Building The Greatest NBA Player From The 2000s Decade

Just two weeks ago, we came up with the idea to build the greatest NBA player possible using only players from a specific decade. At that time, we built what we think would be the greatest player in NBA history had he actually existed. Today, that player and build get put to the test and go up against our new GOAT using NBA players from 2000-2009.

The 2000s were a strong decade in terms of play in the court on both sides of the ball. The decade featured some of the greatest teams of all time, including the Lakers and Spurs, with San Antonio capturing three NBA championships as well as one in 1999 and the Lakers winning four championships as well as one in 2010. It featured three of the 10 greatest players in NBA history, including Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan, as well as other specialists who were elite in specific skill sets.

Using these all-time great NBA legends, we think we have built the only player that could possibly challenge our GOAT from the 1990s decade. With the 2000s being dominated by such talent, it will certainly be closer than many anticipate. From the shooting of one of the greatest three-point shooters ever to the finishing of the most dominant player in NBA history, this 2000s player may just be the greatest player we have ever put together in any build we have ever done, but that’s for you to decide.

This is the building of the greatest NBA player from the 2000s decade.

Scoring – Kobe Bryant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syaXep_G9Ig

We kick things off with the most important attribute we will be applying to our player, scoring. When it comes down to it, the game of basketball is about buckets, and with Kobe Bryant as our scorer, we will be getting plenty of them. Whether it was a mid-range fadeaway from the post, a fast-break finish, a move off the dribble with his quick first step, or a highly contested shot to put away an important game, Kobe Bryant got it done in every way imaginable.

During the 2000s, Bryant helped the Lakers win four of his five NBA championships, with his fifth coming at the beginning of the 2010s. During that time, he averaged 28.2 PPG while shooting 45.7% from the field and 34.2% from three on 4.1 attempts. He would also average 30.0 PPG or more three times in the 2000s, with back-to-back scoring titles coming in 2006 and 2007 when he maxed out at 35.4 PPG.

Kobe Bryant is also one of the NBA players with the most game-winning shots in NBA history, showing that no matter how much pressure comes with the situation, give him the ball and get out of the way.

Passing – Steve Nash

During the 2000s, there were plenty of playmakers and passers who could take their spot in the passing category. Jason Kidd, Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, and Tony Parker all have cases to be here in our player’s spot. However, only one point guard won multiple MVP awards during the 2000s on the back of his passing, and that was Steve Nash.

Nash could make any pass in any situation look like a routine play. His specialty was a pass off the dribble that allowed him to distribute the ball anywhere he wanted while maintaining his handles which allowed him to slice up the defense any way he wanted to.

Along with his back-to-back MVP awards in 2005 and 2006, Nash would also take home three of his five career assists titles in the 2000s. For the decade, Nash averaged 9.1 APG compared to just 3.0 turnovers which was pretty efficient basketball considering how much the offense ran through him. For passing, Nash is the clear choice to make our player the greatest of all time.

Handles – Allen Iverson

In the 2000s, there were many reasons why Allen Iverson was considered one of the most electrifying players ever. Standing just 6’0’’, Iverson was a superb scorer, winning four career scoring titles which is the second most among shooting guards in NBA history. His style and demeanor off the court also made him a cultural icon for so many during the decade.

Another reason for Iverson’s popularity was his highlight-reel dribbling skills that put plenty of defenders on skates. If there was a count of the number of ankles taken by someone’s handles, Iverson’s name would undoubtedly be at the top of the list. The list of players embarrassed by Iverson includes Michael Jordan when he was a young man in the late 1990s. Iverson’s control and pace with his dribble, combined with his bursts of speed, give Iverson a case for the greatest handles in NBA history, which makes him a lock for our GOAT of the decade.

Hustle – Kobe Bryant

In the game of basketball, hustle, and heart go hand-in-hand. How much you love the game and how much you want to win will directly correlate to how hard you work to perfect your craft in order to meet your goals and that has proven to be true over and over again throughout NBA history.

Nobody personified this ideal in the history of the game more than Kobe Bryant. Whether he was battered, beaten, or bruised, Kobe was guaranteed to not only be on the court but give it his absolute best in the process. There were no plays off. It was 100% effort 100% of the time, and he didn’t accept anything less from those who shared the court with him either. When it comes to hustle during the 2000s, there is only one player that should come to your mind first, and only one player who lived with hustle in his veins and that is Kobe Bryant.

Mentality – Kobe Bryant

Picking Kobe Bryant for his hustle is a perfect segue into why he was picked for mentality. Perhaps one of the biggest legacies that Kobe Bryant left behind after his death in 2020 was the famous Mamba Mentality. The mystique surrounding Kobe’s extreme desire to win and do whatever it takes to reach the top has allowed Mamba Mentality to become immortal, living well beyond Bryant’s time here on Earth.

If there was ever any doubt as to whose mentality you would rather have from the 2000s, I remind you of all the times that Bryant didn’t allow bad shooting nights to stop him from sinking a game-winning shot. I remind you of the times that he suffered a major injury only to will himself back onto the court to help his team. I also remind you that through all of the roadblocks and the times he could have quit, he still became a five-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, and an MVP. That is the type of mentality that only the GOAT of a generation could have.

Basketball IQ – LeBron James

As the 2000s wore on, a young 18-year-old kid from Akron, Ohio, made his NBA debut in 2003-04. From that time to the end of the 2000s and for 14 seasons after that and counting, that kid has blossomed into one of the greatest players in NBA history. LeBron James showed right away why he was one of the smartest NBA players to ever lay his hands on a basketball.

