NBA All-time Starting Fives IV- On To the West!
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by Ea34
With the All-time Starting Fives for the NBA’s Eastern Conference franchises in the books, it’s time to jump into the Western Conference. I’m going to start today with the Northwest Division. Have fun reading and debating these. As with the previous batches, I had a great time putting these together! I’m very eager to hear your opinions.
NORTHWEST DIVISION
PG- Lafayette Lever (17.0 ppg, 45.4% FG, 78% FT, 7.6 rpg, 7.5 apg in 474 games)- A woefully underrated player. Other than Magic Johnson, the best all-around point guard of the 80s. He scored, shot a good percentage, and check out his rebounding and assist numbers!
SG- David Thompson (23.7 ppg, 50.6% FG, 77.6% FT, 3.9 rpg, 3.4 apg in 415 games)- One of the best NCAA players ever. Along with Dr. J, Thompson is responsible for taking the NBA game “above the rim”. If not for injuries and substance abuse, he’d be one of the all-time greats.
SF- Alex English (25.9 ppg, 50.9% FG, 84.0% FT, 5.6 rpg, 4.4 apg, in 837 games)- English had some stiff competition from Kiki Vandeweghe and Carmelo Anthony here, but his scoring, better-than-expected rebounding and assists and “face of the franchise” status won out.
PF- Antonio McDyess (18.2 ppg, 48.6% FG, 65% FT, 9.0 rpg, 1.7 bpg in 361 games)- Before injuries turned him into a role player, McDyess was one of the best young PFs in the NBA. George McGinnis got a look here too, but McDyess’ played three times as many games in Denver.
C- Dikembe Mutombo (12.9 ppg, 52.3% FG, 65% FT, 12.3 rpg, 3.8 apg in 391 games)- A two-man race between centers with contrasting styles. Dan Issel outstanding offensive game made a strong case, but the nod goes to the NBA’s best defensive centers of the 90s.
PG- Terrell Brandon (15.6 ppg, 45% FG, 89.5% FT, 3.5 rpg, 8.3 apg in 202 games)- A solid PG everywhere he went, Brandon’s teams just never won enough for him to become a star. More interesting here is that Stephon Marbury came in third, behind Brandon and… Pooh Richardson!!!
SG- Isaiah Rider (18.8 ppg, 45.9% FG, 82.2% FT, 3.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, in 229 games)- One of the most gifted, and dumbest, players in NBA history. Rider was a pretty easy choice here since Sprewell’s numbers didn’t real stack up well and, well, he was REALLY good for a while.
SF- Christian Laettner (17.2 ppg, 47.4% FG, 81.4% FT, 8.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.2 spg in 276 games)- Laettner’s NBA career never lived up to hype of his NCAA dominance, but he was actually a very productive pro. His main competition here? The immortal Tony Campbell (seriously, a franchise-record 20.6 ppg in 237 games!).
PF- Kevin Garnett (20.5 ppg, 49.1% FG, 78% FT, 11.4 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.7 bpg in 851 games)- Almost as easy as SG for the Bulls. He is (still!) the face of this franchise and one of the greatest all-around forwards ever to play the game.
C- Felton Spencer (6.0 ppg, 47% FG, 69.7% FT, 6.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg in 213 games)- Center for the Timberwolves may be the worst position in NBA history. Spencer won an epic battle against Rasho Nesterovic and Sean Rooks. You could make a case for Rasho here.
PG- Terry Porter (14.9 ppg, 47% FG, 84.6% FT, 38.5% 3PT, 3.5 rpg, 7.0 apg, 1.6 spg in 758 games)- A team leader and an excellent postseason guard. Porter teamed with Clyde Drexler in the best backcourt in franchise history, appearing in 2 NBA Finals.
SG- Clyde Drexler (20.8 ppg, 47.8% FG, 78.9% FT, 6.2 rpg, 5.7 apg, 2.1 spg in 867 games)- The best player in franchise history. Drexler’s all-around game was so good, there was actually a debate at one point over who was better, Drexler or Jordan. Appeared in two finals with Portland before finally getting a ring in Houston.
