Snake-Drafting NBA Superteams from All-Time Greats
This offseason, the Bleacher Report staff agonized over the best of the NBA's best and ranked the top 100 players of all time. It was an exhilarating, gut-wrenching and nostalgic exercise.
Since we're suckers for making painful decisions, 11 B/R staffers set out to build fictional six-man units from the top-100 pool, organizing them into teams for a hypothetical league of elites.
The rules were simple: snake draft, peak versions of each player, and no trades. The goal wasn't to recreate history, but to answer a louder, more entertaining question: If everyone had the same board of legends, who could build the best team to win right now?
What follows is a breakdown of each roster plus a healthy dose of second-guessing, because no all-time draft is complete without it.
NBA writers Andy Bailey, Zach Buckley, Mo Dakhil, Dan Favale, Grant Hughes, Eric Pincus, Greg Swartz and Jonathan Wasserman, and editors Jason Dunbar, Bryant Knox and Bryan Toporek comprised our panel.
Who built the best squad? Which team screwed up royally? Sound off in the app comments.
The Draft
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Here's a look at the full draft order:
- Michael Jordan
- LeBron James
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Magic Johnson
- Kobe Bryant
- Tim Duncan
- Shaquille O'Neal
- Stephen Curry
- Larry Bird
- Bill Russell
- Hakeem Olajuwon
- Kevin Garnett
- Kevin Durant
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Nikola Jokic
- Luka Dončić
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Dirk Nowitzki
- David Robinson
- Charles Barkley
- Oscar Robertson
- Jerry West
- Anthony Davis
- Allen Iverson
- Julius Erving
- Kawhi Leonard
- Scottie Pippen
- Chris Paul
- Dwyane Wade
- Bill Walton
- James Harden
- Steve Nash
- Clyde Drexler
- Ray Allen
- Reggie Miller
- Jason Kidd
- Manu Ginobili
- Tracy McGrady
- Jayson Tatum
- Moses Malone
- Vince Carter
- Kyrie Irving
- Joel Embiid
- Dave Cowens
- Paul George
- Gary Payton
- John Stockton
- Carmelo Anthony
- Klay Thompson
- Grant Hill
- Draymond Green
- Jimmy Butler
- Karl Malone
- Damian Lillard
- Isiah Thomas
- Russell Westbrook
- John Havlicek
- Paul Pierce
- Chris Bosh
- George Gervin
- Walt Frazier
- Dennis Rodman
- Dominique Wilkins
- Elgin Baylor
- Pau Gasol
- Joe Dumars
Team Jordan
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PG: Jerry West
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Paul George
PF: Dave Cowens
C: Anthony Davis
Sixth Man: Joe Dumars
It was a no-brainer to select Michael Jordan with the No. 1 overall pick in this draft. If he's not the best player of all time, he's no worse than second.
Jordan brings scoring, clutch buckets, an unrelenting desire to win, and a heavy dose of defense. He won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1987-88 and earned nine first-team All-Defensive selections during his legendary career.
In Round 2, I rounded out my backcourt with The Logo, Jerry West. This team now has two of the most clutch players in NBA history while taking nothing off the table defensively.
The thought for the next pick was to add size, rebounding and rim protection. Among the bigs, Anthony Davis was the best available selection. He is a high-IQ player who led the league in blocks three times and has made five All-Defensive teams. He will primarily play center for my team, but he can move to power forward if matchups dictate.
In Round 4, I landed one of the toughest players of the 1970s, Boston Celtics legend Dave Cowens. The tough-minded power forward made three All-Defensive teams, averaged 13.6 rebounds per game for his career and won an MVP in the 1972-73 season.
To finalize the frontcourt in the fifth round, I added Paul George, who gives this roster a movement shooter who can defend at a high level. He's a high-IQ player who has made four All-Defensive teams and is a career 38.3 percent three-point shooter.
The final pick was for the sixth-man position. Joe Dumars fits the mold perfectly as another tough, high-IQ defender who can knock down the three-ball. Dumars shot 38.2 percent from three over his career and brings more punch off the bench without taking anything off the floor on D.
This squad will be a lockdown defensive team with a lot of lineup versatility. Each player is capable of playing multiple positions and roles on the floor. This team would be ideally suited to run the triangle offense, with the end-of-game options being Jordan and West.
This team is winning a championship.
