Back in the ‘80s, I was fortunate enough to play with a Lakers Dream Team dubbed the Showtime Lakers. Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, and James Worthy (along with several other indispensable players) won five championships.
So, here’s my challenge for you: Select five current NBA players (center, power forward, small forward, point guard, and shooting guard) on your Dream Team. Dream big!
The Showtime Lakers
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I'm really impressed by these responses. They are well reasoned and articulately presented. Wish we were all sitting around a pool chatting about this.
If we’re doing all time, here’s five guys who were great players but forgotten and overlooked: Michael Ray Richardson as my pg, Dennis Johnson as my SG, Bernard King as the sf, Maurice Lucas as my power forward, and Jack Sikma as my center. What an exciting starting 5!!!!!
Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Greene, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic. I don't see any team that could beat this group in seven games (if all were healthy). I grew up in the LA area so my teams included the Lakers with Baylor, West, and Chamberlin. Then I went to grad school at the University of Wisconsin, and to my surprise, a college favorite of mine was drafted by the Bucks - can you believe that. I taught at a university in Colorado for a couple of decades, and enjoyed David Thompson. However, the Showtime Lakers were my favorite. Later, I came to love the Spurs with Duncan because they played team basketball instead of the "clear the court and let the star go in for a dunk" kind of basketball. I enjoy the Warriors even though it runs against my roots in LA, but how can you not love true team basketball as engineered by Steve Kerr?
Leave it to a scientist to want to summarize the data from your survey. It would be easy to build two units for a single team from the top 10 of these choices.
Well, a dream team is just another good team if you don't have chemistry. So, along with athletic talent I need willing passers. So, I would have to pick...
PG: Steph Curry (obvious pick)
SG: Jimmy Butler (he's going to bring it on both sides, so reliable and smart with the ball)
Small Forward: Kevin Durant (obvious pick)
Point Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo (he has no fear)
Center: Nikola Jokic (one of the most complete players in the league)
Curry/Jordan/LeBron would be an excellent fit - shooting / scoring + playmaking.
There might be some fit issues at PF / C. Duncan is essentially a center which makes his fit next to Kareem questionable but I'm certain they could work it out. On defense, these are also some of the best defenders ever (bar Curry) so hopefully they could provide enough coverage to disguise Curry's relative weakness on that end. On offense, I believe this team would be unstoppable. Perhaps substituting in Kevin Durant for Duncan at PF and Shaq for Kareem at Center would produce the best offensive lineup possible. Substituting in Kevin Garnett for Duncan and Hakeem for Kareem might produce the best defensive lineup possible. For my money, the initial outline would be the best possible fit - it has it all.
In the modern 3-point era, I would put KD at PF and perhaps even Embiid at Center. Jokic is a great shooter/passer but LeBron's value as a playmaker would be diminished if Jokic was handling the playmaking. I see LeBron / Embiid as clearly better on defense than LeBron / Jokic. LeBron in those Miami years as well as in recent years has developed into a very good shooter so I don't see Jokic's shooting as that much more valuable. Plus LeBron's athleticism is a huge bonus.
Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Giannis, KD, and Lebron. BTW the overall basketball GOAT is KAJ. Best in high school, college, and one of 2-3 best in the NBA.
A lot of people picking all-time faces when Kareem asked us to use current players. Also, it’s disappointing how many people would picked KD over LeBron. We really don’t appreciate him and what he does for the team enough.
Nikola Jokic at center, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid as my forwards, Steph Curry as my shooting guard and Damian Lillard as my point guard. With Durant, Embiid and Jokic rotating through their positions as needed, the decent defensive capabilities they have and the ability to score on any defense, they’d be very hard to beat. My only problem is wrangling all of their egos.
I would have to mix up some positions on people to get my starting 5. Move Larry Bird to Power Forward, Julius Erving to Small Forward, Magic Johnson at Center (hey he did it in 1980!), Isiah Thomas at Point Guard and Michael Jordan at Shooting Guard. (Yes, Michael and Isiah would have to play together and like it. :) And, yes, I came of age in the 1980s, is it obvious?? :)
Ja Morant at point guard, Jaylen Brown at the 2, kris Middleton at the 3, Gianniss as my power forward and Jokic as my center. There may be bigger names and more talented guys but this team is durable, unselfish, and they play hard
If we're keeping it to current players I'd want Curry, Harden (though I could also be convinced for someone better off-ball like PG or Jaylen Brown), Lebron, KD, and Jokic
If we're doing all time I have a less conventional one - I want Stockton at PG, Michael at SG, Lebron at SF, Tim Duncan at PF, and Hakeem at center.
Jokic at center, Giannis at PF, Kawhi at SF, Butler at SG, Curry at PG.
