How to Build A NBA Team

I love basketball. So much so that I’ve torn three knee ligaments and both my Achilles tendon while playing pick-up basketball. I began watching NBA basketball in the early 80’s when Dr. J and the Philadelphia 76ers were the most exciting team in the sport…at least to this Jersey boy. Unlike football where I am a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I am not a fan of any NBA team. I enjoy watching great basketball, so I am a fan of players as opposed to a particular team. Throughout most of my formative years, I was a Bulls fan because of Jordan. I was so enamored with Jordan that I didn’t appreciate the other great players of his generation as much as I could have.

The 80’s and 90’s produced some of the greatest teams in NBA history. They did have great players, but the GMs of those teams knew how to build a great team. Recently teams have moved from building teams to trying to amass as many good to great players as possible. As international basketball has shown us before the “Redeem Team”, a collection of great players don’t always make the best team (on a side note, the Dallas Cowboys are proving this to be true in football). With that in mind, I did a four team NBA draft with seven rounds. This draft is based on the players I would choose to win a championship this year only. If I were building a team for the long term, many of the picks would be different and some of these players would not make the list.

I named the teams after my favorite players of the 80’s and 90’s: Jordan, Magic, Bird, and Dream. Remember, the picks are not necessarily based on best available player, but which player is best for the team. Round 1 starts with team Jordan picking first, team Magic picks second, team Bird picks third, and team Dream picks fourth. The second round starts with team Dream and ends with team Jordan. With all the above, my picks and the teams are below. One more thing, players who have an injury this season were not considered…sorry Brandon Roy.

Round 1
Kobe, LeBron, D Wade, Dwight Howard
Round 2
CP3, Dirk, Duncan, Pau Gasol
Round 3
Nash, Stoudemire, Deron Williams, Melo
Round 4
Garnett, Kevin Love, Rondo, Durant
Round 5
Boget, Manu, Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson,
Round 6
Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook
Round 7
Blake Griffin, Al Horford, Monte Ellis, Zack Randolph

Biggest surprises: Derrick Rose lasting until sixth round and Kevin Love drafted in fourth round before Durant, Rose and others.

Team Jordan - Kobe, Pau, Nash, Durant, Boget, Westbrook, Griffin
Team Magic - LeBron, Duncan, Stoudemire, Rondo, Manu, Parker, Horford
Team Bird - D Wade, Dirk, Deron, K Love, Lopez, Boozer, Ellis
Team Dream - Howard, CP3, Melo, Garnett, Joe Johnson, Rose, Randolph