— Mo Dakhil
Team LeBron
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PG: Gary Payton
SG: Allen Iverson
SF: Oscar Robertson
PF: LeBron James
C: Joel Embiid
Sixth Man: Pau Gasol
Michael Jordan was the dream target, but LeBron James may make it easier to build a roster from scratch. We're going to move him all around the floor from point guard to the 4. If James isn't your GOAT, then he has to be No. 2 behind MJ. No player has impacted a game in more ways for this many years.
Iverson gives the lineup a special mix of scoring and swagger. He'd play point guard in today's NBA, but I also like him at the 2 here, particularly knowing who I was going to snag later in the draft.
Robertson's career averages: 25.7 points, 9.5 assists, 7.5 rebounds. The versatility between him and LeBron creates too many advantages.
Peak Embiid was the NBA's best big, and that's what we're drafting—not the player who's struggled to stay on the floor. Suddenly, a team with LeBron and Iverson now has an elite post scorer and rim protector who can also stretch the floor.
Payton was a late-round target after drafting Iverson. This backcourt now has one of the game's premier defensive guards to pair with one of its most potent scorers.
The starting lineup was missing a second true big, so Pau Gasol can come off the bench to play the 4 or 5 if Embiid ever gets hurt.
— Jonathan Wasserman
Team Kareem
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PG: John Stockton
SG: Kyrie Irving
SF: Julius Erving
PF: Charles Barkley
C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Sixth Man: Elgin Baylor
Selecting at No. 3 overall and with (no surprise) Michael Jordan and LeBron James off the board, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his unstoppable sky hook was the obvious choice.
The NBA's second all-time leading scorer, Abdul-Jabbar has more MVPs than Jordan (six), more titles than James (six) and was a member of 11 All-Defensive teams. He led the NBA in scoring, rebounds and blocks in various seasons and has the most dominant offensive move in the history of basketball, one that no one has ever quite been able to replicate.
Before he became the GOAT of basketball media, Charles Barkley was a force offensively and on the glass. The only player to win MVP over Michael Jordan during one of his title years, Barkley was an 11-time All-Star and one of the best power forwards in league history.
One of the most exciting players of the 1970s and '80s, Julius Erving brings even more star power to my team on the wing. An NBA MVP and three-time ABA MVP, Erving did everything well on the basketball court, including combined lifetime averages of 24.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks a game.
With my frontcourt set, I needed some guards who could set the table, shoot and create for themselves as needed. Kyrie Irving fit all of these criteria and possesses some of the best handles in NBA history. Pairing Irving and Erving sounds like the most exciting lawfirm in history.
To tie the starting five together, I selected the NBA's all-time leader in assists and steals to help out on both sides of the ball. John Stockton led the league in assists per game for nine straight seasons (an incredible 13.1 during that stretch) and is going to feed Erving a steady dose of alley-oops and make sure Abdul-Jabbar gets his paint touches as well.
Elgin Baylor was No. 26 on B/R's top-100 players list, so I was thrilled that he was still on the board at No. 64. The 11-time All-Star completes my squad as a sixth man, bringing career averages of 27.4 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
— Greg Swartz
Team Magic
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PG: Magic Johnson
SG: Vince Carter
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Dominique Wilkins
C: David Robinson
Sixth Man: Carmelo Anthony
I wanted my first pick to set an uptempo, offense-first identity and be able to elevate everyone around him. Magic checked both boxes with ease.
Even without a reliable outside shot (325 triples in 906 games), he'd be incredible in the modern game with the versatility of the queen in chess and the ability to mash smaller defenders around the basket. Plus, his pass-first style would not only perk up the rest of my roster, it'd also infect them with the contagiousness of ball movement.
With Johnson in place, I wanted to nab him a pick-and-roll partner. Robinson became a no-brainer when my wishes of Hakeem Olajuwon or Wilt Chamberlain falling to No. 19 weren't granted. Robinson has the athleticism to sprint with Magic in the open floor, the skills to find his own shot in the half-court and the defensive tenacity to anchor everything in the middle.
From there, I wanted defense, shooting and some half-court creation. I found all three with Leonard. When guaranteed full health, he's the type of two-way talent who probably shouldn't have been available in the third round.
