Hall of Famer Tony Parker was the latest guest on the Knuckleheads Podcast and like so many before him, was asked to give his all-time starting five using himself and his former teammates. Co-host Darius Miles already selected Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for Parker, as they were obvious picks, and asked him for two more names.
“David Robinson and Kawhi Leonard,” Parker said. “I’m staying with the Spurs.”
As far as these former teammate lineups go, this might be the strongest one yet. If the San Antonio Spurs had this starting five today, they’d instantly be title favorites.
Let’s start off with Parker himself. He averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game in his career. Parker made six All-Star teams and won four titles to go with a Finals MVP.
Manu Ginobili slots in at shooting guard in this team and he averaged 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in his NBA career. Ginobili won four titles alongside Parker on the Spurs while making two All-Star teams. He also won Sixth Man of the Year in 2008.
We next get to Kawhi Leonard, the only active player on Parker’s team. Leonard has career averages of 20.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game. He has won two titles, two Finals MVPs, and two DPOYs, and has made six All-Star teams.
Tim Duncan is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and was the most obvious selection here. Duncan averaged 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.7 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game in his storied career. He made 15 All-Star teams and won five titles, three Finals MVPs, and two MVPs.
Last but not least, we get to David Robinson at the center spot. Robinson is another all-time great, who averaged 21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game in his career. He won two titles, an MVP, a DPOY, a scoring title, a rebounding title, and a blocks title, and made 10 All-Star teams.
Good luck scoring against this lineup. Duncan, Leonard, and Robinson are some of the finest defenders in NBA history and they were no slouches on offense either. Add Parker and Ginobili to the mix and you get an utterly dominant starting five.
Tony Parker Played The ‘Start-Bench-Trade’ Game
As per tradition, Parker also had to play the ‘Start-Bench-Trade’ game. He first had to pick between Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Stephon Marbury.
“Man, killing me, killing me,” Parker said. “I start with J-Kidd and the bench is Steve Nash and cutting Steph.”
That’s fairly accurate. There isn’t much to separate Kidd and Nash and you can make very strong arguments for either of these phenomenal playmakers to start. One managed to win a title and was a pretty good defender while the other was an offensive wizard who won two MVPs. It just comes down to your preference.
Miles then upped the difficulty the second time. Parker had to pick between Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose, and Chris Paul, all in their primes.
“That’s a tough one,” Parker said. “I start Steph Curry, Chris Paul at the bench and I cut D-Rose. But that’s a tough one because you say all on their primes.”
Curry has to get the top spot but it gets tricky after that. Rose, of course, won an MVP, which is something Paul hasn’t managed to do. There would be no debate if you compare their entire careers, but if you stick to just their primes, Rose might have an argument to get the nod over Paul.
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