Building the Ultimate NBA Player Using the Greatest Superstars in League History

If you could take different aspects of players' games throughout NBA history and blend them together, you'd be able to create one hell of a player. Aside from the fact that it would probably end up looking something like Michael Jordan, let's take a look at what this ultimate NBA player would look like. 

To do so, I've taken 30 crucial elements of success in the NBA and chosen the historical player (or current player in a few rare cases, seven to be exact) who best embodies that trait. However, each player could only be selected once. 

Starting with athleticism and ending with versatility, only because these are sorted alphabetically, read on and watch as the ultimate NBA player develops. 

NOTE: story's photo cover courtesy of thetruthsports.com.

Athleticism: LeBron James

LeBron James is an athletic freak. Whether you love him or hate the Miami Heat superstar, you can't deny that fact. 

At 6'8" and 250 pounds, LeBron shouldn't be as fast as he is, but baseline to baseline, he may be the fastest player in the NBA. How else do you think he gets so many chase-down blocks on fast breaks?

Plus, he can jump and bang with the best of them. James may very well be the most athletic player in NBA history. 

Blocking: Bill Russell

It's really a shame that the record books don't have statistics on how many blocks per game Bill Russell averaged. 

While the most common number thrown around seems to be roughly six (which would shatter Mark Eaton's career mark of 3.6 per contest), I've seen estimates as high as a dozen. 

Based on reputation alone, the nickname-less Russell takes the cake here. 

Clutchness: Jerry West

Jerry West had two prominent nicknames. One was The Logo. The other one was Mr. Clutch. 

You can guess which one applies here. 

Who can forget the 60-foot shot he hit to tie up Game 3 of the 1970 NBA finals as time expired? Wilt Chamberlain, who inbounded the ball, had already turned away and was walking toward the locker room assuming the game was over.

It wasn't the only clutch shot West hit in his career.  

Court Vision: Steve Nash

Even though he may not have played long enough or racked up enough assists in the seasons he has played to rival John Stockton on the career leaderboard, Steve Nash still possesses unbelievable court vision. 

The point guard for the Phoenix Suns has an uncanny ability to assess what's going on with the players and defenders around him, see into the future like a chess player and understand exactly what pass he needs to make to have success. 

Creativity: Earl Monroe

Whether you call him Earl Monroe, The Pearl, Black Jesus or even Thomas Edison (as his high school teammates called him due to his penchant for inventing moves), there's no denying that this guard had some serious creativity. 

Monroe was the one who picked up where Bob Cousy left off when it came to bringing flair to the NBA. 

The original streetball-to-NBA player once said about himself, "You know, I watch the games and even now I never see anyone who reminds me of me, the way I played. You have to be unique. Earl Monroe’s will be unique.”

Crossover: Allen Iverson

How many players can legitimately claim to have crossed up Michael Jordan badly enough to break MJ's ankles during their rookie season? 

The Answer is one: Allen Iverson. 

Thanks to his speed and sick handle, the man who didn't need to practice could use his crossover to blow by any defender he wanted to. I'm also convinced that his cornrows had some impact in this area. 

I considered Tim Hardaway here as well, but no one can touch Iverson's crossover.  

Defensive Rebounding: Artis Gilmore

If you count ABA stats alongside NBA stats, no one can touch Artis Gilmore in the defensive rebounding category. 

The Hall of Famer reeled in a jaw-dropping 11,514 defensive boards during his career, 108 more than Karl Malone, who finds himself second on the list. 

Gilmore did take 17 years to achieve this number, but they were all productive ones. 

Dribbling Ability: Pete Maravich

In terms of flair and creativity with the ball, Pete Maravich is unmatched. 

To back that up, here's a quote from Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball: 

"

In every conceivable way, Pistol Pete was ahead of his time. Seeing him in person was like seeing twelve Globetrotters rolled into one: no pass was too far-fetched, no shot too far away. He'd glide across the court—all rubbery limbs, ball attached to his hand like a yo-yo, blank expression on his face—and you never knew what would happen next, just that the scoreboard never mattered as much as the show. Kids from that era remember his appearances on CBS's halftime H-O-R-S-E contests more fondly than any of his games. Even his basketball cards were cool, like the one from 1975, when he sported an extended goatee and looked like a count...He made impossible shots look easy. He saw passing angles his teammates couldn't even imagine. He was the most entertaining player alive..."

"

Dunking Ability: Julius Erving

I present the case:

Reason No. 1: the free-throw line dunk. 

