What’s the best team you’ve ever played on?
KG with the trophyDwyane Wade was recently asked to compare the ‘08 U.S. Olympic team to the ‘06 Miami Heat, with which he of course won an NBA championship. Wade didn’t speak on the talent, but he did say Team USA was the best example of team unity and camaraderie he’d ever been around, including his Marquette squad that made the Final Four in ‘03.
Some of our DimeMag.com readers have played pro ball, some have played in college, others in high school, and some are your everyday gym rats who have ran in countless pickup games. But no matter what category applies to you, there was probably one team you played on that stands out as the best. For whatever reasons define “best” for you, what was that experience like?
Whether it was on the playground, on the high school/college level or in the pros, what was the best team you’ve ever played on?
August 7th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Damon says:
playing on my school team here in germany and getting to the country finale 2 years in a row, ending up 3rd and 4th. we didn’t have great talent all around, just everybody knew his role. we played good defense and our offense ran just through 3 people, but we just played great. if not for my shooting slump the 2nd time, we could’ve won….
August 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
bballinca says:
Damon, what city are you from/in? I played for Ludwigsburg some time ago?
August 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
shake&bake says:
Top 20 in 17U AAU Nationals. Ranked top 10 in the nation a couple time for D3 college.
August 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
daquest?on says:
well i have two teams that are tied. i played pro ball for 2 years here in PR for the bayamon cowboys. but the best year was my rookie year even though i dint play that much. simply because i was getting paid(even though it wasnt that much and i never got to see that money cuz it all went to pay my college education) to do the thing that i love the most and because i got a lot of experience and we almost won a legit league championship. the second one was my highschool team when we won the mcdonalds higschool tournament and i got the mvp of the game and was selected to my first allstar game.
August 7th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
JOB33 says:
My h.s. team here in tx when we won district and i got team mvp and all-district honors. We didn’t have any height at all, but every game was a battle to us and we left everything on the court. Maybe not my favorite team, but my favorite moment, when I cleared the stands at a college try-out with a fake behind the back dribble(a la Future in And 1 mixtapes) to a between the legs breakdown on 2 defenders coming to trap. It felt good to clear the stands like that. I sucked at the tryout due to nerves, but I still have that memory.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
weezy f says:
well i been playing in this league for the past 3 years and we were the only team to go undefeated in the history of the league and we would blow each team out…for all three years we were champs!!
August 7th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
rob stewart says:
I played D-1 basketball for MIzzou. We played every team that went to the Final Four that year (Kansas, Marquette, Syracuse, and Texas)in 2003. So I’ve been a part of games filled with superstars like D-Wade, Melo, etc. But the best team I’ve ever been a part of was my Rec-League team. It was full of undersized and big-hearted guys. We had a few high school role players and a couple of streetbal scorers. I was the only one who had played in college and yet I came off the bench because my team played with so much heart. We all knew our roles and we never blamed each other for mistakes. We were underdogs at every position and in every game. And somehow we still went undefeated and won the whole league. I hold those games closer to my heart than any Big XII game. Chemistry and heart make up great teams!
August 7th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
odonis6 says:
Id have to say my 05′ summer league we had 1 former nba player in Robert Whaley and 1 current nba player in Wilson Chandler.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Jeffrey says:
My church basketball team in Trinidad in 2007(4 C’s). We had a very athletic team. We went about 4 or 5 guys deep on our bench for our team. I was the reliable 6th man. Guys like Me, Roger, Junior, Denny, Theo, Kendall, Miguel, “Batman”, Richard, Remy. We beat a team by 35 in their own gym on a saturday night. I left for germany during the season and our team got knocked out a few weeks later. I will be back for the 2009 season.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Jim says:
Man, you guys kill me with these teams. My favorite was an intramural team that only had friends on it, we didn’t pull in outsiders or ringers. It was all my boys, so every game was fun. We lost in the semis and I got thrown out…glorious end to my intramural career.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
sunni says:
legitimate question–love this one—i never got used to playin in a gym. i once joined a league after school in middle school that played outdoors at all the other middle schools in socal…we dominated…i loved it b/c i didnt care about scoring, i cared about steals and guarding the best player and the pts just came–the team played together—i dont even remember who the leading scorer,rebounder…we just played..its rare–b/c sometimes when you dont have a coach, you end up playing more together
August 7th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Bruce says:
I played for 6 months in Vietnam. We toured the whole country and went against the best Vietnam offered. We, just a group of ballers from the USA. We traveled via Greyhound, one to a hotel room (wink,wink), full room service, but we didn’t get paid. We mopped up the univeristy squads, local ballers, tournaments, and the national team. Just a bunch of 24-hours guys.
