Dime Dropper
All-Star
Didn't think Lebron would go so high. Can understand Shaq. Wonder who will be left by the time my next pick comes around. Either way, I'm prefectly happy having Magic as my first choice. Incredible player.
Dream Team Draft - rankings due Sunday night
- Thread starter SLAB
- Start date
- Status
Jespher
Starter
vikinginferno
Starter
At #10, I select....
Bill Russell
One of the most intelligent and best defensive players in NBA history, Russell dominated in nearly every category. He was pretty dang good on offense too. He is the greatest winner in the history of the NBA, accumulating 11 NBA titles in just 13 years. He was one of the greatest shotblockers and also a beast man to man. Russell averaged 22.5 rebounds per game in his lifetime! He won the MVP award five times.
One of the greatest things about Bill Russell is that he does not need the ball in his hands to be effective, but still can dominate a game. He had a great hook shot and was also a great passer, accumulating 4.3 assists per game, an amazing number for a center! He had a drive to win that isn't in any other player and did everything for the team first.
With the greatest players of all time in this draft, defense is going to be the key, and Russell is arguably the best defensive player in the history of the game.
# 11x NBA Champion (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969)
# 5x NBA MVP (1958, 1961–1963, 1965)
# 12x NBA All-Star (1958–1969)
# 3x All-NBA First Team Selection (1959, 1963, 1965)
# 8x All-NBA Second Team Selection (1958, 1960–1962, 1964, 1966–1968)
# 1x NBA All-Defensive First Team Selection (1969)
# 1x NBA All-Star Game MVP (1963)
# NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
# NBA 35th Anniversary Team
# NBA 25th Anniversary Team
[yt=Bill Russell is a Beast]nWFsL4Y8RVA[/yt]
Bill Russell
One of the most intelligent and best defensive players in NBA history, Russell dominated in nearly every category. He was pretty dang good on offense too. He is the greatest winner in the history of the NBA, accumulating 11 NBA titles in just 13 years. He was one of the greatest shotblockers and also a beast man to man. Russell averaged 22.5 rebounds per game in his lifetime! He won the MVP award five times.
One of the greatest things about Bill Russell is that he does not need the ball in his hands to be effective, but still can dominate a game. He had a great hook shot and was also a great passer, accumulating 4.3 assists per game, an amazing number for a center! He had a drive to win that isn't in any other player and did everything for the team first.
With the greatest players of all time in this draft, defense is going to be the key, and Russell is arguably the best defensive player in the history of the game.
# 11x NBA Champion (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969)
# 5x NBA MVP (1958, 1961–1963, 1965)
# 12x NBA All-Star (1958–1969)
# 3x All-NBA First Team Selection (1959, 1963, 1965)
# 8x All-NBA Second Team Selection (1958, 1960–1962, 1964, 1966–1968)
# 1x NBA All-Defensive First Team Selection (1969)
# 1x NBA All-Star Game MVP (1963)
# NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
# NBA 35th Anniversary Team
# NBA 25th Anniversary Team
[yt=Bill Russell is a Beast]nWFsL4Y8RVA[/yt]
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LoungeLizard
Starter
At #10, I select....
Bill Russell
One of the best defensive players in NBA history, Russell dominated in nearly every category. He is the greatest winner in the history of the NBA, accumulating 11 NBA titles in just 13 years. He was one of the greatest shotblockers and also a beast man to man. Russell averaged 22.5 rebounds per game in his lifetime! He won the MVP award five times.
One of the greatest things about Bill Russell is that he does not need the ball in his hands to be effective, but still can dominate a game. He had a great hook shot and was also a great passer, accumulating 4.3 assists per game, an amazing number for a center! He had a drive to win that isn't in any other player and did everything for the team first.
With the greatest players of all time in this draft, defense is going to be the key, and Russell is arguably the best defensive player in the history of the game.