SF- Kiki Vandeweghe (23.5 ppg, 52.6% FG, 88.1% FT, 40.8% 3PT, 2.9 rpg, 2.2 apg in 285 games)- One-dimensional? Maybe. But Vandeweghe was one of the league’s top scorer’s in the 80s, including a great run in Portland in the middle of the decade.
PF- Sidney Wicks (22.3 ppg, 46% FG, 71.3% FT, 10.3 rpg, 4.1 apg in 398 games)- Wicks just edged out Maurice Lucas, Portland’s Walton-era enforcer. Though he peaked in his rookie year, Wicks’ was a monster in Portland, producing some huge numbers in his five seasons with the team.
C- Bill Walton (17.1 ppg, 51% FG, 67.4% FT, 13.5 rpg, 4.4 apg in 209 games)- An obvious choice. The real story here is that Walton would have been a top-five all-time center had he stayed healthy. A classic “What if?” By the way, did you know Mychal Thompson was pretty damn good over 7 seasons in Portland?
PG- Gary Payton (18.1 ppg, 47% FG, 72.9% FT, 4.2 rpg, 7.3 apg, 2.1 spg in 947 games)- Payton was the heart and the swagger of the franchise in the 1990s and one of the best defensive guards of all time. This was no gimme though- Lenny Wilkens stats warranted serious consideration here.
SG- Ray Allen (24.1 ppg, 44.1% FG, 89.8% FT, 38.9% 3PT, 4.7 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.3 spg in 241 games)- An extremely strong and competitive position- even surprisingly so. While Ray Allen’s stats set him apart, Dale Ellis, Ricky Pierce and Gus Williams also put up outstanding numbers in the Seattle backcourt.
SF- Detlef Schrempf (16.6 ppg, 49.4% FG, 80.9% FT, 41.4% 3PT, 6.3 rpg, 4.0 apg in 393 games)- Although Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel produced better offensive numbers, Schrempf’s all-around game was vital in making the Sonics a Western Conference power in the 90s and making the 1996 Finals.
PF- Spencer Haywood (24.9 ppg, 46.3% FG, 81.3% FT, 12.1 rpg, 2.4 apg in 326 games)- I’ll let Spencer Haywood’s stats speak for themselves at this position. I’d like to mention his main competition here: Shawn Kemp. Please take this moment to think back and remember when Kemp was the “Rain Man”.
C- Jack Sikma (16.8 ppg, 47.1% FG, 83.6% FT, 10.8 rpg, 3.3 apg in 715 games)- While the best Sonics’ teams were from the 1990s, it was Sikma’s 1978-79 team that won the only championship in franchise history. Interestingly, Bob Rule (with whom I’m not very familiar) put up huge numbers for the Sonics in the early 1970s.
NEW ORLEANS/ UTAH JAZZ
PG- John Stockton (13.1 ppg, 51.5% FG, 82.6% FT, 38.4% 3PT, 10.5 apg, 2.7 rpg, 2.2 spg in 1,504 games)- One of the great point guards in history and the all-time leader in both assists and steals. He and Karl Malone will forever be the faces of this franchise.
SG- Pete Maravich (25.2 ppg, 43.4% FG, 82.9% FT, 4.3 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.4 spg in 330 games)- The first superstar and most spectacular talent in franchise history. Maravich was the runaway choice here. Jeff Malone and Darrell Griffith also deserve a great deal of respect for their efforts in Utah.
SF- Adrian Dantley (29.6 ppg, 56.2% FG, 81.8% FT, 6.2 rpg, 3.7 apg in 461 games)- No contest! Not only was this a one-man race, the one man is among the greatest, and most underrated, offensive players in NBA history.
PF- Karl Malone (25.4 ppg, 51.7% FG, 74.2% FT, 10.2 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.4 spg in 1,434 games)- One of the best power forwards in history, the NBA’s #2 all-time scorer, a two-time MVP, and he led the Jazz to consecutive NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. Not bad- if you’re into that sort of thing.
C- Mark Eaton (6.0 ppg, 45.8% FG, 64.9% FT, 7.9 rpg, 3.5 bpg in 875 games)- Mark Eaton made up for his limited offensive game by hitting the boards and playing defense. He’s still the NBA’s all-time leader in blocked shots per game.
Up next: The All-time Starting Fives for NBA’s Southwest Division. Stay tuned!
