Which position would win in a tournament of all time greats?

[Ugalde]

Probably Centers/Power Forwards. Who's stopping Shaq?

[pass first]

Probably Centers/Power Forwards. Who's stopping Shaq?

If everybody has a full bench...

...the free throw line.

And double teams and stuff. Centers don't have spacing. Power forwards would have a much better chance imo.

They could spread the floor with Love, Dirk, Garnett (or Bosh). I think Blake Griffin would be a decent point guard lol. Duncan in the middle, if he counts.

[Saints14]

Probably Centers/Power Forwards. Who's stopping Shaq?

If everybody has a full bench...

...the free throw line.

And double teams and stuff. Centers don't have spacing. Power forwards would have a much better chance imo.

They could spread the floor with Love, Dirk, Garnett (or Bosh). I think Blake Griffin would be a decent point guard lol. Duncan in the middle, if he counts.

I was thinking the same thing about Griffin. At 0:35...wow!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imD_-HD1_Fw[/youtube]

I still stick with Small Forwards, though.

[rugbyrugger23]

Scratch Anthony insert Dr J

No

Melo allows them to guard 4s effectively and he's way more versatile offensively than Dr. J

Melo shouldn't be anywhere near this list. Dr. J, Baylor, Barry, Havlicek and others should go over Melo.

Sent from my LG-D800 using RealGM Forums mobile app

This like 100 times over.

G: Pippen
G: Dr. J
F: Bird
F: Durant
F: LBJ

That team has ball handling, tons of D and shooting, and some strength. LBJ due to strength and Durant due to length and height could hold their own against PF or centers.

[Imon]

Probably Centers/Power Forwards. Who's stopping Shaq?

If everybody has a full bench...

...the free throw line.

And double teams and stuff. Centers don't have spacing. Power forwards would have a much better chance imo.

They could spread the floor with Love, Dirk, Garnett (or Bosh). I think Blake Griffin would be a decent point guard lol. Duncan in the middle, if he counts.

I was thinking the same thing about Griffin. At 0:35...wow!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imD_-HD1_Fw[/youtube]

I still stick with Small Forwards, though.

Nah.

On a team full of PFs Charles Barkley would run the point.

[Fencer reregistered]

I think the 80s Celtics used to have practice games of all smalls vs. all bigs, and the smalls would win. However, I don't know which side Bird was on.

Anyhow, something like

Pippen
Durant
Erving
LBJ
Bird

would, as suggested above, be formidable in this hypothetical tournament.

For a centers team to compete with that, you'd want guys who you trust as excellent passers, since you don't really want the ball to hit the floor. You also want guys who are good sprinters, because that helps advance the ball without dribbling. So the first guys I'm looking to include are:

Wilt (passing and sprinting alike)
Kareem
Walton
Russell

None of those guys HAS to be super-close to the basket to score, so it's OK if you include Shaq, but I'd rather include Hakeem for some more mobile defense.

Complication: One big problem on the centers team is FT shooting.

Bottom line: This surprises me, but I lean towards the centers team over the SFs.

[NashtyNas]

I'd go any wing position. Bigs are at a disadvantage because of inability to handle the ball (no pun intended).

C - Charles Smith
PF - LeBron
SF - Bird
SG - Durant
PG - Barry

They've got the size, playmaking, ballhandling, shooting and defense.

Guys like Smith and Barkley would be SF's in today's game, but I felt it was cheating using Barkley so I went with Smith.
Gotta have some BEEF up front, y'know?

After all, he did play SF (failed at it, but he was their SF!) for the Knicks for a while.

[FJS]

Duncan malone kg dirk and barkley should be nice. Can rebound pass shoot defense and offense. They have size too.

[DoubleLintendre]

SF -> SG -> PG -> PF > C

In a full court game. Though I do think that there's probably a PF roster that could be a sleeper position and sneak to #3 in this tournament, maybe even #2 if they have the right roster. Centers seem like they'd win but relatively speed > size for a whole game.

[Young_Buc]

SF is the happy medium here.

LeBron/Melo
Bird/Nique
Dr J/Baylor
Durant/Rick Barry
Pippen/Grant Hill

[hands11]

Didnt we do this same thread last week ?

[Prokorov]

They wouldn't be able to get it over half court.

why not? those guys were all outstanding passers, all high bbiq guys. they could easily back their way down court, or do it via the pass. this isnt a team of gorge murseans and john koncaks. these guys were athletic, couldnt handle the ball, and pass and had high bbiq's.

also, big guys dont shrink. small guys get tired.

i think the big team would crush the small team. like by 40 or 50.

im sure if someone had the opportuntity to sign shaq, wilt, olojuwon, duncan, and kareem they would certainly do it. those dudes playing in 4 different eras and being impossible to all sign at once kinda makes that a problem.

there arent 5 great centers in the NBA right now... let alone assembling a team of 5 of them.
If this was the case someone would have tried this in the NBA no way it would work. You really think Shaq could guard Iverson? Shaq trying to bring the ball up vs AI, he would be out of breath by the time he got to half court. Iverson could literally do circles around him with one hand tied behind his back before he scored.

