From Point Guard To Center: The Team Of The Decade 2000-2010

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Over the last decade the NBA has seen a large collection of talent, and many players that are HOF worthy.

We've seen high flyers and ball magnets, rebounding gods and lights out shooters. This decade has been one of the best decades for basketball and probably only second to the Magic/Bird era of the 80's.

There is great debate over which players performed the best at their respective positions over the last decade (2000-2010) and here are the best and most influential players of the last decade, position by position.

-----Point Guard-----> Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd a.k.a Mr. Triple Double edges out Steve Nash and Allen Iverson as PG of the decade. No other point guard could match his statistical brilliance over the last decade. with a career total of 103 triple doubles he stands at number 3 for all time regular season triple doubles and second all time for playoff triple doubles which he has 11 of.

This gifted point guard has been a:
 *9 time all star

 *6 time All-NBA team

 *9 time all-defensive team

 *1995 rookie of the year

 *5-time NBA regular-season leader, assists per game: 1999 (10.8), 2000 (10.1),2001 (9.8), 2003 (8.9), 2004 (9.2)

 *3-time NBA regular-season leader, total assists: 1999 (539), 2001 (753), 2003 (711)

 *NBA regular-season leader, total steals: 2002 (175)

 *NBA All-Star Skills Challenge champion: 2003

Kidd was such a gifted player that Kobe Bryant publicly asked for the Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak "ship" Andrew Bynum's "ass out" when he was discontent with the management of the team.

He also
    * ranks 2nd in playoffs triple-doubles (11)
    * ranks 3rd in regular season triple-doubles (103)
    * ranks 3rd in assists(10,199)
    * ranks 4th in guard rebounds (7,398)
    * ranks 6th in assist-per-game average (9.2,)
    * ranks 7th in steals (2,198)
    * ranks 9th in 3-pointers made (1,486)
    * ranks 14th in steal-per-game average (1.99)

Kidd is the only player in NBA history to have a 700+ assist 500+ rebound season 7 times. Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson have only managed to do this 6 times.

He is also the only player to record at least 15,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists in his playing career.

Kidd is only one of three players to average a triple-double for multiple playoff series he joins Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain who are the only other players to have achieved this. Also he was the first player in 10 years to record a triple-double for 3 consecutive games with 13 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds when he achieved this on August 1 2008.

Kidd has been an indispensable part of "Team USA" for some time now, being a team leader in the "Redeem" team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

 

-----Shooting Guard-----> Kobe Bryant

Yes, who else? No-one comes close to edging Kobe "Bean" Bryant out, when it comes to shooting guard of the decade... or player of the decade for that matter.
Not many players in the history of the NBA have achieved what this man has, he has shaped the game so much. He started playing basketball when he was just 3 years old in Philadelphia but when he was 6 his family moved to Italy. As a youngster he was an amazing basketball and soccer player and if he did not return to the USA he says he would of tried to become a professional soccer player. Luckily for all the Laker fans out there he didn't.

His long list of achievements includes:

*4 time NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009)

*NBA Finals MVP (2009)

*NBA Most Valuable Player (2008)

 *11 time NBA All-Star (1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)

 *2 time NBA Scoring Champion (2006, 2007)

 *7 time All-NBA First Team (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)

 *2 time All-NBA Second Team (2000, 2001)

 *2 time All-NBA Third Team 1999, 2005)

 *7 time All-Defensive First Team (2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)

 *2 time All-Defensive Second Team (2001, 2002)

 *NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1997)

 *3 time NBA All-Star Game MVP (2002, 2007, 2009)

 *NBA Slam Dunk Champion (1997)

Kobe Bryant was one of the few players who entered the NBA straight out of high school, though highly criticized for his decision, he proved his haters wrong and has taken part in the all-star game since his second year in the league.

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