Basketball is played all over the world, but some places seem to develop some of the game’s greatest stars. The sunshine state and the big apple are two places in particular. Both California and New York are large enough and own two of the most storied franchises in the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. While these two franchises have their own decorated histories, the state itself has brought out some amazing talent as well.
If we took the five best players from both New York and California, those would be some superteams that would create their very own dynasties. For this sake, it’s a great hypothetical matchup. To qualify for each state, the player must be born in a city that came from that state. From there, we made an All-Time New York and All-Time California lineup that would be tough to beat.
In this state versus state matchup, which state would walk out victorious in All-Time New York versus All-Time California?
All-Time New York Roster: Tiny Archibald, Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, Bernard King, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
All-Time California Roster: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard
The roster is headlined by some of the best scoring from the east and three-point shooting from the west. Both sides feature a powerhouse lineup of stars. It all comes down to which has the most star power.
Tiny Archibald vs. Russell Westbrook
Archibald was born in New York City, New York, where he attended DeWitt Clinton High School in NYC. He was a future second-round pick that enjoyed six All-Star selections and led the league in assists in 1973. Known for his small stature, at 6-foot-1, “Tiny” was still a three-time All-NBA First Team selection that led the league in scoring the same year he led the league in assists. He would bring some of that “New York toughness” to this matchup.
Westbrook was born in Long Beach, California, where he attended Leuzinger High School in Lawndale. After that, he remained a California GOAT when he attended UCLA. Westbrook was the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and eventually became the No. 4 overall pick. His career blossomed into nine All-Star selections, one MVP Award, two scoring titles, and four seasons with a triple-double average.
Michael Jordan vs. James Harden
Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York but did not play high school basketball in New York though. In 1968, when Jordan was five years old, his family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. He eventually attended Emsley A. Laney High School. After that, he remained in North Carolina to play at UNC. Jordan’s NBA career featured many accolades, including 10 scoring titles, 14 All-Star appearances, and a 6-0 record in the NBA Finals with six Finals MVPs.
Matched with another great scorer, Harden is a three-time scoring champion. Harden was born in Los Angeles and attended Artesia High School. Harden’s career features 10 All-Star appearances and an MVP Award of his own. Harden has once led the league in assists as well. This matchup would feature a great righty-to-lefty scoring battle.
Julius Erving vs. Klay Thompson
Erving was born in Roosevelt, and he remained there throughout his youth. After attending Roosevelt High School, Erving grew into a first-round pick but opted to play in the ABA. After winning two ABA championships, Erving became an NBA favorite with 11 All-Star appearances. This matchup would feature old-school, and new-school ball, as Erving’s inside presence would be hard for Thompson to stop.
Thompson was born in Los Angeles but moved two times before playing at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita. It took a few years before Thompson gained national attention. At the end of his senior campaign at Washington State, he was the No. 11 overall pick that turned into one of the greatest outside shooters we have ever seen. The four-time champion and five-time All-Star could go down as the second-greatest shooter in NBA history.
Bernard King vs. Paul George
King was born in Brooklyn, New York, and remained in the area when he went to high school in Fort Hamilton. King’s career was defined by his stellar scoring, which featured leading the league in scoring in 1985. King was a four-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA First Team selection. After leaving the league in 1993, King finished with a career average of 22.5 points per game.
George was born in Palmdale and remained in the area as well. George attended high school at Knight and then remained in the state for college at Fresno State. The former No. 10 overall pick in 2010 has grown into a 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection, and a dependable swingman in the league. In a way, both of these players have similar tendencies, which would break out the old and new school discussion.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Kawhi Leonard
Abdul-Jabbar was born in Harlem but moved to New York City to play high school basketball. Abdul-Jabbar played at Power Memorial before jumping ship to California to play at UCLA. In a way, it should feel that Abdul-Jabbar should be a team California honoree, given he won five championships with the Lakers and won three NCAA championships with UCLA. Instead, his New York roots run strong and we can’t forget where he came from.
Leonard was born in Los Angeles but moved out of the area. Leonard played for two high schools in his career. He started with Canyon Springs in Moreno Valley but finished at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside. He stayed in the state for college and played at San Diego State. Since leaving, he has won two Finals MVP Awards with San Antonio and Toronto before returning to his home state with the Clippers. Leonard is a former two-time Defensive Player of the Year. With this small-ball lineup, the one player in this lineup that could guard Abdul-Jabbar is Leonard.
