[Miko4rm206Participant]

If you could have any of these fantastic 4s to base your team around which team would be? For the sake of this Post all players are in their Prime.

Pistons- Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Ben wallace, Rasheed Wallace

Celtics- Rajon rondo ,Ray Allen,Paul Pierce,Kevin Garnett

Spurs- Tony Parker, Manuel Ginobili, Kahwi Leonard, Tim Duncan

Warriors- Steph Curry, Klay thompson,Kevin Durant, Draymond Green

Heat- Gary Payton, D.wade, Antoine Walker, Shaquille Oneal.

Once again all Players are in Peak/Prime form in their career

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ZouldiersParticipant]

 I’ll take the Heat one. If all those guys are in their prime as you said then I don’t see how you could score against this team. Payton and Wade are great perimeter defenders as well as great scorers and playmakers and Wade is a top 3 SG of all time. Walker has three point shooting as well as playmaking and Shaq, well no one can defend him man to man so yeah.

[HitsterParticipant]

 If it is players when they were playing as a combo together then I’d go with GSW combo.

But if it’s guys at their peak then it’s Miami – monster Shaq, prime Glove, prime D-Wade, Antoine was fairly useful too.

The Spurs foursome would have been scary too,

The Pistons foursome were probably at their peak when in tandem and Celtics foursome weren’t far off with big 3 maybe in some cases a bit past their peak whilst Rondo was reaching his.

 

 

 

[holefillers1Participant]

 I am in agreement with you on Heat and Spurs.  

This post actually got me thinking what kind of 3pt range Tim Duncan would have developed in today’s game…or if he would evan need to.

 

[ChewyParticipant]

 You have one of the greatest frontcourt players ever in Tim Duncan in a system that will get him the ball on the block consitently. Small ball PF can’t stop Timmy. 

Parker gets into the lane at will in his prime. Ginobli is a great slasher and shooter. These two play off Timmy very well.

Kahwi is like Bruce Bowen on steroids. He is every bit the defender and now a reliable consistent scorer.

 

It is really hard not to pick KD, but I couldn’t pass up a prime Duncan.

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Depends on what era the team is playing in.

Some random era in NBA history: I am gonna go with the Spurs.  Can’t argue with Prime Tim Duncan. The best low post power forward in NBA history, and one of the best 7 footers in NBA history… He can score, rebound, defend, block shots, pass, and play either the 4 or 5 and a super-high level.

Kawhi Leonard is that 2 way freak on the wing who can win you games on BOTH sides of the ball, plus he has a good 3 point shot now.

If TD is your alpha scorer, Kawhi Leonard is an IDEAL 2nd option.  Kawhi can guard 1-4 and beat you inside and out.

Tony Parker: he was basically the first option on one of those Spurs’ title teams.  Can get to the hole.  Can run an offense, too.  His floater is top notch, even if he isn’t that great from way downtown.

MANU!!!! One of the best 6th men.  Maybe THE best 6th man in NBA history.  Can not only shoot, but he can score, can not only handle the ball but create at a high level.  Good passing.  Fearless. Can also drive to the bucket.

Each guy has a high basketball IQ. Oozing basketball DNA.  Winning is number 1. Selfless, team first guys.

If you want a team with a Mount Rushmore Big Inside (either him or Shaq but TD actually has more hardware), paired with a video game 2-way wing, a top shelf lead guard who can either distribute or take over a game with scoring, along with a wily 6th man to give you a turbo-charged boost off the bench, then you go with the Spurs.

If I am playing in an ultra-big era, then I have my 3 perimeter studs.  Then I have Duncan at the 4 with a replacement-level center in the middle.

If I am playing in a small ball era, then I am going with Duncan at center, Kawhi at the 4, Manu, Parker, and a replacement-level wing on the perimeter.  

With these 4 guys, you can go get some solid utility guys to fill out the team.  Either a bruising enforcer as a power forward, a cheap shot blocker at center, then a couple of extra wings who can either shoot or hustle and get a stop, plus a solid backup point guard who can give Tony Parker a breather.  You don’t even need a high level ball handler or creator since you have Manu Ginobili as the guy who can run the second unit.

2nd choice: Warriors.  They have two of the BEST perimeter scorers/shooters in this era or ANY era with both guys still in their primes.  Klay is their third option and a guy who can get super flammable really quick.  Also a pretty good defender and a decent ball handler.  Scary thing, he is still getting better and has yet to reach his prime. Draymond Green is a guy who can play in ANY era.  He could be a point forward in most eras, a center in some, and a legit, old-school power forward in ANY era.  A big intangibles guy, a leader, and a hard nosed defender.  He is still getting better, TOO.  The Warriors probably have the most ideal 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th options of ANY ERA.  Probably an even MORE ideal core going into a playoffs with a tighter 7 man rotation.  Just get ’em a rim protector as a token starter (Dray plays some 5, with Durant even playing there some), along with a combo guard, and a utility wing defender who can play some 4 in super-small lineups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The GoatParticipant]

 Spurs.  

They’re all great though. 

I don’t think you could beat MJ – Pip – Rodman – Kukoc though. 

 

 

 

[festar35Participant]

In their prime, I would take a decent look at 09-10 Cavs with Shaq & LBJ as the main duo alone would be freaksihly scary, but a legit 20ppg guy in Antwan Jamieson & a shooter in Mo Williams as well.

