The All-Time NBA Team: Bench and Alternates

The fact that his best days were in the ABA and his skills dwindled when he went to the 76ers makes it hard to give him as much credit as he probably deserves.

11. Hakeem Olajuwon (1990-1999)

You have to give credit to one of the few great players not named Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen that won a championship in the 90s. Make that two championships—and that was without any other stars on the Rockets.

He played at a time where there were plenty of true centers who could give him a run for his money, such as Dikembe Mutombo, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing. This is the main reason why I couldn’t give this spot to Shaq. Olajuwon isn’t as dominant, but is more skilled and is better-rounded than O’Neal.

Shaq was a very good player, but dominated mostly against very quick PFs forced to play center, or guys who were undersized, but strong. The only players you could make an argument for as competition are Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire, and neither of them are as great as the best centers in the 90s.

I’m not taking anything away from O’Neal—he might be a better player than Olajuwon. I just don’t know if he would stand out as much in an era with several great centers. Either way, the difference isn’t that great, which is why I am giving Olajuwon the nod here.

If Olajuwon and Wade or Olajuwon and Bryant ever got to play together, they might have taken away a championship or two from the Bulls.

12. Bob McAdoo (1970-1979)

McAdoo is one of the most underrated players of all-time. He was dominant pretty much the first day he walked onto an NBA court. While his stats peaked very early, he still belongs on this list because he refined Dolph Schayes’ game, and was an even better outside shooter.

McAdoo is a career 50-percent shooter, and would’ve been an outside shooter if the three-point lane existed during his time. However, he still had exceptional range and was great at putting the ball on the floor.

The main reason why McAdoo loses a lot of credit on all-time lists is because he played on teams that weren’t that good, so he was the go-to option by default.

But it’s hard to take away his rebounding ability and perimeter skills—and he was still one of the better players of the '70s.

Alternates (2010-2019):

13. LeBron James

Believe it or not, we have not seen the best of James.

He is only 25 years old and is already one of the best players in the game. There is no question that he’s going to be better than Bryant at some point. It’s just a matter of when.

James is already a more proven leader than Bryant, who didn’t prove he could be an effective leader until last year. James has gone to the NBA Finals—and would have been in the Finals again this year, had Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge not decided to play fantasy basketball and bring in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

The Cavs’ leader has made his squad one of the more competitive teams in the Eastern Conference—without having anyone around him.

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