By KL Chouinard (@KLChouinard)
For my version of the All-Time NBA Draft, I tried to put together a versatile group where each player possesses a full repertoire of basketball skills: defense, passing, shooting, and rebounding. The idea was to create a team that would excel in fast-break situations: grab a rebound, make a good outlet pass, and fly to the rim.
Normally it wouldn't make sense to start by describing my ninth-round pick first, but perhaps in another sense, Jamaal Wilkes is the perfect distillation of the team. The 6-foot-6 forward used his incredible touch and wingspan to win three championships finishing fast breaks for Magic Johnson and the Lakers. He performed fantastically with Bill Walton on a UCLA team that won 88 consecutive games. We'll pick the 1975-76 season from his Golden State days for Wilkes on this team, when the future Hall of Famer earned an All-Star berth and made Second-Team All-Defense after helping the Warriors to a title the season earlier as a rookie.
For my version of the All-Time NBA Draft, I tried to put together a versatile group where each player possesses a full repertoire of basketball skills: defense, passing, shooting, and rebounding. The idea was to create a team that would excel in fast-break situations: grab a rebound, make a good outlet pass, and fly to the rim.
Normally it wouldn't make sense to start by describing my ninth-round pick first, but perhaps in another sense, Jamaal Wilkes is the perfect distillation of the team. The 6-foot-6 forward used his incredible touch and wingspan to win three championships finishing fast breaks for Magic Johnson and the Lakers. He performed fantastically with Bill Walton on a UCLA team that won 88 consecutive games. We'll pick the 1975-76 season from his Golden State days for Wilkes on this team, when the future Hall of Famer earned an All-Star berth and made Second-Team All-Defense after helping the Warriors to a title the season earlier as a rookie.
This team picked up Tim Duncan and John Havlicek in the first two rounds, and the two share an awful lot in common. Both were one-team Hall of Famers who made a name in the NBA for defense as much as they did for offense. These two will be the culture-setting soul of the team in addition to being two unbelievably versatile, multi-tool players. Both rebounded well, passed well (Havlicek averaged 7.5 assists as a wing!), and both made First-Team All-Defense teams in their chosen seasons.
I felt lucky to nab Rick Barry in the third round. After LeBron James and Larry Bird, one doesn't have to go too far down the list of all-time great small forwards to get to Barry's name. He'll be the offensive star of this team, the player whose shooting and passing will stand out in halfcourt sets. Like Havlicek, Barry had a great jump shot, so he would likely excel with the shot in the hypothetical situation where he had grown up with the shot. And he definitely would have had the courage to shoot it: In 1979-80, his final season and the NBA's first with the shot, Barry took a three roughly once for every nine minutes he played.
We're picking the 1974-75 season for Barry because he led the league in steals (more fast breaks!) and free throw percentage, while propelling the Warriors to one of the least-heralded titles ever. The list of players who averaged over 30 points and won a championship in the same season is a short one: Kareem, Jordan, and Barry. That's the list.
And lest anyone worry about Barry being a prickly sort, he'll be playing on a team with Duncan and Havlicek.
Dave Cowens felt like a steal in the fourth round. In 1972-73, his chosen season, he won the MVP award for averaging 20 and 16 on a 67-win team. Boston would have won the title that season if Havlicek hadn't gotten hurt. (Hi, Knicks fans!) There were other seasons where he made 1st-Team All-Defense, but MVP and 9.9 defensive win shares seemed like a better combo. One last note: like Duncan, Cowens can function well in the high post in situations when that skill is needed.
For this team, I wanted quick-footed, long defenders who can handle switching 1 through 5 as much as possible. Cowens and Antetokounmpo fit that bill. The jump-shooting Cowens was Draymonding at center four decades before Green himself did it and Cowens will fare nicely as a stretch-5 around the Antetokounmpo-Duncan pick and rolls that are featured in halfcourt sets.
On defense, Cowens will guard centers, partly because he can do it well and partly because of how it creates mismatches in transition when opposing centers can't keep up with Cowens.
After being installed as the point guard in Milwaukee on Feb. 22, Giannis averaged 18.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. His skill level for "getting the ball and going" is incredible and enhanced by the fact that he can traverse a basketball court in a dozen strides or fewer. See also (1), (2).
Several offenses are run by large point guards in this #alltimeNBAdraft format. Based on what I'm seeing in the draft orders of the other 19 teams, there are offenses being run by Magic Johnson (with an assist from Penny Hardaway), Jason Kidd, Oscar Robertson, Paul Pressey, LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Johnson, Michael Jordan, John Wall, and Tracy McGrady. Head coach Stan Van Gundy surely wants Giannis and his 7-foot-3 wingspan on the front line of that defensive wall against such big ballhandlers.
Are the Steve Nashes and Tiny Archibalds still out there to scoot around underneath Giannis? Absolutely. But there would be just as many mismatches for a 6-foot-1 point guard as there are for a 6-foot-11 point guard, and the latter is much harder to find. 1986 Defensive Player of the Year Alvin Robertson and his NBA-record 301 steals are in the rotation, and Robertson will get lots of minutes against this league's smaller point guards. When Robertson is in, primary ballhanding duties will shift to Barry (with an assist from Havlicek).
The core of the bench features Karl-Anthony Towns and Bob Pettit in addition to Robertson and Wilkes. Pettit's 1958-59 MVP was incredible for a number of reasons. He led the NBA in both made field goals and free throws -- while finishing second in true shooting percentage. That's an incredible amount of touch from the inside and outside. And like nearly everyone else on this team, his 3.1 assists from the power forward spot demonstrate his ability to pass.