Reason No. 2: Rock the Baby.

Reason No. 3: I don't like Vince Carter. 

The defense rests. 

Durability: Robert Parish

If it seemed like Robert Parish was around forever, it was because he was. 

After he was drafted at No. 8 in the 1976 NBA Draft, Robert Parish joined the Golden State Warriors and spent the first four years of his career there. Then he played with the Boston Celtics for 14 seasons until he was 40 years old. But he wasn't done yet. 

The Chief finished his career by spending two seasons with the Charlotte Hornets and then one with the Chicago Bulls before retiring in 1997 at age 43. 

Excluding that final season, he played at least 72 games every single year. 

Footwork: Kobe Bryant

One of the things Kobe Bryant has worked the hardest on during his storied NBA career has been his footwork. 

Part of the mastery that is his game is the ability to make each and every step he takes count. Bryant never seems to put on a poor display of this subtle nuance of the game of basketball. 

It's by no means glamorous, but it's important. 

Free Throw Shooting: Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry may not have had enough seasons to place on the career leaderboard for free-throw percentage quite yet, but he'll find himself at the top when he qualifies. 

Steve Nash and Mark Price are currently tied atop the leaderboard at 90.39 percent, but Curry through two seasons has hit at 91.1 percent. 

Hair: Dennis Rodman

Google "Dennis Rodman hair."

You're welcome. 

Interior Defense: Hakeem Olajuwon

Perhaps it's because he had such a good understanding of offensive moves in the paint or perhaps it was just because he was an athletic seven-footer, but Hakeem Olajuwon was the second-best interior defender of all time. 

The first was Bill Russell, but he's already appeared in this slideshow. 

Hakeem the Dream would swat the ball back in your face with no regard for your teeth. It was a chore to score against him in the paint and few did with consistent success. 

Jumping: David Thompson

You don't earn the nickname "Skywalker" without the ability to jump pretty damn high into the air. 

David Thompson was one of just two players whom I considered for this spot. The other was Nate Robinson and his 48-inch vertical, but KryptoNate didn't have the same size that Thompson did when he launched himself off the ground. 

This Hall of Famer also had a 48-inch vertical, but he had a 6'4" frame to launch into the air. 

Killer Instinct: Michael Jordan

The man who steals this trait has to be none other than Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time. 

Jordan made more game-clinching or game-winning shots than anyone else in history and never seemed to hesitate to put his foot on his opponent's throat whenever that opponent was down on the ground. In fact, that one trait made him who he is. 

Even shining through in his Hall of Fame induction speech, Jordan's killer instinct allowed him to have that "take no prisoners" attitude. He took every slight as motivation. Hell, he even made up fake insults to motivate himself. 

Leadership: Tim Duncan

It's only fitting that basketball's model franchise, the San Antonio Spurs, would have the best leader. 

Tim Duncan has been incredibly great ever since he first entered the league as the No. 1 overall draft pick. Aside from the constant complaining about the refs and the lack of visible personality, Duncan has been everything you could want from a player.

He sets an example on and off the court and is a terrific role model for younger players, a trait he undoubtedly gained after the willing tutelage of David Robinson. 

Without his leadership, there's no way the Spurs would have won as many titles. 

Mouth: Larry Bird

Throughout his time in the NBA, Larry Bird was always one of the league's best trash talkers.

For example, one Christmas Day, Bird told Chuck Person before the game that he had a present waiting for him. While Person was on the bench, Bird spotted up right in front of that bench, hoisted up a three-pointer into the air, spun around while the ball was in the air to say "Merry f-----g Christmas" and then watched as the ball fell right through the net for three points. 

The rest of the 1986 All-Star weekend three-point shooting contestants can agree that Bird was a great trash talker. Larry Legend supposedly walked into the locker room, surveyed the other contestants in it and then explained that he was trying to figure out who would finish second. Do I even need to say that he won?

These are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Bird's exploits in the field of trash talking.   

Bird may have been as skilled at humiliating opponents with his mouth as he was with his game.  

Offensive Rebounding: Moses Malone

No one can even come close to Moses Malone when it comes to offensive rebounding. 

If you include both ABA and NBA stats, Moses is first with 7,382. Artis Gilmore is second with 4,816. 

If you only include NBA stats, Moses is still first with 6,731. Robert Parish is second with 4,589, and that's only because The Chief played for a ridiculous number of seasons. 

