Arena The First Basketball Draft

I'll go with Larry Bird.

 

This. While I do have a terminal case of Kobe manlove (2nd favorite player of all time and all that), there are still numerous things to not like about his game that I can't see going bye-bye, even ten years from now. Even if the Lakers win this year and the next, he still wouldn't crack my top five, let alone snag the second spot. There are just a few somewhat nitpicky things that are always going to keep him off of that plateau in my eyes.

EDIT:

kobe should be second round. i'm pretty much solid on bill simmons top twelve. not quite that order, but that group of people. but he's top fifteen, not ten.

Uhhhh, thanks to the two titles he's won since Simmons originally created that list, Kobe got a pretty significant bump in the revised paperback. So, uh, I mean if that's your criteria, then Kobe is indeed a first-rounder.

But yeah, as much as I enjoyed Simmons' book and think the pyramid he put together is very solid (I wouldn't agree with all of his placements, but overall, it's a really good list), the order he's got the players in isn't necessarily what would be the best draft order for this particular game.

Prime example: George Mikan at #38. I can totally see why he's at that spot on Simmons' list, but anyone picking him in the 3rd or 4th round here is certifiable. I'm not even sure he should be picked at all, actually. All things considered, I might be better off picking Hasheem Thabeet.

 

Well, that was a pipe dream at best.

Re: Bird

 

Would you take someone from this era over him?

Obviously I wouldn't want you to say who, just if there is.

 

Yep. One.

Though depending on how this postseason plays out, maybe two, maybe none. Or maybe still just one.[/poetry]

 

Poetry too! Is there anything Durron can't do?

And after a convo w/my boy, I probably know who it is. But I wouldn't take him, because I just can't stand those guys.

 

Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon

 

The Big Fundamental please.

 

I wanted Larry Bird.

 

I'm a big fan of Olajuwan, since I have family in Houston and that resulted in my pulling for Houston back in the mid-90s, and I had a poster with Olajuwan on my closet door for years... but I'm a little surprised to see him go quite this early. I was thinking of him more around the end of the first round or early second. But as has been said, I don't think draft order is going to mean quite as much in this draft, so it could still be a very solid pick.

 

Remember to post links to the player, regardless of how famous.

Draft Order

Round 1

1. PointGiven - Michael Jordan
2. DarthMcClain - Kobe Bryant
3. RX Sith - Magic Johnson
4. Empire Forever - Wilt Chamberlain
5. DarthTunick - Kareem Abdul Jabar
6. Gunny - Larry Bird
7. NightHunter319 - Hakeem Olajuwon
8. Shurron - Tim Duncan
9. New_York_Jedi On The Clock
10. JediMaster1511
11. tom
12. Yak

Round 2

1. Yak
2. tom
3. JediMaster1511
4. New_York_Jedi
5. Shurron
6. Nighthunter319
7. Gunny
8. DarthTunick
9. EmpireForever
10. RX SIt
11. DarthMcClain
12. PointGiven


Player List

Hakeem Olajuwon
Kareem Abdul Jabar
Kobe Bryant
Larry Bird
Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan
Tim Duncan
Wilt Chamberlain

Coach List


Leave the list alone, only Judges and the Commish can update the list. If you want it updated ask, it should be done in a timely manner.

 

Aww I was hoping to snag Hakeem with my pick. Give me a little bit (hour or so) to figure out who I want...


edit: Actually whatever, I'll go with the obvious Oscar Robertson, Mr. Triple Double.

 

Yeah that's who I thought. Whole team puts me to sleep.

 

personally i think hakeem deserves to go this high, i'm just surprised anyone actually picked him instead of a flashier one. one of the top four big men of all time to me.

no shurron, that isn't my criteria in the slightest. i just happen to agree with the top twelve he has honestly. and kobe winning two more titles doesn't change that even a little bit because he STILL has the same flaws in his game that, unless they went away, they insured he'd never make it that high on my personal top ten, twelve, or what have you. and yes, i do realize there are people on that lest that are effectively undraftable, but none of them are in the top 12, and no i'm not saying that should be the entire group to go first.

anyway, some good picks, and seems that big men are at something of a premium to most people, considering most of the picks thus far have been them. even bird to a degree, and glad to see him off in the top six. he's one i'd have taken over kobe, bluntly. better tactician, better passer, as good at if not better at scoring, and helluva lot easier to get along with in a team situation. there are some people to make them work well in a team i see needing an extremely good coach, because some of them just had that had that ability. duncan on the other hand, or olajuwon, or jordan (especially jordan, essentiall a coach on the court) are pretty much team minded, and want the entire GROUP to do well. kobe just... wasn't for a long time. pretty sure the only reason the lakers didn't implode when they went on their first three-peat was their coach.

 

Quite possibly, but I was trying to rationalize how some of the other all time greats would do with the current rules, and thought it might be a better choice. I have no expectations of winning, just having fun.

 

oh, don't get me wrong, i'm not saying it's a bad pick at all. just that there were better you could have made. and i'm reasonably sure most people take it that way. as has been said repeatedly, this is probably going to be the easiest draft out there to cover up mistakes with because there's just such a wealth of talent.

 

I'm going to choose Karl Malone.

 

Thank you

 

Yep, that's for sure. There's plenty of great players that will go in the late rounds on this thing.

 

I can certainly dig all that, Trim, even though Kobe's definitely in my top ten regardless.

But now I'm kinda confused about your stance on Wilt. You do realize that Wilt is the poster child for the "stats and records first, winning second" mentality, right? He's legendary in that regard. I think you're right in that, in a pure 1v1 scenario, there's probably no big man in history that can beat him consistently. But what happens if Wilt gets into foul trouble and he stops playing hard because he'll want to keep his record of never fouling out of a game intact? What about his godawful free throw percentage? What about his reputation for being a coach's worst nightmare?

 

I think if this draft is successful we're going to look back in a couple years and find some of the picks/strategies in this one hilarious.

 

Oh goodness, I don't have 2 guys in mind...

 

definite NYJ.

i know that, and i never said he'd be good team material did i? to me, his sheer talent is just that good. but he's definitely another one of those guys that needs a coach that knows how to deal with HUGE egos. but he's pretty much a guaranteed win in a one v one to me. and to me there are VERY few players that you can guarantee a one v one win. to me wilt beats everyone but jordan there, unless he ends up against someone like mugsy bogues who he just can't keep up with, but even then how the hell is someone like that stopping wilt? and should jordan and wilt ever face each other good lord that would be a nightmare and i would note that wilt chamberlain ended up on some CRAPPY teams. that's where some of that me first mentality came from. (read a book that was part auto-biography part biography and those were HIS words on the issue. he figured if the owners wouldn't get him the talent he needed to overcome the celtics he'd be all about himself, and that changed some when he became a laker). another thing is chamberlain did actually respect some other players. russell for one. kobe, as far as i've been able to see for most of his career, didn't. he didn't even really respect jordan. in the last few years that's changed a bit because he's grown up, but he sees himself as the GOAT (still find that hilarious), which means everyone's below him and not due his respect.

i'll admit i'm going to have to figure this out more when matches do finally show up, but not having seen arguments for anything and really going on my own info, thoughts, perspectives, that's where it stands for me. also this is the first time i've ever had to think about them in respects to a draft, and i'm pretty sure my opinion on some things/people will change over the course of it. so take what i'm saying now as prelim and mutable.

but don't get me wrong, BOTH require a coach that can deal with them for their teams to be successful, and i'd make damn sure said coach was never a celtic. can't see either of them working for or listening to a celtic coach/player.

 

They're players. They don't care about such things.