The practice of naming all-time starting fives is both entertaining and controversial. The NBA, after all, has a long list of all-star players, and narrowing them down to just five can be difficult. Recently, Steph Curry was asked to name an all-time starting five. And while there was one glaring omission from his list, it included the no-brainer of a pick in Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
Legendary quintet
One cannot name an all-time starting five without His Airness. Michael Jordan is a six-time NBA champion, five-time MVP, 14-time All-Star, and an Olympic gold medalist. He was also the Defensive Player of the Year and has ten scoring titles to his name. There’s no way around it – Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players in history, and an all-time starting five would not have any credibility if it didn’t include him.
Joining Jordan in the backcourt is another legend in Magic Johnson. At small forward, Curry named the late great Kobe Bryant, while the frontcourt has Shaquille O’Neal at center and Tim Duncan at power forward.
No LeBron
Curry, though, did not add “The King” LeBron James to his five. To be fair, Curry also did not include himself or any of his contemporaries in the mix, which is understandable. Curry’s starting five is an impressive one, and it’s a testament to just how much talent has graced the NBA over the decades. But if you were to dissect Curry’s quintet, it does lack a knockdown shooter, which could cramp the spacing.
But it’s hard to argue with Curry’s selection as he chose some of the most iconic basketball players in history as part of his starting five. It will be interesting to compare his team to all-time lineups that other legendary players have assembled.