Best starting 5 of all time

[flaco]

Gimme your best starting 5 of all time. This is about building the best possible team, not selecting the top 5 players. I'll go first.

PG: Steph
SG: Jordan
SF: Kawhi
PF: Bird
C: Magic (he'd be a C on defense and a PG on offense, sort of like a more athletic Jokic)

Needless to say, Kawhi and Steph aren't top 5 players of all time, but they can play either on or off the ball. Can't have 5 ball-dominant players in the same lineup. There won't be enough shots for everybody and you'll end up with a dysfunctional team. This is part of the reason why I opted for Bird/Kawhi over LeBron. Hardest one to cut was Bill Russell. Opted for Kawhi cause he'd provide better spacing, plus I'd love to see Magic at Point Center. If Magic were playing in today's game, I fully believe he would have been a Center.

[70sFan]

This team would be bad on defense...

[flaco]

This team would be bad on defense...

I value offense over defense. In any case, MJ and Kawhi are arguably the best defensive players of all time at SG and SF respectively. Bird was a terrific 2-way player as well. I mean, he made the all-defensive teams 3 times throughout his career.

What would be your starting 5?

[dygaction]

LeBron/Steph/Kawhi/Giannis/Jokic

[70sFan]

This team would be bad on defense...

I value offense over defense. In any case, MJ and Kawhi are arguably the best defensive players of all time at SG and SF respectively. Bird was a terrific 2-way player as well. I mean, he made the all-defensive teams 3 times throughout his career.

What would be your starting 5?

I don't know, it's impossible to predict how all these legends would mesh on the court together. I certainly would try to create a team with as little weaknesses as possible. That means that I'd definitely pick someone who can actually protect the paint at elite level.

[jasonxxx102]

Is chemistry not a consideration?

If not… Steph/Jordan/Bron/Giannis/Hakeem

[Mr B]

The best starting 5 for me would be:

PG: Magic
SG: Jordan
SF: Bird
PF: Giannis
C: Kareem

[penbeast0]

COACH -- Phil Jackson. Few others could get this combination to play as a team.
Russell -- best rim protector with great ability to get out and back, near GOAT rebounder, doesn't need offensive touches which won't be there with this many alphas already.
Bird -- PF with ability to go inside or out, Russell covers his defensive weaknesses
LeBron -- Great combination of offense, defense and playmaking
Jordan -- Had some questions as to whether he could play well with others but just hard to leave off
Curry -- Don't need a playmaker, need a player to be off ball and more 3 point shooting to open up the offense

[Ursusamericanus]

Steph
Jordan
LeBron
Duncan
Hakeem

[GeorgeMarcus]

Wilt
Bird
LeBron
MJ
Curry

[Colbinii]

1962/1965 Bill Russell
2016 LeBron James
1986 Larry Bird
1991 Michael Jordan
2016 Steph Curry

[Statlanta]

Magic Johnson
Jerry West
Kawhi Leonard
Tim Duncan
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

[falcolombardi]

there being only 1 ball i think defense is a Premium here

shooting too but to a lesser degree

i would look at somethingh kind of like this

PG: lebron
SG: jordan (jordan probably my point guard defender)
PF: Bird
C: hakeem

i dont know who would be my 5th guy, it could be a shooter like curry and reggie or a defensive Monster like pippen

[sp6r=underrated]

Edit: Change coach to Kerr.

C David Robinson: Besides his abilities his temperament is perfect for this team. I have no concerns that he'll cause problems when he is made an afterthought in the team's offense. He's an ATG defender.
PF Kevin Garnett: Similar to Robinson his duties will also a role as a secondary facilitator.
SF Larry Bird: one of the handful of greatest passers in league history. Importantly his passing greatness wasn't predicated on dominating the ball.
SG Klay
PG Steph Curry



Why no Jordan? A dirty secret the NBA doesn't talk about was he wasn't the best player on the Dream Team, which was Barkley. I don't think he's perfect for these type of teams and I think his **** routine isn't the positive his fans feel it is. And for whatever value it brings it is totally unnecessary when you have a massive talent advantage.

Edit: Going with Klay. I think he's pretty overrated as a player but he's proven to work great with Curry.

This team isn't perfect on paper but I feel like they would slaughter some of the other lineups.

[TokeBulls]

Steph
MJ
Bron
KG
Shaq

[picc]

Giannis
Bird
Durant
Jordan
Curry

[Modulate]

Quickly went with a non-Bron/Jordan squad -

Steph
Kawhi
KD
KG
Shaq

[dygaction]

Interesting Curry is a much more popular choice than Magic, even Jordan.

[70sFan]

Interesting Curry is a much more popular choice than Magic, even Jordan.

I think it's because people think Magic and LeBron wouldn't fit well. It's also because people view Curry as the ultimate ceilling raiser.

I'm not sure if people don't underestimate Curry weaknesses. Imagine him playing against monstrous ATG lineups full of big, extremely skilled basketball players. His physical limitations would be likely highlighted. We've seen him struggling at times with that in postseason, except that in this case everything would be even more problematic.

That said, Curry is a great choice. His shooting would be a huge upgrade over anyone on offensive end.

[Cricket23]

Magic
Jordan
Durant
Garnett
Jokic