What team has the most well balanced all time starting 5?

[prolific passer]

I'm thinking the spurs:
C: David Robinson
PF: Duncan
SF: Gervin
SG: Manu
PG: Tony Parker

Defensively with D-Rob, Duncan, and Gervin up front would be awesome.

[coastalmarker99]

Golden state

Curry

Klay

Barry

Green

Wilt


That offence would be insane.

[70sFan]

I'd actually go for the Spurs with this lineup:

2005 Manu
1979 Gervin
2017 Kawhi
2003 Duncan
1995 Robinson

Unless you can go with bench as well, then Manu would be 6th man.

Warriors have very strong starting lineup:

2017 Curry
1975 Barry
2017 Durant
2016 Green
1964 Wilt

With Arizin and Thurmond off the bench.

Of course, Celtics is also amazing:

1957 Cousy
1974 Havlicek
1986 Bird
2008 Garnett
1965 Russell

With McHale as a 6th man.

Knicks:

1972 Frazier
1962 Guerin
1984 King
1969 Reed
1990 Ewing

You can also go with DeBusschere for more defense.

[LAL1947]

PG: West
SG: Kobe
SF: Worthy
PF: Magic
CE: Shaq

[70sFan]

PG: West
SG: Kobe
SF: Worthy
PF: Magic
CE: Shaq

That's 4 volume scorers without elite defense. Wouldn't call that lineup well-rounded.

[LAL1947]

I'm thinking the spurs:
C: David Robinson
PF: Duncan
SF: Gervin
SG: Manu
PG: Tony Parker

Defensively with D-Rob, Duncan, and Gervin up front would be awesome.

D-Rob and Duncan couldn't deal with Shaq when he had Robert Horry and Glen Rice by his side. Wonder how they'd deal with Shaq + Magic + Worthy.

[LAL1947]

PG: West
SG: Kobe
SF: Worthy
PF: Magic
CE: Shaq

That's 4 volume scorers without elite defense. Wouldn't call that lineup well-rounded.

Well, maybe I have misunderstood what the OP means by well-balanced.

I took it to mean a team that has great guard play, great forward play, dominating center presence. Shaq is probably the weakest defender there, which is kinda crazy, (since he can't guard the perimeter if playing by today's rules). Anyway, I figure they'd be decent on defense with the overall size and athleticism of the team... 6'3", 6'6", 6'9", 6''9", 7'1".

[70sFan]

I'm thinking the spurs:
C: David Robinson
PF: Duncan
SF: Gervin
SG: Manu
PG: Tony Parker

Defensively with D-Rob, Duncan, and Gervin up front would be awesome.

D-Rob and Duncan couldn't deal with Shaq when he had Robert Horry and Glen Rice by his side. Wonder how they'd deal with Shaq + Magic + Worthy.

1999-03 Shaq in RS: 28.0/11.9/3.3 with 2.8 tov and 57.5 FG%, 54.8 FT% and 58.5 TS%

1999-93 Shaq vs Spurs in the playoffs: 24.3/13.2/2.6 with 3.1 tov and 51.1 FG%, 56.4 FT% and 53.6 TS%

Maybe I am missing something, but I think Spurs did quite good job on Shaq. Better than anyone else in that period actually.

[LAL1947]

I'm thinking the spurs:
C: David Robinson
PF: Duncan
SF: Gervin
SG: Manu
PG: Tony Parker

Defensively with D-Rob, Duncan, and Gervin up front would be awesome.

I'd probably include Kawhi at SF and push Gervin to SG, keeping Parker at PG.

Either way though, it's a very well-balanced team.

[70sFan]

PG: West
SG: Kobe
SF: Worthy
PF: Magic
CE: Shaq

That's 4 volume scorers without elite defense. Wouldn't call that lineup well-rounded.

Well, maybe I have misunderstood what the OP means by well-balanced.

I took it to mean a team that has great guard play, great forward play, dominating center presence. Shaq is probably the weakest defender there, which is kinda crazy, (since he can't guard the perimeter if playing by today's rules). Anyway, I figure they'd be decent on defense with the overall size and athleticism of the team... 6'3", 6'6", 6'9", 6''9", 7'1".

For Lakers, I would go with more defense and less volume scoring. You have enough of that from Kobe and West (who are very good defensively also), so I'd try to go with better defender at center (either Kareem or Wilt, both are much better than Shaq on that end).

Magic is good enough to find a role for himself in this team, so the last spot should also go to a good defender who wouldn't demand the ball. I am thinking about someone like 2020 Davis, as he didn't need the ball in his hands at all and he could shoot.

