Dime’s 1-On-1 NBA Tournament: Survival Of The Fittest (The Rules)
One-on-one is the purest form of basketball domination. There are no excuses, no explanations. You can either let your opponent undress you or you can lay the smack down. It’s simple, fast and ruthless. It’s two parts skill and eight parts swagger.
It’s also the missing element of All-Star Weekend. Who could stop Dwight Howard? Would anyone be able to score on LeBron? Endless matchups and endless possibilities. So that’s why I (Dylan Murphy) decided to construct my dream scenario. Although there are whispers that a one-on-one tournament might happen in reality, I’m not patient enough. Well, not patient at all.
After careful research and input from our various Dime contributors, I’ve compiled a list of the top 16 one-on-one players in the NBA. Keep in mind that these are the one-on-one guys. As much as I love Kevin Love, he’d find his guts spilled all over the court. Same to you, Blake. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing you throw one down on Kevin Durant.
I’ll be posting a narrative of each matchup, detailing the advantages and deficiencies of each player against his opponent. But while I may have my opinions, it’s up to you to pick the winner. So pick a winner at the bottom of each matchup post and tell us whom you think would move on. A majority vote will ultimately decide the victor.
Of course the rules of one-on-one are varied, so let’s get a few things clear:
1) Game To 11 (win by two) – If the score is 10-10, it’s win by two or first to 15, whichever comes first. So when you’re picking the winner, consider whether the matchup will be close. LeBron may be great, but will he choke? Can Derrick Rose get a stop by himself when it counts?
2) Call Your Own Fouls – Which means, unless you get blatantly hacked, keep your mouth shut. Players like D-Wade and Paul Pierce won’t be able to rely on facial contortions and body flailing to draw the foul – they can’t afford a bad rap out on the hardwood.
3) Take Back Everything Beyond The Three-Point Line – One-on-one is a game of honor, prestige and equality. Getting a turnover or forcing an air ball doesn’t give you the right to cash in on an easy putback dunk. If you want buckets, get by your defender first.
4) Everything Is Worth One Point – The NBA may provide an extra bonus for long shots, but one-on-one does not. Any fool can hoist bombs and miraculously come out with a win. Real ballers get to the cup, no questions asked. If you want to rain jumpers all day, go right ahead. Just remember you’ll have to hit 11 of them.
5) Loser’s Ball – If you want to win, get stops. Plain and simple. You can’t solely ride offensive momentum to victory in the NBA, so one-on-one is no different. Monta Ellis was probably angry when he read those words.
6) Neutral Setting – Every game will (in our minds) be played on a neutral floor in front of a sellout crowd and televised nationally. Can the stars handle the pressure of the bright lights?
7) Shoot For Ball – From the three-point line. Looks like Dwight will never get the ball first.
Before you jump down my throat because the rankings are wrong or I left someone out, remember that this was a compilation of general agreement. Don’t get me wrong – basically no one in the office has agreed on a single order. The following is my best attempt to satisfy most parties. If you feel your man got slighted, he’ll just have to prove it on the court.
Anyway, the tournament begins later today. In case you’re looking for a further breakdown of the games, we’ve brought in the big guns for some expert analysis. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas was kind enough to share his thoughts on each matchup.
In the meantime, check out the bracket above (click to enlarge). It’s about to go down…
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
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July 5th, 2011 at 10:15 am
Ryan I. says:
This is awesome!
July 5th, 2011 at 10:26 am
Scott says:
Barea needs to be in this!!!
July 5th, 2011 at 10:38 am
First & Foremost says:
Round 1 Winners: Lebron, Deron, Joe Johnson, Durant, Manu from Argentina, Melo, Rose, EVANS!!!
Lebron hitting every tough shot showing his supreme dominance in the early rounds. Check his stats!
Deron – just because he is playing Paul Pierce
Joe Johnson – Wade hurts himself on his first drive to the basket and limps the rest of the game. Meanwhile Joe casually reels off points without blinking.
Durant – Ellis makes him fall a couple of times but then Durant just makes it rain for the win.
Manu – Crafty mofo
Melo – Being a bully
Rose – Dwight lost focus because everyone kept asking about where he will take his talents
Evans – Kobe hits him with a few tough fadeaways but then Evans just bruises and batters Kobe’s old body for the win.
July 5th, 2011 at 10:42 am
levon says:
Nice read. Only thing i woulda done different is had a big man bracket and a wing bracket. Much like in NBA, its all about WHO you play or WHEN you play them can determine the outcome. Not your skill level. Drose vs D12 is a bad matchup for both. When if they werent matched up against each other first, could go on to win the whole tourney.
July 5th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Alex "robocop" Murphy says:
I would have liked to have seen a Tony Parker, Steve Nash, Stephen Jackson, Zach Randolph, Pau Gasol.
Allen Iverson if he was still in the league.
Tyreke Evans and Joe Johnson should not be on this list.
And in the realm of comedy- Eddie House, Hedo Turkoglu
July 5th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Rainman says:
Round one winners:
LeBron
Pierce(just seems to have an advantage to me with his size,and post up skill, idk)
Dwayne Wade
Durant
Dirk
Carmello
Dwight
Kobe
July 5th, 2011 at 11:10 am
First & Foremost says:
C’mon Rainman – at least pick ONE upset.
July 5th, 2011 at 11:15 am
LMNOP says:
you know you’d go with Melo for the whole thing. for all his shortcomings as a team player, hes the only guy on the list who can post up, drive past or shoot over anyone. plus he is only a sub par defender cos he chooses to be, he steps it up when he feels like it.
ill also say the lil guys ain’t goin nowhere. if we playin grown man rules, these big men will finally be able to take out their anger on the guards who always get the call with NBA rules. Wade is gonna have a bulls eye on him.
