All decade teams

All 50's team (drafted)
PG Guy Rodgers- The heavily overlooked Rodgers was a bit of a Steve Nash 48 years before Steve Nash was drafted. Bob Cousy's certainly an honorable mention. Bear in mind, though, that Cousy couldn't average 40% FG for his life. That's a big no-no.

SG Paul Arizin- This guy was the man. The best FL in the game. Averaged 11.4 RPG one season...at 6'4"! That class of '50 was stacked.

SF Elgin Baylor- Elgin's the reason we had Billy Cunningham, the reason we had Dr. J, the reason we had Marques Johnson, the reason we had...LeBron. Elgin is the first great small forward. He rebounds like Russell, scores like Dr. J and could drop 50 on anyone....at 6'5".

PF Bill Russell- The greatest champion. Russell is the first low-impact/high-output player. He doesn't have to score much to be effective. He often averaged less than 15 ppg, but more than 20 rpg, more than 4 bpg, etc.

C Wilt- No justification needed. Possibly the greatest ever.

All 60's (drafted)
PG Oscar Robertson- The only one to average a triple double, ever. In '62-'63 he averaged 30/13/12. LeBron, take heed.

SG Jerry West- The Logo. Scored like nothing. One of the first ever combo guards. Makes Dwyane Wade look like a copycat.

SF Rick Barry- The first of the ABA legends. One of the reasons why, by 1970, the ABA was stacked with greater talent than the NBA.

PF Jerry Lucas- One of the few super heavy rebounders (near 20) not named Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain. Played with Oscar Robertson on Royals teams that, were they still equipped with Maurice Stokes, would have been Celtics-big like the decade earlier. Robertson/Twyman/Lucas/Stokes? Seriously?

C Kareem- Again...no justification needed.

70's
PG- Tiny Archibald. This, for the first time, wasn't easy. You have guys like Magic, and...well, you have Magic. Magic's really good. His advanced numbers (ast%, TS% especially) were top 20 across the board throughout history. I should pick Magic. I'm not going to. Tiny averaged 35 and 11 in '72. 2.6 stl. 35 and a freaking 11. 49% FG/85% FT/110 3's. Magic's better. I've never seen a PG average 35, though. I respect that highly. Let's think. In this season, Tiny took 2106 FGA's. He averaged 11.4 AST on 27 AST%. That's 3378 passes resulting in 910 AST. 2106 FGA's + 3378 passes = 5484 touches in 80 games. The team had 7581 possessions. 5484/7581 = 72%. 72% of the time, Tiny was the offensive option. He either scored a point or passed the ball. 72% of the time. Here's a comparison. LeBron in '07-'08, when he was supposedly the "entire team," took 1642 FGA's. He had 539 AST on 24.3% AST = 2218 passes, + 1642 FGA's = 3860 touches. The '08-'09 Cavs had 6454 touches. LeBron was 60% of the team. Tiny was 12% more of the team. Magic, '90-'91, with his career high AST%. 976 FGA, 987 AST on 39.9% AST. 2473 passes, + 976 = 3449 touches. The team had 6911 touches. 50%. For all that AST%, he was only 50% of the team. This was after Kareem retired. In other words, Tiny deserves this for being as ridiculous as he was scoring wise and as selfless, at the same time. Fear not; Magic can be our sixth man, seeing as he plays basically everything.

SG- Pistol Pete. The 70's had some of the classiest players, but in terms of 2's the decade was weak. Pistol Pete was, of course, one of the greatest scorers and passer in history. He also averaged more turnovers than almost anyone.

SF- This is tough, between Dr. J and Bird. I don't know what to do here. Dr. J was "the league" in the ABA and the NBA. Bird was a greater champion, a greater shooter, a greater passer...I don't know. I'm going to make an executive decision. Dr. J gets the 70's. Bird gets the 80's.

PF- Bob McAdoo- Mac averaged 30/15/3 blk in the beginning. Mac was so good, so consistent and so lengthy in terms of career, it's hard to find a combination like him. He was Kareem at 6'9", honestly, without inventing the skyhook.

C- Moses Malone. Lanier comes close, but the 20 year career is staggering. Took the Rockets in Houston to new heights all on his own.

80's
PG- John Stockton. No explanation needed.

SG- MJ. No explanation needed.

SF- Bird. Not technically drafted in the 80s...but did play his first season ending in 1980. It's a stretch. It's also Larry freakin' Bird. We can make allowances.

PF- Sorry, Charles and Karl. We're putting David Robinson at the 4. You can be our sixth man. Robinson was such a skilled big man that it's hard to imagine that he only won two championships, and only with Tim Duncan alongside him. Throughout the 90's, though, he was brilliant. He even dunked like Dr. J. I will give Karl the sixth man, though. He was the epitome of an athlete.

C- Hakeem. You could argue for Pat Ewing...but you'd be foolish in doing so. Ewing scored a lot more than he rebounded, and Hakeem was just...Hakeem. He played like Wilt or Russell or Moses Malone years after that style of play was eliminated.

90's
PG- Steve Nash. I don't want to hear the "he doesn't play defense argument." He's Steve Nash. He's the greatest passer of all time. That's that.

SG- Kobe. 'Nuff said.

SF- Shawn Marion. Over Grant Hill? Si. Over Ray Allen, Peja, Pierce, VC, T-Mac, the Candyman? Claro. Marion was the only player of his kind. His defensive displays, at 6'7", are unparalleled. His stats make you feel weak and restless if you're any other player. Pierce is the honorable mention, but in the end Marion's unstoppable.

PF- KG. Tim Duncan's a...

C- Tim Duncan. I don't want to hear the Shaq arguments. I never liked Shaq. Shaq bores me. His antics are hilarious, but his work ethic is precarious. Duncan is the greatest defensive player of all time.

00's. You can't really justify these yet. I imagine you will be able, however, sooner or later.
PG- Chris Paul.

SG- OJ Mayo.

SF- Kevin Durant.

PF- Blake Griffin.

C- Dwight Howard.

There are too many honorable mentions to count. LeBron, Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon...but, history speaks and I listen.