Jokic and Curry would be able to provide playmaking, Giannis, Kawhi, and Butler would terrorize opposing teams on defense. All of them can score lots of points. The spacing would be okayish
Book, Middleton, and Gobert are all plus to excellent defenders who can also create opportunities for themselves and others on offense. I love the passion that Dame and Holmes play with.
I think this group gives the greatest combination of floor spacing, scoring potential, shot creation, and defense. Dame is a scoring machine (minus the last few weeks or so) who demands a second defender, allowing Steph's mastery of off-ball movement to really shine. If the opposing team somehow manages to contain the two of them, you can spread the floor and let Giannis go to work, or get Jokic the ball in the high post and have him carve up the defense. KD needs no explanation, he's the best player in the league at the moment and fills any role. The team does lack perimeter defense, Steph and Dame are both liabilities there, but KD and Giannis can potentially pick up the slack.
Leaving LeBron off this list feels really strange, but I feel like his age is a major factor in the decision. He's still the 2nd or 3rd best all-around player, but a Dream Team is best optimized with players who dominant in specific roles imo. I also feel like Chris Paul would be a worthy inclusion off his ability to maximize the effectiveness of the others, but Jokic is certainly able to fill that hole.
Four of these players are in the top 25 in points averaged per game and one's in the top 35, which is not bad at all, and four of these players are on the top 20 in assists with Kevin Durant being at number 30, so this really shows how much of the percentage of scoring comes from a single player. But anyways.. And it's fun to watch them score, create their own shot with the ball in their hand, but the part of the game I really like is when they outsmart the opposition, like in early transitions, over the head passes, that comes in very limited opportunities but the brilliance of what is displayed I can always appreciate but if it happened all game long THAT would be amazing.
I need to watch basketball more because my assessment of what this team could do off the ball is vague and I know there is a lot I don't have knowledge about. But this is what my dream team would be playing like, off the ball, aggressively, and sharply recognizing the defense and all that exhaustive shiny plays that takes to beat the best defenders in the game, also with their length and speed on the defensive end.
All time: Jordan, Magic, Bird, Duncan, and the greatest winner of all time at center, Bill Russell. When you see people pick Wilt over Russell in their top 75, you know they are looking only at stats and not what the players of the time thought.
Current players-- Giannis, LeBron, Durant, Steph, and Luka Doncic.
Btw The showtime Lakers were my favorite all time team BUT I don’t think even they could match up against that Brooklyn Nets team if everyone is healthy they are relentless
My dream team - Akeem O, at Center, Tim Duncan, Power Forward, Dennis Rodman, Small Forward, Allen Iverson, Point Guard and Earl Monroe, Shooting Guard. I have many other players to name. It hurts to not have them on my list. Current players would include; Chris Paul, Point Guard & Devin Booker, Shooting Guard.
Hi Kareem. This is totally off the wall and has naught to do with the 5 players dream team. In A Season on the Reservation, you wrote that you meditate. Do you also practice yoga? Reason for this, Pendleton has just released new yoga mats in Native American patterns. They are quite beautiful. Just letting you know. Said it was off the wall. ✌️
I'm really impressed by these responses. They are well reasoned and articulately presented. Wish we were all sitting around a pool chatting about this.
If we’re doing all time, here’s five guys who were great players but forgotten and overlooked: Michael Ray Richardson as my pg, Dennis Johnson as my SG, Bernard King as the sf, Maurice Lucas as my power forward, and Jack Sikma as my center. What an exciting starting 5!!!!!
Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Greene, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic. I don't see any team that could beat this group in seven games (if all were healthy). I grew up in the LA area so my teams included the Lakers with Baylor, West, and Chamberlin. Then I went to grad school at the University of Wisconsin, and to my surprise, a college favorite of mine was drafted by the Bucks - can you believe that. I taught at a university in Colorado for a couple of decades, and enjoyed David Thompson. However, the Showtime Lakers were my favorite. Later, I came to love the Spurs with Duncan because they played team basketball instead of the "clear the court and let the star go in for a dunk" kind of basketball. I enjoy the Warriors even though it runs against my roots in LA, but how can you not love true team basketball as engineered by Steve Kerr?
Leave it to a scientist to want to summarize the data from your survey. It would be easy to build two units for a single team from the top 10 of these choices.
Curry 21
Antetokounmpo 17
James 15
Durant 12
Jokic 12
Lillard 5
Embid 5
Green 4
Thompson 4
Gobert 4
Harden 4
Doncic 3
Davis 3
Morant 3
J Brown 2
Leonard 2
Mitchell 2
Middleton 2
Adebayo 1
Booker 1
Butler 1
George 1
Haliburton 1
Homes 1
Lavine 1
Paul 1
Westbrook 1
Well, a dream team is just another good team if you don't have chemistry. So, along with athletic talent I need willing passers. So, I would have to pick...