During that time, we played, undersize, full of heart, and we played to win.
It was like being on And 1. We were there to promote the game.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Damon says:
@ bballinca
no big city, circa 1 hour north of würzburg.
you played in ludwigsburg? when? maybe i know you…
August 7th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
doc says:
This summer league about 4 years ago.We were stacked for a summer league.Me,Ed Griffin,Hakim Warrick,Sean Singletary, and Kyle Lowery was the starting 5.We was getting teams out of here by 50 on the reg.And my sonny hill aau team was stacked also.Me and Ed Griff was the scorers but we had all the top high school players from Philly.They all went to school and more than half are getting paid to play now.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Justice says:
@jeffrey
you might know my cousins Esan or Shaka..i don’t know what part of trinidad ur from
Anyway i’ve played organized ball all my life, the furthest i got was CC which was a bullshit ending to a solid career…
Anyway the best team i’ve ever been a part of was the 99-00 Westbury HS Green Dragons..We had one star on the team Brian Ormon, and every one else just played their roles to perfection,we were a average sized team but the whole squat had guard skills it was like showtime in long island we literally went 12 deep and our starting lineup would change depending on matchups..
best time of my life we ran though our division and the playoffs easy 2 losses all season we should have won the psal that year…but we tore up AAU later that year too..We beat a lutheran team with Drew Nicholas,a amittyville team with Jason Fraser,Aj price(i think),and a bunch of other people that were solid in d1 who i can’t remember
August 7th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Camp Lo says:
My fav team I’ve been a part of was a competitive Men’s League squad I played on in Seattle a few years back. Our team had one semi-pro player (Brazil), two former D1 players, two former D2 players, and 5 players who played high school & pick-up. We went 100% all game, running people out of the gym on O and harrasing them with a fierce full-court press on D. We probably had a different leading scorer everygame & we almost always made the extra pass to get a slightly better shot. Off-court we were all cool and would usually go out after blow out wins and crack each other up for hours. We only lost one game (by 2 pts) & ended up winning the champ game by 23. The best part about this team was the way we completely played as a unit, similar to how Greece was doin it a few years ago.
August 7th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Robert Horry says:
Wow, this is tuff!
So many rings, so many good teams….
Ummm ima say the 01 Lakers when I hit that shot against Sac and we swept The Nets in the finals!
Good times!
August 7th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen says:
Yeah me too, Big Shot Bob!
Even though I never really got any playing time after Stanford (Final 4 Baby!!!), I had a great time being a part of the Lakers’ 3-peat. This discussion is making me so happy and nostalgic, I could…I could…I could just DANCE!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY
August 7th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Christian Grant-Fields says:
I have been on a bunch of great teams. But by far the best team I have ever been, AND had the most fun playing on is ‘07-’08 Huarache in the Nike Recess Federation.
We had the perfect balance of shooting (Pat Cassidy), low post play (Lekeith Taylorin), tangibles (Jesse Thompkins),and team work.
We won our conference and blasted a few teams by double figures (one team we gave the Curtis Jackson 50 piece to).
We would eventually lose in the ‘chip game by 2 but you know what the great ones say, ” You have to lose before you win.”
Next season we’ll definitely take the ‘chip in MSG, and win it.
August 7th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Christian Grant-Fields says:
intangibles*
August 7th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Gary Payton says:
I played on some damn good teams in Seattle but I’m gonna have to go with the 06 heat.
We had D-wade and ….uh, well we won the championship!
August 7th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
that's whats up says:
Jackson Jaguars, 1984, I was the star of the show.
My pictures in the yearbook and my jersey is in the rafters, with all the dust and cobwebs
August 7th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Young Lebron 23 says:
Yo Doc I’m from Philly too. I’m sorry about your man Eddie Griffin.
