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My All-Time Basketball Team.

Author: feartheelft at rootzoo.com
Date: Sep 30, 2008 - 2:40:26 PM

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I love, sports history, always have.  Watching flim of old players is something that I really enjoy.  If I were given the ability to take players from any era, in their prime, and put them on a team, this would be the roster I would choose.

I would like to point out that I am not saying that these are the best players at their positions, they are simply my favorites.

Rules: I will chose a total of 8 players (a starting 5 along with 3 bench players).  The bench will consist of 1 G, 1 F, and 1 C.  I won't move players to positions that they did not play (ex. I won't play a PF at C just because I can't decide between two PFs, I will be forced to choose)


"The Big O"


The Starters

PG- Jerry West

Jerry West's game can best be described by his nickname, "Mr. Clutch".  Perhaps his best known clutch prefomace came in Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals, when, with time running out and his team down by 2, Jerry West hit a 60 buzzer beater to force over time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAdgxyC1ehA).

West was known for his great jump shot, tenatious defense, his obsession with perfection, and maybe the largest will to win ever.  His desire to be perfect can best be seen when, looking back later in life on a game in which he went 16-17 from the field, 12-12 from the line, had 12 rebounds, 12 assists, and blocked 12 shots, West said, "Defensively, from a team standpoint, I didn't feel I played very well. Very rarely was I satisfied with how I played."

He made the All-Star team all 14 years of his career and he lead the LA Lakers to the NBA Finals nine times.  When he retired, he held the records for career playoff points and points per game (4457 total points, 29.1 per game).

For his career, West averaged 27 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.8 rebounds.  He shot 47% from the field.

SG- Oscar Robertson

"The Big O" is quite possibly the most complete player of all time.  When a player is referred to as an "all around player", it is impossible not to compare them to Robertson.  In his second NBA season, Robertson averaged a triple-double for the entire season (30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 11.4 assists per game), this was following a rookie season where he fell .3 assist per game short of averging a triple-double.  In all, he has three season in which he was a fraction of one away from averaging a triple double.

Oscar was the first "big guard".  While Magic Johnson is probably best known for being a "big guard" today, he was only one year old when Roberston made his NBA view.  Robertson was a player the likes of which the NBA had never seen, he was big and strong enough to play forward, but he could handle the ball and shoot well enough to play guard.  He was a mismatch for everyone.  In speaking of Robertson, Celtics coach Red Auerbach once said, "he is so great-he scares me."

For his career, Roberston averaged 25.7 points, 9.5 assists, and 7.5 rebounds per game.  He shot 48.5% from the field.

SF- Julius Erving

"Dr. J" is the star of my favorite highlight of all time, a reverse baseline layup which he scoops underneath the backboard (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0mLvG9KFsw).  Of that move Magic Johnson said, "Here I was, trying to win a championship, and my mouth just dropped open.  He actually did that. I thought, 'What should we do? Should we take the ball out or should we ask him to do it again?'"

Julius was an innovator in every sense of the word.  He changed the way basketball was played.  Before Michael Jordan jumped from the foul line, Dr. J did it.  The best way for me to describe Dr. J's game is "poetry is motion", watching him is literally beautiful.  His style is still seen in the game today.

Erving began his career in the ABA with the Virginia Squires, and he is often pointed to as the main catalyst for an ABA, NBA merger.  He could score, defened, rebound, and pass.  Erving is almost without a doubt the most famous player to come out of the ABA, and possibly the best.

For his career, Erving averaged 24.2 points, 4.2 assists, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game.

PF- Elvin Hayes

"The Big E" was one of the most durable players in the history of basketball.  In his 16 years of porfessional basketball, Hayes only missed 9 games.  Hayes was also a very talented, however.  He is best known for his trademark turn around jump shot and his aggressive defense.  Hayes became a fan favorite for his dominating playing style, as well as his off the court persona.

Hayes had one of the best turn around jump shots of all time and it was almost impossible to  stop.  Hayes' strenght allowed him to have his way in the post and he kept defenders honest with his ablility to drive.  A 12 time All-Star, Hayes ranks 7th all time in points for NBA players with 27,313.

For his career, Hayes averaged 21 poings, 12.5 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. (Note: Blocks were not an official stat for the first 5 years of Hayes' career.)

