Can you construct a 12-man NBA roster to beat Team USA?
Joe Johnson, Dime #37After last week’s 55-piece McNugget against Team Canada and last summer’s continuous destruction of the FIBA Americas field, we’ve pretty much established that Team USA can wax any team in North and South America (not counting Argentina, who didn’t bring its varsity squad to the Vegas tournament). We haven’t seen what Kobe, Dwight and the rest will do against Spain, Greece, Lithuania and the other European powers yet, but right now they rule this side of the globe.
But can you put together a team of American NBA players not on Team USA that could beat the current Olympic squad? The pool of talent is deep: Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Chauncey Billups, Joe Johnson, Allen Iverson, Amare Stoudemire, Baron Davis, Rip Hamilton, Elton Brand, T-Mac, etc. Put together the best 12-man American roster of non-Team USA players that you think could beat the 2008 Olympians…
July 28th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
CHEE says:
PG: B.DIDDY
SG: JOE JOHONSON
July 28th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
sans says:
contruct?
July 28th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
The Jed says:
Shaq
Duncan
KG
Pierce
Ray
Brand
Iverson
T-Mac
Chauncey
Arenas
Amare
Rip
Alternates:
Baron
Joe Johnson
July 28th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
CHEE says:
PG: B.DIDDY
SG: JOE JOHONSON
SF: TMAC
PF: KG
C: DUNCAN
BENCH: AMARE
BENCH: PIERCE
BENCH:ROY
BENCH: J-SMOOTH
BENCH: CAMBY
BENCH: AGENT ZERO
BENCH: MATRIX
July 28th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Sith Lord 24 says:
G- AI, T-Mac, Jesus Shuttlesworth, Boom Dizzle, Brandon Roy
F- Brand, KG, Andre Iguodala, The Truth, Rudy Gay
C-Duncan, Stat,
Thats my team
July 28th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Junior says:
AI
Mac
pierce
KG
TD
bench
Amare
Marion
Vince
Jesus Shuttlesworth
Gilbert
Shaq or Al jefferson
Joe johnson (for his combo guard skills)
July 28th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Ross says:
I’d just use a combination of the best Spurs, Pistons, Suns, and Celtics (give a few more players).
July 28th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Truth says:
Kevin Garnett – PF
Amarie stoudamire – PF
Chauncy Billups -Pg
Al Horford – C
Joe Johnson – SG
Tracy Mcgrady – SF
Tim Duncan – C
Mike Miller – SF
Brandon Roy – SG
Ron Artest – SF
Baron Davis – PG
Allen Iverson – SG
I know many are like ??? On the Al horford pick. Dude is tough scrappy and not afriad to fight in the paint. I love Arest for his perimeter defense and I think he also brings a toughness. Mike Miller adds permieter shooting and the rest are self explanatory.
July 28th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
that's whats up says:
just add Ricky Davis or Stephon Marbury to Team USA and the college team from Ohio Weslayan would beat them.
guaranteed!
July 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Three Stacks says:
PG: AI, Gil, Boom Dizz
SG: JJ, B-Roy
SF: Pierce, Durant
PF: Brand, Amare, KG
C: Tyson Chandler, Duncan
July 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Justice says:
bill laimbeer
dennis rodman
charles barkley
charles oakley
chris childs
xavier mcdaniel
anthony mason
vernon maxwell
danny fortson
otis thorpe
danny ainge
scott skiles
rick mahorn
No team ever would be able to beat this team! every one would get hurt on the other team by halftime these are some tough sons of bytches…
July 28th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Celts Fan says:
Rondo, Ray, Paul, KG, Perk
j/k, there is no team that could, but the one I’d come up w/ would be:
Chauncey (can play the 1 or 2)
Brandon Roy (can also play both guard spots)
Paul Pierce
KG
Tim Duncan
bench:
Joe Johnson (playing the 1-3, depending on need in the lineup you sub him into) AI, Elton Brand, David West, TMac, Kevin Durant, Baron, Shaq (as long as he’s alive, 7′1″ 350 is enough to take up space under the basket and eat up the glass, just don’t ask him to be the #1 option on a team.)
