One of the more interesting sports topics to discuss is: “Who’s the best player in a given franchise’s history?”
PointAfter, a sports news and stats website, took that discussion 11 steps further by pegging each NBA franchise’s best 12-man roster of all time.
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Using a combination of All-NBA team nods, All-Defensive teams earned, All-Star appearances, championship rings and overall contributions to the organization in question, the sports news and statistics website determined the best possible roster in each team’s history.
PointAfter pegged a starting five before filling out the bench. And while positions were important, the site did have to get creative in some instances to get the best players in the starting rotation when the "next-best" player was not close to the same level.
In the scope of this exercise, years spent in the ABA were included and the site tracked organizations that moved from place to place.
After locking in each team’s 12-man roster, PointAfter ranked the teams by adding up the win shares — a player statistic that estimates the amount of wins a player contributed each season — of each player during his time spent with the franchise in question.
The Spurs ranked fifth overall when combining these metrics, but the stats don’t tell the entire story as franchises with far less success are ranked ahead of San Antonio (Utah No. 4, Philadelphia No. 3) and the Chicago Bulls, winners of six NBA titles, are ranked seventh overall.
Here’s the full 12-man roster for the Spurs, according to PointAfter.
#5. San Antonio Spurs
PG - Tony Parker
SG - George Gervin
SF - Kawhi Leonard
PF - Tim Duncan
C - David Robinson
BN - Manu Ginobili
BN - Sean Elliott
BN - Alvin Robertson
BN - Bruce Bowen
BN - John Beasley
BN - Larry Kenon
BN - James Silas
Total Win Shares: 916
It’s safe to say there is no debate who would be coaching this Spurs squad, that would be Gregg Popovich.
A few years ago, I asked KSAT viewers to vote for their greatest Spurs player of All-Time.
KSAT viewers had similar picks to this roster, but also voted for Avery Johnson, Johnny Moore, Robert Horry, Mike Mitchell and even Dennis Rodman.
All those would have made more sense than John Beasley, who played for the Dallas Chaparrals.
The other debatable conclusion by PointAfter was starting Kawhi Leonard over Manu Ginobili.
Spurs fans have fallen in love with Kawhi and rightfully so, but it's important to remember Manu has been a Spurs great for more than a decade and won four titles with San Antonio.
Just for context, the Lakers are ranked second and the Celtics were first. The Mavs were ranked 13th, the Rockets 12th and the Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle Supersonics were 11th.
So what do you think Spurs fans! Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.