All players in their primes, healthy, and playing to their full potential, what would've been the greatest lineup of all time.
Shaq KG pierce and Ray is a wild prime 4
Jermaine ONeal was on that squad too
Sheed was the season before
Don’t forget Rondo!
crazy part is that warriors team was all in their prime. unanimous mvp curry, dpoy dray, kd the last reigning mvp and peak klay. andre was probably better at this stage than his mid 20s
If im being really picky, prime Draymond was probably a year before in their 73-9 season when he was like near 40% from three, and Iggys was probably between his last year in Philly and Denver. But yeah, them all being so close to their prime that actual season is crazy
Prime is multiple seasons.
yeah Amazon Prime applies in winter, spring, summer, and fall!
Iggy was definitely not in his prime, but I think Dray still was, at least in the 2016-17 season. I know he didn’t shoot a great percentage in the regular season, but he actually shot 41% from 3 on over 4 attempts in the playoffs that year. That was kind of his swan song as a good shooter on decent volume.
There are quite a few Shaq teams that would be nasty if they were all prime. The 07-08 Heat would be sort of disgusting. If you go back a year you lose Hardaway but pick up Payton.
I like the Penny option even if Payton had a better career. Shaqs Suns lineup might be the best: Nash/Jason Richardson/Grant Hill/Amare/Shaq.
He meant Tim Hardaway not Penny
Shaq and Tim were never on the Heat at once though
You’re right that’s my bad, had no idea Penny was on the Heat in 07
I had no idea he was still in the league at that point
He came back for like 14 games I think.
Yep, that would be easily a top 10 team for me. Shaq and Zo in the paint, wade, penny and white chocolate in the backcourt. Shawn Marion, Haslem and Ricky Davis on the bench.
It might not be the deepest team, but it's got the top level talent to run with anyone.
I think Kobe, Nash, Metta world peace, Pau and Dwight is also a pretty nasty starting 5 in their prime
Also the nets: KG, Pierce, Joe Johnson, deron Williams, Brook Lopez, ak47 it's a six man rotation that's awesome
Ya know for some reason i couldnt think if Pau was still there for the Nash/Dwight stint. Thank you for confirming that cause i was too lazy to look it up lol
That was the lakers answer to the Heatles. They got swept by the spurs in the first round lol
Kobe/Nash/Dwight were all out by the playoffs.
Pretty sure all three of them weren’t out the whole series but true.
They were also the 8 seed though and massively underachieved
Antawn Jamison too
The warriors had Boogie in 2019 too they would be insane
I think 86 Celtics, Already one of the best of all time and that was with an utterly washed Bill Walton, if you upgrade him to the pre-injury version, pretty good.
Pretty good is an understatement lol
no 2014 spurs? Tony Manu Kawhi Diaw Duncan ??????
I think someone nailed the Spurs version of this going to 2013 and swapping Diaw for Tmac
that’s a tough one, Diaw fits that spurs team perfectly.. i don’t think they’d need another scorer
I mean against normal teams, Diaw would be great. But against these theoretical super teams, i think you need to max out your talent. Having Kawhi and Tmac to spread the floor and swap on wings would be huge, not to mention Tmacs scoring. He was an underrated passer and defender too. I love Tmac so i may be biased lol
You could also jump to 2015/16 and add Lamarcus Aldridge instead.
No dude. Nothing would compete with prime Magic and prime Kareem.
I was trying to focus around teams that had loaded lineups not backpacked by two guys, but youre probably right. One of the teams you could trot out Magic/Michael Cooper/James Worthy/Bob McAdoo/Kareem would probably eat a lot of these teams alive. I forgot McAdoo was ever a Laker
And also the Lakers during Magic’s rookie year had Spencer Haywood, who won MVP as a rookie lmao (albeit in the ABA), and went on to make 4 straight All-NBA teams for the Sonics.
The 83-85 Lakers had Bob Mcadoo, who won MVP once and came in 2nd twice. Imagine a team with him, Magic, Kareem, and Worthy in their primes..
