All-Time Starting 5

PG: 2021 Stephen Curry

This version of Steph was a nightmare to guard. A threat from the moment he crossed half-court. Unparalleled off-ball movement. This season Steph shot 42.1% from 3. In April alone, Steph averaged 37.3 points, shooting a mind-boggling 46.6% from deep. For a pickup game, there is not a player that commands more gravity than Steph Curry.

SG: 1991 Michael Jordan

How do you not take Jordan? A competitive psycho. Athletic freak. Relentless scorer. Jordan averaged 31.5 points 6.0 rebounds 5.5 assists on 53.9% shooting this season, throw in 2.7 steals and a block. You could not fuck with this guy. He'll function as the go-to scorer on this squad.

SF: 2018 LeBron James

2018 LeBron feels like the most complete player we've ever seen. There was nothing he couldn't do. Every night LeBron was flirting with 30/10/10. And then went absolutely nuclear in the playoffs, dragging a Cavs team to the finals that had no business being there. He can anchor this team as their facilitator, allowing Steph to play more off-ball.

PF: 2017 Kevin Durant

This version of Kevin Durant could do everything. 7-feet tall. Great defender. Great passer. And an absolute matchup nightmare. There was no guarding him. Too many teams learned that the hard way. Like the Cavs when they ran into KD in the finals, where he put up 35.2 points a game on 56/47/93 shooting splits. The perfect complement to this team.

C: 2000 Shaquille O'Neal

The most dominant player ever. 2000 Shaq was a physical freak. A force to be reckoned with. Before teams "built the wall" to stop Giannis, the entire league was trying to figure out how to stop Shaq from dunking. Now imagine O'Neal as a lob threat playing with all these great passers. Shaq anchors this teams paint presence.

Honorable Mentions to '85 Larry Bird, '02 Tim Duncan, and '06 Kobe Bryant. Those three were the only other players I considered.