Let’s Play a Game Part 4

Just like franchise movies have sequels, so too does the “Let’s Play a Game” franchise. This is the fourth installment of our hypothetical all star team that has to play against an intergalactic super team for the defense of the planet. We started with “Part 1,” where we took the best players to have ever played the game (Wilt, Russell, Big O, Jerry West) up to 1975. Then we had the team from the Magic-Bird Era (Magic, Bird, Kareem, Dr. J, Moses) 1976 – 1989, and we had the “Michael Jordan Era,” (Jordan, Pippen, Barkley – just figure the “Dream Team” players) 1990 – 2002.

2003 till the present day, the modern era of pro basketball. It probably will someday be known as “The LeBron James Era.” He played in the NBA right out of high school and has either fit in quite well and or dominated the hell out of the league from the get go. Even though the they were mostly peaking during the super Laker teams of the early 2000’s, Kobe and Shaq will be on this team, partly because they also have played a great stretch of ball during the years AFTER 2003, but mostly because they just SEEM like they belong in this most modern of eras.

This is the team thrown together to play against the hypothetical super all star team from another galaxy. The question is out there. Who would you choose if you had to pick the ultimate all star team comprised of all of our present day players and any others who had prime years between 2003 and 2015? If we had to have ONE TEAM of twelve players who we would trust to compete with this alien super team that is trying to take over our planet, here is who I would choose as Earth’s team. As mankind’s last hope at survival, here are the best players of the “LeBron James Era.”

The LeBron James Era

Coach – Paul Popovich –

LeBron James – LeBron James is a mega-talented, physical specimen of a basketball player that has already got his teams into six NBA finals in his career so far, and he’s still in his prime. His talent as a basketball player that has the ability to force his will on an opponent is uncanny, but his REAL talent is in making others around him into better players. He has been the most dominant player of this era, but it should be noted that his teams have lost four of those appearances in the finals. But he has fit in beautifully with the Olympic all star teams he has played on. He would be the captain and the leader of this super team and would make them a factor in ANY series they would play against.

Kobe Bryant – Just as a whole generation of players grew up wanting “to be like Mike,” Kobe Bryant was the only one who had the fierce desire and the talent to think he could be BETTER than Mike, and he damn near showed the world he could end up being just about as good. Five championships with the Lakers, two scoring titles, a couple of all star MVP’s, a couple of Olympic gold medals, several all defensive teams, and status as the best shooting guard of his era. You want a man with his talent and his desire to win on this team to compete at this highest of levels.

Shaquille O’Neal – Shaq is the animal kingdom equivalent of a bull elephant. 7 feet tall and well over 300 lbs. of muscle (and let’s face it, a few too many lbs. of fat), he is the modern era’s biggest and baddest physical center and he would start on this team. Nearly all of his shots come from less than about five feet away from the basket, but, because of his overwhelming physical size, Shaq was potentially the most dominant interior big man ever. But, at the end of a game, if the world’s survival was on the line, I’d pull him out of the game so the aliens wouldn’t pull a Hack-a-Shaq.

Tim Duncan – Tim Duncan is the most fundamentally sound, combination center – power forward that ever played. A possessor of excellent shooting, passing, rebounding and team defensive skills, he also has that knack that great players have to be able to make all of their teammates better. Duncan’s San Antonio Spur teams have won five championships since he has been
there, and they probably would not have won any without him. Popovich is the coach trying to shape his team into the champions of the world. Duncan is right there in the middle of his plans.

Chris Paul – The point guard with the entire point guard package that could potentially start on this team. Paul is a true leader whose quickness gets him anywhere he wants with the ball. A good, but not great outside shooter, he nevertheless has the type of game that can dribble the ball well, break down defenses and dish off the ball to teammates as well as anyone in the game today.

Kevin Durant – Durant is a tall, lean pure SCORER that moves like a guard and has the length and quickness to get shots off against anyone. Durant has the type of game where he will either lead the league in scoring every year or at least be close to the top. Shooting outside, driving to the basket, he is not necessarily an assists type of player, but rather a player that simply does something significant offensively with the ball whenever he gets it. Call him instant offense off the bench on this team.

Dirk Nowitzke – Nowitzke is a nearly seven foot tall shooting/point forward type of player. He is such a great outside shooter that he demands you pay super attention to him. He has this move where he drop steps back away from the defender and and hit a fall away rainbow of a shot from anywhere from 10 to 25 feet out that just swishes through the net more often than not and makes him one of the most difficult to guard tall players in league history. Can rebound well too.

Dwight Howard – A solid muscled, banger type of power center who has little to no outside touch but a lot of the raw power moves that allow him to muscle his way in for shots close in. Can rebound extremely well, block shots and play interior defense really well. Not a great free thrower, he nevertheless always seems to play on teams that are winners (during the regular season, not “championships”). A backup, power center to Shaquille O’Neal on this team.

Kevin Garnett – Garnett, the near seven footer with long arms and great jumping ability also has shooting touch, defensive skills, shot blocking skills and a meanness about him that makes him into a player you like to have on your team. Garnett was a major factor in a championship team at Boston in the late 1990’s. Used right (and don’t forget, this is Garnett in his PRIME), he could be a significant contributor on this team. Paul Popovich would know how to use him right.

Stephen Curry – Stephen Curry is one of the BEST outside shooters to ever play the game. Quick as a whippet, he could dribble around or rub off screens and get shots off with someone all over him on defense, and still hit prodigious shots from distance. An amazingly accurate shooter, he could get hot and win games all by himself. He is so good and in his prime right now, he has beaten out all of the other really good point guards (Westbrook, Harden, Kidd, Nash) that were being considered.

Dwyane Wade – Dwyane Wade is the modern day version of the Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant type of shooting guard that can create and make his own shot at will and be a real factor at the ends of close games. Wade was on three championship teams with the Miami Heat, with him being a strong reason for the wins. Wade during his prime could score often, play some pretty good defense and hit big shots to win games. He’d be a really good Popovich type of player.

Carmelo Anthony – Carmelo is one of the best pure offensive players of his generation. He can hit shots from the outside, back up his opponent and shoot over him and make shots like he owned any defender that ever attempted to guard him. Anthony could probably back up his defender and get off his shot with as much authority as any player since Oscar Robertson. Does he play much defense? No. But he HAS been on Olympic teams with many of the players on this team and they seemed to win Gold medals every time, so this man has a place on any all star team of his era.

Alternates

Chris Bosh, Russell Westbrook, Jason Kidd.

Others considered:

Pao Gasol, Steve Nash, James Harden, Blake Griffin, Tony Parker.

This team has as much physical talent as anyone. They have big, powerful players, small, quick players, great scorers throughout the lineup and enough depth to be guaranteed to have a good player on the court at ALL times. You could make a team of players that weren’t “good enough” to make this team into a pretty darned good team themselves. They can shoot, rebound and play both power basketball and quick, open court basketball with anyone. This team has all of the athleticism and talent to play with anyone. They have Kobe, Shaq and LeBron and a whole bunch of talent around them. And coach Paul Popovich knows how to make a bunch of individuals play great as a team. They will be as good as the defense they play.