All-Time NBA Team

Upon Lish's request, I have come up with this team. He specifically said it couldn't be an obvious team, it has to be a team I feel would play well together. He also said I had to pick a real 6th man, but I don't want to. If I were to simply take the most dominant players at each position it would be Magic, MJ, Bird, Malone, and Wilt. The obvious problem with that team is there isn't enough ball to go around. So let's get on with my team...

Point Guard: This team needs a table setter, and I don't think that there has ever been a better one than John Stockton. He is one of the most fundamentally sound players I ever saw. In his prime ('88-'95) he averaged 15.8 ppg and 13.3 apg, including 3 straight seasons of 17 and 13 (Nash won MVP with 15 and 11). Stockton is the all-time assists leader, and the all-time steals leader. He was All-NBA 11 times, and All-Defense 5 times. He was Mr. Dependable, he missed 22 games his entire NBA career, and he shot 51% for his career from the field and 83% from the line. Let's not forget he hit one of the greatest shots in playoff history.

Shooting Guard: There isn't a whole lot necessary to say here, he is the greatest player of all time, and the team is built around him. MJ averaged 30.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.3 apg, and 2.3 spg for his career, shooting 49.7% from the field. He was MVP 5 times, first team All-NBA 10 times, first team All-Defense 9 times, and won 6 titles. The only other shooting guard even close to Jordan is probably Kobe Bryant, who looks like MJ more and more every day.

Small Forward: Larry Bird did it all too. For his career he averaged 24.3 ppg, 10 rpg, 6.3 apg, and 1.7 spg shooting 49.6% from the field. He won MVP honors 3 times (finished 2nd in voting 4 times) and led his team to 3 NBA titles. He was first team All-NBA 10 times (including his rookie year) and had All-Defensive honors 3 times. He was one of the greatest competitors the sport ever saw. According to legend, Larry Bird walked into the locker room just before the 3-point contest and asked, "Which one of you motherf***ers is coming in 2nd?" Of course, Larry went on to win it.

Power Forward: Charles Barkley is my favorite player ever, so this pick may be due to bias. He bruised his way through the NBA averaging 22.1 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 3.9 apg, and 1.5 spg and shot 54.1 % for his career. He won MVP honors in 1993, but he fits this team because he is unselfish. He is this team's enforcer. Images of Sir Charles decking Laimbeer and body slamming Shaq are embedded in my mind.

Center: This is the toughest position. I don't even think that David Robinson is a top 5 center all-time, but I think he fits in with this team the best. Bill Russell is the perfect type of player for this team, but I don't think Bill Russell physically would have had a chance against Shaq and Hakeem. Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are probably the best 2 centers ever, but I would rather have the primary scoring go through MJ and Larry. So here we have it, David Robinson. 21.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg, and 3.0 bpg. Maybe the most important stat is that he shot 73.6% from the free throw line. He was a 1-time MVP, 10-time All-NBA, and 8-time All-Defensive. Like Barkley, the Admiral doesn't need a lot of touches to get a lot of production. But if you need him to, he can score. Robinson put up 70 in one game.

Sixth Man: This is a tough one as well, but I can't think of anybody better than Scottie Pippen. He may be the best on the ball defender ever, and his length and quickness allows him to guard just about anybody 1-3. He can handle the ball, shoot the 3, and take it to the hole. 10 All-Defensive and 7 All-NBA honors...his versatility qualifies him as the 6th man for my squad. Since the team is built around MJ, it doesn't hurt to have his right hand man. I guess I could go with Manu Ginobili or John Havlicek off the bench, since they truly are 6th men and they are great, but I need defense, not scoring.

There you have it, that's my team. This is the best team I can come up with. They would win 82 games in today's NBA. What you got Lish?

Tennessee Hoops

I can't ever remember the University of Tennessee being good at hoops. Our biggest problem through the years has been getting talent, especially keeping in-state talent. Tennessee has barely 6 million people, and with Memphis, Vandy, Louisville, Kentucky and Georgia Tech all within shouting distance it has been very hard to get those kids to wear orange.

Bruce Pearl has done a wonderful job in the 3 years that he has been there. Even when Tennessee has had talent (Hamer, Yarbrough, Watson, Houston) no coach has been able to capitalize. Pearl has taken the talent left by Buzz Peterson and had great success, holding an SEC record of 35-14, including a record of 5-1 against the back-to-back national champion Gators. Not to mention Pearl brought Tennessee their first #1 ranking ever, earlier this season.


Currently the Vols are 27-3, #1 in RPI and #4 in the AP poll. Part of Pearl's formula for success is keeping in-state talent. Bringing Tyler Smith and JP Prince back to the state of Tennessee, after they had played with Iowa and Arizona (respectively), has resulted in Tennessee's first outright SEC title in my lifetime.

But alas, that is not all that is right with Tennessee hoops. Memphis is #2 in AP and #2 in RPI, while Vanderbilt is holding down the 16th spot in the AP and #7 in RPI. Tennessee and Memphis brought the 5th ever in-state showdown of #1 vs #2, with Tennessee coming out victorious in a tight win on the road.



With all this excitement we almost forget about the #3 Lady Vols. What more could a "football state" ask for from the hoops world?...How about men's and women's national titles?

March 9th, Note: Vandy's women are #21. In men's hoops, Belmont and Austin Peay won their conferences. The state of Tennessee will have 5 schools represented in the NCAA tourney.