Also, Amare is upsetting Bron in the first round, Both rely on their athleticism, but in a 1on1 situation Amare’s height and better post up game give him the advantage. like wade, Bron isnt going to just barrel his way to the rim and have one of Sterns rent boys give him a call.
July 5th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
panchitoooo says:
Kobe may not make it pass the 2nd round if he cant stop derrick rose. if tyreke scores on kobe how much more D.Rose. there aint no help defense in 1 on 1 son
July 5th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
heckler says:
wooooow.
the BEST part about something like this is the UPSET potential. you GOTTA include upsets. the better individual player may not always win.
JR Smith would KILL in a tournament like this.
Andrea Bargnani would probably also surprise a lot of you.
side note: when did Brandon Roy fall off soooo far that he couldnt make a tourny like this? hahaha. dude is CRAFTY enough to win a round or two.
i gotta go with Carmelo to win the whole thing. no player in the league is better suited for this type of tourney. and looking at the brackets and road to final round, he got it pretty easy….
July 5th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
panchitoooo says:
Melo may make it out of his brackets to the Finals but dont count out D Rose. of course Melo can shoot from anywhere and back Rose down but a speedy guy that can finish at the rim with a dunk is not fun when you playing that guy 1 on 1.
the other bracket has KD, Lebron, and Wade, who knows whos coming out from there
July 5th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
dagwaller says:
I’d take LeBron to win it all. I think that’s why so many people have him as the best player in the world: they figure that he’d be the best 1v1 player.
Which of course doesn’t translate to team success, automatically.
He’s a great defender with the speed to keep up with smaller guys, and the size to defend the bigs. Switch those up for offense.
I don’t like him at all, but he’s my early favorite. I’m going out on a limb, haha.
July 5th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
SLAM4LIFE says:
STUPID…Dwight in and Dirk out?!?!
July 5th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
kdthunderup says:
Awesome idea Dylan! I’ve always imagined what would happen in a true battle of the ballers. Well written, too. A basketball freak’s ultimate fantasy right here. Bring on the upsets.
July 5th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
panchitoooo says:
if kobe can make it past D. Rose he may be able to beat Melo in a close game maybe something like 17-15 win by two. since Melo doesnt have the foot speed like Rose, Tyreke, or CP3, kobe wont need to worry about getting constantly burnt on defense and can even body up Melo if he wants to back him down in the post. but kobe aint beating Wade, Lebron, or KD, or at least not anymore…
July 5th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Susej says:
Advancing from Round 1:
(1) Lebron James
(8) Paul Pierce
(5) Dwayne Wade
(13) Monta Ellis
(11) Manu Ginobli
(3) Carmelo Anthony
(10) Dwight Howard
(2) Kobe Bryant
Advancing from Round 2:
(1) Lebron James
(6) Dwayne Wade
(3) Carmelo Anthony
(2) Kobe Bryant
Advancing from Round 3:
(1) Lebron James
(3) Carmelo Anthony
And the winner is:
(3) Carmelo Anthony
July 5th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
CLAW says:
Put Jason Terry in there against Bron, and you have LeBron gaining an early exit. All 1s kinda gives an edge to the bigger guys who can just back down the smaller defender and shoot over them.
Lebron against Amare would be interesting as Amare could score at will but might try to shoot a few fadeaways but can guard the rim and let Bron brick away. If I had 3 to 1 odds I’d put money down on Amare.
I’d take:
Lebron
Deron
DWade
Durant
Dirk
Melo
Dwight Howard
Kobe
For all shots being 1 point, I’d put money down on Dwight Howard on winning this thing, can anybody on that list stop him from dunking on them?
July 5th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Krayzie says:
“Would anyone be able to score on LeBron? ”
Are you kidding me? The guy’s defense is soo overrated….Paul Pierce, who has no athleticism or speed at all scored 41 on LeBron using basically jumpers! LeBron won’t have many full court chase down blocks in a one-on-one tourny so his only form of defesne is out the Window….any of the guys in this tourny will light his ass up!
And it has to be winner’s ball…..who the hell plays with loser’s ball?
July 5th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Krayzie says:
How did you come up with this ranking?
Is it based on one-on-one ability? – than Carmelo, Durant, and Dirk should be on top of the list…..but LeBron is – playmaking skills dont count for shit in this!
Is it based on overall perception of their overall ranking as NBA players? Well after the finals there’s no way anyone can justify LeBron being ranked higher than Wade?
So how are the players ranked?
July 5th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Ian says:
manu manu manu
btw manu at 11 hellz no
July 5th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
First & Foremost says:
This 1-on-1 series is a great idea. Next time I suggest going one for bench players. Terry, Crawford, Nate, Nick Young, Delonte West, Eddie House, Harden, Lou Williams, Earl Smith, George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Gortat, Austin Daye and whomever else you want.
July 6th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Baby Durant says:
@ Krayzie
That was in the 08 playoffs when Lebron was still a bad defender (got his highlight blocks but still a bad defender). It was the next season where he started his transformation cuz he was in a winning environment w/ Kobe in the olympics that summer. Dude plays lockdown D now, dont lie. If you wanna bring up Pierce lets talk about what he did against the heat this year..
But anyway, how can you even speak about 1 on 1 and not say JAMAL CRAWFORD! Dude might be the best at it in the league!
July 7th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Krayzie says:
@ Baby Durant
He has improved but not to the point where people should question if any of the superstars in the league can score on him!