Although the NBA is filled with some of the greatest athletes in the world, not everyone is on the same plane when it comes to athleticism. There are superhuman-like NBA players that have become superstars on the backs of their athleticism and worked hard to reach the levels they have physically and mentally. Of course, there are a few that were thrown a bone by the gene pool as well. Then, there are the NBA players who have perfected and refined the art of shooting a ball to become legends in their own right. These elite players have nearly perfected the art of shooting the ball from all distances and in all situations.
The question we will be asking today is, which team of elite NBA players has the advantage in a 7-game series? Is it the team that has the size and athleticism advantage? Or is it the one with the players that have the ability to shoot and score the ball better than anybody else? We have selected the 10 best players who fit our criteria the best and put them in a contest against each other for ultimate basketball supremacy. Will the shooters or the super athletes prevail?
Who will win in a 7-game series between Team Athleticism and Team Shooters?
De’Aaron Fox vs. Stephen Curry
When we talk about speed in the NBA, De’Aaron Fox is the standard every player should hope to achieve. With or without the ball, De’Aaron Fox can make the action seem like a blur on the court, which includes the work he puts in on the defensive side of the ball. This is where he can take advantage in his matchup with Stephen Curry. Using his quick bursts off the dribble, Fox can easily get past Curry, who is known to have limited defense and make things happen for his team either as a scorer or playmaker. In his first matchup with Curry and the Warriors in Game 1 of the 2022-23 First Round, Fox had 38 points and five assists while leading his team to victory.
Fox will be matched up with the greatest three-point shooter in the history of the game and someone who also fared well in their first matchup in Game 1. Curry had 30 points on 55.0% shooting overall and 6-14 from three. Curry found his success in the same few ways that he always does. He worked his way off numerous off-ball screens to get to his spots from three, and when the defense tried to cheat, he made them pay by taking it to the basket. No matter what, when the stakes are high, Curry is going to find his shots, and he is going to burn defenses at some point. It could start out slow, and it could end even slower, but at one point in a game, his shooting is going to break an opponent’s back.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Damian Lillard
The next battle between guards will be the one between breakout star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and veteran three-point assassin Damian Lillard. Heading into 2022-23, we already knew that a star could be on the rise in Oklahoma City, but I do not think anyone saw this coming. Gilgeous-Alexander would play 68 games, which was his most games played in a season since 2020, and averaged 31.4 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 1.6 SPG on a career-high 51.0% shooting. His speed, change of direction, and crafty finishes at the rim have made him one of the toughest defensive assignments in the league and will be a tough task for Lillard to cover.
As for Lillard, he, too, had a remarkable comeback season after missing most of 2021-22 with an abdominal injury. In 58 games played, Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 7.3 APG while shooting 37.1% from three and tying a career-high with an overall shooting percentage of 46.3%. Lillard has no issues with letting his shot go from any distance at any moment, making him one of the deadliest offensive options in the NBA at this time. In a matchup with Gilgeous-Alexander, he and Curry will use similar game plans to find their shots. We all know that neither can be double-teamed, or the other one gets left open to go to work.
LeBron James vs. Luka Doncic
If we are taking these players as they stand in 2022-23, then this may be the most interesting matchup of the entire series. LeBron James is 38 years old and still doing things that make us shake our heads as they unfold on the court. In year 20, James averaged 28.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 6.8 APG. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points in NBA history and, despite some injuries, still looked fresh and as athletic as he has been over the last five seasons. The one thing he will need to use to his advantage over Luka is his size which will allow him to excel as a passer, playmaker, and scorer.
For Doncic, he isn’t exactly what many would call a shooter simply because he isn’t efficient enough to be labeled as one. In 2022-23, Doncic averaged a career-high 32.4 PPG on 49.6% shooting overall and 34.2% from three. As “Inefficient” as he was shooting from three. He had a great year shooting 57.8% from 3-10 feet and 51.0% from 10-16 feet which are the best numbers from those distances for his young career. Doncic will patiently pick apart a defense, and slowing down LeBron is the goal to beat any team where he opposes you.
Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Jayson Tatum
The next matchup at the second forward spot is Giannis Antetokounmpo going head-to-head with Jayson Tatum. Giannis is the exact player in mind when we came up with Team Athleticism, as he exemplifies exactly what it means to have a superhuman-like ability on the basketball court. Giannis is as strong, fast, and can jump as high as any other player in the game today to dominate on both sides of the ball and lead his team to victory. In 2022-23, Giannis used his size, power, and skill to average 31.1 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 5.7 APG on 55.3% shooting. Giannis will have a massive advantage in the paint against a much smaller Tatum, who will have to work extra hard on both sides of the ball.
Jayson Tatum is another player who cannot exactly be considered a shooter to the casual fan, but for the ones that know he’s eighth in the NBA in three-pointers made per game with 3.2, he is definitely one. Tatum shot 35.0% from three this season and led the Celtics to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference with 30.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 4.6 APG. Tatum will want to create shots and look for open opportunities off-ball created by the attention others draw, as well as his patented side-step three that he loves to let loose.
Joel Embiid vs. Kevin Durant
The last and final matchup will initially look extremely one-sided, but maybe not as bad as you think. On the one hand, we have the likely MVP Joel Embiid, who is a menace at the rim and from the mid-range and will exploit this all day long in the matchup with a smaller and more finesse-style player Kevin Durant. Embiid led the NBA in scoring with 33.1 PPG and 10.2 RPG on 54.8% shooting from the floor. He and Giannis can create a wall defensively on the interior, but that does not stop Durant from doing what he does best.
