Best Collections Of Talent Ever?

[gouki88]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

[celticsclay]

What I find interesting about all these Shaq seasons we have mentioned -- none of them are from his Orlando years! Because they have no bench. None.

Shaq played with some incredible talent over his career. That team swapping late in his career next to MVP talents (Wade, Nash, LeBron, KG) all with other All-Star talents around him and many with strong benches.

Orlando pales in comparison despite having Penny Hardaway and two strong pros in Horace Grant and Nick Anderson. Brian Shaw and Dennis Scott just isn't enough to compete with the loaded talent on all those other teams (LAL, MIA, PHO, CLE, BOS).

Not sure if Phoenix was mentioned but just in case:

C: Shaquille O'Neal, Robin Lopez
F: Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw
F: Grant Hill, Matt Barnes
G: Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa
G: Steve Nash, Goran Dragic

Or you could go with Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley over Boris Diaw and Raja Bell. Either way is awesome.

Two MVPs in Shaq and Nash. Two more top 10 NBA players in Grant Hill and Amare Stoudemire. Strong depth.

Yeah, I mentioned the Suns for much the same reason as you. 

A more modern one. 

The 10 win, 2015-16 Sixers, if you count Embiid and Simmons who were both injured, but under contract you can come up with a pretty darn good team

Embiid, Simmons, Elton Brand, Christian Wood, Jerami Grant, Richaun Holmes, Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel, Jahill Okafor, TJ McConnell, Ish Smith

Weak guards, but so much size they'd be tough to guard for most teams if they went super big i.e. Simmons, Covington, Wood, Brand, Embiid.

I think this is maybe a 50 win team? It has one mvp level guy, two lower level all stars and not even a great bench? Okafor at his peak was a below average rotation player. Some people were just slow to realize it. Some of the teams mentioned would win 80 games if they wanted.

[celticsclay]

Here's a strange one - the 2012ish Knicks

G: Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton
G: JR Smith, Iman Shumpert
F: Carmelo Anthony, Quentin Richardson
F: Amare Stoudemire, Rasheed Wallace, Kenyon Martin
C: Tyson Chandler, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas

Remember that old man Knicks team with Jason Kidd, Sheed, K-Mart and Camby as role players to Melo, Amare and Tyson. That team would get a major boost from prime level guys. Q-Rich is a nice bump for their bench also. And Raymond Felton.

The SG spot is weak. Actually Q-Rich is their best SG.

Kidd immediately becomes their best player. Incredible big man depth but lacking in clear cut elite talent. I guess go small with Amare and Sheed as bigs is the best option. Or maybe Sheed & Tyson as best defensive combo. Melo finally gives Kidd that halfcourt scorer his Nets teams lacked.

Not in line with the best of the best but pretty dang good.


Edit: Mmm, go big!

G: Jason Kidd
G: Carmelo Anthony
F: Rasheed Wallace (he started at SF in his career)
F: Amare Stoudemire
C: Tyson Chandler

Power basketball. Beat people up.

I like this one a lot for random. Believe this is 6 all stars?

[celticsclay]

2000 Dallas had Dennis Rodman

Dirk, Rodman, Finley, Ceballos, Nash with fairly solid depth

That'd be an interesting team.  Tons of offense in their prime and then Rodman.

I had to look this up. The next year they randomly had Juwan Howard and Christian laittner. That team with Rodman would be a beast

[Jvalin]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

[Somebody]

I was thinking of Ewing's final season in Orlando next to T-Mac and Grant Hill. I was wondering if Horace Grant was still on that team and he was. And if Darrell Armstrong was on that team and he was.

G: Darrell Armstrong
G: Tracy McGrady
F: Grant Hill, Mike Miller
F: Horace Grant
C: Patrick Ewing

Outside of Mike Miller, not a lot on the bench. Not enough to put them in the mix. DeClercq, Steven Hunter as backup centers. Bo Outlaw and Pat Garritty at PF. Troy Hudson, Dee Brown and Jaren Jackson at guard. Solid enough I suppose but not enough to get them to the dance.

That trio though, wow. T-Mac, Grant Hill and Ewing is dang impressive and with Horace Grant and Darrell Armstrong as glue guys too. An extra shooter in Mike Miller.

Got me thinking of Ewing's year in Seattle. Was Vin Baker still there? Schrempf and Hawkins had already left. Sam Perkins too. But they did have a young Rashard Lewis.

