Hall-of-Fame guard Allen Iverson named his all-time starting five in a piece that he wrote for The Players’ Tribune recently. Iverson modestly excluded himself from the list, which is a veritable lineup of NBA royalty. STEPH, MIKE, KOBE, BRON, SHAQ. These are the names that AI deemed to be the greatest starting five in league history and they are his personal choices.
That’s Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal. Iverson also spoke about why he believes that Jordan is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) and will be for all-time.
But as good as his all-time team may be, it’s not a definitive list that can be considered as the greatest starting five of all-time. I honestly think that I can come up with a better starting five than this one. In fact, I think I can come up with five teams that could win in a best-of-seven series against the Answer’s Dream Team.
OK so maybe “annihilated” is too strong a word when talking about beating Iverson’s best, but here are my simple reasons for why this lineup can be defeated.
The biggest knock on Iverson’s list is having Jordan and Bryant on the same starting five. Those two are each going to demand the ball whenever they’re on the floor together, especially during crunch time. There’s only one basketball and I don’t think these two can co-exist in one team. Plus, Bryant has already clashed with O’Neal before with the Lakers and putting these two together again could prove fatal to this team’s chemistry. If Shaq found it difficult to play with a shoot-first guard, imagine how he would feel with two of them on his team!
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith came up with a list of his own, too, that he believed was a better team than the one that Iverson created. In it, he swapped Bryant for Kevin Durant which is a better, more well-rounded team.
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The sets of all-time great teams below can give AI’s All-Time team a run for its money. The first two sets still include some of the players that Iverson chose, but the next teams are completely without any of the five he selected. Remember, I’m thinking a playoff-type, best-of-seven series to determine the winner here.
So if you’re ready, check out these great teams below and see if you agree.
1. The Real All-Time Starting Five
G – Magic Johnson
G – Michael Jordan
F – Larry Bird
F – LeBron James
C – Wilt Chamberlain
If there was ever a team that could go to any court and hang with any team that anyone can come up with, this is the team that will take them all down. Normally, I would go with Tim Duncan at power forward, but I need more perimeter defenders and shooting if I want to beat AI’s squad.
LeBron vs. LeBron at the power forward spot would be interesting, right? But the matchup of the series would be Jordan vs. Jordan! That’s an insane battle that will keep everyone glued to their seats! Since the King vs. the Chosen One and Air Jordan vs. His Airness will cancel each other out, it’s up to the rest to decide the series.
Magic Johnson will go head-to-head against Curry. Johnson’s 6-9 frame will bother Curry’s shooting even if the 6-foot-3 point guard has the ball handling skills to try and escape the Laker great. Then there’s Bryant who will take on Bird who is one of the smartest players the league has ever seen. As good as the Black Mamba is defensively and offensively, Larry Legend is a deceptively good defender, too (he was on the All-Defensive team three times) and a shooter of the highest order. Bryant has his hands full trying to contain a bigger and stronger opponent.
As for Shaq vs. Wilt, it’s the battle of the NBA’s most dominant forces in history. It’s the unstoppable force vs. the immovable object. Who will win? Will they cancel each other out? Chamberlain has a slight scoring advantage over O’Neal and his passing ability is top notch. As for O’Neal, he’s probably stronger than Chamberlain but only by a bit.
In the end, I’m banking on Bird and Johnson to give me the win with their intelligence, playmaking abilities and decision making in the clutch.
Final: The Real All-Time Starting Five wins 4-1
2. The Modern Day All-Time Starting Five
G – Jason Kidd
G – Kevin Durant
F – LeBron James
F – Anthony Davis
C – Tim Duncan
I wanted to create a team that can hang with AI’s elite squad that played from the 2000s to the present and I think I have a team that can do just that. This team has two playmakers in Jason Kidd and James with plenty of rebounding from Durant, James, Davis and Duncan. I also have James taking on Bryant which I’m sure will generate a lot of discussion on social media and in the big media outlets. Anthony Davis on James and Tim Duncan on O’Neal rounds out the matchups that I think will be very interesting.
But the elephant in the room here is Jordan vs. Durant. The Black Cat vs. Durantula will be a battle to determine how good Jordan really is since he will be guarded by a 7-foot forward whose arms are so long they go on forever! While no one has been able to fully contain Mike over an entire series, Durant will at least make it difficult for him to take his shots over the outstretched arms of an agile long-armed defender unlike any he has seen during his playing days.
Final: The Modern Day All-Time Starting Five wins 4-2
3. The Legends
G – Jerry West
G – Julius Erving
F – Dominique Wilkins
F – Bill Russell
C – Wilt Chamberlain
Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were devastating forces in their own way on separate teams. Can you imagine the two of them teaming up against a common foe? I can and I have them on this Legends team.