[Zane]

SG would beat SF's in my opinion.
MJ
Drexler
Gervin
West
Kobe
with Reggie Miller coming off the bench.

They have the shooting and athleticism to keep up with point guards and small forwards.

[Austincys21]

Power Fowards
Duncan
R.Wallace
Nowitzki
Garnett
Barkley

Um Karl Malone > Rasheed Wallace

[reapaman]

Power Fowards
Duncan
R.Wallace
Nowitzki
Garnett
Barkley

Um Karl Malone > Rasheed Wallace

I was going to put Malone but that would've thrown spacing off, thats why I put Sheed. This is more about creating a team and not just throwing the best at that position together. I have Barkley at PG since he often did take the ball up the court and Garnett at SG because in his prime he could move like a slashing guard, ect ...

[DaddyCool19]

Barkley
Love
KG
Dirk
Duncan

Dirk and Love for spacing. Barkley should handle the ball while Duncan and KG anchor the defense. KG and Love also know how to pass the ball around. But i think the SF team would defeat them

[DiscoLives4ever]

It's a rock-paper-scissors situation. PGs would beat centers, SGs would beat PGs because of a size advantage greater than the speed/ballhandling disadvantage, same reason SFs would beat SGs, etc. It's all about matchups, so it's all about matchups

[Austincys21]

Power Fowards
Duncan
R.Wallace
Nowitzki
Garnett
Barkley

Um Karl Malone > Rasheed Wallace

I was going to put Malone but that would've thrown spacing off, thats why I put Sheed. This is more about creating a team and not just throwing the best at that position together. I have Barkley at PG since he often did take the ball up the court and Garnett at SG because in his prime he could move like a slashing guard, ect ...

Oh in that case I'd put Lamar Odom then so you have a ball handler

[SlowPaced]

1. Small Forwards

SF is the most versatile position in the game, it's not a surprise that they'd have the best team. They have elite players that fit the billing of all positions in the game.

C - LeBron James: Has the strength of a C, can bother entry passes, elite finisher in the post.
PF - Larry Bird: Played this position frequently, great shooter to space the floor.
SF - Kevin Durant: Another floor spacer, also brings length.
SG - Julius Erving: With LeBron at C, you need another great slasher.
PG - Scottie Pippen: Point-forward, great defender who can bother all ball handlers.

2. Shooting Guards

This team would be about man-to-man defense. A lot of elite defenders in the team who can bother players bigger than them. Very versatile offensively.

C - George Gervin: Big for a two guard, elite finisher in the post.
PF - Michael Jordan: Post scoring and great defense.
SF - Kobe Bryant: Can space the floor and provide defense.
SG - Dwyane Wade: Very strong and plays a game bigger than his size. Best shot blocking SG in history.
PG - Jerry West: Floor spacer and an underrated defender.

3. Power Forwards

Main problem with this team is the dribbling, however PFs are more versatile than centers so it's not as big of a problem. PFs who can handle the ball and have quick feet can create major size problems for PG, SG and SF teams.

C - Tim Duncan: Played as a C very frequently, obvious pick.
PF - Dirk Nowitzki: Great floor spacer.
SF - Kevin Love: Another floor spacer, can pass the ball.
SG - Kevin Garnett: KG could move like a SG in his prime and was a great passer.
PG - Charles Barkley: Can handle the ball well and has good size for the position.

4. Point Guards

Big point guards are obviously the saviors here. However, elite big point guards in NBA history weren't great defenders. As versatile as they'd be offensively, they'd have a hard time on D.

C - Magic Johnson: Played C as a rookie in the Finals and we know how that went down.
PF - Oscar Robertson: 6'5'' and was a pretty strong player for a point guard.
SF - Penny Hardaway: Great size, could do work as a ball thief.
SG - Gary Payton: You need a great defender on this team.
PG - John Stockton: Floor spacer and good defender.

5. Centers

Even the most versatile centers would have trouble in a full court game. Dribbling and running are the main problems. You also have a spacing problem.

C - Shaquille O'Neal: Simply too overpowering. You'd beat PG, SG and SF teams any position you can get him the ball.
PF - Wilt Chamberlain: Versatile athleticism, great defender and scorer.
SF - Hakeem Olajuwon: Versatile, can shoot and pass. Also a great defender.
SG - Bob McAdoo: Floor spacer. Don't know if he counts as a C, though.
PG - Bill Russell: Could handle the ball pretty well and lead fast breaks.

[thinktellectual]

Kareem, shaq, Hakeem, Duncan, Russell

Too bad they won't be able to bring the ball in the front court.

Anyway, this thread is stupid.