Who would you build a franchise around, all-time?

[Moranis]

So 69 is the only year you mentioned.  Got it.  Wilt's team of 3 HOFers lost to Bill's team of 4 HOFers (I'm not counting Chaney and Sanders who made it not as players).

Chokey choke choke choke.

In your mind, Wilt is better than Russell; West is better than Hondo; and Baylor is better than Sam Jones.  And yet they lost, again.  Just like Wilt did 85% of the time.  He couldn't consistently win with West and Baylor, and he couldn't win with Greer, Cunningham, and Walker, either.

Wilt is the biggest underachiever in NBA history.  All he cared about was stats and fame.

Greer, Cunningham, and Walker played 3 playoff years with Wilt. Cunningham's rookie year in which he got hurt and played in 80% of the playoffs games. The next year which was the greatest team in NBA history at that point, and then Cunningham's 3rd year in which he played in 3 playoff games and missed the entire series against the Celtics. And in the 2 injury years they lost to Boston, the Celtics had more HOFers on their team than the Sixers did (the Celtics had more HoFers thr year the Sixers beat them as well).  Losing to a team with more HOFers that also has an all time great is not a bad season.

[Who]

1980 Shaq team

G - Quinn Buckner
G - Walter Davis
F - Scott Wedman
F - Jim Chones
C - Shaq

That is a strong team. I imagine it would be much the same for Wilt. I might swap out Wedman for B King with Wilt.

Probably something similar for Kareem as well. Let's go a different route though.

G - Norm Nixon
G - Lionel Hollins
F - Alex English
F - Jim Chones
C - Kareem

That is a nice side. I like the balance with the two ball-handlers in the backcourt. A big time 2nd scoring option. Jim Chones to help with the dirty work inside. Good offensive squad.

Bill Russell could go in similar teams. I'll go a bit different

G - Allen Leavell
G - Ray Williams
F - John Johnson
F - Dan Roundfield
C - Bill Russell

Roundfield and Russell would be a formidable big man duo. Not the biggest bulk wise but two quick energetic leaping big men. Active team defenders & rebounders. Ray Williams and Roundfield the main two scorers. Leavell can give a bit of scoring and passing. John Johnson as a point forward in the Tayshaun Prince mold.

For Olajuwon, I would go with much the same type of roster as Shaq. I like Walter Davis as a 2nd option. I don't think a creative PG is a must since both Hakeem & Shaq like the offense to run through them in the low post and play out from there. Wedman for floor spacing. A defender / rebounder at PF.

[Who]

I am going to separate Duncan from the other centers because I am going to use him as a four. I am going to pick Sikma alongside him as my All-Star. Two skilled big men who can play inside-outside, strong rebounders, strong defensive players. A high quality backbone for the rest of the team.

F - Duncan
C - Sikma

You could go in a bunch of different directions on the perimeter. Go with B King as a 3rd interior / midrange scorer at SF and play two role player guards. Wilkes or Wedman as a shooting SF for more floor spacing and two role player guardd. Or go with Norm Nixon as a creative PG and two role player wings. Or Ray Williams as a bigger PG. Or Ray Williams as a SG alongside a PG and a SF. Ditto for Reggie Theus.

I like Nixon and two role player wings.

G - N Nixon
G - Chris Ford
F - Robert Reid
F - T Duncan
C - J Sikma

[Moranis]

For Russell to work, I think you need a stretch 4 and a fairly dominant guard scorer.  He can't score well enough in these type of teams to be a lead or even 2nd scorer.  He is a slightly bigger and better Rodman.  Great complimentary piece.  While different skill sets, I think he is more in the KG type range.  Can make everyone better, but shouldn't really be the lead guy.  Even on the Celtics they had Cousy and then transitioned to Hondo in the lead offensive role and Sam Jones was a great #2 offensive guy. 

[Who]

I am going to group 4 guys together here. LeBron, Oscar, Magic and Bird.

G - LeBron
G - Chris Ford
F - B King
F - Jim Chones
C - Artis Gilmore

G - Magic
G - John Long
F - A English
F - B McAdoo
C - D Dawkins

G - Phil Ford
G - Chris Ford
F - Larry Bird
F - Kenny Carr
C - Artis Gilmore

I suppose the Oscar one would be similar to LeBron.

