Put together the best lineup from throughout the history of one of your favorite teams. Not just in terms of individual accolades or raw talent, but with some thought to how the players would actually mesh together. I'd love to hear some cases for which franchises have the richest historical talent pools - a good debate could result in some suprises.
Here are my Denver Nuggets, near and dear to my heart since the mid-70's...
C: Dikembe Mutombo/Marcus Camby
PF: Antonio McDyess/Dan Issel/Calvin Natt
SF: Alex English/Carmelo Anthony
SG: Allen Iverson/Ralph Simpson
PG: Lafayette Lever/Andre Miller/Nick Van Exel
Hard to leave off: David Thompson, Bobby Jones, Kiki Vandeweghe, Wayne Cooper, T.R. Dunn, LaPhonso Ellis
I know it's crazy to omit Skywalker from any all-time Nuggets team, but I do NOT want he and Iverson in the same building. They have similarly high usage rates, and Iverson brings better playmaking, ballhandling, and (arguably) team defense. Plus, I'd like to see what a 3-guard rotation of Lever, Iverson and Simpson could do. Lever and Simpson each would give AI a bigger, stronger backcourt teammate, and Lever especially is a notable defender who played both guard positions.
I've got Anthony and Issel as the instant offense coming off the bench, since McDyess is a much better defender than the Horse and I think English has a slight edge due to his passing and shooting. But the forwards could play in various combination based on the matchup. And Natt is there to muscle up on and stare down the opposing team's bangers, since the Nuggets were never one of the tougher franchises in the game.
PG Bob Cousy/Dennis Johnson/K.C. Jones
SG Paul Pierce/Bill Sharman
SF Larry Bird/Tom Heinsohn
PF Kevin McHale/Kevin Garnett
C Bill Russell/Robert Parish/Dave Cowens
PG: Stephon Marbury / Terrell Brandon
SG: Anthony Peeler / Bobby Jackson / Tony Campbell
SF: Kevin Garnett / Wally Sczcerbiak / Tyrone Corbin
PF: Tom Gugliotta / Joe Smith
C: Theo Ratliff / Felton Spencer
The first unit runs, with Marbury playing the kind of drive-and-dish basketball that he was so great at back then, before becoming a selfish, stupid sonofa*****. When he was here, he was great. Peeler and Googs can take those passes and hit from 15 ft out to 3. KG can play high or low post, and don't think he couldn't be a SF--he was one up until Joe Smith left and Wally stepped in as SF, early 00s. Ratliff is the guy who starts those breaks.
The second unit features a different look, with Brandon, Wally and Smith facing up to shoot, while Jackson is the penetration threat (or Campbell posting as a guard). Felton hurts people.
Nice! Although I can't see the Big E (or Googs for that matter) as a SF. Some franchises seem to load up over the years on one position or one area of the court, and the Wizards/Bullets definitely lucked out more in the frontcourt than backcourt.
C- Shaquille O'Neal/Rony Siekaly
PF - Alonzo Mourning/PJ Brown
SF - Glen Rice/Jamal Mashburn/Caron Butler
SG - Dwyane Wade/Steve Smith/Eddie Jones
PG - Tim Hardaway/Sherman Douglas
Thats my 12 man roster, but some may disagree. Ive probably missed someone obvious anyway.
Shaq and Zo form a dominant 1/2 punch in the paint. Hardaway and Glen Rice is the outside Marksman, feasting on the open looks from Wade's penetration and Shaq and Zo inside. Second unit has Scoring and shooting in Mash,Douglas,Smith and EJ - plus a good inside presence in Ronnie Siekaly. PJ Brown is a very nice defensive big to have coming in off the pin.
Best lineup possible for your team