I'd add:
2013 Spurs with Parker, Ginobli, Duncan, Kawhi and McGrady.
88 pistons with Thomas, Dumars, Laimbeer, Rodman, Dantley with Aquirre, Vinnie, Dawkins off the bench is tough.
I forget all about the legendary tmac spurs era
Westbrook would be so bad on a team with players that good
2020-21 Brooklyn Nets had kyrie,harden,kd,Blake griffin and Deandre Jordan, probably wouldn’t be the greatest lineup of all time in their prime but arguably top 5
- LaMarcus
This will definitely be an unpopular one but I find it hard to argue with you at all. People forget that the trio only got 16 games together, and only lost 3 of them. You make that same team, but with MVP harden and prime Durant, you have one of the greatest offenses of all time.
This team wins the argument IMO. We can’t forget how deep they are if their bench is also in their prime:
Jarrett Allen, Aldridge, Claxton, Bruce Brown, Dinwiddie, Shumpert, Prince, LeVert, and Jeff Green
That is an incredible bench lol you can argue that a prime Griffin (was a top 5 player at his peak) should come off the bench and lead the second unit instead of Aldridge for fit purposes.
Don't think so.
Okay I think I found the answer from a reddit post 4 years ago: Most MVPS on One Roster
Most MVPs on one team: 1985-1986 Philadelphia 76ers (4 MVPS)
In his quest to play for virtually every team, the 1975 MVP, Bob McAdoo joined a Sixers team with young Charles Barkley, old Dr. J and Moses Malone. There is no other instance of 4 NBA MVPs being on the same roster. This team had all four players either in veteran or too young mode and fell in the Eastern Semis.
Maurice cheeks was the pg of this team so we can give him the 5th spot.
So it just might be the 86 Sixers!
This is a good answer.
The best one i found was also because of McAdoo, the 83-85 Lakers: Magic/Michael Cooper(or Byron Scott)/James Worthy/McAdoo/Kareem
‘86 Celtics all day. You move Bill Walton from sixth man to prime Walton and it’s over.com
If you look to the Lakers of the same year, you have what some consider to be one of hte greatest teams of all time with a well-past-their-prime Kareem, who some consider to be their GOAT. Put him in his prime on that team and you['re cooking up something disgusting.
I couldn’t agree more often discussed as one of the greatest TEAMS of all time. EMPHASIS ON TEAM!
On talent alone, 100%. My only concern is the spacing with parish Walton and mchale
Keep Walton on the bench, and watch him completely torch everyone with fresh legs.
I think 13 spurs have a good case
Duncan, Tmac, parker, Kawhi, Manu
Nah this is cheesing it. They signed Tmac the day the season ended and he never stepped foot on the court for them
Nah Tmac played in 6 games for 31 total minutes during the 2013 playoffs.
Ah googles nba api is fucked then.
Man maybe not the best but if they were together in their primes would have been fun. The 1999 Rockets. Hakeem, Barkley, and Pippen
Good choice
96-97 Rockets I think is better. Barkley, Olajuwon, Drexler, Kevin Willis, and 6-MOY and 21 ppg scorer Eddie Johnson off the bench.
Ahhh yeah, I agree with this
I’m having fun with going through old teams. 2003 Spurs have a chance Robinson, Duncan, Steve Smith, Ginobli, Parker
Duncan was already at his peak but the others get a huge boost by toggling their prime.
That's a really good one
Warriors had Steph Klay KD Dray Boogie
The warriors team everyone forgets. Boogie was still decent and something they lacked the other years
This is the correct answer especially with all of them healthy and playing to their full potential this team would be almost unstoppable
This is Zaza Pachulia eraser
With Iggy and Bogut on that same roster
2011 Celtics is pretty good.
Pierce, Garnett, Allen, Rondo, and prime Shaq.
As a bonus, you get Jermaine O’Neal as your 6th man (his prime was 3rd-place in MVP voting one year).
From the same year the Mavs look pretty good with Chandler, Dirk, Marion, Peja, Kidd.
Hard to beat the 2003-04 Lakers.
