7 NBA People We'd Love to Have Lunch with

The basketball gods have smiled down upon us on this day. They've granted us a lavish luncheon with seven living NBA legends of our choosing.

Not just any collection of hardwood luminaries, though. The key is to put together a group of individuals from the history of the game who would be both thoughtful and entertaining, insightful and funny, as adept at discussing the finer points of the game as shooting the breeze about nothing in particular.

Not so easy now, eh? Putting guys like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson at the table might seem like the way to go, simply because they're three of the best players to ever grace the game, but their serious countenances and morose personalities may not make for the most pleasant company.

Ideally, every person at the table would be connected the sport in various capacities and across different eras, with wisdom to pass down and stories to share from each.

So who, then, would wind up at our noontime roundtable of hoops savants?

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Bill Russell

If there's any one living soul who can provide perspective on the NBA from its infancy to the present day, it's Bill Russell.

The greatest champion in NBA history, Russell won 11 titles in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics, including two as a player-coach and a gold medal with Team USA at the 1956 Melbourne Games. The Louisiana native was also named the league MVP on five occasions and later had the NBA Finals MVP trophy named after him.

He was the chief rival of the mythic Wilt Chamberlain, played with and against a litany of Hall-of-Famers and was witness to the dramatic growth and change of the game of basketball from its infancy in the 1950s to its childhood in the late 1960s.

More importantly, Russell was a central figure at the intersection of sports and social change in the mid-20th century. He wasn't just the NBA's first black superstar or the first black coach in professional sports history, though both accomplishments remain among his most enduring accomplishments. He was also an outspoken proponent of civil rights and a highly-decorated black athlete competing in a city that didn't fully appreciate his feats and often derided him on the basis of his skin color.

Russell was never known for being particularly gregarious, though he did host an episode of Saturday Night Live and was relatable enough, within the context of the game, to coach for eight seasons with the Celtics, the SuperSonics and the Kings.

In any case, Russell's profile as a basketball pioneer and his more than five decades of experience in and around The Association would make him a much-needed sage voice at a lunch of NBA legends. 

Jerry West

Jerry West is a rather serious man in his own right, as he made all too clear in his recently published autobiography, entitled West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life. Sitting next to Bill Russell, his most prominent tormentor, might be reason for some concern, as well.

But West's successes as a player, a coach and (especially) a front-office figure speak to a level of understanding and basketball brilliance that only Larry Bird has ever matched. A 14-time All-Star and a league champion in 1972, West was one of the game's first great shooting guards, earning the nickname "Mr. Clutch" for his late-game heroics.

Surely, he'd have plenty to say about playing alongside Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, two of the foremost practitioners of basketball as a form of aerial acrobatics that's taken for granted today but was a rarity back in the 1960s. West also played a key role in the Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game win streak, which still stands as the longest of its kind in American professional sports, and was a guinea pig amidst Bill Sharman's institution of morning shootarounds, curfews and careful dieting as parts of preparing players for the rigors of the game.

His three-year stint as coach of the Lakers was solid if uneventful (a record of 145-101 with three playoff appearances), but it's his ongoing experience as a player personnel guru from which the basketball world might glean the most insight. He earned his chops as one of the architects of the Showtime Lakers that dominated the 1980s and later built the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal edition of the late 1990s and early 2000s after being named the NBA's Executive of the Year.

His stint with the Memphis Grizzlies (and current gig with the Golden State Warriors) may not measure up to the rest of his resume, but still speak volumes of his grasp of the game throughout the years and in every facet.

A grasp that would certainly make for stimulating lunch conversation, to say the least.

And really, who wouldn't want to say that they shared a table with The Logo himself? 

Magic Johnson

To lighten the mood a bit, why not invite Magic Johnson to the lunch party?

To be sure, Johnson's ongoing bout with HIV is no laughing matter, though his handling of his illness and the widespread awareness it's brought to the world would be reason enough for joy and optimism in his company.

As would his ear-to-ear smile, engaging personality and infectious energy. Magic may not be the best of TV personas, be it as a broadcast commentator in the 1990s or as a studio guy since the turn of the century, but he's a talkative guy with plenty of stories to tell nonetheless.

His tales of rivalry with Larry Bird would make for fascinating fare, especially alongside those of Wilt as told by Russell. So, too, would Johnson's stories about being a sports star in Los Angeles during the 1980s, when athletes mingling with Hollywood celebrities became a more well-known phenomenon, along with those from his time with the 1992 Dream Team.

Of course, there's no denying Magic's pre-eminence as one of the greatest basketball players of all-time or his place in the annals of NBA history as a savior of the sport and as one of the men who helped to usher in its modern era. He was LeBron James long before multi-positional "point-forwards" were all the rage.

Johnson's successes as a businessman and philanthropist in his life after and outside basketball also make him someone whose brain is well worth picking. He's a pioneer in his own right, as well, having recently become the first African-American owner in MLB history with the Dodgers, though his stake in and role with the team remain in doubt to a certain extent.