My best team was playing for Positive Image’s U-14 AAU squad 3 years back
August 7th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Luigi says:
nice stories up there
im still a jr. rising Frosh this yr, my best moment is when i was at a camp. n they always put us on 5-5 teams…the teams were
BASED BY RECORD
1. Bulls
2. Pistons
3. Wizards [my team]
4. Lakers
5. Suns
6. Celtics
well my team had a hustle player. an AAU 10 yr old. 2 quick guards who can run the break. 1 jamison type of player. and a shooting center who can rebound. and as for me..i was the glue to put the team together
i was kinda like the scorer. when the game was on the line i would get the ball. so this is a high intense camp. and there was 6 teams. and we finished the 3rd seed. we lost to the Pistons in the final reg game to determine the tiebreaker n the playoff seedings. n i missed the GT three.
well in the 1st rd we beat the Celtics. but it had a lil controversy in it also. my team was up by 8 with 45 seconds left [no shotclock] they have just scored like 6 straight pts. n they just stole the ball..throw an outlet pass.n it apperantly bounces off my foot. n i think it doesnt. the our 2 teams started arguing. and time ran out..fun way 2 win =]
The 2nd rd. it was an intense game. it was the Wiz vs Detroit. it had the 2nd best big man. [i was the best guard] n i practically hard to guard him. it was close throughout. the score was 50-51 my team was down…with 35 sec left. n i had the ball. i drove and scored the acrobatic layup..the coach got furious with me lol. then with 20 sec left. the pistons were down by 1 n the best player had an open layup. n he CHOKED! but we coughed it up with 5 seconds left the best player drove the ball. n he saw a wide open man with a block shot. the player was kind of a 12 yr old. small. n ryan[the best player] passed the ball to him n i almost blocked it….but it was enough to distract him to miss and my team wins!
LMFAO i wrote so much but its not over YET!
okay the championship game. Bulls vs Wizards..it had the best player in the camp. his name is Andy. n he was absoloutly raping. they were leading throughout. n then in the 4th Q. my team came alive. scoring 3’s and buckets while double teaming Andy. n no one else could score. n then with 36 seconds left. the score was 54-50 we werent gonna come back unless someone made one more three…n ive been struggling all game with my shot. n then they pass me the ball. n andy tries n steals it. i go back to the 3pt line n shoot. everybody in the gym was like NOOO!!!! DONT DO IT!!!…n then Swish…right through the net. n then we foul Andy. n he makes one of two….n were down by two..everybodys screaming ASIAN ZERO!! [me] my nickname. but i didnt get the ball in the sequence but we made a layup to tie the game….
in the extra SUDDEN DEATH overtime. we lose the tip…we double andy n we left the worst shooter wide open. n he shot it. n missed BADLY. lol…my team got the ball back and we coulda won the game..but i didnt get the ball! i was so mad..n we ended up forcin a brick since i was double teamed. the Bulls got the ball back and Andy swished a shot in my grill..
talk about heartbreak
but it was a thrilling experience being on a team that which i was the go to guy. it felt good. now i know how Iggy or JJ feel when they were the 2nd or 3rd go 2 option…n now i kno how the go to guys feel now..
FEELS GOOD!
LMFAO I WROTE SO MUCH MY B.
August 7th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
that's whats up says:
so are you Italian, or Asian, Luigi?
Asian Zero?
or Gabbagoul Hero?
damn, can’t believe I read that ish
August 7th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
daquest?on says:
lmfao @ that’s whats up but it was a good story.
August 7th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Luigi says:
lol im asian. my mom named me after a restaurant lol. thx
lmao i kant believe i still typed that much. n cant believe u guys red it..
August 7th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
kb24! says:
my senior year in h/s…we were garbage..but man was it fun…after the 1st two wins of our season…we were all like…lets go undefeated fellas. then we lose like 4 straight after that and finished with a 4-6 record..but just spending time with your buddies and playing ball together win or lose is a great experience…from traveling to other schools and shit like that. it was fun.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
B says:
Seattle CAYA - Luke Ridnour (Sonics), Nate Burleson (Seahawks), Jimmy Haywood (OSU), Teyo Johnson (Stanford, Raiders)
August 7th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Gary Payton says:
@B
Nate was a baller!