C- Bill Russell

Russell is the greatest winner in the history of team sports (11 championships in his 13 year career).  He is, in my mind, the best shot blocker in basketball history.  He would lure players into thinking they could make a shot, then he would go up and block the shot.  Russell did not swat the ball when he blocked it, he caught it or tipped it to himself, giving his team posession of the ball.

It is impossible to measure the impact Bill Russell had on the game with statistics, as blocks were not an official stat until after he retired.  Russell's "team first" philisophy and his defensive mind set where what made him a great player.  Defensive concepts were change because of Russell.

Aside from his shot blocking ability, Russell was also probably the best rebounder ever.  He once 51 rebounds in a single game.  He had 49 rebounds on two seperate occasions as well.  In addition, Russell had 12 straight 1,000-plus rebound seasons.  He averaged over 20 rebounds in 10 of his 13 seasons (Dwight Howard lead the league in rebounds with just over 14 this past season).

For his career, Russell averaged 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds.






"Pistol Pete"


The Bench

G- Pete Maravich

"Pistol Pete" is my all time favorite player to watch.  Why?  Because he is the best passer/ball handeler of all time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_4OIOtKI1E).  He wasn't the first to do what he did, but he did it with the most flare, and, in my opinion, the best.

In three years at college, Maravich scored 3,667 points, averaging 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points per game in those three years with a 44.2 career average.  He scored more than 50 points 28 different times in college, If he would have played during with a three point like, Maravich would have averaged an astonishing 57 points per game.

After his amazing college career, Maravich moved onto the NBA, where he had a very productive career, including leading the league in scoring in 1976-77.  He made the All-Star Game in five out of his ten seasons in the league.  Near the end of his career, Maravich's numbers declined because of bad knees, so his career averages are somewhat skewed.

Sadly, Pete passed away far too young in 1988, at the age of 40.  He died of a heart attack shortly after playing a pick up game of three-on-three basketball.  Ironically, and sadily, 25 years before his death, Pete said in an interview, "I don't want to play 10 years in the NBA and then die of a heart attack at 40."

For his career, Maravich averaged 24.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game.

F- Elgin Baylor

Before there was Dr. J and Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor was the most acrobatic player in basketball history.  Baylor played before the days of widespread TV coverage for basketball, so not many young people know about him or how great of a player he was.  His former teammate, Jerry West, said of Baylor in a 1992 interview, ""He was one of the most spectacular shooters the game has ever known.  I hear people talking about forwards today and I haven't seen many that can compare with him."

Many people who had the privledge of watcing Baylor play mention him along side Micheal Jordan and Dr. J in terms of acrobatics.  Former teammate Tommy Hawkins summed up Baylors game best when he said, "Elgin certainly didn't jump as high as Michael Jordan, vut he had the greatest variety of shots of anyone. He would take it in and hang and shoot from all these angles. Put spin on the ball. Elgin had incredible strength. He could post up Bill Russell. He could pass like Magic and dribble with the best guards in the league."

Baylor was a great scorer, once scoring 71 points in a single game and 61 points in Game 5 of the 1962 NBA Finals.  One can only imagine how many points he would have scored had he not been sharing the ball with Jerry West.  Baylor was an 11 time NBA All-Star

For his career, Baylor averaged 27.4 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.

C- Wes Unseld

Wes Unseld was seemingly made out of stone.  A stong, bull of a center who made a name for himself with relentless rebounding, huge picks, and amazing outlet passes, Unseld is one of the most unheralded players of all time.  Although he was named the leauge MVP his rookie year, most of Unseld's game who based on things that were not spectacular at all, but led his team to victory. 

Unseld revealed his playing philisophy when he said, "I know that night in and night out the guy I play against will have more physical ability, but I feel like if I go out against a guy and play him 40 or 48 minutes a game or whatever, toe to toe, head to head, he is going to get tired or beat up or bored for two or three minutes. That will be enough to make sure he doesn't win the game for his team."

Although he didn't light up the score board or make any highlight reels, Unseld played the game right and he played smart.  He was the most important player on the court because of his effort and his willingness to do the dirty work.

For his career Unseld averaged 10.8 points, 14 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.

About the author:
Feartheelf is a huge nba fan.  He loves to chat about any sport and spends much of his free time on rootzoo's free sports chat.  This is the man to follow when do an nba pick em.

View all articles by feartheelft at rootzoo.com

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