What's not in doubt, though, is the fun that Magic would bring to any gathering of NBA legends.

Charles Barkley

For a dose of humor and loud noises, who better to turn to than Charles Barkley?

The Round Mound of Rebound is the only member of the meal so far without a championship ring, though an MVP trophy, a trip to the NBA Finals, a trip to Barcelona with the Dream Team and a place among the 50 (if not 25) greatest players of all-time more than merit consideration among his peers heretofore included.

As does his outsized personality. Chuck always played bigger than his 6'6" frame suggested and has only seen his mouth grow bigger and louder since he hung up his shoes in 2000. He would provide a much-needed dose of pure comic relief to a gathering that's already well-stocked with serious people and sobering stories.

Not that Sir Charles wouldn't have some fascinating anecdotes of his own. He may not have been an NBA champion himself, but he was around to see the Lakers and the Celtics dominate the 1980s and Michael Jordan's Bulls do the same throughout the 1990s. His perspective as an outsider to those experiences would serve as intriguing commentary on the NBA's growth into the global sports powerhouse that it is today.

He might also have a thing or two to teach Bill Russell and Magic Johnson about being an on-air personality, not to mention some words of wisdom for those active players who are considering a move into the booth once their hardwood days are done.

Phil Jackson

With all of these gigantic personalities on hand, it's only fitting that Phil Jackson be invited to dine. The Zen Master would bring a measure of serenity and civility to a table that's bound to get a bit rowdy, particularly with Magic and Chuck on hand.

Phil's the first member of the gathering whose pre-eminence stems from somewhere other than his playing career. To be sure, Jackson was a solid role player in his day and was a member of two championship teams with Red Holzman's New York Knicks, though spinal fusion surgery kept him off the court during the team's famous run to the crown in 1970.

Still, who better to discuss the dynamics of the modern game and the most successful offense (the Triangle) in NBA history than the man who won 11 titles between 1991 and 2010 with the Bulls and the Lakers? Who better than the man who turned Michael and Scottie, Kobe and Shaq and Kobe and Pau into champions to comment on what it takes to succeed in today's NBA?

He might not settle the Kobe-MJ debate, though his first-hand experience with each luminary would add some fuel to the fire, if not bring some general clarity to how a perimeter player could so dominate a game that is (or rather was) tailor-made for big men.

And, presumably, the Zen Master would offer up excellent reading material for each of the attendees, assuming someone can find a way to drag him from his home in Montana.

Doc Rivers

When it comes to the future of the NBA, though, perhaps no single person provides a deeper and more unique insight than does Doc Rivers.

The current coach of the Boston Celtics was a fine player in his own right, earning a spot in the 1988 All-Star Game while playing alongside Dominique Wilkins with the Atlanta Hawks.

His exploits as a coach, though, are far more noteworthy. Rivers is a prime example of how players aren't the only ones who can and do learn and improve with practice and experience. Rivers was solid, if unspectacular, during his tenure with the Orlando Magic and didn't do anything of note in Boston through his first three seasons with the Celtics.

And, to be sure, the success enjoyed by Boston's Big Three in their inaugural season was as much a product of GM Danny Ainge's strokes of good fortune as anything Doc did from the sidelines.

At least, that's how it seemed at the time. Since then, Rivers has shown himself to be a fantastic motivator and smart tactician, as best exemplified by the way in which he nearly steered the paper-thin C's to the NBA Finals this past spring.

Rivers has clearly come into his own and may be next in line to coach Team USA, be it at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro or at a retooled World Cup of Basketball another time.

More over, thanks to his experience with his sons Jeremiah and Austin, Doc is in prime position to comment on the state of youth basketball and how the game is being taught (and its stars groomed) at the grassroots level.

All of which is to say, if you want to know where the NBA is headed, ask Doc.

Jalen Rose

This bunch clearly needs a wild card, so why not throw Jalen Rose into the mix?

He knows a thing or two about college ball after serving as one of the most prominent members of Michigan's Fab Five, behind only Chris Webber.

He also has a pretty good handle on the pro game, thanks to his 13 years in the NBA and the fact that his father, Jimmy Walker, was the No. 1 pick of the Detroit Pistons in the 1967 NBA Draft.

Sure, Rose was never an All-Star and never won a title.

But, if you've ever listened to the Jalen Rose Show on the Grantland Network, you know that there may be no person better suited to detailing the intersection between the NBA and hip-hop culture both on and off the court than him. Rose regularly provides entertaining insight into the lives and times of NBA players through stories of his own and anecdotes to which he was privy during his playing days.

If this lunch-time roundtable needed a moderator, Jalen would be the guy.

Not that everyone would necessarily care for or even understand what he means by "champagnin' and campaignin'" or why he so often invokes rap lyrics to make a point.

Still, Jalen is clearly comfortable discussing any and all aspects of the game, as well as engaging others in leisurely conversation over a scrumptious mid-day meal.