August 7th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Austin Burton says:
I played Little League football with Nate Burleson at Rainier Community Center; he was bigger than everyone so he played tight end instead of receiver.
Another year Brandon Roy was my backup at running back until I hurt my hip, so he started the next game and scored like 3 TDs. I was the backup from there on.
Aaron Brooks played football at Rainier too, but he’s a few years younger than me. I was on teams with his older brother.
August 7th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Gary Payton says:
@ Austin
I played pick up hoops w Nate @ Nevada and he would KILL all the dudes on the basketball Team.
Great ball player.
August 8th, 2008 at 12:57 am
B says:
Yeah Nate was a hell of an athlete. He & Jimmie (misspelled above) used to square off in mini dunking contests in practice. I thought out of all the dudes on the team that Jimmie had the best chance at the league but for whatever reason his game peaked pretty early in high school and he just didn’t seem to get any better. Austin were you still at Franklin when he was there? I forget what year you said you graduated in.
August 8th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Austin Burton says:
Yeah, I actually peer-mediated when Jimmie got into a fight with a dude on the football team. I was there when Jimmie, Will Hendricks and Alvin Snow were there. Aaron Brooks and Kellen Williams were like freshmen or sophomores when I was a senior, and I wanna say Anthony Grant was there during my time too.
August 8th, 2008 at 2:29 am
yoda says:
best team was my college team here in sarajevo. but we don’t have college leagues like rest of you. all colleges are under one univerity, so we had around 12-13 teams to play against each other. there used to be only 7-8 of us, every game we had some new player, only 5 of us were same, we didn’t had uniforms, everyone had t-shirt of other color. we would usually come to games having a hungover, yet we would always ended up 4th. we couldn’t pass 3 teams that had really coaches, practices and all that “real” basketball stuff. plus, i had to play center even tho im only 6′3”. i bet if there was drinking contest for those teams, we would be first for sure
second best team i played was my h.s. team. it was common for us to drink before or during games ( there are no age drinking limits where i live), most of kids in school were poor so we were joke to others, which usually ended up with fights during games. but we did played good basketball, too bad we had bad rep so referees were against us each game (which lead to some more fights).
August 8th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Rob says:
My highschool team from Antwerp, Belgium.
We won 2 national championships & 1 Cup.
Also 4 straight state Championships.
Highschool overhere is grades 7 to 12 in the States.
Basically we were because all of us played basketball on the same team in a club & happened to go to the same school. So we were used playing with eachother & were able to run our plays.
Highlight was the ‘99 ISF Worldchampionship in Israel. Where we got our asses kicked but still….good times
August 8th, 2008 at 3:50 am
Bobby B says:
The best team I played on was my university intramural basketball team. We put together a team our freshman year because we all stayed in the same residence hall, and we played together for 4 years. We ended up winning 3 championships; not bad for some nerds that ended up being doctors, lawyers, and engineers. Perhaps it wasn’t the most talented team I’ve played on, but it was the most fun I had playing ball.
August 8th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Justice says:
IM IN A YMCA LEAGUE RIGHT NOW WITH DWIGHT SMITH(SAINTS),HAYWOOD WOOKMAN(PACERS,RAPTORS),A COUPLE BUCS PLAYERS AND MATT GEIGER(LOL)GEIGER IS A BEAST U WOULD BE SHOCKED
August 8th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Ian says:
jim
im with u man
my hs intramural team
we ended up winning it all in 10th and 12th grade
good times good times
everybody new their roles and the chemistry we had damnnnn
August 8th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Andy says:
Any of the Dime staff members played pro? College?
August 10th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Dcam323 says:
growing up in los angeles. My team VBA and Topp Prospects I played with most guys in the league from LA. One time my teammates were Aaron maxey, Tayshaun prince, tony bland, kenny brunmer aka Bad Santa, travis reed, and baron Davis. On this trip baron had sprained prior to the trip so he had to stay home. We went to vegas and lost out to our rivals So Cal AllStars. They had eric chenowith, caleb & gee gervin. We ran thru tourney and it was all fun and games till that championship game.
If you look at our program players we have pros all over the globe with a majority on NBA squads. AAU was fun back then to now it’s like a summer job now for kids. Well go hard and ball harder!