copy-paste one player 5x to make a good team

[morosis]

ive been thinking about the idea of "complete" players lately. by this I mean players who can do everything it takes to win games, regardless of the personnel around them. so my mind wandered to this question. if you could have a team with 5x of the same player on it, which player would make the best team using only the skillset contained within that one player?

as an example/hypothetical to illustrate: lets say you pick prime lebron. that means you have a team with prime lebron at PG, SG, SF, PF, and C. he has to bring the ball up, pass, score, rebound, play defense, etc.

and lets say we had a big tournament with all these "one player teams" playing against each other, assuming perfect health, no injury potential, no salary cap or financial constraints or whatever. who wins?

i know, i know, this is an offseason thread. but all the discussion here about players and the holes in their games as we watch the playoffs has me wondering who the most complete players we've seen are. prime lebron seems obvious, which is why i used him in the example. who are some others?

[Sixers in 4]

A healthy Kawhi could play any position and defend.

[Raps in 4]

It's hard. LeBron is the only real answer IMO.

The LeBron clones on offence (guys who can do almost everything), like Jokic, Luka, Harden, etc. are slow and don't play defence.

Other guys who are really good individual players (Jordan, Kobe, Hakeem, Duncan, etc.) are too small or too big to play every position and don't have enough offensive versatility.

I'd probably try it with one of the big, offensively versatile wings like Luka or Harden.

[MoneyTalks41890]

Jalen Williams could low key kinda do this

[The Master]

i know, i know, this is an offseason thread. but all the discussion here about players and the holes in their games as we watch the playoffs has me wondering who the most complete players we've seen are. peak lebron seems obvious, which is why i used him in the example. who are some others?

Yeah, LeBron is an easy choice here.

He played defensively as an on-ball guard defender (defense on Rose in 2011), typical wing defender (defense on KD from the middle of the 2012 finals), safety role (Heat, Cavs), and you could use prime LeBron nowadays as a smallball center easily. Offensively, once he improved spot up shooting, he can be played on ball/off ball/roller with vertical spacing as well/post up threat.

Nowadays, J-Dub scales amazingly here: he's not necessarily a smallball center nor primary scorer or creator, but he's more and more like Scottie Pippen, and it's not an overreaction.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Nobody would want to face 5 TJ McConnell's.

[Wingy]

A less obvious, but certainly not genius one:

Steph x 5.

Yeah, they’d be hard pressed to defend bigger guys, but they could double and swarm all over and I don’t think anyone could keep up with their 3s, spacing, cutting and intelligence.

3 > 2

[jojo4341]

I think Hakeem deserves consideration. They can still guard the perimeter against superior shooting teams, while still offering resistance against a team of 5 Shaqs in the paint. Even though Lebron is individually a better player and more versatile, I think they'd struggle against 5 elite big men like 5 Shaqs when the game simplifies in the paint. They would have to guard the Shaqs straight up long enough once the fouls start to pile up.

KG would also make an interesting team.

[Bornstellar]

Five Wembys would be impossible to score against

[morosis]

A less obvious, but certainly not genius one:

Steph x 5.

Yeah, they’d be hard pressed to defend bigger guys, but they could double and swarm all over and I don’t think anyone could keep up with their 3s, spacing, cutting and intelligence.

3 > 2

interesting and i get where youre going with this, but remember in this hypothetical the screen setter is also steph lol. if they got a 5x ron artest team or 5x porzingis team in their bracket, i don't know how the steph squad fares. i think the steph answer is angling at a "be so good at some aspects of the game that the other aspects dont matter as much" approach, and i can respect that as an off-meta kind of pick.

[Hoop Hunter]

Nobody would want to face 5 TJ McConnell's.

There would probably be someone ejected every game for punching one of the TJ's in the face.

Probably have a ton of steals per game.

It would be pretty tough with nobody being able to shoot past 15 ft.

[NyKnicks1714]

Since the Thompson twins are genetically the same person, can I copy paste them and have 10 players on the floor?

[The Master]

I think Hakeem deserves consideration. They can still guard the perimeter against superior shooting teams, while still offering resistance against a team of 5 Shaqs in the paint. Even though Lebron is individually a better player and more versatile, I think they'd struggle against 5 elite big men like 5 Shaqs when the game simplifies in the paint. They would have to guard the Shaqs straight up long enough once the fouls start to pile up.

KG would also make an interesting team.

Shaqs would've had big issues with playing any set offense, lack of spacing, bad perimeter and PNR coverage defensively. KG is the best guess among bigs IMHO though (but maybe I underestimate Hakeem's handles, if so - then him).

Overall, I think 5 Durants/Butlers/Kawhis/Tatums (not to mention LBJ) would've been the best - and I guess it's not that groundbreaking to claim considering these players are literally between guards and centers position-wise.

[bkkrh]

Besides Lebron I see Magic as only real other option. I'd go with 89-90 Magic, since he had developed a pretty reliable 3 point shot by then.

[Dr Aki]

Wemby x5

Just keep one of them back on offense to defend the rim on fast breaks, the rest can play 4 on 5 and just pass the ball to each other without dribbling.

[morosis]

some of the people i thought about making this thread are already mentioned, so i'll add a few others that came to mind for me: oscar robertson, rasheed wallace, pippen, porzingis, giannis, ginobili, tmac, shawn marion, magic, grant hill, and penny.

i'm not old enough as a basketball fan to have watched robertson but i have watched all the others. but in the end i always think if any of these guys matched up against 5x peak lebron they probably lose.

[ryan in Maine]

Is Boris Diaw too obvious an answer?

Edit
When were his slim years in San Antonio? 2014?

[SelfishPlayer]

Giannis could seriously win a CHIP.

[Kawaii Leonard]

Lebron, KD, Kawhi, KG

[Yoshun]

Giannis could seriously win a CHIP.

First guy I thought of.