All-Time New York Advantages
The scoring is a huge advantage. The team features two of the greatest scorers in NBA history in, Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar. Those two players combine for 12 scoring titles. Not to mention, both are championship-pedigree players with 12 combined titles, six apiece. The scoring doesn’t stop there either, as both Archibald and King have led the league in scoring too. Erving led the ABA in scoring three times. When it comes to getting points, it shouldn’t be that difficult.
When it comes to rebounding, the two best rebounders are on this team. Erving averaged 8.5 boards for his career. Abdul-Jabbar averaged 11.2 rebounds per game. Not to mention, both post players are skilled passers. Erving averaged 4.2 assists, and Abdul-Jabbar averaged 3.6 assists per game, which was slightly diluted to his longevity in the league.
All-Time California Advantages
The outside shooting is going to be a plus. For every 2-point field goal Team New York makes, Team California could respond with a trey. Thompson and George are the two best outside shooting threats by a mile. Leonard also has a reliable three-point shot at times, while Harden can get hot anytime. If New York pounds the ball inside, it is going to take three shots to California’s two if the shots are falling.
The overall ball movement is better with this team. There will be open shots because these players know how to move the ball. Westbrook and Harden have led the league in assists. Thompson, George, and Leonard are skilled passers as well. While this small-ball lineup may force Leonard to play inside, Leonard is good enough to find an open shooter. Team New York is not fast enough to close out, so there will be plenty of open-shot opportunities.
Who Wins This Matchup In A 7-Game Series?
An offensive blowout was expected in the first game, but that was not the case. Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar combined for 60 points, but All-Time California kept pace with the team until the end. With a 95-91 advantage, the All-Time California shooting touch went cold. Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar made all three shot attempts and connected on their free throws to win the first game of the series 100-91.
Living and dying by the three-ball has its perks, though. Thompson got cooking quickly by connecting on his first three 3-point field goals. The hot shooting carried over into the course of the game. With nine 3-point shots, Thompson’s 32 points led the way for All-Time California, taking the second game 111-101. The lack of three-point shooting for All-Time New York hurt the team in the end, as the team had two wide-open shots but fell short as All-Time California was able to hang on.
The third game featured a new game plan. Both Erving and Abdul-Jabbar took advantage of their side inside. While All-Time California kept the pressure on, New York didn’t mind playing catch up. Erving and Abdul-Jabbar scored 28 and 24 points a piece. Jordan finished one rebound short of a triple-double to lead the team to a 124-112 victory.
Breaking the series open to a 3-1 series lead saw the likes of Archibald and King take over. The surprise scoring leads from these former scoring champions saw Jordan take a rare back seat. Jordan finished with 18 assists as Archibald led the team in scoring with 25 points and King with 23 points. Jordan’s nine points were a surprising statistic, but nobody was complaining about the former scoring kings taking over to lead the 108-92 win.
Needing a win to stay alive, the old Thunder teammates in Westbrook and George took over. Turning back the clock to prime MVP form Russ, Westbrook finished with a triple-double of 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Many of those assists were to George, who scored 28 points and netted six 3-point field goals. Combined with the six threes from Thompson and the tremendous defense from Leonard, All-Time California stayed alive with a 98-92 victory.
Leonard, who had been tasked to guard Abdul-Jabbar, had been fairly quiet for most of the series but had his best game of the series. Leonard held Abdul-Jabbar to a horrid shooting night and just six points. On the other side, Leonard scored 24 points by driving past the defense, converting tough shots, and knocking down a 3-point shot as well. Leonard’s play outdueled the 22 points from Jordan and the double-double from Abdul-Jabbar to lead All-Time California to a 109-102 win.
With the series knotted up, experience and championship pedigree mattered. Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar went back to the basics. Jordan’s 32 points led the way, while Abdul-Jabbar recorded his fifth double-double of the series with 22 points and 16 rebounds. The two six-time champions used their experience to lead All-Time New York to the 100-89 win. All-Time New York scored the first basket and never relinquished the lead. In the end, the combination of Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar led the way to help New York get the last laugh.
Final Results: All-Time New York vs. All-Time California 4-3
Finals MVPs: Michael Jordan
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