Towns had the most versatile rookie seasons from a center ever. In addition to making a nice percentage of threes, Towns finished 2nd in the NBA in made two-point field goals and 10th in two-point FG percentage. He can protect the rim (6th in total blocks) and he was durable through all 82 games. Like Pettit, he had 3.1 assists per game.
Off the deep bench, there is a lot of shooting and scoring skill. Westphal and Irving can fill it up. In addition, Irving has arguably the most devastating handle in the history of the NBA and he converted threes at better than a 40 percent clip. Grandmama Larry Johnson can do a bit of everything, including the three-point shot, and George Mikan, the NBA's first superstar, is there to tackle the behemoths in the post (perhaps literally) if needed. The five-time 1st-team All-NBA center was listed at 6-foot-10, 245 lbs in his day.
On a modern diet and wearing shoes that aren't Chuck Taylors, Mikan would be measured at 7-foot, 280 lbs, wouldn't he?
I felt lucky to nab Rick Barry in the third round. After LeBron James and Larry Bird, one doesn't have to go too far down the list of all-time great small forwards to get to Barry's name. He'll be the offensive star of this team, the player whose shooting and passing will stand out in halfcourt sets. Like Havlicek, Barry had a great jump shot, so he would likely excel with the shot in the hypothetical situation where he had grown up with the shot. And he definitely would have had the courage to shoot it: In 1979-80, his final season and the NBA's first with the shot, Barry took a three roughly once for every nine minutes he played.
We're picking the 1974-75 season for Barry because he led the league in steals (more fast breaks!) and free throw percentage, while propelling the Warriors to one of the least-heralded titles ever. The list of players who averaged over 30 points and won a championship in the same season is a short one: Kareem, Jordan, and Barry. That's the list.
And lest anyone worry about Barry being a prickly sort, he'll be playing on a team with Duncan and Havlicek.
Dave Cowens felt like a steal in the fourth round. In 1972-73, his chosen season, he won the MVP award for averaging 20 and 16 on a 67-win team. Boston would have won the title that season if Havlicek hadn't gotten hurt. (Hi, Knicks fans!) There were other seasons where he made 1st-Team All-Defense, but MVP and 9.9 defensive win shares seemed like a better combo. One last note: like Duncan, Cowens can function well in the high post in situations when that skill is needed.
For this team, I wanted quick-footed, long defenders who can handle switching 1 through 5 as much as possible. Cowens and Antetokounmpo fit that bill. The jump-shooting Cowens was Draymonding at center four decades before Green himself did it and Cowens will fare nicely as a stretch-5 around the Antetokounmpo-Duncan pick and rolls that are featured in halfcourt sets.
On defense, Cowens will guard centers, partly because he can do it well and partly because of how it creates mismatches in transition when opposing centers can't keep up with Cowens.
After being installed as the point guard in Milwaukee on Feb. 22, Giannis averaged 18.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. His skill level for "getting the ball and going" is incredible and enhanced by the fact that he can traverse a basketball court in a dozen strides or fewer. See also (1), (2).
Several offenses are run by large point guards in this #alltimeNBAdraft format. Based on what I'm seeing in the draft orders of the other 19 teams, there are offenses being run by Magic Johnson (with an assist from Penny Hardaway), Jason Kidd, Oscar Robertson, Paul Pressey, LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Johnson, Michael Jordan, John Wall, and Tracy McGrady. Head coach Stan Van Gundy surely wants Giannis and his 7-foot-3 wingspan on the front line of that defensive wall against such big ballhandlers.
Are the Steve Nashes and Tiny Archibalds still out there to scoot around underneath Giannis? Absolutely. But there would be just as many mismatches for a 6-foot-1 point guard as there are for a 6-foot-11 point guard, and the latter is much harder to find. 1986 Defensive Player of the Year Alvin Robertson and his NBA-record 301 steals are in the rotation, and Robertson will get lots of minutes against this league's smaller point guards. When Robertson is in, primary ballhanding duties will shift to Barry (with an assist from Havlicek).
The core of the bench features Karl-Anthony Towns and Bob Pettit in addition to Robertson and Wilkes. Pettit's 1958-59 MVP was incredible for a number of reasons. He led the NBA in both made field goals and free throws -- while finishing second in true shooting percentage. That's an incredible amount of touch from the inside and outside. And like nearly everyone else on this team, his 3.1 assists from the power forward spot demonstrate his ability to pass.
Towns had the most versatile rookie seasons from a center ever. In addition to making a nice percentage of threes, Towns finished 2nd in the NBA in made two-point field goals and 10th in two-point FG percentage. He can protect the rim (6th in total blocks) and he was durable through all 82 games. Like Pettit, he had 3.1 assists per game.
Off the deep bench, there is a lot of shooting and scoring skill. Westphal and Irving can fill it up. In addition, Irving has arguably the most devastating handle in the history of the NBA and he converted threes at better than a 40 percent clip. Grandmama Larry Johnson can do a bit of everything, including the three-point shot, and George Mikan, the NBA's first superstar, is there to tackle the behemoths in the post (perhaps literally) if needed. The five-time 1st-team All-NBA center was listed at 6-foot-10, 245 lbs in his day.
On a modern diet and wearing shoes that aren't Chuck Taylors, Mikan would be measured at 7-foot, 280 lbs, wouldn't he?
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