*Amare would be on my team (and Colangelo’s team too!) if he hadn’t begged out of the Olympics.
July 28th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Celts Fan says:
@Justice, you simply cannot put together a goon team of guys just going out to hurt people and not include Bruce Bowen and Kermit Washington. Might as well just not make the list then…
July 28th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Matt says:
PG-Chauncy Billups
SG-Josh Howard
SF-Paul Pierce
PF-Kevin Garnett
C-Tim Duncan
Bench-Amare Stoudamire
Bench-Greg Oden
Bench-Kevin Durant
Bench-Josh Smith
Bench-Ray Allen
Bench-Brandon Roy
Bench-OJ Mayo
July 28th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Detroit Dave says:
PG: Billups, Iverson, B Davis
SG: T-Mac, Rip, Arenas
SF: Pierce, Joe Johnson, Artest
PF: Amare, Brand
C: KG, Duncan
July 28th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Celts Fan says:
@Truth, the ONLY problem I’d have w/ your Al Horford pick is that he’s Dominican, so it couldn’t happen. That guy is a beast.
LMAO @post9. Wesleyan?!? It woulda been pretty funny w/ someone like UAB, but Wesleyan?!? Well played…
July 28th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Harvey Dent says:
PG: Baron Davis
SG: Gilbert Arenas
SF: Joe Johnson
PF: Josh Smith
C: Amare Stoudemire
Reserves:
Allen Iverson, Brandon Roy, Mike Miller, Mike Beasley, Al Jefferson, Tyson Chandler, and Marcus Camby
That is the perfect mix of players that can play multiple. Plus, you go heavy on the bigs to pressure Dwight, Booz, and Bosh.
July 28th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Justice says:
@celts fan
ur right lol how could i forget..no other team would ever get a loose ball or a rebound on that squad..
July 28th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Truth says:
@Celts fan
I didn’t know that? Well replace him with Brand then?
July 28th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I`CouldBeYourFather says:
My team would take home the gold, silver and the bronze! It’s over!
STARTING FIVE
PG Steve Nash
SG Ray Allen
SF Paul Pierce
PF Kevin Garnett
C Tim Duncan
BENCH PLAYERS
6Baron Davis
7Shawn Marion
8Kevin Durant
9Brandon Roy
10Joe Johnson
11Al Jefferson
12Jerryd Bayless
PF
July 28th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
gary says:
steve nash is canadian…ehh
July 28th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Wilson says:
Chauncey Billups- starting PG, best American PG not on the US team
Andre Miller- backup PG, pass-first mentality and smart with the ball
Rajon Rondo- backup PG, fast and good defense, was the starting PG for a team that won an NBA championship, which is much harder to do than winning the gold medal
Joe Johnson- starting SG, best two-guard in the game after Kobe, Dwyane, and Manu
Brandon Roy- backup SG, becoming one of the best players in the NBA, a Duncan-like winner
Ray Allen- backup SG, the best shooter in the NBA, finally knows how to be a winner
Paul Pierce- starting SF, one of the best scorers in the NBA, finally knows how to be a winner
Richard Jefferson- backup SF, coming off his best NBA season, good defense
Tim Duncan- starting PF, the best PF ever to play basketball
Kevin Garnett- backup PF, killer mentality, beastly versatility, finally knows how to be a winner
Elton Brand- starting C, only current player besides Shaq, Duncan, and Garnett to average 20 10 2, good defense
Tyson Chandler- (isn’t the USA alternate anymore since getting injured) backup C, rebounding and defense
Some bigname players like Iverson, Mcgrady, Arenas, Marion, Stoudamire, and B. Davis, do not make the team and should never make anything representative of the greatest nation in the world. They are losers. Greatly skilled players, but who only help themselves get stats.
July 28th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Nathan Gugliotta says:
PG- Andre Miller
SG- Rip Hamilton
SF- Paul Pierce
PF- Kevin Garnett
C- Tim Duncan
G- Brandon Roy
G- Joe Johnson
F- Josh Howard
F- Josh Smith
C- Greg Oden
G- Rajon Rondo
F- Amare Stoudamire
July 28th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
swizzy says:
1 :billups
2 :allen
3 :pierce
4 :kg
5 :duncan
bench :t-mac/ butler/ stoudemire/ baron/ allen/
marion/ Camby/
July 28th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
swizzy says:
sorry !!! josh smith instead of marion of course!!