# 11x NBA Champion (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969)
# 5x NBA MVP (1958, 1961–1963, 1965)
# 12x NBA All-Star (1958–1969)
# 3x All-NBA First Team Selection (1959, 1963, 1965)
# 8x All-NBA Second Team Selection (1958, 1960–1962, 1964, 1966–1968)
# 1x NBA All-Defensive First Team Selection (1969)
# 1x NBA All-Star Game MVP (1963)
# NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
# NBA 35th Anniversary Team
# NBA 25th Anniversary Team
Didn't think he would fall all the way to me...but as each pick went on and Russell kept falling, my hope grew. Until you crushed it of couse.
Just to clarify, you're picking him as a player and not a coach, right.
vikinginferno
Starter
Didn't think he would fall all the way to me...but as each pick went on and Russell kept falling, my hope grew. Until you crushed it of couse.
Just to clarify, you're picking him as a player and not a coach, right.
Oh no, definitely the coach. He was one of the greatest ever, especially during his time coaching the Kings.
Yeah, I'm picking Russell the playa, playa!
kings4lyfe32
Bench
I can't believe Kenny Thomas is still around.
Still a few picks away, however, I'm very hopeful of one of two players falling to me
Still a few picks away, however, I'm very hopeful of one of two players falling to me
Jespher
Starter
In today's game, I think Bill Russell would be a better power forward than a center. He was undersized a 6'9", and would be out muscled by the hulks in the paint like Shaq, Yao, or Uber athletes like Howard. He was money on the break, and was a great weak side defender...Did you pick him as a F/C or as the starting 5 spot?
vikinginferno
Starter
Well he's 6'10 and with the same training and everything Russell definitely wouldn't be outmatched. Obviously nearly all players that played more than about 25 years ago would be worse, but you just have to take the people compared to the time period they were in.
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Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Um...
1) yes, in today's game Russel would have been a PF.
2) your 2nd statement though... well, I'm afraid shows a profound ignorance of what Larry Bird was.
vikinginferno
Starter
No, actually I have seen much of Larry Bird and that is why I know he wouldn't be any kind of star in the NBA right now. I love his game, it was just a different game. Bird would have had huge problems on D, imagine him guarding Lebron James. This has nothing against Bird, it is just saying how the NBA has changed. I didn't really mean to single out Bird, I just did it because he was one of the players taken already that played a while back.
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bozzwell
Starter
If you're referring to Legend's "lack of athleticism" as a reason why he wouldn't be a star today, I assure you you're much mistaken. By that standard, Larry wouldn't be a star in any era. The fact that he was a driving force behind one of the greatest teams ever in an era that was arguably the greatest era in NBA history tells all that needs to be told about Larry Bird. But even then we can agree to disagree. What I don't understand is why would you even imply that somehow today's players are better at all?
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Um, that is ridiuclous. Peja Stojakovic was a star in today's game. Meanwhile Bird was dominating unathletic guys like Dominique Wilkins, Dr. J, James Worthy, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen....
Just please.
vikinginferno
Starter
Again, it's not against Larry. In my opinion, many many players of eras past would be worse players than they were in their era. It's not necessarily that players now are better, but rather the way they train, the skills they are taught, an increase in competition, and other factors. The game is different now and there is no denying that. It's more the game has gotten stronger and more advanced.
vikinginferno
Starter
Ok, first of all, Peja is/was extremely effective, but no "star". There really is now way to figure out if Bird would dominate the same way he did if he were in the game today, but it is just my opinion that he would not be so great. Here's an article on players of past eras compared to players today:http://basketball-players.suite101.com/article.cfm/could_wilt_dominate_todays_nba
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Jespher
Starter
Bill Russell Is the ultimate winner, and a great pick. I was wondering if you still wanted him as a center, given the talent he would be facing. He always struck me as an all time great PF/C, in the mold of a Tim Duncan...Plus, think about the crappy travel, low pay, lack of health benefits and lower training knowledge, not to mention the racism that older players had to deal with. They were much tougher than the NBA players of today. And to think, the flagrant foul wasn't created until the 90s...
vikinginferno
Starter
Well, I want to see my team as a whole first and then I will tell you the specific positions. This is going to be the same predicament for many people as a number of players are going to have, obviously many players of eras past wouldn't match too well with today's players.
bozzwell
Starter
OK, thanks for that link, at least now I know where you're coming from. There is a problem though, it's all marketing and zero substance. Not the article itself (maybe it is, I don't know) but the whole spiel that "with today's advances in nutrition/training/equipment/medicine/insert-profession-or-industry-with-some-relevance athletes in sport XYZ are better now then ever". Few problems with it, though:
- As quality of life improves, as new scientific discoveries and technological breakthrough's benefit individuals now, so they would benefit individuals or in this case athletes if they could somehow time-travel to a common era (i.e. now). So, perhaps Larry would not play half of his career with stiff back and shattered feet and maybe he'd have mad hops to go with that steely resiliance, great shot and heady game of his.
