/Grant are all solid options.
Dwyane Wade - Jimmy Butler
Shaquille O’Neal - Joel Embiid

[HeartBreakKid]

Kobe Bryant - Marcut Smart
Charles Barkley - LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki - Unsure, AD/Bam/Grant are all solid options.
Dwyane Wade - Jimmy Butler
Shaquille O’Neal - Joel Embiid

Butler is a good pick, I was thinking Jaylen Brown initially.

[Jordan Syndrome]

Kobe Bryant - Marcut Smart
Charles Barkley - LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki - Unsure, AD/Bam/Grant are all solid options.
Dwyane Wade - Jimmy Butler
Shaquille O’Neal - Joel Embiid

Butler is a good pick, I was thinking Jaylen Brown initially.

Jaylen is close but I like Butlers strength, experience and grit at this point in their respective careers.

I don't want to say Jaylen Brown isn't these things because he is damn close, he just isn't Jimmy "yet".

[Heej]

Kobe Bryant - Pull up jump shooters are more troubled by length and Rangy wings. I'd go with Ben Simmons on this one. Honorable mention: Anthony Davis

Charles Barkley - Slashers are bothered by smaller quicker players that are equally stout. I'd go with Marcus Smart since Chuck would have a hard time backing him down as well. Giannis would be an interesting option here as well tho

Dirk Nowitzki - another Rangy wing kind of archetype works here so I'm going with Giannis because he has the base to absorb Dirk postups

Dwyane Wade - I'd also go with Smart here for same reasons as Chuck. Bledsoe would be good for him too.

Shaquille O’Neal - Gobert because the length matters more than anything at this point. Maybe Embiid because he has the best combo of strength and length.

[magicman1978]

DWade - Marcus Smart
Kobe - Butler
Nowitzki - Giannis
Barkley - Zion
Shaq - Adams

[magicman1978]

Charles Barkley - Slashers are bothered by smaller quicker players that are equally stout. I'd go with Marcus Smart since Chuck would have a hard time backing him down as well.

Great choices, but for this one - do you think Smart is going to be able to keep Chuck off the offensive boards?

[Heej]

Charles Barkley - Slashers are bothered by smaller quicker players that are equally stout. I'd go with Marcus Smart since Chuck would have a hard time backing him down as well.

Great choices, but for this one - do you think Smart is going to be able to keep Chuck off the offensive boards?

That's a good question. Marcus Smart is such an anomaly at guard in all the years I've been watching the NBA I feel like I wouldn't wanna bet against him being able to box out Chuck reliably lol

[70sFan]

Charles Barkley - Slashers are bothered by smaller quicker players that are equally stout. I'd go with Marcus Smart since Chuck would have a hard time backing him down as well.

Great choices, but for this one - do you think Smart is going to be able to keep Chuck off the offensive boards?

That's a good question. Marcus Smart is such an anomaly at guard in all the years I've been watching the NBA I feel like I wouldn't wanna bet against him being able to box out Chuck reliably lol

I agree that Smart is great defender and he's very strong for his size, but he wouldn't stand a chance against Barkley. Charles bodied up strength freaks like Malone and Oakley regulary, Smart just isn't big enough to defend him. We're talking about a man who dominated inside more than anyone against the league full of 6 footers and powerful bangers. Using small players on him isn't a good idea.

[HeartBreakKid]

Kobe Bryant - Pull up jump shooters are more troubled by length and Rangy wings. I'd go with Ben Simmons on this one. Honorable mention: Anthony Davis

Charles Barkley - Slashers are bothered by smaller quicker players that are equally stout. I'd go with Marcus Smart since Chuck would have a hard time backing him down as well. Giannis would be an interesting option here as well tho

Dirk Nowitzki - another Rangy wing kind of archetype works here so I'm going with Giannis because he has the base to absorb Dirk postups

Dwyane Wade - I'd also go with Smart here for same reasons as Chuck. Bledsoe would be good for him too.

Shaquille O’Neal - Gobert because the length matters more than anything at this point. Maybe Embiid because he has the best combo of strength and length.

Marcus Smart can't even guard modest scorers who are power forwards full time, he has zero chance against Charles Barkley.

Anthony Davis full time on Kobe Bryant? Even Ben Simmons seems kind of...iffy, it's not like Ben Simmons is a monster because he locks down guards, he's good because he can guard multiple positions very well.

I think you are over simplifying Kobe Bryant. Kobe would probably kill Anthony Davis man to man, he would just drive past him. Kobe Bryant is a god like scorer because he is one of the best slashers of all time, not because he is a one dimensional jump shooter - I think a lot of people misunderstand his game by watching his highlights. When Kobe Bryant is over-relying on jump shooting he is guardable.

[GSP]

Kobe Bryant - Marcus Smart

Charles Barkley - Pj Tucker

Dirk Nowitzki - Bam Adebayo

Dwyane Wade - Jrue Holiday

Shaquille O’Neal - Rudy Gobert

[70sFan]

Marc Gasol is clearly the better choice on Shaq than Gobert. He's still the best post defender in the league by far (and one of the best ever).

[magicman1978]

Great choices, but for this one - do you think Smart is going to be able to keep Chuck off the offensive boards?

That's a good question. Marcus Smart is such an anomaly at guard in all the years I've been watching the NBA I feel like I wouldn't wanna bet against him being able to box out Chuck reliably lol

I agree that Smart is great defender and he's very strong for his size, but he wouldn't stand a chance against Barkley. Charles bodied up strength freaks like Malone and Oakley regulary, Smart just isn't big enough to defend him. We're talking about a man who dominated inside more than anyone against the league full of 6 footers and powerful bangers. Using small players on him isn't a good idea.

Yeah, Smart is great and may be able to hold his own for some possessions, but I was imagining him trying to hold Chuck off the boards when he's giving up 40+lbs, 6+ inches in standing reach, and likely even a disadvantage in terms of standing vert/quick leap ability (see 53 second mark in vid below). That's a tall order even for someone as tough and gritty as Smart.

Watch on YouTube

[No-more-rings]

Kobe Bryant - Marcus Smart. Smart lower center of gravity and fast hands which will bother Kobe driving, and Kobe won't be able to post him up that easily.

Charles Barkley - Lebron James.

Dirk Nowitzki - Paul George. Comparable length for a perimeter player, much better athlete.

Wade - Jrue Holiday. I was thinking of going with some smaller guards, but they'd probably get in foul trouble if they gave Wade space for a drive. Wade is a bit too fast for Marcus Smart also.

Shaquile O'Neal - Joel Embiid. He's big and moves his feet.

This older version of Lebron would be too slow to stay in front of Barkley imo.

I'd also agree with 70s fan that Marc Gasol would probably be best to defend Shaq. I think Embiid would get annoyed quickly by Shaq's physicality honestly.

[Laimbeer]

Kobe Bryant - Jimmy Butler

Charles Barkley - LeBron James

Dirk Nowitzki - Anthony Davis

Dwyane Wade - Paul George

Shaquille O’Neal - Joel Embiid

[Warriors Analyst]

I'd throw Draymond on Dirk. Stephen Jackson gave Dirk hell in 2007, Draymond is longer and sturdier than Jackson and more able to deal with Dirk in the post.