PG: Steph Curry (obvious pick)
SG: Jimmy Butler (he's going to bring it on both sides, so reliable and smart with the ball)
Small Forward: Kevin Durant (obvious pick)
Point Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo (he has no fear)
Center: Nikola Jokic (one of the most complete players in the league)
For current players:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Nikola Jokic
For all-time players:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Larry Bird
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem at center, Duncan at power forward, Bird at small forward, Jordan at shooting guard, Jerry West at point.
Lebron, Dwight Howard, Tre young, Dovan Mitchell and Chris Middleton.
PG: Steph Curry
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: LeBron James
PF: Tim Duncan
C: Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Curry/Jordan/LeBron would be an excellent fit - shooting / scoring + playmaking.
There might be some fit issues at PF / C. Duncan is essentially a center which makes his fit next to Kareem questionable but I'm certain they could work it out. On defense, these are also some of the best defenders ever (bar Curry) so hopefully they could provide enough coverage to disguise Curry's relative weakness on that end. On offense, I believe this team would be unstoppable. Perhaps substituting in Kevin Durant for Duncan at PF and Shaq for Kareem at Center would produce the best offensive lineup possible. Substituting in Kevin Garnett for Duncan and Hakeem for Kareem might produce the best defensive lineup possible. For my money, the initial outline would be the best possible fit - it has it all.
In the modern 3-point era, I would put KD at PF and perhaps even Embiid at Center. Jokic is a great shooter/passer but LeBron's value as a playmaker would be diminished if Jokic was handling the playmaking. I see LeBron / Embiid as clearly better on defense than LeBron / Jokic. LeBron in those Miami years as well as in recent years has developed into a very good shooter so I don't see Jokic's shooting as that much more valuable. Plus LeBron's athleticism is a huge bonus.
Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Giannis, KD, and Lebron. BTW the overall basketball GOAT is KAJ. Best in high school, college, and one of 2-3 best in the NBA.
Kareem at Centre, Tim Duncan at Power Forward, Kevin Durant at Small Forward, Michael Jordan at the Shooting Guard. And Magic at the Point Guard
A lot of people picking all-time faces when Kareem asked us to use current players. Also, it’s disappointing how many people would picked KD over LeBron. We really don’t appreciate him and what he does for the team enough.
Nikola Jokic at center, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid as my forwards, Steph Curry as my shooting guard and Damian Lillard as my point guard. With Durant, Embiid and Jokic rotating through their positions as needed, the decent defensive capabilities they have and the ability to score on any defense, they’d be very hard to beat. My only problem is wrangling all of their egos.
I would have to mix up some positions on people to get my starting 5. Move Larry Bird to Power Forward, Julius Erving to Small Forward, Magic Johnson at Center (hey he did it in 1980!), Isiah Thomas at Point Guard and Michael Jordan at Shooting Guard. (Yes, Michael and Isiah would have to play together and like it. :) And, yes, I came of age in the 1980s, is it obvious?? :)
PG: Steph Curry
SG: Luka
SF: Lebron
PF: Durant
C: Giannis
Ja Morant at point guard, Jaylen Brown at the 2, kris Middleton at the 3, Gianniss as my power forward and Jokic as my center. There may be bigger names and more talented guys but this team is durable, unselfish, and they play hard
If we're keeping it to current players I'd want Curry, Harden (though I could also be convinced for someone better off-ball like PG or Jaylen Brown), Lebron, KD, and Jokic
If we're doing all time I have a less conventional one - I want Stockton at PG, Michael at SG, Lebron at SF, Tim Duncan at PF, and Hakeem at center.
Current players? I'll prioritize shooting, passing, and defense.
1 - Stephen Curry
2 - LeBron James
3 - Kevin Durant
4 - Giannis Antetokounmpo
5 - Nikola Jokic
Pos
1 - Magic Johnson
2 - Allen Iverson
3 - Dirk Nowitzki
4 - Tim Duncan
5 - Hakeem Olajuwon
Yes, I'm from Texas. Bring it.
Jrue Holiday, Steph, KD, Giannis, Embiid.
Jokic at center, Giannis at PF, Kawhi at SF, Butler at SG, Curry at PG.
Jokic and Curry would be able to provide playmaking, Giannis, Kawhi, and Butler would terrorize opposing teams on defense. All of them can score lots of points. The spacing would be okayish
Current Players:
(PG) Steph
(SG) Lillard
(SF) LeBron
(PF) Giannis
(C) Jokic
For the record, you're my starting Center all-time Kareem...
PG- Damian Lillard
SG- Devin Booker
SF- Khris Middleton
PF- Richaun Holmes
C- Rudy Gobert
Book, Middleton, and Gobert are all plus to excellent defenders who can also create opportunities for themselves and others on offense. I love the passion that Dame and Holmes play with.
