Rose-Iverson Debate: How Modern NBA Stars Would Fare Against Comparable Legends
My dad is a man of analogies. To him, history is a giant, ongoing recycling bin of modernized doppelgangers. And no individual talent is unique. Lady Gaga is this generation’s Madonna. Andy Reid is this generation’s Marty Schottenheimer. And SpongeBob Squarepants is this generation’s Bugs Bunny.
This is why it’s no surprise that my dad is also a huge basketball fan. In mainstream culture, only rappers are capable of building more powerful individual brands than basketball players. NBA faces are the most recognizable in the sporting culture. Other mainstream stars are forced to wear helmets, shoulder pads or both while they play. But basketball players are a jersey, a pair of shorts, socks and shoes away from being completely naked. Even role players stick out to the average fan.
Think of it in a Boston-context, one of the most prominent four sport towns in America: even out-of-towners would have no trouble spotting Celtics forward Glenn “Big Baby” Davis at a shopping mall or supermarket. But they’d have much more trouble pointing out Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon or Patriots running back Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis.
So naturally, basketball’s historical lens is based almost solely on comparing modern stars to legends of the past. Kobe Bryant can’t take off his warm-up jacket without fans questioning whether Michael Jordan would have even sat on the bench. LeBron James has to “be” Magic Johnson if the Heat is going to build a dynasty around two central superstars like the “King” and Dwyane Wade. Greg Oden (don’t laugh purely at the mention of his name) was the best defensive center since Bill Russell as a 10th grader at Indiana’s Lawrence North High School.
Perhaps the most hot-button example (outside of Kobe and Jordan) is based on a pair of shoot-first point guards who’ve turned the crossover dribble into an injury risk for any defender brave enough to try to stop it: Derrick Rose and Allen Iverson. Rose’s MVP-worthy ascension from collegiate facilitator to professional offensive focal point has pushed this analogy into a conscious light. The fact that Rose, a Chicago-born kid who grew up to become the Bulls’ biggest star since “His Airness,” could warrant a better analogy with Iverson also reminded fans that these comparisons can make sense even when Jordan is not a part of the conversation (ahem Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse, Tracey McGrady).
So let’s match up and add to my dad’s recycling bin. Best of seven series. Modern stars vs. legendary doppelgangers.
Starting Five: 1. Point Guard-Derrick Rose vs. Allen Iverson
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As great as Iverson was, his limitations as a facilitator prevented the Sixers from building a championship team around their “Answer.”
While Iverson failed to make happy music with his multitude of scoring “sidekicks” (Jerry Stackhouse, Larry Hughes, Keith Van Horn, Glenn Robinson, Carmelo Anthony with Denver), Rose has already demonstrated at the college level that he’s capable of deferring to scoring teammates when he’s surrounded by them.
On these teams, not sharing the ball would be like a preschool teacher depriving her students of lunch and naptime. You just don’t do it.
Edge: Rose
2. Shooting Guard-Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan
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Seriously. Find me two legends in any sport or profession with more similarities.
For a basketball fan, seeing these two alpha dogs go head to head in the fourth quarter would be the ultimate viewing experience.
Sort of like a history professor getting to watch Teddy Roosevelt debate America’s future against Abraham Lincoln.
Edge: Push
3. Small Forward-Andre Iguodala vs. Scottie Pippen
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Pippen is widely considered the best on ball defender in NBA history. Phil Jackson has often claimed that no one defends Kobe Bryant tougher than Iguodala.
While it’s doubtful these two defensive aces would actually guard each other, their versatile floor games would be an ideal complement for their star-studded teammates.
Iguodala may be the most underrated player in the game today, but Pippen is the greatest complementary player of all-time.
Edge: Pippen
4. Power Forward-Dirk Nowitzki vs. Larry Bird
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The silky-shooting Celtics legend is one of the top five players in NBA history.
5. Center-Dwight Howard vs. Hakeem Olajuwon
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Olajuwon went up against perennial all-stars and future hall of famers on a nightly basis in the NBA’s golden era of back to the basket big men, and the Rockets legend was far and away the best of the lot. If there’s a modern center that could have competed in the league’s post-driven heyday, it’s Howard, whose combined prowess on both ends of the floor is eerily similar to the “Dream” himself.
But the new “Superman” isn’t banging shoulders with the Patrick Ewings, the David Robinsons and the Dikembe Mutombos of the world.
Edge: Olajuwon
The Bench Dogs: 6. Vince Carter vs. Dominique Wilkins
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Neither of these above-the-rim legends possess the intangibles to come off the bench and push a team to victory in the fourth quarter. But they’re equally capable of shifting the momentum in a split second with a highlight-reel play you’ve probably never seen before.