[Miko4rm206Participant]

 Yeah I tried to keep it teams that actually won the championship. If that was the case we coulda def throw in the Lakers team with Gary Payton, Kobe, Karl Malone and Shaq or the Thunder With westbook, harden, durant and ibaka

[Celtics3178Participant]

 If everyone is in their prime I have to go with the celts. They have the attitude and toughness I love in a team. Stat wise they would avg 90 points 30 boards and 27 asst. they would all complement each others games. They could play at real fast pace, match up nightmare on offense and the best defensive group in the bunch.    

 KG is absolute animal animal mentally and defensively. He’s got a defensive player of the year and MVP he put up 23 13 and 6 in his best year     

Paul Pierce all NBA second team, 10 time all star, finals MVP and one tough SOB stabbed multiple times and goes to hospital in a cab not an ambulance. He put up 27 7 and 5 his best year.

Ray Allen is in talks with Reggie Miller and Steph as the best 3 point shooter of all time. He’s a 10 time all star and made the All NBA second team. he put up 26 4 and 4 in his best year.

Rajon is clearly the last man on the list but he compliments the guys above him perfectly. He doesn’t shoot so their would be no beef there. KG always had him under control so he wouldnt be a head case. People forget how good he was at D 2 first team and 3 second team all defense. Led the league in steals one year. He also has an all NBA 3rd team on his resume. His best year 14 6 and 11

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Spurs. Doesnt matter which era, in their prime or not. Ill take the Spurs.

[HitsterParticipant]

 You could flip Manu or Parker even Kawhi for David Robinson – at his peak you could say he was superior to any of those three.

The 2006 Heat also had Lonzo Mourning who at his peak was superior to Antoine Walker. Lonzo was a 7 time All Star, All NBA first team, Double DPOY etc.

I ran a thing once about most loaded rosters ever if all players on a team together were at their peak before – the current Cavs would come into the reckoning for this too.

The 2010-11 Celtics with Rondo, Allen, PP, KG, Shaq, JO were the driving force for the original idea.

The 2008 Suns – STAT, Hill, Nash, Shaq would also be tasty.

I seem to recall someone said 2012-13 Knicks – Kidd, STAT, Melo, Chandler, Sheed, K-Mart, Camby had crazy imaginary frontcourt depth and it would be Lob City.

Current GSW with a peak David West would be even stronger.

The current Spurs at their peak Parker, Manu, Kawhi,LMA, Pau Gasol would be tasty too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 Give me Shaq, Horry, Fisher and Kobe over the rest.

[thetrademachineryParticipant]

 prefer jordan pippen rodman kukoc tbh.

[Miko4rm206Participant]

 LoL Idk about that Lakers team. Horry and Fisher matched up against a Prime KG or Duncan. Or a Prime Steph or Gp would be mismatches all day as great as Shaq and Kobe was.

A prime Kobe, Odom/Artest, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum is a whole another team I forgot about

 

 

[cohenbc1Participant]

 It’s interesting because three of these teams are teams that we’ve actually seen play: that Pistons foursome were in their primes in 2004-05, when they one a title and lost another by a hair; the Celtics foursome dominated the league in 2008 (Rondo wasn’t quite in his prime yet but he was close). Those were great, memorable teams, but the Warriors of 2014-? are head and shoulders above either of them.

The other two teams are speculative. With the Heat, you’re talking about maybe ’96 Payton, ’06 Wade, ’02 Walker and Shaq? That’s crazy. Consider the 2001-03 threepeat Lakers, then bring in Wade for Kobe (slight downgrade) and Walker for Horry (slight upgrade, though not in the final five minutes). But then imagine prime Glove in for Fisher! All-time great team for sure.

The Spurs though … we saw a glimpse of what this might look like in the 2014 finals, which I still think was the highest level the game of basketball has ever reached. Still, in 2014 Kawhi hadn’t quite entered his prime, Manu was well past his, and while Timmy was still one of the league’s top bigs due to his defense, his offensive game had declined. Only Parker was in his prime in 2014. But if you teamed up say 2003 Duncan, 2007 Parker and Manu and right-now Kawhi? Holy shit. I think that would be the best defensive team in history, by a landslide. And the offense would be historically elite as well. 

 

 

 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Of these teams, the only ones that were actually all in their primes when they played together were the current warriors and the 2004-2006 era pistons. I don’t think you could count the Celtics in this group because kg, Allen, and pierce we’re all really past their primes by the time rondo reached his. 

Everything else here is hypothetical because none of those other teams played together when all their players were even close to being in their prime. For arguments sake though, if Duncan, kawhi, Manu, and Parker were all on the same team when they were at their absolute peak, Im going with that team over any of these other scenarios. 

If you took the 2004 Lakers team with shaq, Kobe, Malone, and Payton when all those guys were actually in their prime, I’m not sure anyone could compete with that team from a talent perspective. However, Im not sure how the overall chemistry would be on that team. I still think I like the hypothetical spurs team more because I think they would be able to play together better.

 

 

[thetrademachineryParticipant]

 btw in 2013 Spurs had mcgrady as well. So it should be duncan mcgrady leonard and parker

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