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Steph Curry
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Giannis
C: Gobert
PG: Dame Lillard
SG: Steph Curry
SF: KD
PF: Giannis
C: Jokic
I think this group gives the greatest combination of floor spacing, scoring potential, shot creation, and defense. Dame is a scoring machine (minus the last few weeks or so) who demands a second defender, allowing Steph's mastery of off-ball movement to really shine. If the opposing team somehow manages to contain the two of them, you can spread the floor and let Giannis go to work, or get Jokic the ball in the high post and have him carve up the defense. KD needs no explanation, he's the best player in the league at the moment and fills any role. The team does lack perimeter defense, Steph and Dame are both liabilities there, but KD and Giannis can potentially pick up the slack.
Leaving LeBron off this list feels really strange, but I feel like his age is a major factor in the decision. He's still the 2nd or 3rd best all-around player, but a Dream Team is best optimized with players who dominant in specific roles imo. I also feel like Chris Paul would be a worthy inclusion off his ability to maximize the effectiveness of the others, but Jokic is certainly able to fill that hole.
C: Kevin Durant
PF: Giannis
SF: Lebron
SG: S. Curry
PG: Lillard
Four of these players are in the top 25 in points averaged per game and one's in the top 35, which is not bad at all, and four of these players are on the top 20 in assists with Kevin Durant being at number 30, so this really shows how much of the percentage of scoring comes from a single player. But anyways.. And it's fun to watch them score, create their own shot with the ball in their hand, but the part of the game I really like is when they outsmart the opposition, like in early transitions, over the head passes, that comes in very limited opportunities but the brilliance of what is displayed I can always appreciate but if it happened all game long THAT would be amazing.
I need to watch basketball more because my assessment of what this team could do off the ball is vague and I know there is a lot I don't have knowledge about. But this is what my dream team would be playing like, off the ball, aggressively, and sharply recognizing the defense and all that exhaustive shiny plays that takes to beat the best defenders in the game, also with their length and speed on the defensive end.
All time: Jordan, Magic, Bird, Duncan, and the greatest winner of all time at center, Bill Russell. When you see people pick Wilt over Russell in their top 75, you know they are looking only at stats and not what the players of the time thought.
Current players-- Giannis, LeBron, Durant, Steph, and Luka Doncic.
Steph Lebron PG Embii Giannis
C: AD
PF: Draymond
SF: LeBron
SG: Beal
PG: Klay Thompson
LeBron will be my Point.
Btw The showtime Lakers were my favorite all time team BUT I don’t think even they could match up against that Brooklyn Nets team if everyone is healthy they are relentless
My dream team - Akeem O, at Center, Tim Duncan, Power Forward, Dennis Rodman, Small Forward, Allen Iverson, Point Guard and Earl Monroe, Shooting Guard. I have many other players to name. It hurts to not have them on my list. Current players would include; Chris Paul, Point Guard & Devin Booker, Shooting Guard.
KD Lebron Giannis Harden steph Curry
My top five - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Allen Iverson, Oscar Robertson and Earl Monroe
CURRENT players: Jokic at center, Bam at power forward, Jaylen Brown at small forward, Zach Levine at shooting guard, Steph Curry at point.
If Klay and Jamal Murray are healthy I could juggle them both in. Dame is barely a hair behind Steph. Jimmy Butler could easily be at small forward.
Kareem, Duncan, LeBron, MJ, Magic
Hi Kareem. This is totally off the wall and has naught to do with the 5 players dream team. In A Season on the Reservation, you wrote that you meditate. Do you also practice yoga? Reason for this, Pendleton has just released new yoga mats in Native American patterns. They are quite beautiful. Just letting you know. Said it was off the wall. ✌️
2021-2022 Dream Team
Center: Giannis
Power Forward: AD
Small Forward: KD
Point Guard: Steph
Shooting Guard: LeBron
You are the Center. Magic is the PG, Michael the SG. There are plenty of forwards...
PG LeBron James
SG Stephen Curry
SF Anthony Davis
PF Giannis
C Joel Embiid
Ja Morant, Tyrese Haliburton, Draymond Green, Giannis "The Greek Freak" and "The Stifle Tower" Gobert. No one's beating this team.
PG Steph Curry
SG Donovan Mitchell
C Rudy Gobert
SF Kevin Durant
PF Draymond Green
Ja Morant/Steph/Luka/Lebron/Giannis - And this is just how I feel today. Ask me tomorrow and I might waive one or two. Too much talent 😃
Can I choose LeBron five times since he is so successful at all five spots? Okay, fine.
PG: Westbrook
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: LeBron
PF: Giannis
C: Jokic
PG: Steph Curry
SG: Harden
SF: LeBron
PF: Giannis
C: Jokic