Gary Payton
Kobe Bryant
Rick Fox
Karl Malone
Shaquille O’Neal
Speaking of the Lakers, if you go back to the 70's, you got
Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Wilt CHamberlain, and Elgin Baylor all on the same team, and 3 of them have already been in the league 10 years. You transport Wilt, Jerry, and Elgin to their primes and you might just have one of the greatest teams ever assembled.
This is the team I was thinking of. I can't see that team losing if all those guys are in their prime.
I can’t come up with a single team that could beat them. Maybe the warriors from 2017 if all three offensive men caught fire??
I gotta give the nod to the 2012-13 Lakers.
Steve Nash
Kobe Bryant
Metta World Peace
Pau Gasol
Dwight Howard
6th man Antawn Jamison
Shit I didnt understand the rules .lol
97 Bulls. Parish Harper Jordan Pippen Rodman
I just thought about that. The Payton Lakers, 86 Celtics, and the 76ers are really the best
Gonna go with Larry Bird’s C’s in his rookie year.
Nate Archibald
Pistol Pete
Larry Bird
Cedric Maxwell
Dave Cowens
For you youngins, Cowens was a league MVP and Maxwell was an all star and FMVP
Archibald is the only man to ever lead the league in PPG and APG in the same year
Need I say anything about Bird or Pistol?
It could be the 2013 Heat with Lebron, Wade, Bosh, Allen, and Rashard Lewis.
PG: Bron
SG: Wade
SF: Ray
PF: Lewis
C: Bosh
6th: Mike Miller
What about 06 heat?
Shaq wade alonzo payton walker
That’s a good call! I’m tempted to put Posey in as a glue guy even though he wasn’t as good because I always disliked Walkers game.
Easy for me 2018-2019 Warriors.
Curry Klay Durant Green
And Boogie Cousins.
That man was a menace and had a complete game. By the time he was in the Warriors the injuries were piling up.
Williams, Iso Joe, Pierce, KG, Brooke Lopez
Awful in real life but great for this question
Billy king traded for kg and pp thinking it was legacy mode with injuries turned off
Celtics with Len Bias
No real pg, but...
- Cuttino Mobley
- Eddie Johnson
- Scottie Pippen
- Charles Barkley
- Hakeem
...would have been nasty
That lineup you posted with JR instead of Crowder has a better argument. Or even Tristan Thompson.
The top ones have been said so for a more random pick what about the 2000 Trailblazers with the huge lineup of Pippen, Sabonis, Sheed, Jermaine O’Neal, and Detlef Schrempf.
I think it has to be either Oscar and Kareem or West and Wilt
My answer is about creating the best lineup and playing in today’s era.
PG - Steph Curry SG - Klay Thompson SF - Lebron James PF - Kevin Durant C - Tim Duncan
LeBron and Duncan never played for the Warriors.
Yes I know after I responded I realized it was actual teams.
Probably not the best, but imagine prime Parrish and Harper on the Bulls
My biggest what if, which if true would have been an automatic number one top of list, if Shaq went to Michaels Chicago Bulls in free agency 👀 same team just with Shaq too?
Honorable mention for the 2009 Suns.
NASH, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, Amare, Shaq
this year’s clippers lineup isn’t #1 all-time or anything, but it is a STACKED roster if you take everyone on it back to their primes. superstar retirement home ass team lol
Wasn’t there a Larry Bird Prime Celtics team that also had old Walton and broken down Pistol?
That lakers team a couple years back with an mvp bron, mvp Westbrook, scoring champ melo, DPOY Dwight and prime AD would be ridiculous
Lakers 2004
Kobe
Shaq
Karl Malone
Gary Payton
Horace Grant
It’s not the best for modern basketball, but if they were all in there prime at THAT time, it’s probably the best relative to their era
MJ, Pippen and the Worm. The other two spots don’t even matter
Definitely not the best roster i have seen in the comments, but the 2012-13 spurs with tracy mcgrady has the potential to be insane.
If you want to go deep, 12-13 Clippers:
G: Chris Paul, Jamaal Crawford, Chauncey Billups, Eric Bledsoe
F: Blake Griffin, Grant Hill, Caron Butler, Lamar Odom
C: Deandre Jordan
If you’re not a fan of Grant Hill, you can go back a year and switch him for Kenyon Martin/Mo Williams
2021 Clippers would be interesting
Rondo, PG, Kawhi, Ibaka, DeMarcus Cousins
With Pat Bev, Reggie Jackson, Batum, Marcus Morris, Zubac off the bench.