G: Gary Payton
G: Brent Barry
F: Rashard Lewis
F: Vin Baker
C: Patrick Ewing

An even worse bench. Desmond Mason, Ruben Patterson. Nothing else of note. Oh, way back at the end of the bench is Pervis Ellison. Hey if you get him at his peak, he was pretty good for a short while.

Magic squad clearly superior though.

The 91 Knicks wouldn't be bad if you are looking at Ewing teams

PG - Jackson, Cheeks
SG - Starks, G. Wilkins
SF - Kiki
PF - Oakley
C - Ewing

You could do 90 and swap Rod Strickland for Starks. 


99 Knicks would also be pretty good (outside of PG)

PG - Ward
SG - Houston
SF - Spreewell, Scott
PF - Grandmama, H. Williams
C - Ewing, Camby

The best Knicks squad was probably the one that had Frazier, Monroe, Lucas, Bradley, Debusschere, and Reed along with Dick Barnett.

That was 69-70 team, one of my all-time favs.

That team would be nasty in the modern game - lots of spacing from mobile defensive savants with size.

[Somebody]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

Eh I don't see people talking about Parker like he was some sort of MVP candidate during his prime. I think he's properly rated - he was a strong All-Star with a handful of All-NBA calibre seasons during his prime.

[JBcat]

How about the 1996 Chicago Bulls.

Of course Rodman, Pippen, and Jordan, but also prime Robert Parish and prime Ron Harper who was a 20 PPG scorer in his heyday.  Then you also have Kukoc as your 6th man.

[Jvalin]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

Eh I don't see people talking about Parker like he was some sort of MVP candidate during his prime. I think he's properly rated - he was a strong All-Star with a handful of All-NBA calibre seasons during his prime.

Plenty of people consider him an all-time great PG cause he won 4 rings and 1 Finals MVP. For instance, here's a list ranking him the 11th best PG of all time. In what universe was Tony Parker a better player than Jason Kidd and Gary Payton? This is absurd.

https://bolavip.com/en/nba/nba-best-point-guards-of-all-time-20201227-0006.html

And here's another list ranking him the 15th best PG of all time.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_25_greatest_point_guards_of_all_time/s1__28623107#slide_12

Really don't see the appeal. He was a score-first player in a PG's body. He was also a limited shooter who scored the majority of his points via slashing. Imo, Parker is massively overrated. If it weren't for Timmy, Manu, Kawhi, and Pops, I bet he would have been considered just an above average starter among his contemporaries.

[Moranis]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

Eh I don't see people talking about Parker like he was some sort of MVP candidate during his prime. I think he's properly rated - he was a strong All-Star with a handful of All-NBA calibre seasons during his prime.

Plenty of people consider him an all-time great PG cause he won 4 rings and 1 Finals MVP. For instance, here's a list ranking him the 11th best PG of all time. In what universe was Tony Parker a better player than Jason Kidd and Gary Payton? This is absurd.

https://bolavip.com/en/nba/nba-best-point-guards-of-all-time-20201227-0006.html

And here's another list ranking him the 15th best PG of all time.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_25_greatest_point_guards_of_all_time/s1__28623107#slide_12

Really don't see the appeal. He was a score-first player in a PG's body. He was also a limited shooter who scored the majority of his points via slashing. Imo, Parker is massively overrated. If it weren't for Timmy, Manu, Kawhi, and Pops, I bet he would have been considered just an above average starter among his contemporaries.

the same one where Nash is 3 and Frazier is 4 apparently.

[GetLucky]

As much as I hate to say it, the 2017-18 Celtics might be up there.

Kyrie/Brown/Hayward/Tatum/Horford
with
Rozier/Smart/Morris/Theis/Baynes

off the bench is ridiculous. 10 legitimate NBA starters, 6 20ppg guys, and half the team hadn’t even hit its prime yet.

[Moranis]

I was thinking of Ewing's final season in Orlando next to T-Mac and Grant Hill. I was wondering if Horace Grant was still on that team and he was. And if Darrell Armstrong was on that team and he was.

G: Darrell Armstrong
G: Tracy McGrady
F: Grant Hill, Mike Miller
F: Horace Grant
C: Patrick Ewing

Outside of Mike Miller, not a lot on the bench. Not enough to put them in the mix. DeClercq, Steven Hunter as backup centers. Bo Outlaw and Pat Garritty at PF. Troy Hudson, Dee Brown and Jaren Jackson at guard. Solid enough I suppose but not enough to get them to the dance.

That trio though, wow. T-Mac, Grant Hill and Ewing is dang impressive and with Horace Grant and Darrell Armstrong as glue guys too. An extra shooter in Mike Miller.