Outlet Passing: Bill Walton

During his prime in the 1970s with the Portland Trail Blazers, no one could match Bill Walton as the best all-around center in the game. 

One of Walton's most enduring traits was his ability to corral a rebound and then find the open man with an outlet pass to start a fast break in the opposing direction. 

No one has ever been better than The Big Red-Head at finding that pass. 

Passing: John Stockton

With over 4,000 assists more than anyone else in NBA history, John Stockton is the greatest passer of all time. 

Sure, he may have benefited from great teammates and a great coach and played during an era of the "phantom assists" (assists that might seem a bit dubious nowadays), but Stockton knew how to get the ball to his teammates. 

Perimeter Defense: Gary Payton

You don't get the nickname "The Glove" without the ability to shut down your opponent. 

No one in NBA history has been a better perimeter defender than Gary Payton, who made his legend during the 1990s and 2000s, most notably with the Seattle SuperSonics. Guards were simply terrified of having to go up against him. 

Payton was the one name that an opposing player didn't want to see in the starting lineup if he was hoping to get the ball into the hoop that night. 

Post Moves: Kevin McHale

Kevin McHale didn't have Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Shake, but he had roughly 34,984 different post moves that he could use to embarrass his opposition. 

The longtime Boston Celtic is unmatched when it comes to creativity in the low post. There wasn't a move he couldn't master. 

Power: Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal, he who once shattered a backboard AFTER there were breakaway rims (unlike Darryl Dawkins), thrived on power. 

He used his huge body to back down opponents and then, for lack of a better word, overpowered them on the way to the rim. 

Shaq was absolutely unstoppable during his prime, mostly thanks to this characteristic. 

Shooting Ability: Adrian Dantley

This may seem like an odd choice, but I promise it's the right one. 

What better stat is there to determine shooting ability than true shooting percentage? According to Basketball-Reference.com, "True shooting percentage is a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws."

The top four places on the career leaderboard are occupied by Artis Gilmore, Cedric Maxwell, James Donaldson and Adrian Dantley. But the impressive part is that Dantley is the only guard on that list, meaning he inherently took more difficult shots because they weren't all near the basket. 

Dantley was a great, historically underrated scorer and managed to shoot 54 percent from the field from the shooting guard position. 

Slashing Ability: Dwyane Wade

Has any player other than Dwayne Wade been able to consistently get to the rim with such extraordinary ease?

Flash's unique blend of quickness, athleticism and a nose for the basket leads him on an unstoppable path toward the hoop. His quick slash is absolutely deadly.

Our player will be unstoppable with his blend of other skills and ability to drive to the rim like Wade. 

Speed: Tiny Archibald

When your name is Tiny Archibald and you play in the NBA, there are two possibilities:

1. Tiny is an ironic name and you're actually a 7'0" giant. You may actually be even taller. Or you could way 300 pounds. 

2. You're incredibly fast and use that to make up for your challenge in the height department. 

For this Tiny, the latter was true. 

Stealing: Walt Frazier

Walt Frazier might not have had the luxury of statisticians tracking his each and every theft of the ball, but he still developed quite a reputation for steals. 

Clyde was stylish off the court and he was stylish when he was playing defense. He'd lull his man to sleep before lunging forward and snatching the ball away and starting a fast break. 

There's a reason he made so many All-Defensive First Teams back in the day. This was the reason. 

Three-Point Shooting: Ray Allen

With his pure shooting stroke, penchant for hitting the big shots in big games and godlike calves, Ray Allen shot his way to the top of the all-time three-pointers made list, passing Reggie Miller this past season. 

He has one of the sweetest jump shots of all time and is never afraid to let it fly from downtown. If I could have any three-point shot in history, I'd take Jesus Shuttlesworth's and never look back. 

Versatility: Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson was a point guard. Yet, he was the centerpiece (pun intended) for this legendary moment, which was included on my 60 most pivotal moments in NBA history:

"

In one of the most memorable games of all time, Magic Johnson proved his versatility.

It was Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals and star center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had just been ruled out of the game by team doctors for the Los Angeles Lakers. In stepped rookie point guard Magic Johnson.

Magic would lose the opening tip to the Philadelphia 76ers' Caldwell Jones, but that's the only thing he would lose that night. He put up a final stat line of 42 points (14-for-14 from the free-throw line), 15 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block in the 123-107 series-clinching victory for the Lakers. 

"

Adam Fromal is a syndicated writer and Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.

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