In Round 4, the possibility of pairing Magic with someone nicknamed Half-Man, Half-Amazing felt almost unfair. Carter is electric on his own, but he'd get a voltage boost from his prolific point guard on this squad. The same goes for Wilkins, who routinely filled highlight reels and flirted with 30-point averages. Lastly, I wanted an impact sixth man, so I grabbed Anthony with my final pick and pictured him shredding nets like he did in the Olympics.
This team is built to run and gun, razzle and dazzle, dish and swish. It's Showtime 2.0, with an absurd amount of scoring power and two of the stingiest stoppers this league has ever seen.
— Zach Buckley
Team Kobe
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PG: Scottie Pippen
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Klay Thompson
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Moses Malone
Sixth Man: Dennis Rodman
Kobe might have finished at No. 11 on B/R's all-time list, but not every contributor ranked him there. After all, who else boasts as many championships in the modern era as Bryant, other than San Antonio Spurs big man Tim Duncan?
Bryant finished his career with an 18-12 record against Duncan, terrorizing San Antonio throughout both championship runs, including the first with Shaquille O’Neal relatively equalized. In his prime, Bryant was more than just an elite scorer. He was also a top defender and willing playmaker, as long as he respected his teammates.
Instead of a traditional point guard, this roster is oversized and elite defensively on the perimeter. Pippen and Rodman enable Bryant to step into the Jordan role, with Thompson as a super-sized Steve Kerr. Pairing Bryant with Nowitzki provides two unstoppable end-game scorers. Good luck double-teaming them with Thompson, one of the NBA’s best all-time shooters, spacing the floor.
No rebounds, no rings—Malone and Rodman will gobble up every missed shot. Team Bryant will destroy all comers on both ends of the floor.
— Eric Pincus
Team Duncan
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PG: Chris Paul
SG: Jayson Tatum
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Tim Duncan
Sixth Man: Walt "Clyde" Frazier
Taking Duncan at No. 6 wasn't necessarily a no-brainer. Someone like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokić or Larry Bird would have provided more floor-spacing. But Duncan brings generational IQ, big-man passing and defense.
Pairing Antetokounmpo with Duncan was too enticing to pass up. Good luck scoring at the hoop on this front line. Giannis' detonative drives would also pair nicely with Timmy's cold, calculated finesse. CP3 is just the guy to table-set for these two bigs, and he has the gravity to play off everyone else on the roster.
This group needed more of a pure on- and off-ball shooter, so Tatum became a welcomed necessity. Prime Grant Hill is among the most underrated players in league history—the point forward before there were point forwards. Having Frazier come off the bench is filthy. We will never not have a born dime-dropper on the court.
Spacing may be a challenge at times in the half-court. Or not. Giannis has polished off his mid-range game, Timmy's elbow bank shots will ensure the paint is never too clogged, and the separation created off screens by our front line will be divine.
— Dan Favale
Team Shaq
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PG: Luka Dončić
SG: Dwyane Wade
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Draymond Green
C: Shaquille O'Neal
Sixth Man: George Gervin
With the seventh overall pick, Team Shaq claimed its namesake in Shaquille O'Neal, who was arguably the most physically dominant player in NBA history.
In any era, Shaq's combination of size (7'1" and often over 300 pounds), footwork and athleticism would make him an impossible matchup. An underrated post player, he didn't score merely by running over opponents, although that happened often. Shaq possessed an underappreciated ability to fake defenders, follow post moves with counters and even hit a little one-handed floater on the rare occasions a defense could stop his forward momentum.
Having him as the brightest star around which everyone else orbits is going to cause problems for every other team in this exercise.
After Shaq, the imaginary front office went way down the board to snag Luka Dončić with the 16th pick. (He ranked 57th in the B/R 100.) However, it's not as big of a stretch as you might think.
The instructions for the drafters read: "Assume that you're drafting every player at the prime of his career." Now, consider how many primes you think are definitively better than Luka's. Over the last six years, he's averaged 30.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists, and the volume of threes he gets up would pull defenses away from Shaq inside.
With Luka at the controls, this duo would be truly unstoppable. With those two occupying the 1 and the 5, the next picks were about finding complementary wings.
That's not a great description of Dwyane Wade, who was unquestionably an alpha early in his career, but he did prove willing and able to scale down alongside LeBron James. He and Luka could combine for a dynamic inside-out backcourt.
