the best nba team

I know this is gonna be a crazy take but just read the post and my explanation thoroughly and then you can criticize me if you want.

I genuinely think the best nba starting 5 of all time would consist of:
1.Stephen Curry
2.Kawhi Leonard/Robert Horry/Shane Battier/Klay Thompson
3.Lebron James
4.Tim Duncan
5.Shaq/Hakeem Olajuwon

I GET IT. The first thing people recognize is no mj on this team and they think i’m crazy or something but please wait. Let me explain in order. The reason this team would work so well is because of the way the game has advanced to an elite offensive system. It is better to have multiple ball handlers and have multiple players that can play off the ball. Steph curry, lebron, and one of the 2s are 3 point threats. Almost all of them are good in the midrange. all of them can work in the fast break alongside lebron. all of them played elite defense(that is one of the most important parts of the team). And yes maybe curry may be a slight liability on that end but he has so much support from the rest of the team. his main goal is to be an extreme 3 point threat as well as a playmaker. players like mj and kobe are too ball reliant. I think any of the other players would fit so much better at the 2 when playing with ball handlers like lebron and curry. They can spot up 3 as well as play elite defense. They don’t need the ball in their hands to have an extreme effect on the game. That’s all i got for now

Kobe > all

Magic Johnson
Kobe
MJ
Larry Bird
Kareem

This lineup will destroy your lineup 130-112

lebron the real goat

donkkomong [#2]

Kobe > all

grew up in the kobe era and i do love the way he has impacted the game and he is forever known as one of the best nba players of all time. But that is straight glazing bro😭

NoCheatJustLag [#3]

Magic Johnson
Kobe
MJ
Larry Bird
Kareem

This lineup will destroy your lineup 130-112

way too ball dominant and you don’t have an extreme interior defense only relying on kareem who isn’t extremely known for that either

magic
mj
lebron
timmy d
shaq

much better team imo. the only thing you could change is shaq for kareem/wilt/hakeem.

jakeb [#5]

grew up in the kobe era and i do love the way he has impacted the game and he is forever known as one of the best nba players of all time. But that is straight glazing bro😭

Then you would know he's 2nd best after MJ. If you don't then you didn't watch Kobe at all.

donkkomong [#8]

Then you would know he's 2nd best after MJ. If you don't then you didn't watch Kobe at all.

i’m sorry bro but ur a casual

jakeb [#9]

i’m sorry bro but ur a casual

And you dont know ball.

donkkomong [#8]

Then you would know he's 2nd best after MJ. If you don't then you didn't watch Kobe at all.

Rip mamba, he is one of the greats, but he's not even top 5

Yistyy [#7]

magic
mj
lebron
timmy d
shaq

much better team imo. the only thing you could change is shaq for kareem/wilt/hakeem.

on paper this team looks insane i agree since it’s literally the best players at every position. i think the issue is the lack of three point shooting on this squad as well as like the uselessness of having magic and lebron on the same team. none of these guys are insane 3 point shooters. all magic would do in this team is facilitate which is kinda useless. and like i said, i think it’s better to have more off ball players than not

Yistyy [#11]

Rip mamba, he is one of the greats, but he's not even top 5

Thats like saying Yay isnt Top5. Forget Yay, crazy how you just said Kobe isn't in the top 5. Lmfao. You definitely dont know ball.

jakeb [#12]

on paper this team looks insane i agree since it’s literally the best players at every position. i think the issue is the lack of three point shooting on this squad as well as like the uselessness of having magic and lebron on the same team. none of these guys are insane 3 point shooters. all magic would do in this team is facilitate which is kinda useless. and like i said, i think it’s better to have more off ball players than not

magic's absurd offensive playmaking > steph bricking 3's and giving away free possessions

edit: actually the shooting is pretty mediocre on this team, I guess going steph is fair even tho I hate that guy

Yistyy [#11]

Rip mamba, he is one of the greats, but he's not even top 5

you know ball fr. it’s sad to see ppl push him so high up the rankings after his passing. like it’s sad but we r just being realistic

donkkomong [#13]

Thats like saying Yay isnt Top5. Forget Yay, crazy how you just said Kobe isn't in the top 5. Lmfao. You definitely dont know ball.

you are tripping bro😭

jakeb [#15]

you know ball fr. it’s sad to see ppl push him so high up the rankings after his passing. like it’s sad but we r just being realistic

Nah its not cuz of his passing at all. Its just facts. Lmfao wtf

Yistyy [#14]

magic's absurd offensive playmaking > steph bricking 3's and giving away free possessions

edit: actually the shooting is pretty mediocre on this team, I guess going steph is fair even tho I hate that guy

okay first what’s with the curry disrespect bro😭 i’m literally a fat lebron glazer and i still know how good curry was in his prime. he is an elite off ball threat that can handle the ball and is the best 3 pt shooter of all time.

second, like i said i’m just trying to make the best team i’m not saying these r the best players at their positions. i just think his elite playmaking is necessarily needed when you already have lebron who is already elite. you just need another secondary ball handler like curry

donkkomong [#17]

Nah its not cuz of his passing at all. Its just facts. Lmfao wtf

okay i’m sorry to say bro but you are a casual LOL

jakeb [#18]

okay first what’s with the curry disrespect bro😭 i’m literally a fat lebron glazer and i still know how good curry was in his prime. he is an elite off ball threat that can handle the ball and is the best 3 pt shooter of all time.

second, like i said i’m just trying to make the best team i’m not saying these r the best players at their positions. i just think his elite playmaking is necessarily needed when you already have lebron who is already elite. you just need another secondary ball handler like curry

eh fine I guess.

timofey mozgov clears

jakeb [#19]

okay i’m sorry to say bro but you are a casual LOL

"Kawhi Leonard/Robert Horry/Shane Battier/Klay Thompson"
Biggest casual right there just by reading that. I love Kawhi lmfao but still, and the others? Disrespecting all the other greatests out there I'm done.