This team is composed of players from the 60s to the 80s so the Julius Erving I have here is the ABA version. The 80’s Erving is just a shadow of the Dr. J from the 70s who was the Michael Jordan of the ABA. If there’s a version of the Doctor who can give Jordan fits, it’s the ABA Dr. J who was a three-time ABA MVP, a Defensive Team member, a two-time ABA champion and a two-time ABA Playoffs MVP. This guy averaged 28.7 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game! Pitting Erving against Jordan is going to be the most entertaining part of this series and will make for terrific ratings as well.
Dominique Wilkins was one of the biggest omissions on the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players list but he should have been there in my opinion and in the minds of many of his peers including Jordan himself. A Wilkins vs. Bryant matchup is certainly one to look forward to.
Russell will have to contain James but he is long and agile enough to be able to keep up with the four-time MVP. The Celtics legend can keep James from scoring in the paint while scoring over his smaller defender easily. James will have the advantage in foot speed but only by a bit as Russell is one of the fastest big men to play the game. LBJ will get his points every now and then but they will be highly contested by the greatest single defender of his generation or perhaps any generation.
For O’Neal vs. Chamberlain, see my Real All-Time Starting Five.
Final: The Legends win 4-3
4. The All-Star, All-Defensive Team
G – Jerry West
G – Scottie Pippen
F – Kawhi Leonard
F – Bill Russell
C – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
With this team, rather than simply outscoring the opponent, I chose players that can either shut down or make it more difficult for the other team to score. More than any of my other squads, these players are not just superstars, they are All-Defensive Team members that would make it difficult for AI’s all-time greats to score at every position.
I also made sure that scoring would not be a problem for this squad. With Jerry West, Kawhi Leonard and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all legit 20-point scorers, I have enough scoring for this team with Scottie Pippen and Bill Russell pitching in an additional 15-20 points each per game.
West is a five-time defensive team member and he will be guarding the greatest shooter of all time. I believe he will be up to the task. Plus, Curry will have to try and stop West from scoring at the other end, too, so that will be a huge challenge for him.
Pippen is very familiar with Jordan so that will help him in his battles with his former Bulls teammate. His length, speed and agility will be his greatest asset while his playmaking abilities make him the perfect player to dish off to the team’s scorers.
Seeing Leonard in his prime against prime Kobe will be very entertaining. It will be quite the challenge for Bryant who will find it quite challenging trying to score against the two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Bryant will get his shots and his points but they will be highly-contested shots. They will not be easy.
I’ve discussed Russell’s advantages over James previously. Just check out the Legends team.
Then, there’s O’Neal who will face off against one of the greatest scoring centers in league history in Abdul-Jabbar. Expect tempers to flare between these two very competitive players. It will be great to see the Skyhook launched by one of the most skilled big men ever against the Big Aristotle who will test the 15-time All-Defensive Team center.
Shutting down Curry, Jordan, Bryant, James and O’Neal will be a tall order but I have players that are known for their defense as well as their offense. I think my team has a good chance here.
Final: The All-Star, All-Defensive Team wins 4-3
5. The Allen Iverson Team
G – Allen Iverson
G – Dwyane Wade
F – Kevin Durant
F – Kevin Garnett
C – Tim Duncan
This is a team that includes Iverson and is made up of players from AI’s generation who aren’t on his list but can cause some headaches for his chosen team. The former Georgetown guard is a three-time steals champion who can wreak havoc defensively. Against Curry, he’ll need to be at his best but the Answer has never shied away from this type of competition before and he won’t back down in this one either.
Wade vs. Jordan is going to be awesome! The comparisons between them surfaced during the 2006 NBA Finals when Wade played Jordanesque basketball to bring the Miami Heat its first championship despite going down 0-2 in the series against the Dallas Mavericks. We’ll see how good Wade truly is both on offense and defense with these two all-time great shooting guards going up against each other in a seven-game series.
We’ve got Durant taking on Bryant which will be just as engaging as the shooting guard battle. The Slim Reaper has the height advantage over the Black Mamba but Bryant has not seen a defense that he can’t exploit. With these two in their primes and at the height of their defensive powers, one of them will have to give.
A throwback battle is James facing off against one of his tormentors from the Boston Celtics before he became a champion, Kevin Garnett. But I’m not taking the Celtics version here. I’m getting the Minnesota Timberwolves Garnett who carried the entire franchise on his back night in and night out for several years. Not only was he a great defensive player, but he was also a handful for opponents on the offensive end as well. A prime Garnett versus prime LBJ at the four position will be an epic battle for sure.
Finally, we’ve got Duncan against O’Neal again. Both players won MVP awards but Duncan is the only one between them to win two. As big as Shaq is, the Big Fundamental can play him straight up without needing much help. O’Neal will always be tough to defend especially without Robinson to assist him, but there’s Garnett who can help out every now and then to double team the Diesel. But even without Garnett’s efforts, the 15-time All-Defensive Team member will use his smarts to find a way to contain O’Neal.
Final: The Allen Iverson Team wins 4-3
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