Next up, Tracy McGrady felt like a pretty easy call even though he landed at No. 59 in the B/R 100. His 2002-03 campaign, in which he averaged 32.1 points (in the NBA's dead-ball, post-MJ era), 5.5 assists and 2.3 threes, gives him the third-highest single-season offensive box plus/minus of all time. His size, range and athleticism make him a dynamic, multipositional defender as well.
That left a glaring hole at the 4. Although Karl Malone was still available at No. 51, Team Shaq was already loaded with scoring from the first four picks. That made versatility and defense the priorities.
Draymond Green provides loads of both. He can take on the opposition's toughest defensive assignment, create on the break or on the short roll, and he opens up the opportunity to play "death lineup"-esque small-ball units. Those could be a nightmare to cover with sixth man George Gervin on the floor.
Getting the No. 42 player in the B/R 100 at No. 60 felt like a coup. After coming over from the ABA, Gervin averaged 28.0 points over his first eight NBA seasons. He won four scoring titles in that stretch, topping out at 33.1 points in 1979-80.
Having prime Ice Man as a reserve may give this team the ultimate example of the heat-check scorer off the bench.
— Andy Bailey
Team Steph
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PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Manu Ginobili
SF: Jimmy Butler
PF: Chris Bosh
C: Nikola Jokić
Sixth Man: Bill Walton
Four championships, the only unanimous MVP in history, unsurpassed leadership and a sport-altering impact on the game seem like good enough reasons to take Stephen Curry at No. 8 overall. When you start a roster with Steph, you’re assuring beautiful offense and perfect vibes.
It should have been illegal to pair Curry with Nikola Jokić, but until The Fairness Committee renders a verdict, we’re just going to enjoy the single most potent offensive attack ever created. There is no stopping an offense that features these two, and I won’t hear any arguments to the contrary.
I panicked with the Walton pick after Scottie Pippen came off the board three selections earlier, but he helps offset concerns about a defense led by Jokić in the middle. In addition to being the best big-man passer until the Joker came along, peak Walton was an All-Defensive first-teamer who collected a Finals MVP for the title-winning 1977 Blazers and followed it up with a regular-season MVP in 1978.
Manu Ginobili was a must-pick for me. His craft, competitiveness and daring style fit perfectly with Steph and Jokić. Jimmy Butler adds toughness and shutdown defense against opposing wings, while Chris Bosh gives us three-point shooting, length and mismatch-busting low-post impact at the 4.
Led by Steph, Jokić and Manu (plus Walton when he’s on the floor), this group will play The Beautiful Game and move the rock like no one’s ever seen. Even if we don’t grade out as the top overall roster, we’ll play the prettiest ball.
— Grant Hughes
Team Bird
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PG: Jason Kidd
SG: James Harden
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Larry Bird
C: Wilt Chamberlain
Sixth Man: Karl Malone
It was tempting to take Bill Russell at No. 9 overall, but center was the most loaded position early on. Even with Kareem, Shaq and Tim Duncan off the board, I knew I'd get one of Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or Hakeem Olajuwon in the second round. So, I went with a fellow Boston Celtics legend in Larry Bird instead. The three-time MVP was one of the most well-rounded stars of the '80s, and his three-point shooting would fit in well with the modern game.
I was originally targeting Nikola Jokić in Round 2, but I couldn't pass up the most prolific big man in NBA history in Chamberlain. His numbers were undoubtedly inflated by the era in which he played, but you can't teach size. At 7'1" and 275 pounds, the Big Dipper would have dominated anytime, anywhere.
There was a steep drop-off at shooting guard after MJ, Kobe and D-Wade, which made James Harden a priority for me in Round 3. He might hemorrhage points on defense, but he'd make it all up with pick-and-rolls with him and Wilt on the other end.
That's what made me go with Jason Kidd in Round 4 over the likes of John Stockton and Isiah Thomas. My team already had plenty of scoring between Wilt, Bird and Harden, but Kidd adds even more playmaking and a lockdown backcourt defender to cover for Harden.
To round out my roster, I stopped Karl Malone's shocking slide in Round 5. Traditional power forwards might have gone the way of the dodo, but Malone's mid-range potency and high-volume rebounding made him a steal in this range. And with Paul Pierce still on the board in Round 6, I slid him into my starting small forward slot, shifted Bird to power forward and made Malone the most dominant sixth man in NBA history.