July 28th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
swizzy says:
andre miller instead of baron !!
July 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
swizzy says:
joe johnson instead of allen (bench)
July 28th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Luigi says:
PG Gilbert
SG Rip
SF T-Mac
PF STAT
C TD
July 28th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
ejay225 says:
PG- Chauncey Billups, Gilbert Arenas
SG- Ray Allen, Brandon Roy
SF- Paul Pierce, Tracy McGrady
PF- Garnett, Amare Stoudamire
C- Tyson Chandler, Greg Oden
Plus Joe Johnson and Andre Miller
July 28th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Prof. TX says:
I’m surprised how many people are listing guys that have never played in a regular season NBA game (much less a playoff game). Sure, guys like Oden or Bayless might have potential, but let them go out and earn a spot first before you take it away from proven winners. One year against college competition doesn’t make you better than a bunch of NBA all-stars.
July 28th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Holladay says:
Starters:
PG. Baron Davis
SG. Paul Pierce
SF. Andre Iguodala
PF. Kevin Garnett
C. Amare Stoudemire
Bench:
PG. Andre Miller
SG. Ray Allen
SF. Ron Artest, Caron Butler
PF. Josh Smith, Al Jefferson
C. Greg Oden
July 28th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
kb24! says:
1. Billups/Baron Davis
2. T-mac
3. Pierce
4. KG
5. Yao?? anyone?? or Timmy D
Bench. B roy, Ray Ray, Stat, Joe Johnson, Gibert, Manu, J-smooth, Dirk.
In a 7 game series I’d take the USA roster now.
July 28th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I Hustle says:
PG-Andre Miller (natural distributor, a big guard who can really run a team and not worry about getting shots)
PG-Rajon Rondo (back-up, young, athletic, distrubutes the ball pretty well and he plays with a passion to win)
PG/SG-Allen Iverson (back-up)(can play 2 positions when asked of, natural scorer, could remind everyone it wasn’t his fault they lost in Athens…Larry Brown poorly coached that team)
SG/SF-Rip Hamilton (he’s got a killer instinct and plays with elite talent already in the L)
SG/PG/SF-Brandon Roy (back-up, plays within himself, unselfish and plays up to 3 positions)
SG/SF-Joe Johnson (back-up, smart big guard, light outs shooter)
SF-Andre Iguodala (athletic and plays hard on both ends)
SF/PF-Michael Beasley (back-up, could play 2 forward positions and get buckets, plain in simple, buckets and you need that in FIBA…ie…Melo)
PF/C-Amare Stoudemire (too good to leave off)
PF/C-Al Jefferson (back-up, good rebounder and low post scorer)
C-Tyson Chandler (catch lop passes, rebound and defend)
C-Greg Oden (back-up, see above)
July 28th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Franchise Baller says:
Get 12 boys from the Rucker, Alimoe, Best kept Secret, 2 Hard 2 Gaurd, Bone Collector. They could Scrape USA
July 28th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
That’s easy I’ll take team Adidas:
1) Chauncey Billups
Mike Miller
2) Gilbert Arenas
3) T-mac
4) Garnett
5) Tim Duncan
6) Joe Johnson
7) Josh Smith
9) Antawn Jamison
10) S – Jack
11) Corey Maggette
12) Devin Harris
July 28th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
I don’t think a lot of you payed attention to the rules. They said AMERICAN BORN PLAYERS!!!
July 28th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Jonny Drama says:
The Harlem Globetrotters
July 28th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
rangerjohn (fedor is king) says:
@# 16
actually horford, while born in the Dom rep but i believe he is a us citizen now, which would make him ok for the us team, sorta like kaman on the german team.
horford went to school here, all of his schooling is from here not just college
July 28th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Smooth says:
pg – baron davis
sg – t-mac
sf – paul pierce
pf – kevin garnett
c – duncan
bench – chauncey billups, ray allen, amare, shaq, shawn marion, joe johnson
July 28th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
doc says:
This whole boards different 12 would give USA a run.Shit the select team beat them a couple times already and they got Luther Head.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Luke says:
You have to look at this from the point of view that some players (Tmac, KG and Timmy) won’t play for team USA. That being said…
C- Amare
PF- Rasheed
SF- Ron Artest
SG- Agent Zero
PG- Baron
Before I get to my bench, how many people out there can think of any foreigners brave enough to go up against that front court?