Even at the ages of 18 thru 25, LeBron James looked like a grizzled veteran on the court, making all of the right decisions, even if that meant sacrificing his own glory in clutch moments. James’ ability to read a defense as a scorer and playmaker is unparalleled in NBA history. His ability to call out defensive switches and schemes and direct his teammates made him an incredible defensive leader at his best.

His ability to make everyone around him better, even as a young man, was evident before he turned 20 years old, giving us the signal we all should have watched out for that he was going to be a legend early on. As far as decision-makers and players who are going to consistently do the right thing on the court for their team, LeBron James is number one for the 2000s.

Shooting – Ray Allen

The next attribute we will add to the greatest player of the 2000s decade is shooting. With our selection, we will be using one of the greatest three-point, and overall shooters in NBA history, Ray Allen. Before Stephen Curry, it was Allen that held the NBA’s all-time three-point record as he torched the NBA as a member of the Bucks, SuperSonics, and Celtics.

From 2000 thru 2009, Allen connected on 40.3% of his 6.7 three-point attempts per game. He led the NBA three times in total three-pointers made and reached the 200 three-pointers made mark five times in 10 seasons. Not only was Allen shooting with historic volume and efficiency, but he did it in a variety of ways.

Allen was a sniper in catch-and-shoot situations and shot the ball just as well, creating for himself off the dribble. Seeing as Curry hadn’t broken into the NBA yet, we have to select the second-greatest shooter in NBA history, which isn’t so bad of a consolation prize.

Defense – Ben Wallace

There are just so many ways we could have gone to select our player’s defense. Tim Duncan is arguably one of the better defenders ever, with 15 All-Defensive Team selections in his career. Kevin Garnett is about as versatile as it gets on the defensive side of the ball. Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant were another two defenders we could have gone with as well, but we made perhaps the most surprising choice of the entire build instead.

Ben Wallace was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year during the 2000s as well as the anchor of a championship defense in 2004. Wallace showed off his freak athleticism on most nights on the defensive side of the ball, and if we had to pick one interior defender from the 2000s, it would have to be him.

Wallace averaged 1.4 SPG and 2.3 BPG from 2000 thru 2009 and took home one blocks title as well as two rebounding titles. As one of the last true defensive centers in the game, Wallace slowed down every big man he opposed on the court, which included the likes of Shaquille O’Neal in the 2004 NBA Finals. Any man who can slow down the most dominant player in history at his peak is a safe selection in my book.

Finishing – Shaquille O’Neal

We can’t keep calling him the most dominant player ever without having at least one attribute from his game. When it comes to finishing, there was no one better around the rim than Shaq. With his large frame and raw power, Shaquille O’Neal dominated the paint and showed great focus and touch on most nights as well.

During the 2000s, O’Neal would lead the NBA in field goal percentage seven out of 10 seasons due to his ability to dominate the paint. Despite not being the athletic finishers like Kobe, Vince Carter, McGrady, or LeBron, there is something about the ability to command the post like Shaq did that makes him the easy choice for our player’s finishing.

Athleticism – LeBron James

The 2000s were full of athletes and ones we thought defied the laws of both gravity and physics. Vince Carter had springs in his calves, as did players such as Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, and a host of other underrated jumpers and dunkers like Stromile Swift and Gerald Green. Then came along a young man who changed everything and redefined what athleticism looked like in the NBA.

LeBron James made some of the jaw-dropping dunks we saw as impossible, as if they were being done by elementary-aged kids on a Fisher-Price basketball hoop. James flew across the court like a gazelle in what seemed like fewer strides than anyone we had ever seen and lept from places only a few had ever leaped from before.

I would love to give this spot to Carter or Kobe, but in all honesty, a young LeBron James left me in awe just as often, if not more so, than those players did with his feats of athleticism on the court. To build the GOAT, we have to use the greatest for each attribute, and for that, LeBron James is our choice.

Clutch – Kobe Bryant

As I alluded to before, there was no player during the 2000s that I would rather have with the ball in their hands in crunch time than Kobe Bryant. Other than Michael Jordan, Bruant is the game’s greatest tough shot-maker, knocking down countless clutch shots with defenses draped all over him.

Kobe Bryant ranks second in NBA history with eight buzz-beater game-winning shots in his career, only one behind Michael Jordan with nine. He showed time and time again that no matter what, when the game was on the line, he was going to live and die with the last-minute shot. It just so happens that the pressure rarely got to him and he knew how to turn it all on when he needed to. Out of any player in the 2000s, nobody proved they were built for the big moment more than Kobe Bryant did.

How Well Would This Player Perform On The Court?

Now that we have laid out every attribute we need to build the greatest possible player from the 2000s, let’s take a look at their offensive and defensive qualities. First, defensively, we have given Ben Wallace the athleticism and IQ of LeBron James, making him one of the most disruptive defenders in NBA history. With James’ ability to read defenses and superior leaping ability to Wallace, along with Big Ben’s shot-blocking, strength, and defensive achievements, this defender may just be better than the one we built in the 1990s.

On offense, this player is as lethal as any other player we have ever built in this series. With Kobe Bryant’s scoring, you know our player can get any kind of bucket at any time that he needs to, especially in the clutch. With the passing ability of Steve Nash as well as the IQ of James, this player is primed to average a triple-double every season, shattering Russell Westbrook’s all-time record. Add in Ray Allen’s shooting, and Iverson’s handles, and this player could average 50.0 PPG along with 15.0 RPG and 15.0 APG at the minimum. 

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