Basketball: Jersey Number Tournament

Here's an idea I got from ESPN Classic. Suppose there is a three-on-three tournament and you could choose any NBA players who have ever played. Now, the rules are that each player on a team must wear the same jersey number. That is, Michael Jordan could be with LeBron James (#23), Larry Bird could play with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#33), etc. Who would be the best three-man team? Oh, just a sidenote: for active players who have worn different jersey numbers in their careers (e.g., Shaquille O'Neal), use the number that player is currently wearing; for retired players who have worn different jersey numbers (e.g., Julius Erving), use the number that player wore for the majority of his career.

Cool idea, but that is gonna take some research time that I just don't have at the moment. Unless you want to fill in the thrid guy for me in this trio - # 32 - Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, and ...

Gibbs, a good match for that team may be Kevin McHale. McHale and Malone were great defenders as well as low post players, and both of them developed good shooting range in their careers. With Magic running the offense, that team would get lots of points down low (Magic was good at the low post game as well). Also, that team would have an enormous height advantage. I thought of putting Shaq on your team, but he has worn #32 for only six seasons of his career. For the eight years he was in LA he wore #34.

My choice of a team would be #33: Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Good, solid defense and great passing. That team could kill you in so many ways.

Here's a crazy team that would be great in half-court or full-court: the #34 team: Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O'Neal. Ouch! That team would be bruising. And they would get every rebound.