1.magic
2.MJ
3.bird
4.duncan
5.hakeem

off topic but who is better mikal bridges or julius randle (pls pick the right answer)

Sentinels are the best NBA team

LilRickyy [#25]

Sentinels are the best NBA team

SEN are like the Knicks. False hope.

Shadow_Monarch [#26]

SEN are like the Knicks. False hope.

yes 🗿

wheres jordan poole?

donkkomong [#22]

"Kawhi Leonard/Robert Horry/Shane Battier/Klay Thompson"
Biggest casual right there just by reading that. I love Kawhi lmfao but still, and the others? Disrespecting all the other greatests out there I'm done.

? i never said kawhi is top 10 or anything LOL HE AINT EVEN TOP 20. do you know how to read. this is all about fit in a team dumbass. read the prompt and at least understand some ball before telling me i’m disrespecting ppl😭

duchesssx [#23]

1.magic
2.MJ
3.bird
4.duncan
5.hakeem

i do think this team is good but i think one of the most important things in the league rn are fast breaks and those quick possessions besides magic and kind of jordan, none of the other players here really have that capability.

1. Steph
2. MJ
3. Bron
4. Duncan
5. Shaq

All on their prime

benjy [#24]

off topic but who is better mikal bridges or julius randle (pls pick the right answer)

randle for now

gfnchaoz [#32]

randle for now

get out

LilRickyy [#25]

Sentinels are the best NBA team

you the typa guy to say esports>sports

The fact that you listed Robert Horry shows me you never watched basketball Lol

jamONE [#35]

The fact that you listed Robert Horry shows me you never watched basketball Lol

no casual knows robert horry

benjy [#36]

no casual knows robert horry

I watched him play growing up, he was never top 10, he was just in the right teams at the right time and racked up a lot of championship rings being a regular role player, so he shouldn't be in the conversation.

Chris Paul
MJ
Kawhi
LeBron
Hakeem

Fit doesn't matter literally just 5 goated defenders opposing team will only score like 80 points.

Sg: steph (best shooter oat, can play the 2 and would create so much spacing for the following players)

C: shaq (most dominant oat, was considering hakeem but shaq would pair too well with the play-acting of the following players)

Pg: magic (best passer oat, imagine his dimes to steph and shaq)

Pf: lebron (duh the goat)

Sf: kawhi (controversial but the reason I have kawhi is cuz this lineup needs perimeter defense)

Edit: tbh magic might not be needed cuz of brons playmaking. Maybe put steph into pg and mj into sg. Or even klay at sg which would enable shaq to always get a 1 on 1 cuz of the spacing and defense

jamONE [#37]

I watched him play growing up, he was never top 10, he was just in the right teams at the right time and racked up a lot of championship rings being a regular role player, so he shouldn't be in the conversation.

the fact that you said horry is not a top 10 player shows that you have not read the explanation at all LMAO. He is an elite role player that has played on elite teams. elite teams NEED elite role players. you can't have an insane team with players that all need the ball LMAO. read first buddy.

grenji [#38]

Chris Paul
MJ
Kawhi
LeBron
Hakeem

Fit doesn't matter literally just 5 goated defenders opposing team will only score like 80 points.

this is nice im just not sure how well they would compare to against teams that have a really big 4 and 5. thats why i think tim is so important. but overall this team is hella nice.

PG - Curry (best offball player of all time, amazing for spacing)
SG - Paul George (not too ball dominant, 3 level scorer with elite defense and can switch 1-3)
SF - LeBron (primary ballhandler)
PF - Larry Bird (spacing + can rebound and handle the ball if needed)
C - Hakeem (anchors the paint, best defender of all time, still an offensive threat)

PG- Curry
SG- Kobe
SF- Lebron
PF- Jokic
C- Shaq
this is a onorthadox team but iq clutch shooting is top teir

jakeb [#40]

the fact that you said horry is not a top 10 player shows that you have not read the explanation at all LMAO. He is an elite role player that has played on elite teams. elite teams NEED elite role players. you can't have an insane team with players that all need the ball LMAO. read first buddy.

There's better role players than him. It's that simple.

kobe should never be mentioned in this type of talk, the guy was a notorious ball hogger who'd throw fits bc of it and you cant have that kinda shit happening when there's 4 other GOATs on the team. Team chemistry is important.

Victor Wembanyama will one day be on this list

cartixuzi [#45]

kobe should never be mentioned in this type of talk, the guy was a notorious ball hogger who'd throw fits bc of it and you cant have that kinda shit happening when there's 4 other GOATs on the team. Team chemistry is important.

him in the 2012 Olympics proves he could work and thrive in a team of multiple all stars

MONGO_7 [#47]

him in the 2012 Olympics proves he could work and thrive in a team of multiple all stars

nba and the olympics aint the same type of energy unfortunately

cartixuzi [#48]

nba and the olympics aint the same type of energy unfortunately

my point still stands if you dont think hypothetically kobe could put aside his ego to work on a team to get multiple championships
then you are buggin

naz reid better