1966 West
2008 Kobe
1987 Magic
2020 Davis
1977 Kareem (or 1972 Wilt if you have enough scoring)

I think this team is more well-rounded than yours and I don't think it's really worse on offense either.

[Dutchball97]

How about the Bulls?

PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Scottie Pippen
PF: Horace Grant
C: Artis Gilmore

[LAL1947]

I'm thinking the spurs:
C: David Robinson
PF: Duncan
SF: Gervin
SG: Manu
PG: Tony Parker

Defensively with D-Rob, Duncan, and Gervin up front would be awesome.

D-Rob and Duncan couldn't deal with Shaq when he had Robert Horry and Glen Rice by his side. Wonder how they'd deal with Shaq + Magic + Worthy.

1999-03 Shaq in RS: 28.0/11.9/3.3 with 2.8 tov and 57.5 FG%, 54.8 FT% and 58.5 TS%

1999-93 Shaq vs Spurs in the playoffs: 24.3/13.2/2.6 with 3.1 tov and 51.1 FG%, 56.4 FT% and 53.6 TS%

Maybe I am missing something, but I think Spurs did quite good job on Shaq. Better than anyone else in that period actually.

What I'm trying to get at is... it took two of them to stop him and they could focus on Shaq as a duo because Robert Horry was that much lower quality than all three of them. Now if Shaq had two forwards of Magic's and Worthy's size + quality beside him instead of Robert Horry and Glen Rice/Rick Fox/AC Greene... I think the individual demolition of Duncan or D-Rob (which ever of the two ended up defending him) could have been something spectacular to witness.

[70sFan]

D-Rob and Duncan couldn't deal with Shaq when he had Robert Horry and Glen Rice by his side. Wonder how they'd deal with Shaq + Magic + Worthy.

1999-03 Shaq in RS: 28.0/11.9/3.3 with 2.8 tov and 57.5 FG%, 54.8 FT% and 58.5 TS%

1999-93 Shaq vs Spurs in the playoffs: 24.3/13.2/2.6 with 3.1 tov and 51.1 FG%, 56.4 FT% and 53.6 TS%

Maybe I am missing something, but I think Spurs did quite good job on Shaq. Better than anyone else in that period actually.

What I'm trying to get at is... it took two of them to stop him and they could focus on Shaq as a duo because Robert Horry was that much lower quality than all three of them. Now if Shaq had two forwards of Magic's and Worthy's size + quality beside him instead of Robert Horry and Glen Rice/Rick Fox/AC Greene... I think the individual demolition of Duncan and D-Rob could have been something spectacular to witness.

Fine, but it works with every all-time lineup you can imagine. Peak Duncan never played with peak Kawhi/Robinson either. Of course guarding Shaq would be a huge problem, but I don't understand why you singled it out here. Guarding any all-time great player on all-time great team would be very problematic. Duncan/Robinson duo guarding Shaq is better than almost anything you can dream of. If anything, perimeter players would be more problematic here - assuming you go with Kawhi on Kobe, you'd leave Gervin on either West or Magic. Now that would be a problem.

[70sFan]

How about the Bulls?

PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Scottie Pippen
PF: Horace Grant
C: Artis Gilmore

You can even go PG-less lineup with Pippen as a guard and Chet Walker at forward. It's not ideal lineup as they lack spacing, but their spacing isn't good anyway and you have better defense.

[GSP]

How about the Bulls?

PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Scottie Pippen
PF: Horace Grant
C: Artis Gilmore

Spacing horrendous.......

[Morb]

Penny
T-Mac
Hill
Howard
Shaq

Sent from my Nokia 5.1 Plus using RealGM mobile app

[70sFan]

Penny
T-Mac
Hill
Howard
Shaq

Sent from my Nokia 5.1 Plus using RealGM mobile app

This one also has horrible spacing.

[Gooner]

Maybe current Suns, if we are looking at the actual teams that played together. Two elite guards, two 3 and D wings and a very good young center.

[Dutchball97]

Blazers could be a fun team as well with plenty of defense, playmaking and spacing to go around.

PG: Damian Lillard
SG: Clyde Drexler
SF: Scottie Pippen
PF: Rasheed Wallace
C: Bill Walton

[Dr Positivity]

I think this is the Warriors, Curry, Draymond, Wilt are all on the all time team and fits great, and then you can either go Klay/Barry or Barry/Durant, depending on whether you rate Klay as the more important Warrior than Durant or not, but either works.