The stacked Spurs team with Duncan, Aldridge, Kawhi, Parker, and Ginobili would have been pretty dominant
Lakers had a squad that the worst player is Melo - easily them.
Lebron - Top 2 ever
Westbrook - MVP / Triple Doubles
Melo - Scoring champ - Top 75 all time
AD - Top 75 player ever and HOF level defender
Dwight - 3x Defensive MVP
Also had Rondo, IT, DeAndre Jordan, Collison, Avery Bradley, Ariza, Austin Reaves, Malik Monk all off the bench.
The 96-97 Bulls (the middle year of the 2nd threepeat) had 43 year old Robert Parish on the roster, playing about 9 minutes a game and contributing next to nothing.
But a prime Parish fills in the one weakness that team had with an incredible defensive presence and high level, unselfish offensive skills. Putting all of those players at their respective peak abilities, and I don't know who could top them.
Parish
Rodman
Pippen
Jordan
Harper
plus Kukoc and Kerr of the bench
kd, harden, kyrie.. no debate
Hendrix on bass Amy Winehouse playing drums James Dean on guitar Jesus Christ lead vocals
No 04 Lakers picks??? Payton, kobe, fox, Malone, shaq?
I don’t know, prime LeBron and Prime Shaq is better than that lineup, and I literally cannot remember another player from that year’s Cavs…
08/09 rockets
Lowry/tmac/battier/artest/yao
With Aaron brooks/ Carl landry/ Luis scola / chuck Hayes / and dikembe mutumbo
Heat had Mourning, Shaq, G. Payton, Wade & Antoine Walker.
2014 Spurs Tony Parker Manu Kawhi Diaw Duncan
Good thread
83-85 Lakers:
Magic- arguably peak PG in 1987-90
Norm Nixon- 18 points and 10 assists in his prime
James Worthy- 1988 Finals MVP
Bob McAdoo- 1975 MVP
Kareem Abdul Jabbar- arguably the highest peak in NBA history 71-74.
pippen barkley olajuwon drexler is pretty nice
2013 Spurs was already a Finals team. But now you age back Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Diaw, and McGrady to their primes.
You ramp Kawhi up to his 2017/2019 version.
Throw in Tiago Splitter, Danny Green, FIBA Patty Mills, Matt Bonner and Aron Bayne and you've got all kinds of role players to fill in gaps.
Steph klay kd green and boogie. No question
Prime LeBron and Shaq would be scary asf, some odd teams like OKC with a prime harden/KD/Westbrook/Derek Fisher/Ibaka. Lebrons also had d-rose as a teammate so prime would obv be crazy.
2012 Lakers with Nash Kobe Metta Gasol Howard
Not sure on the rules. But Lakers. Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, labron James, Karl Malone and shaq ....did I do this wrong?
Yes
Wasn’t the question lil bro but Ight
that was NOT the quesiton but this lineup aint right either hahaha. AI doesnt belong there
Hakeem, Kareem, Kobe, Jordan, Magic
i would go small ball and UNLEASH.
Isiah T
Chef Curry
Jamal Murray
Jay Teeeee Tatum
Nick Jokic
All guys who have punked Lebron through their careers (Isiah definitely would if Lebron played in the 80s).
Most literate LeBron hater
Eh don’t bother this guys a troll who says stupid shit like this on purpose
We’re not accepting any lineups with Jae Crowder sorry
Probably that Lakers team with Lebron, Westbrook, Carmelo, AD, and Dwight.
Maybe the 04 Lakers with Gary Payton, Kobe, Rick Fox, Karl Malone, and Shaq.
The Shaq Celtics with Rondo, Ray Allen, Pierce, KG, and Shaq.
Or maybe its still the KD Warriors death lineup of Steph, Klay, Iggy, Draymond, KD.
Edit: Magic/Cooper/Worthy/McAdoo/Kareem probably win