Got me thinking of Ewing's year in Seattle. Was Vin Baker still there? Schrempf and Hawkins had already left. Sam Perkins too. But they did have a young Rashard Lewis.

G: Gary Payton
G: Brent Barry
F: Rashard Lewis
F: Vin Baker
C: Patrick Ewing

An even worse bench. Desmond Mason, Ruben Patterson. Nothing else of note. Oh, way back at the end of the bench is Pervis Ellison. Hey if you get him at his peak, he was pretty good for a short while.

Magic squad clearly superior though.

The 91 Knicks wouldn't be bad if you are looking at Ewing teams

PG - Jackson, Cheeks
SG - Starks, G. Wilkins
SF - Kiki
PF - Oakley
C - Ewing

You could do 90 and swap Rod Strickland for Starks. 


99 Knicks would also be pretty good (outside of PG)

PG - Ward
SG - Houston
SF - Spreewell, Scott
PF - Grandmama, H. Williams
C - Ewing, Camby

The best Knicks squad was probably the one that had Frazier, Monroe, Lucas, Bradley, Debusschere, and Reed along with Dick Barnett.

That was 69-70 team, one of my all-time favs.

That team would be nasty in the modern game - lots of spacing from mobile defensive savants with size.

that team didn't have Monroe or Lucas though.

[gouki88]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

Eh I don't see people talking about Parker like he was some sort of MVP candidate during his prime. I think he's properly rated - he was a strong All-Star with a handful of All-NBA calibre seasons during his prime.

Plenty of people consider him an all-time great PG cause he won 4 rings and 1 Finals MVP. For instance, here's a list ranking him the 11th best PG of all time. In what universe was Tony Parker a better player than Jason Kidd and Gary Payton? This is absurd.

https://bolavip.com/en/nba/nba-best-point-guards-of-all-time-20201227-0006.html

And here's another list ranking him the 15th best PG of all time.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_25_greatest_point_guards_of_all_time/s1__28623107#slide_12

Really don't see the appeal. He was a score-first player in a PG's body. He was also a limited shooter who scored the majority of his points via slashing. Imo, Parker is massively overrated. If it weren't for Timmy, Manu, Kawhi, and Pops, I bet he would have been considered just an above average starter among his contemporaries.

I agree, TP was definitely a good player, but he was more Goran Dragic good than all-time great good.

[tenn_smoothie]

The 86 Celtics.
Parish, a hall of famer, is a bench warmer.
Walton won a chip almost by himself in Portland.

I guess prime Kareem on the Lakers would be an argument.

I would take the 86 team against most "All-Star" teams. Walton in his prime, with those guys, watch out.
Back then most guys played close to 40 mins. So 7 man rotation.

This.  A prime Walton as sixth man and forget about needing a bench.

Bingo - 1986 Celtics - can we stretch the criteria just a little and let them retain Cedric Maxwell ?

[Moranis]

So in summary I think these are probably the best teams

63 Celtics - Cousy, S. Jones, Hondo, Heinsohn, Bill, Lovellette, Sanders, Ramsey, KC Jones
71 Lakers - West, Goodrich, Baylor, Hairston, Wilt, McMillian
85 Lakers - Magic, Cooper, Worthy, McAdoo, Kareem, Scott, Rambis, Wilkes
86 Celtics - DJ, Ainge, Bird, McHale, Walton, Parish
86 Sixers - Cheeks, Toney, Dr. J, Barkley, Moses, McAdoo, B. Jones
97 Bulls - Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Parish, Kukoc, Kerr, Longley
09 Suns - Nash, Dragic, Hill, Amar'e, Shaq, Richardson, Barbosa, Barnes, R. Lopez, Dudley (or prior year with Marion instead of Dragic/Lopez)
11 Celtics - Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, Shaq, JO, West, J. Green, Big Baby, Krstic
11 Heat - Bibby, Wade, James, Bosh, Big Z, Stackhouse, Howard, Magloire, Miller, Chalmers, Haslem
12 Thunder - Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Ibaka, Perkins, R. Jackson, Sefolosha, Mohammad, Fisher
13 Spurs - Parker, Manu, Kawhi, Diaw, TD, Jackson, Green, Milles, Baynes (TMac didn't play in the regular season, so I had a hard time counting him, though he did play in 6 post season games)
20 Lakers - Rondo, Bradley, James, Davis, Howard, Green, McGee, Smith, Morris, KCP, Kuzma, Caruso
21 Nets - Irving, Harden, Durant, Griffin, Jordan, Harris, J. Green, M. James, Claxton (and maybe Dinwiddie and/or Aldridge)