All(Not Old) Timers (2 of 3)

  I am back for part 2 of 3 now! Didn't think I was just going to leave you like that did you? What did you think of my All Time baseball team? Any surprises? It was tough, as it was for all the sports that I did. Every sport is different with its generations and eras of players that it produces.

   Today the All Time basketball time will be discussed. It is interesting because this team is the smallest out of all the teams. This is the only team to have under 10 players. It was fun because there are so many greats at ALL the positions. Here we go:

Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan
Point Guard: Magic Johnson
Small Forward: Larry Bird
Power Forward:  Karl Malone
Center: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Coach: Phil Jackson

What do you think? Interesting choices. If you want me to be completely honest with you, the Coach was the toughest position for me. Basketball had some great players and athletes overall. The interesting thing is that we see that four of these players had some kind of rivalries. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had a rivalry, and Jordan and Malone kind of had one.

   We all know that Bird and Johnson's rivalry dated back to college and went through the NBA. That is what made them so great. They pushed each other so much that they became the best at what they do. They dominated the 1980's. Between the 2 of them, they have 5 championships and 6 MVP awards(3 each). That's how good they are.

   Malone and Jordan didn't have a real rivalry like Bird and Johnson did, but they did play each other in back to back championships(both won by Jordan). Like Bird and Johnson, it made 2 of the greats of generation play each other, it only makes them better. Between the 2 of them, they have 7 MVP awards(5 by Jordan, 2 Malone) and 6 championships in 8 appearances(Malone never won one).

   Kareem didn't really have a rivalry, but he did have 6 MVP awards(my whole team has that), and 6 world championships. Kareem, like Michael, was a scoring machine. He also had a great defensive prowess. He was a very intelligent basketball mind, just like the rest of the team is.

   The toughest position was deciding on a coach. It really came down to Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach. The reason I chose Jackson in the end is not because he has 1 more championship than Auerbach, but something completely different. Jackson had 3 3-peats and 1 repeat. His first 3-peat was a young, athletic Bulls team. His second Bulls team, they were more seasoned. The second 3-peat in Chicago had more winning with it, including with the acquisition of Rodman who had already won 2 with Detroit. The third 3-peat with the Lakers was similar to his first with the Bulls, all young and athletic. Kobe and Shaq were still both relatively new to the league, but extremely dominant. The repeat in 2008-2009, 2009-2010 season was also a more seasoned team. What do all of these have in common? All 4 of these teams were 4 different teams of personalities. As a coach, you need to have control of them. Jackson had complete control of all of those teams.