Bench-
SG/PG- Joe Johnson (I’d love to start him, but sometimes he’s a tad passive on offense)
SF- Josh Howard
C- Oden (this is based solely on a good recovery from the surgery)
SF/PF- The Matrix
SG/SF/PF- B Easy
PG- The Answer
SG- Brandon Roy
Beat that
July 28th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
the mamba says:
Well problem with this question is, kobe surrounded by all that talent is not going to lose to anyone.
But if I was going to try, it would start with the bigs.
Center __ amare, bynum
Pf __ TD, garnett
Those 4 guys right there would keep bosh, carmelo, and Lebron in foul trouble all game. U might could even play garnett some at the 3 and get every rebound. Now for the wings/gaurds…
Pg __ b roy (him ove baron and gil, cuz I want everyone involved) then arenas and his massive shoulder chip on the second unit.
Sg __ artest( to gaurd kobe, give them more height) ray ray off the bench. (Game 6 assassin, nuff said)
Sf __ tmac, pierce (would start him, but this would put the whole big3 celts in the second unit, too cohesive for team USA’s bench to handle)
Starters:
Roy
Artest
Tmac
TD
Amare
2nd unit:
Arenas
Ray allen
Pierce
Garnett
Bynum
Specialists/fillers:
Baron (in case there is pg trouble, can get hot from behind 3, lots of heart)
Durant (6ft 10″ 3pt specialists, strength isn’t as much a problem in international play, and should be part of our program for a while)
Tempted to take jj reddick or a pure shooter, but more than likely he would never play over the other guys on the team. All n all this team would have a definite advantage inside and the second unit would probably handle team usa.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
the_baconator says:
starting:
andre miller- pg
kg- pf
truth- sf
stat- c
b-roy- sg
bench:
boom dizzle
ray allen
iggy
j-smoove
david lee (dude might not be the best, but he’ll hustle the most and fight for rebounds)
jamal crawford
and, just cuz you never said it had to be nba players only, i’ll also throw in…
hot sauce! just to annoy team usa when my squad is up by 40 at the end of the game
July 28th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Three Stacks says:
I’m surprised so many people are putting Chauncey and Ray on the squad. Doesn’t anyone remember that Detroit played their best ball in the playoffs w/ Stuckey on the court? He’s slipped a bit. And Ray was probably the worst player on the court for the first twenty games of the playoffs. Both of them are dangerously close to getting a fork stuck in the back.
That said, if you gathered all the best Int’l players and put them on one squad, would they beat Team USA? They should have a USA vs WORLD All-Star Game one of these days, just for the hell of it.
July 28th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Three Stacks says:
Detroit signed Kwame Brown to 2 yrs, $8 million.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
tim says:
@ Big Shot BOB
Pretty sure I’ve seen Joe Johnson repping Jordan brand, so it would have to be Team Adidas + 1 lol.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
GarethChantler says:
Can’t do it, no pg play if you can’t trot Nash out and Dwill CP3 and JKidd are taken already.
July 28th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Top_gun says:
Most those players rejected to play for Team USA. Fools
July 28th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Shakers says:
PG Iverson A. Miller
SG TMac Rip Ray
SF Pierce M. Miller Artest
PF Garnett D. West
C Duncan Rasheed
Pretty solid team with a lot of great shooters, just not good enough point guard play to beat our current squad. I think this team would beat the Redeem Team 3 out of 10 when the 3’s are falling.
July 28th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Shakers says:
USA vs World
USA: Kidd, Kobe, Lebron, Melo, Howard
vs.
