With my 5th pick I will select PF Larry Nance. I think he compliments my starting 5 perfectly. He is an efficient scorer at the 4 position w/ a career .546% FG percentage. He also shot .755% from the FT line, so he is not a liability in that aspect. He has great size and athletic ability @ 6'10/205 and he was one of the more prominent dunkers of his era. A player who could throw down on anyone....past, present, and future. He also avg'd a solid 8 boards per/gm, along w/ 2 blocks, and .9 steals.

Nance's ability to get to the rack, coupled with Nique's ability to draw contact, and Shaq being a foul magnet adds a solid advantage.

Since this draft is an analysis of a player's entire career, my next pick is an easy one for me. Possibly the best European player ever, Arvydas Sabonis didn't get to BR NBA until he was 31, so unfortunately we didn't get to see much of him at his best. He did win a gold at the 88 Olympics, leading a team over a bunch of US players selected ahead of him here.

Even though he was past his peak, he averaged 23 pts and 10th boards in his first trip to the playoffs, is first NBA season. His size can move Hakeem to pf, and his vision, passing and range (shot 33% from three for his career) will make it easy for the to coexist on offense. I'll happily welcome another hof'er to the team.

My next pick will be Steve Nash. Deadly accurate shooting and can run an uptempo offense with the best of them. Sure, his defense may hurt, but with Larry Bird and Willis Reed down low, and having slashers all around, Steve Nash fits in both offensively and his deficiencies could be covered up as well.

Not really sure how this guy has fallen this far...but now it would be an injustice for me not to pick him. If you can't tell from my first pick, I have built my team around a flashy point guard. So why not start my bench out with one as well. Going to go with the Houdini of the Hardwood Bob Cousy. The man who single handedly resurrected the NBA in the 50's, Bob Cousy incorporated function with Harlem globetrotter type flash. After Cousy was originally snubbed by the Celtics in the draft claiming he was all style but no substance, he eventually did get signed and managed to be an all-star all 13 years of his career in the Celtics uniform, 6 of which he helped bring the title home. Cousy was the most effect distributor of the ball in his time, and frustrated opponents to the point where teammate "Jungle Jim" Loscutoff proclaimed himself as Cousy's unofficial bodyguard on the court.

With Magic starting and Cousy coming off the bench, our franchise has already started negotiating business deals for merchandising and private investors who want to build a 100,000 capacity stadium for our team. Whether or not we'll be champions remains to be seen but we will definitely sellout games.

To round out my starting five, with my next pick I’m going to take Paul Pierce. A player who can extend the defense with his shooting and capable of driving to the cup on excellent head fakes if the defender closes in on him. Solid post scorer. Won’t play defense the entire night but will turn it up when the lights are on and the game is on the line. Tends to turn up his entire game during the playoffs. Was a primary scoring options for years with the Celtics BUT has the willingness to assimilate when he has better talent around him. Obviously on my team, he’ll have no problem being the fourth scoring option behind Duncan, McHale and Robertson.

To fill out my starting 5, my 5th draft pick (and 58th overall) is Nate Thurmond. Is it because he averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds for his career? well, those are pretty good numbers. Is it because he averaged double digit rebounds for 12 straight seasons? yeah, that helps.
But the main reason I'm drafting Nate - interior defense. Wilt Chamberlain & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have said that Nate Thurmond was the toughest defender on them. So, if he could handle them, I think he can handle most others. Thurmond averaged 2.9 blocks per game in 1974, his 10th year in the league (the first year they kept track). He was 32 years old at the time, so just imagine what he must have been doing between the ages of 22 and 31.

My next pick is [b]Billy Cunningham[\b]. He was incredibly versatile and could play 3-5 while being an excellent rebounder, Good scorer, great passer, and good defender. On my team he could probably run point forward enabling me to run my offense through almost all of my starting five.

to end the fifth round, i will select one of the greatest big-time clutch performers in nba history, "big game" james worthy. his versatility on defense, his rebounding, mid-range game, post game and ability to run the floor on the break will be a solid help. he also has some of the size that elgin lacks, so for bigger match-ups, he can fill in accordingly. and he will also raise his game for the playoffs and key moments, which can't be overstated. he's also not a ball dominant player, and he understands that he is a complementary piece.

to kick off the sixth round, i'm taking one of the two best defensive point guards ever. the man who magic johnson said is the best perimeter defender of all time, dennis johnson. i get a guy who understands the game from a cerebral standpoint, has the ability to score, but also the willingness to be a distributor. a tenacious and nasty defender with size and quickness, he is incredibly well-rounded and will, in my eyes, effectively negate or hamper every point guard selected.