Kevin Durant is one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen. In 2022-23, Durant became the first player in NBA history to record a season in which he had 55/40/90 shooting splits. The more impressive thing about it is that he did it while averaging 29.1 PPG. In a matchup with Embiid, Durant will have to keep his game at the perimeter and work from the mid-range for the most part. That doesn’t bother Durant much, considering the mastery with which he shoots the ball, but it could get old quickly if he cannot challenge Embiid on the defensive side of the ball.
Team Athleticism’s Advantages
You would be hard-pressed to search both of these teams and find any glaring weaknesses, but there sure are strengths and advantages that each one holds over the other. The first one for Team Athleticism is about as obvious as it gets. The frontcourt of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid has to be an advantage themselves with their ability to defend the rim and dominate offensively in the paint and, for Embiid, a bit further out. What is underrated for both of them is their playmaking and passing, which will be easygoing if Team Shooters wishes to double them at any point.
The other advantage, and this one should be even more obvious at this point, is the speed and pace at which they will play the game. With Fox, Gilgeous-Alexander, and LeBron controlling the tempo, this team will constantly be out in the open court and on the run pushing at all times. Fox and Gilgeous-Alexander are both extremely dangerous in the open court as scorers, as is Giannis, who is a constant threat on the run as well. James is a great open-court scorer, too but he will be valued much more as a playmaker in those situations, but his buckets will come as well.
Team Shooters’ Advantages
It may seem like Team Shooters is completely outmatched by the skills and strength of Team Athleticism, but that is not the case. First of all, they have the advantage of the three-point shot from several different angles on the court. The spacing will be incredible, with all five players able to let it fly from three at any given moment. It also helps to have two guards with Lillard and Curry, who will draw a ton of attention, leaving three others with more open opportunities. This could turn into a shootout between teams firing from three and scoring at will in the paint.
The second advantage that I believe Team Shooters have over their opponent is in the playmaking department. As great of playmakers as LeBron and Giannis are, Team Shooters can attack from every angle with a decent to elite playmaker. Curry and Damian Lillard are generational playmakers based on the attention they can draw as shooters and the shots created from that. Luka Doncic is one of the smartest and most methodical players in the game and can score or assist at will as well. As for Durant and Tatum, they are both underrated passers who can create their own shots, making them a versatile threat on the offensive side of the ball, as we all know.
Who Wins This Matchup In A 7-Game Series?
This series starts out as a snooze fest, with each team struggling to adjust and find a rhythm in Game 1. Team Shooters took a while to find their rhythm but eventually found it thanks to the duo of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Curry began to get hot from three during the second quarter, while Durant helped them fire back during a fourth-quarter surge. It was not enough to stop the frontcourt of Giannis and Embiid in Game 1, however with each of them going for over 30 points and 12 rebounds. LeBron cleaned up with 14 assists, while Fox and Shai each had 17 points to deliver the Game 1 win for Team Athleticism 132-120.
In Game 2, Team shooters got off to a much hotter start than in Game 1, with Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry each lighting it up. Lillard would knock down six out of 12 attempts from three in the game, and Curry would go 8-15 himself as they both recorded 30-point games in a big situation. For Team Athleticism, early foul trouble caused Embiid to miss critical time on the court while Giannis did his best to keep things close. Fox also had another strong game with 25 points and eight assists, but Team Shooters would even the series up at one game each, 128-117.
In Game 3, LeBron James would be a man-possessed, flying all over the court determined to give his team the advantage heading into Game 4. In the first half, he found Giannis at least half a dozen times on fast breaks as Team Athleticism ran all over Team Shooters. Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum finally got involved, with 24 points and nine rebounds from Doncic and 26 points and 7 rebounds from Tatum. Giannis would lead all scorers with 43 points while Embiid collected three blocks, and LeBron once again dished out 14 assists. Team Athleticism goes up in the series 2-1 by a score of 131-123.
In Game 4, it would once again be the greatest shooting point guards of all-time ready to step up and deliver for their squad. Things got off to a slow start, and Team Athleticism even began to build a lead for a time before Curry and Lillard got hot. Giannis would once again lead the way with 36 points, but today was Curry and Lillard’s day. Curry would shoot an incredible 7-11 on three-point attempts and finish with 31 points, while Dame shot 6-10 and finished with 27. Once again, Team Shooters sneaks away with a win to tie the series 119-106.
In Game 5 is where we would see the tides begin to change drastically in the series. For team Shooters, everything that could go wrong did for them in a crucial spot. Curry and Lillard went astronomically cold shooting the ball, and Doncic turned into a rabid turnover machine. Durant was the only one to get things going for Team Shooters with 30 points, but this one was all Team Athleticism. Joel Embiid led the way with 40 points this time, and Giannis grabbed 16 rebounds as they cruised to a 3-2 series lead, 129-11.
In Game 6, Team Shooters would put up much more of a fight. Jayson Tatum got in on the offensive party once again and would finish the game with 24 points on 56.0% shooting. Doncic was much more careful with the ball and dished out 13 assists, finding Durant and Curry curling off screens for the most part. However, Team Athleticism would be just too much for Team Shooters in the long run. Giannis and Embiid had worn down Tatum and Durant too much defensively for it to be considered fair at this point. LeBron had picked apart another defense like it was nothing, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and De’Aaron Fox filled their roles to perfection. Team Athleticism would close out the series in six games behind another 40-point game from Giannis, 122-108.
Final Result: Team Athleticism vs. Team Shooters 4-2
Series MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo
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