World: Nash, Ginobili, Dirk, Gasol, Yao
I’d pay a Grand to watch that and I’m broke.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Aish1 says:
PG: AI
SG: T-Mac
SF: Pierce
PF: Amare
C: Duncan
Bench: Boom Dizzle, Mike Miller, JJ, J-Smoove, Artest, KG, Jamison
July 29th, 2008 at 2:20 am
solomon says:
PG: chris quinn
SG: eric piatkowski
SF: brian scalabrine
PF: brian cardinal
C: raef lafrentz
bench:
matt bonner
patt garrity
james augustine
dan dickau
paul davis
nick fazekas
steve novak
this team will eviscerate team usa…
they’ll die laughing their asses off…
July 29th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Man Up says:
Three Stakes u buggin man…. Ray Allen still got that trigger and it’s definitely loaded didn’t you see game 6. He was not playing like himself early on in the playoffs because he was going thru a personal family situation. Plus Ray can still get his 25 a night but he has learned to play his position and prefers to get his ring game up. Chauncey I agree he can be kept off the top 12, and to be honest with you I never thought he was crazy nice….he just knows how to grind it out and get it done. B4 I go would someone call the cops on Kwame Brown, he is stealing money AGAIN. If you over 6′9 and not literally retarded boy they give you a lot of chances.
July 29th, 2008 at 3:17 am
Man Up says:
Solomon that team you assembled won’t beat the Gauchos 16 and under 4real.
July 29th, 2008 at 6:01 am
solomon says:
you know what’s the dig with the team i’ve made above?
they’re all in the L, probably making 10 times $$$ than the next joe reading this article…
…where’s the justice in this L???
July 29th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Mike says:
My team takes one offensive specialist and one defensive specialist for each position. That way, the team could throw out the offensive group and light Team USA up, or if Team USA is getting in a groove, throw out some defense specialist to throw them off.
PG – Baron Davis (O), Rajon Rondo (D)
SG – Joe Johnson (O), Ron Artest (D)
SF – Tracy McGrady (O), Josh Smith (D)
PF – Amare Stoudamire (O), Kevin Garnett (D)
C – Tim Duncan (O), Tyson Chandler (D)
With the remaining picks I’d take Caron Butler and Brandon Roy (since he can play PG and I don’t trust Boom Dizzle to stay healthy).
We’d probably get rocked by Team USA, but it might be competitive.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Charles says:
PG – C. Billups / B. Davis
SG – R. Allen / T McGrady
SF – P Pierce / S Jax
PF – KG / J Smith
C – A Stoudamire / T Duncan
B Roy
T Chandler
July 29th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Doog says:
The key to constructing a roster that might beat Team USA is determining which eligible players have skills sets that might provide them with a competitive advantage under international rules.
PG: Brandon Roy, Chauncey Billups, Devin Harris
SG: Ray Allen, Vince Carter
SF: Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier
PF: Kevin Garnett, Josh Smith, LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Tim Duncan, Elton Brand
July 29th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Imperial-Mel says:
ay yo LMAO @11. That would be bannanas, They would all foul out in like 10 minutes…and Charles Barkley probably would have a stroke
July 29th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
airdrawndagger says:
PG: Baron Davis, Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups
SG: Allen Iverson, Joe Johnson
SF: T-mac, Pierce
PF: KG, Brand, Stoudemire
C: Duncan, Sheed
My only concern with the above roster is that bdiddy and zero dominate the ball
July 29th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Pete Casey says:
Shakers says:
“USA vs World: I’d pay a Grand to watch that and I’m broke.”
That would make you a part of the team USA–Spending money that you do not have.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:06 am
JRUF says:
None of you guys put foreign players?!
PG: Baron, Parker (FRA), Nash (CAN)
SG: Manu (ARG), Joe Johnson/Hibachi
SF: T-Mac, Pierce
PF: KG, Duncan, Dirk (GER)
C: Yao (CHN), Amare
July 30th, 2008 at 12:15 am
JRUF says:
All international wouldn’t be bad either
PG: Parker, Nash, Calderon
SG: Manu, Barbosa
SF: Hedo, Peja, Deng
PF: Dirk, ak47
C: Yao, Gasol, Okur
July 30th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Benjamin says:
To JRUF:
The reason why no one put foreign players on their squads was beause the players were supposed to be américan!