My roster boasts 10 total MVP awards and seven championships. If opposing teams put a bullseye on Harden in the playoffs, good luck contending with the size of Pierce, Bird, Malone and Wilt down low.
— Bryan Toporek
Team Russell
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PG: Steve Nash
SG: Damian Lillard
SF: Reggie Miller
PF: Kevin Durant
C: Bill Russell
Sixth Man: John Havlicek
When you can land a top-five all-time player at No. 10 overall, you smash the draft button and figure out the rest later. Having authored 11 championships as the NBA's ultimate winner, Russell brings rim protection, the quickness to run in a pace-and-space system and a career 22.5 rebounds per game to clean up after a roster built on shooting.
And oh, does Team Russell have some snipers.
While getting buckets was never the five-time MVP's thing (career-high 18.9 ppg), Durant might be the most natural scorer in history. The two-time Finals MVP and four-time scoring champ is one of eight players to average 27 points per game for his career, and he ranks fourth all-time in both total playoff points and points per game.
With an unquestioned alpha locked down, distribution became the priority. At No. 32, Nash edged Jason Kidd, Chris Paul and John Stockton because the two-time MVP would not only mesh well with Russell's ability to spark a break off a defensive board, sparking a Seven Seconds or Less Sun renaissance of sorts, but also give this team its second 50-40-90 shooter.
Three picks later, Tracy McGrady was tempting, but Durant already covered wing scoring. Reggie Miller was the sharper fit as an off-ball menace who ranks sixth in all-time threes, a number he reached before the three-point revolution. And, you guessed it: The Pacers legend makes a trio of 50-40-90 shooters on one squad.
At No. 54, Russell Westbrook and a full-blown Team Chaos identity was tempting, but doubling up on non-shooters wasn't workable. Enter Damian Lillard, another logo-range gunner who's twice been a 30-point scorer and will prevent teams from over-helping on KD and Miller.
The squad's last pick came down to a pair of Celtics legends, Paul Pierce and Havlicek. Hondo, as an eight-time All-Defensive player and the namesake of the Sixth Man award, won out as the glue piece given the team's relative lack of stopping power.
This group will bludgeon teams with shooting and pace, but there were trade-offs. The Nash-Lillard backcourt can be hunted defensively, and against wing-heavy builds, the burden shifts to KD and Havlicek to contain elite scorers. Still, that's the wager: That Russell can erase enough mistakes, that four shooters will stretch the floor until it breaks, and that Durant, Lillard and Miller can close games when the margin shrinks.
It's not balance, it's a bet on firepower. And in a league of all-timers, that's the clearest path to separation.
— Jason Dunbar
Team Hakeem
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PG: Isiah Thomas
SG: Ray Allen
SF: Clyde Drexler
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Hakeem Olajuwon
Sixth Man: Russell Westbrook
With our first pick, Team Hakeem landed a cheat code in Hakeem Olajuwon. The NBA's all-time blocks leader by a long shot, Hakeem is also No. 1 in steals among centers (No. 10 overall) and No. 14 all-time in scoring. The 7-footer displayed the fanciest, most effective footwork we've ever seen at the center position. And while his two Finals MVPs in the '90s prove his dominance, the real flex is that today's stars still line up to train with him 20 years after his retirement.
In Round 2, we pulled off a heist, sliding Kevin Garnett next to Hakeem. I thought about pairing The Dream with Kevin Durant, arguably the smoothest scorer ever and a (likely) 7-footer himself. But KG beat out KD because his two-way versatility transcends eras—and because the combined rim protection between him and Hakeem will erase approximately everything.
Rounds 3 and 4? Unbelievably, my fellow GMs left me Clyde Drexler and Ray Allen. Clyde, a 10-time All-Star and master of the mid-air glide, adds wing scoring, transition artistry and secondary playmaking. Allen, who also made 10 All-Star Games, brings elite spacing and heroic shooting as the No. 3 marksman all-time from three.
Of course, we didn't grab a point guard until Round 5, but patience paid off. The steal of the entire draft was 12-time All-Star Isiah Thomas, who slid from No. 27 in B/R's all-time rankings to my 55th pick. Then, we capped things off with a sixth man who has averaged a season-long triple-double three times: Russell Westbrook. His intensity, added to IT and KG's, will overwhelm opponents.
— Bryant Knox
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