Edge: Push
7. Paul Pierce vs. Clyde Drexler
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Neither of these second banana shooting guards (Drexler to Jordan in the ‘90’s and Pierce to Kobe in the ‘00’s) possess the physical capabilities of Carter and Wilkins. But they both want to take the big shots. This makes them ideal candidates to carry a team when its best scorers are having an off shooting night (think James Harden with the Thunder).
Pierce has outdueled LeBron and Kobe in the same postseason (2008). Drexler talked a big game, claiming he was “just as good” as Michael Jordan during their matchup in the 1992 NBA Finals, but never backed it up as the front man on the biggest stage (his only championship in 1995 was won as a second banana on Olajuwon’s Rockets).
Edge: Pierce
8. Ray Allen vs. Reggie Miller
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I know, putting Allen and Miller on this list is like saying the Sedin brothers look alike. But considering how much the three point shot has contributed to the development of the sport, it would have been childish to leave the two most prolific shooters of all time on injured reserve.
While Allen may be number one on paper, Miller carried some marginally talented Pacers teams farther than they ever should have gotten.
Edge: Miller
9. Pau Gasol vs. Kevin McHale
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It took a promotion to the starting lineup midway through his fifth NBA season (1984-85) for people to realize just how perfect McHale was in a second fiddle role to Larry Bird.
It took a deadline deal midway through his seventh NBA season (2007-08) for people to realize just how perfect Gasol is in a second fiddle role to Kobe Bryant.
But McHale is used to providing a spark off the bench (he won back to back sixth man of the year awards in 1984 and ’85) and could be spectacular at the drop of a hat (once scored a Celtics record 98 combined points in back to back games).
Gasol is merely solid all the time.
Edge: McHale
10. Ron Artest vs. Dennis Rodman
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Quite possibly the two biggest enigmas in the history of anything, “Ron Ron” and “Worm” make the Olsen twins look like calculated decision-makers. But if their heads are on straight, Artest and Rodman provide the type of defense and rebounding that can push a team over the top.
As a face-up defender (his most valuable skill), Artest is a step below Pippen and on the same level as Iguodala. Rodman has no challengers when it comes to cleaning the glass (his most valuable skill). The thought of him teaming with Olajuwon is downright scary.
Edge: Rodman
Coaches-Rick Carlisle vs. Doug Collins*
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I know what you're thinking. Carlisle and Collins over Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley and Rudy Tomjanovich?!!!
But let's be honest. All of those coaches are so unique that they truly have no doppleganger.
Carlisle and Collins are similar in every sense. Both are defensive-minded. Both turned every team they ever inherited into a winner. And both got forced out of potentially career-defining jobs by ego-maniacs: Carlisle by Joe Dumars with the Pistons in 2003 and Collins by Michael Jordan with the Bulls in 1989.
For those reasons, Carlisle and Collins are still the most underappreciated coaches in the game today. Both also possess a wealth of basketball knowledge far beyond there years. Collins is 60. Carlisle is 51.
Edge: Collins
*Even though Collins just got back into coaching after a seven year hiatus, he would still coach the legends in this series because they played during the prime of his coaching career from 1986-2003.
Final Verdict
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In a seven game series, it’s hard to bet against a lineup with the two meanest fourth quarter assassins of all-time in Jordan and Bird. Throw in Allen Iverson at point guard and Reggie Miller off the bench, and you may just have a fistfight for the ball in the game’s waning moments.
This plays right into the modern stars’ hands, as Kobe and D-Rose have no issue deferring to Nowitzki, the biggest matchup problem on the floor, with the game on the line. Throw in a few ice water Pierce jumpers and momentum-shifting “Air Canada” slams, and the modern stars defeat their older brothers in seven multiple overtime games.
And oh yeah, after the victory, Ron Artest thanks his pediatrician for giving him a passing physical before the series.
Final Result: Modern Stars in 7
Bonus Matchups
13 of 13Arenas: Oklahoma City Arena (Thunder) vs. Chicago Stadium (Bulls)-The loudest arenas of the past two decades bar none. But let's be honest, basketball is still a novelty to Thunder fans. Bulls fans have been here for decades. And the modern stars would have to have home court advantage because Michael Jordan would never lose on his home floor.
Edge: Chicago Stadium
Broadcast Teams: NBA on TNT vs. NBA on NBC-The fact that TNT is mentioned here without even being the home of the Finals is a testament to the network's ability to hire talent that can entertain and inform in the same breath (well Charles Barkley might need two breaths). Both networks have also enjoyed the emphatic!ally hyperbolic services of the great Marv Albert as its top play by play man. But NBC still compounded it's narrative-style coverage with the greatest television theme song of all-time (See above).
Edge: NBA on NBC
