Lonzo Ball recently revealed his all-time NBA starting five. Let’s take a look at who the New Orleans Pelicans’ point guard chose and where he might have gotten it wrong.
Lonzo Ball of the New Orleans Pelicans recently took part in a quick Q&A with Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com
He was asked questions about everything from his favorite musical artist (Future) to who he thinks is the most underrated NBA player (Jrue Holiday…and we agree).
But the most interesting question was when Lonzo Ball was asked to name his all-time NBA starting five.
If you asked a hundred NBA fans to name their all-time starting five, you might get a hundred different answers.
It really depends on the age, as there are young fans out there who think basketball started with Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes of the New Orleans Pelicans.
It’s easy to have recency bias when it comes to these types of questions, especially if you watch old footage and see players in tiny shorts who look like they are hungover while wearing canvas Chuck Taylor’s.
Yes, we’re talking about you, Larry Bird.
He may have been wearing a borderline man-kini, rocked a porn stache and curly mullet, but the dude could play, so let’s not rule out the old-timers.
It’s easy to watch modern players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and think that there is no way players from the past could hang with these guys athletically and you might be right.
I’ll give Lonzo Ball credit, he didn’t just choose a team full of his contemporaries and actually picked a couple of guys who are *gasp*…. old.
Given Lonzo Ball’s self-confidence it is surprising that he didn’t just pick himself and four other guys on the current New Orleans Pelicans, but he chose modesty instead.
Here’s Lonzo Ball’s all-time NBA starting five and where we thought he might have gotten it wrong.
Point Guard
Magic Johnson: Los Angeles Lakers
It is not surprising that Lonzo Ball named Magic Johnson as his starting point guard, as they have a lot in common.
Magic was the prototype for point guards like Lonzo Ball. His height gave him the ability to see over defenders and allowed him to guard multiple positions on the floor.
Lonzo Ball isn’t quite as tall as Magic, but has flashed similar otherworldly passing ability and always seems to be a step ahead of everyone else.
Lonzo Ball is trying to start a new “Showtime” with the New Orleans Pelicans after being traded from the Lakers for Anthony Davis. (We think the New Orleans Pelicans won that trade by the way).
We can’t really argue with this one, as Magic had five rings and three MVPs. Hopefully Lonzo Ball will bring similar hardware to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Who we would have chosen: Magic Johnson
Honorable Mention: Isaiah Thomas, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Stephen Curry
Shooting Guard
Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
Ok, this is probably the biggest no-brainer choice.
Lonzo Ball took Michael Jordan as his starting two-guard and there is really no argument against this one.
Jordan is widely considered the greatest player of all-time, has six rings and five MVP awards and was at one time the most famous man on the planet.
If you are too young to have seen Jordan play, sorry about that, as the guy was unreal, even by today’s lofty athletic standards.
He won ten (yes, ten) scoring titles in his career, but was just as good on defense, and often took over the game on both ends.
It was a somewhat surprising choice considering both Lonzo Ball and his father LaVar said that they could beat Jordan one-on-one:
Even Lonzo had to laugh at his dad on this one and if you’ve seen the old footage of LaVar playing, you know why.
Lonzo Ball made the right choice here and we won’t argue.
Who we would have chosen: Michael Jordan
Honorable Mention: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LaVar Ball (kidding)
Small Forward
Lebron James: Los Angeles Lakers
This is not a shocker either.
Lonzo Ball has talked at length about how LeBron James was his biggest influence as a player and that he idolized him growing up.
LeBron spent this season wrecking the New Orleans Pelicans, so it’s not surprising that Lonzo Ball’s answer hasn’t changed.
LeBron is definitely in the discussion as the greatest of all-time and you’ll get no argument here.
My only beef would be that LeBron is not really a small forward, he’s a point guard in a power forward’s body.
Much like Magic, LeBron has pioneered a new position in the NBA, the point-forward.
He’s leading the NBA in assists this year and his passing seems to get better as other parts of his game slow down (sort of).
LeBron is in year 17 and still one of the top-five players in the game, which itself is pretty amazing.
We can argue whether LeBron is a small forward or not, but we can’t argue about his inclusion on Lonzo Ball’s all-time starting five.
Who we would have chosen: LeBron James
Honorable Mention: Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Durant
Power Forward
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
Ok, this is where we start to have some disagreement.
Lonzo Ball chose Kevin Durant as his starting power forward, which seemed like a bit of a cheat.
Durant has played the four in his career, sure, but he is more of a small forward than a power forward.
Basketball reference even has him listed as a shooting guard.
Durant does most of his work on the wing, where he is one of the best shooters of all-time.
His combination of height and deadly accuracy make him impossible to guard and there are few players from the past with his combination of size, quickness and shooting.
We love Durant, but just to be contrary, we’ll go with a more traditional power forward here.
Let’s also let Durant’s career play out before we crown him one of the all-time greats.
Yes, he has an MVP award and two rings, but they came as a result of joining a team that had just won 73 games. He didn’t exactly climb a mountain to get there.
We are going to stick with the guy who won five rings as the centerpiece of the team and two MVP awards without joining the best team of all-time.
He doesn’t have Durant’s ability from long-range but you don’t need it when you can hit a 15-foot bank shot at will.
Who we would have chosen: Tim Duncan
Honorable Mention: Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale
Center
Shaquille O’Neal: Los Angeles Lakers
This is another one that Lonzo Ball of the New Orleans Pelicans might have gotten wrong.
Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly the most physically dominant player who ever laced them up.
He was an unstoppable force of nature who was like a seven-foot Zion.
But was he really the greatest center of all-time?
Shaq does have four rings and an MVP award, but it’s hard not to attribute a lot of that team success to Kobe and Wade.
We are going to choose a guy with a little less hardware, but who would be uniquely positioned to be even more successful in the modern game than he was in his time.
Our guy has only two rings, but changed the position and would probably be the best center in the league if he still played due to his combination of shooting and rim protection.
Think Joel Embiid, only a lot smoother, a better shooter and not a clown.
He doesn’t have as many rings as the guy in Boston, didn’t play as long as the bald guy in goggles in Los Angeles, nor his womanizing rival, but he was dominant in his day and still would be.
Who we would have chosen: Hakeem Olajuwon
Honorable Mention: Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain
Thanks to Lonzo Ball for his fascinating answers and helping to keep us entertained during the suspension of play.
We at Pelican Debrief are committed to bringing you great coverage of the New Orleans Pelicans during the hiatus.
Thanks for your continued support during these tough times, we appreciate it. Stay safe out there!