J West & M Jordan

G - Don Buse
G - Jerry West
F - Alex English
F - Dan Issel
C - Caldwell Jones

G - Quinn Buckner
G - M Jordan
F - Junior Bridgeman
F - Mo Lucas
C - A Gilmore

[Who]

K Malone & KG

G - Quinn Buckner
G - Reggie Theus
F - Alex English
F - Karl Malone / Kevin Garnett
C - Caldwell Jones / Daryl Dawkins

Strong squads. I wonder if it is because the All-Star options at PF were not great in the early in 80s. It wasn't until the mid 80s when they started to reload (T Cummings, Barkley, K Malone, T Chambers, Buck Williams).

The SF position was the strongest position in the 80s. Great depth. I think that helps non-SFs in the team selection. Bird was the only SF I chose. I had LeBron at PG. The Bird team did not feel as strong as I expected it to feel. I wonder if that is why. I thought about putting Bird at PF but a lot of those 80s SFs were dodgy defensive players.

I think those KG & K Malone squads are competitive with the other top players like Jordan, Magic, Wilt, Shaq, etc ...

Another interesting note. If we swapped out KG / K Malone for Charles Barkley, are the teams as good? I don't think they are. Lacking in defense. Not as strong. I don't think Barkley can lead a squad as well as K Malone or KG.

[Roy H.]

It's interesting to me that nobody picked different players for the three different eras.

[Who]

It's interesting to me that nobody picked different players for the three different eras.

Yeah, I was going to ask were we meant to do that or pick 1 player for all 3 eras. I wasn't sure.

Then I got a bit obsessed with the 1980s option.

[Who]

A Dirk team

G: Don Buse
G: Chris Ford
F: Jamaal Wilkes
F: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Artis Gilmore

Dirk & Artis as a big man duo would be a tough matchup. A pair of well rounded guards. Wilkes as a sweet shooting quality defensive SF 3rd scorer.

I am thinking a similar type of team for Bob Pettit. You could switch Artis for Sikma if you wanted to open the paint more for him to post down low.

This might be a better type of roster for Barkley as well. Having that strong defensive center in Artis Gilmore rather than an average starting center like I went with in the K Malone / KG teams. Barkley has the protection he needs. Now he can play iso and attack. Similar to Dirk. Interesting that Barkley feels like he has more in common in terms of lineup with Dirk than K Malone.

[Moranis]

It's interesting to me that nobody picked different players for the three different eras.

Because you said the players would be as if they were raised in that era.  So they'd grow up and be a fit.  It becomes much more about the physical and mental tools.  That is why I'd go with Wilt.  No one was better physically than him.

[tenn_smoothie]

Yes, Roy, glad you brought up the assist thing with Wilt.

So, Chamberlain's response to the criticism that he didn't win enough titles because he was too focused on scoring and was not enough of an all-around team player was to prioritize one stat that he thought would say  "team player" above all else. Can't remember the exact season, but he decides to pile up assist numbers one year to make his point. Of course, it did the opposite because now, he is still focused on a statistic, not on what he best can do to help his team WIN GAMES !! Wilt just did not get it.

[Moranis]

Yes, Roy, glad you brought up the assist thing with Wilt.

So, Chamberlain's response to the criticism that he didn't win enough titles because he was too focused on scoring and was not enough of an all-around team player was to prioritize one stat that he thought would say  "team player" above all else. Can't remember the exact season, but he decides to pile up assist numbers one year to make his point. Of course, it did the opposite because now, he is still focused on a statistic, not on what he best can do to help his team WIN GAMES !! Wilt just did not get it.

you mean the 2 yeas in Philly when he passed more and they won the title and only didn't repeat because Cunningham got hurt during the playoffs

[Who]

I am going with Shaq for 2020.

I think he is unguardable in today's game. The spaced out floors which make double teaming the post much more difficult. More 3 point shooters for Shaq to find out of the post. Switching cannot work agains Shaq. Many starting centers aren't big enough (bulky enough) to defend Shaq. Shaq rolling to the rim off PnRs for lobs or deep catches after establishing post position. All these transition opportunities for Shaq to run right under the rim that are in today's game.

It is impossible to guard him in today's game. Can't do it. He would be far more dominant today than he was in 2000-02.

Yes, he would have some defensive issues but he'd gain far more offensively than he would concede with bad perimeter D. I'll take Shaq's dunks over the other team shooting 3s every day of the week.