Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards shared his all-time starting five recently, and former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was tasked with putting together a team to beat it. Edwards has himself, Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, and Shaquille O’Neal in his lineup, and Arenas went down an interesting route as he built a team to counter them on The Gilbert Arenas Show.
“See, I don’t just do names,” Arenas said. “I got to make sure it fits the style that we have to play. So, I got Magic [Johnson] at the one, Kobe [Bryant] and LeBron [James], Dirk [Nowitzki] and [Nikola Jokic].
“My lane is open for Kobe, LeBron, and Magic to get in there if they need to,” Arenas added. “Then I got my post-up player with Jokic, who’s going to pass the ball and all that. And then I got my post-up, mid-range guy with Dirk. And then I got my ISO guy with Kobe.”
There is a lot to like offensively about a starting five of Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, and Nikola Jokic. You have got three elite playmakers, a couple of great shooters, and a near-unstoppable isolation scorer.
Johnson is arguably the greatest playmaker of all time. He won four assists titles and ran the offense brilliantly for the Los Angeles Lakers in the iconic “Showtime” era. Staying with the Lakers, Bryant won two scoring titles with them and is fourth on the all-time scoring list. James is on top of that list and also ranks fourth for assists. He has won a scoring title and an assists title.
Nowitzki is another who is in the top 10 for scoring at seventh. He is arguably the greatest shooting big man of all time, and Jokic is in that conversation, too. He is a great all-around scorer and can playmake at a high level. Jokic is currently leading the NBA in rebounds and assists this season.
This group will put up a whole lot of points on whoever they face, including Edwards’ team. The problem, though, is on the other end.
Bryant and James were excellent defenders at their peaks, making 18 All-Defensive teams between them, but the same cannot be said about the other three. Johnson, Nowitzki, and Jokic could be classified as below-average defenders. They never came close to making an All-Defensive team in their careers, and rightfully so. You can maybe have one or two such players on your team, but three is too much.
Meanwhile, the weakest defender on Edwards’ team is undoubtedly Curry. He was pretty bad on that end earlier in his career, but has improved a fair bit over the years. O’Neal wasn’t the greatest of defenders either, but he was better than Jokic is now.
Ultimately, both Arenas and Edwards’ teams will be scoring almost at will, as you can’t really stop an all-time great player. You’d back the latter’s team to get a few more stops, though, to come away with the win.