- Lot of that improvement is bogus, just marketing or worse - cheating with steroids and other PEDs. Or in case of the NBA constant rule changes and officiating guidelines on top of those rules to make the game more exciting. Players from the past, especially freaks like Larry would benefit from that. Not to mention that with basketball IQ like he had he'd really go town on his opponents exploiting some of those new rules and while enjoying star treatment from the refs himself.
- Athletes always getting better is a normal course of human aging processes, as the athletes of the past age, the young guns taking over from them always look more impressive. Dwight Howard will get to play against aging and increasingly more decrepit Duncan or KG. Same as Duncan and KG went against aging Malone, Hakeem and Ewing. It just looks that way.
In any case all this talk is pointless. kingsnation will win this draft, because he has MJ. He just needs to play out his hand, MJ + 4 other top 80 guys will trump anything else that this draft can yield now.
...
...
Oh please.
I'm guessing you never saw Larry Bird play in his prime. If you did, you wouldn't be making such silly (IMHO) comments. Larry Bird is one of the greatest to ever play the game. I saw him play - twice - and there is no doubt in my mind the Larry Bird I saw could be just as relevant in today's NBA as he was back then.
vikinginferno
Starter
Stop with the "Oh please". This isn't anything to "oh please" about. Actually I have seen him play a number of times. I know how great he was. I'm not doubting that he was one of the greatest to play, I'm just saying with so many changes it would be extremely difficult for him or nearly any player to come in and dominate the same way they did. He likely still could be very relevant in the NBA, just not nearly the same. It's really just a difference of opinion and there is no clear cut right or wrong. Just accept that I have a different opinion than you and move on with your life. Oh please.
And I'm saying you're jumping way off assumption cliff and into conclusion pond with little to no basis in fact. As for the mimickry? Thanks. I appreciate the flattery.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion and it's certainly different. But if you're going to post it here, don't expect comments like what you made to go unchallenged.
vikinginferno
Starter
I'm fine with people challenging it, I love a good discussion. What annoys me is people saying things like
....
Oh please...
It just makes it seem like you think your opinion is so much more important than everyone else's.
Larry89
Disgruntled Kings Fan
Dude you just said Larry Bird wasn't going to be any kind of star in today's NBA, what did you expect
vikinginferno
Starter
What is so farfetched about that? If you just somehow warped him from when he was playing to our time, you think he could just step in and dominate the same exact way he did before? In my opinion, as I have said before, the very large differences in the game would adversely affect him.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Yes he would step in and dominate the game, very much as he did 25 years ago. And no amount of Andres Nocionis, Trevor Arizas, Travis Outlaws, Shane Battiers, Hedo Turkoglus, Peja Stojakovics, or Marvin Williames (various starting SFs around the league in the playuoffs (except Noc) would be able to do anything about it. The game has not changed that much in the last two decades. It really hasn't. There is a direct line with players from that era -- I have seen Bird play Pippen, seen Pippen play Peja. Seen Bird deal with Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Kareem Abdul Jabbar on the inside, and see maybe one guy who deserves to be in the same breath with them playing today. In the NBA the "old time player" modifier works for the 50s, for much of the 60s, but begins to become irrelevant by the 70s, let alone the 80s. By the 80s the players were as big or nearly as big *** they are today, Magic and Bird and MJ and Mailman and Barkley and Hakeem and Admiral and Stockton and KJ and Richmond etc. etc. etc. were all playing. The centers were 7'0". The SFs 6'9". And the legendary players of that era would have kicked general *** in this era just as they did in their own.
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vikinginferno
Starter
Ok, if you believe that, do you also believe that he could defend just as well as he did in his time?
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