With my next pick I take the Squid Sidney Moncrief. By taking Sid I won't lose any defense when either West or Clyde go to the bench. Moncrief won back to back DPOY awards and is the only guard to win 2. He made 4 All NBA Defensive 1st teams, 1 2nd team, 1 All NBA 1st team, and 4 All NBA 2nd teams. He could also score with 5 straight years around 20ppg (19.8 being the exception) while being a career 50% from the floor and 83% from the line shooter. Moncrief was also a capable passer and a very good rebounder, but it's his all world defense that is the reason for the selection here. I feel that with West, Frazier, and now Moncrief any backcourt in the draft can be shut down defensively, at least as much as it's possible to shut down these legends.

Oh, come on! I was all set to choose Dennis Johnson as my 6th man. Then, after I saw that he had been chosen, I said, "well, ok, I can still get Moncrief."....just my luck. Whatever. Well, with my 6th choice (and 63rd overall) I choose the best all-around small forward of the 70s - Bob Dandridge. He played big roles on 2 championship teams, and 2 more Finals teams. He was the crunch time scorer for the Bullets teams that made back to back Finals appearances, and his career playoff averages of 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 40 minutes per game are very impressive. He was very clutch, often playing huge in important games, including outperforming Julius Erving in the 1978 Eastern Conference Finals, while also playing great D on the Dr. Dandridge was credited by his peers as having as good a jump shot as Jerry West, Lou Hudson, anyone you can name. I think he'll serve my team great off the bench as a scorer and defender that can guard positions 1 through 3.

YES! The first guy I wanted off my bench is still available. With this next pick I’m gladly picking Robert Parish. One of the most over-looked centers of all time. He may have not been a top five center nor a franchise center BUT his skill and ability to mesh with great players around him makes him a valuable pick for me. Very underrated defender in terms of controlling the paint. One of the better post defenders of all time. Offensively, he was very crafty. Not as many post moves as McHale but solid moves to make him a legit scoring threat. Had a high release shot that was unblock able. Very good mid-range shooter. Deceptively quick and fast. Especially on the break. Parish may look slow BUT there were just too many times I see him finishing on fast breaks.

For the first big man off the bench I'm going to go with Alonzo Mourning. One of the most intimidating post defenders ever in the NBA, 'Zo has one of the highest average blocks per game since they started recording it in 1973. On the offensive side he possessed a decent aresnal of post moves including the classic georgetown runner hook across the paint as well as a decent midrange shot (he even was a threat from 3pt land for a couple of seasons). Sadly Zo's kidney problems plagued a significant portion of his career. But even in his return after transplant surgery, he provide instrumental backup for Shaq, and even reprised his starting role during while Shaq was out. Mourning provided instrumental assistance in helping the Heat make their Championship run in the 2005-2006 season.

For the backup to Willis Reed, I am going to take Dwight Howard. Perhaps might be a controversial pick, but what Dwight would bring off the bench on a team that features Steve Nash and Larry Bird will allow Dwight free roam in the paint and bring the physical presence down low to block shots and lock down the paint.

My next pick may be one of the most unappreciated guards in NBA history. At his peak, Mitch Richmond was only second to MJ at the SG position. One of the best all time pure shooters, he gives my team much needed pop from the wing. A deadly 3 point shooter, Richmond also hovered between 4 and 5 assists a game before being put out to pasture (otherwise known as being traded to Washington in his 30's). He's perfect for the fast paced attack on offense and defense my team is shaping out to be perfect for, while also having great range for a big, half court style when I'd go with Hakeem, Arvydas and Barkley on the floor together.

Bonus Fun Fact: Mitch's cousin is Lardarius Webb, cornerback from the hometown Ravens. How could I not take him?

For my 6th man I had to select Manu Ginobli...he is the prototypical 6th man, and if needed he could step in and start immediately. He is a fundamental player, with athletics, and a dead-eye shooter. Can't go wrong w/ him coming off my bench.