Over the past few days there has been much discussion over social media between several reporters and NBA fans alike as to which team is truly the greatest ever. The spark was lit just a few days ago as the back and forth arguing of two retired NBA superstars in Shaquille O’Neal and Scottie Pippen, sprung the basketball world into the debate as to which team was truly the greatest, the Jordan era Chicago Bulls or the Shaq/Kobe era Los Angeles Lakers. The argument began when Shaq took to Instagram, stating that a team of five Laker greats, being himself, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, would beat the team of five Chicago greats in Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Derrick Rose, Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman, by fifty points.

Pippen replied with a photo of himself and Michael Jordan explaining simply with the caption, “All I know is we won 6 titles, twice the amount you claimed in LA”. The debate has raged on with both sides taking jabs claiming the other was the sidekick to MJ and Kobe respectively. To quote Pippen further, he stated that “he does not get caught up in the hypothetical’s..” The hypotheticals, however, is where the fun begins.

Mike Greenberg of ESPN took to Twitter the evening after the heated exchange between Shaq and Pippen asking NBA fans who they thought the best teams of all time were. After some further discussion, Greenberg continued by tweeting, "The Lakers second team would beat any other teams first beside Boston." This tweet sparked countless responses from NBA fans around the world giving their two cents on which team could beat who and what players would be involved.

Like most hypothetical NBA arguments and debates, they never really end or have a definitive answer, but they can be a lot of fun. Some that stand out are of course the LeBron James comparison to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and the 1992 USA Dream Team comparison to Team USA’s 2012 Olympic squad, but those are for another time.

So this brings us to the initial debate of which team truly is the greatest? If you put Shaq and the five greatest Lakers against Scottie Pippen and the five greatest Bulls who wins? If Tim Duncan and the five greatest Spurs went head to head with Larry Bird and the five greatest Celtics who would prevail? If you were to ask 10 different people you would no doubt get 10 different answers. However in this piece, hypothetically, we will match the greatest teams up against each other in a playoff bracket to determine who really the greatest team of all is. The rules would be as follows :

Teams are seeded 1 through 8 based on amount of NBA Titles won (Boston would be the number one seed as they have won the most championships with 17)

Each team gets five players considered the greatest at their respective position

Each player must have spent at least three seasons on their team to be considered

Each round is a seven-game series

In the event of a championship title tie (i.e. Sixers, Pistons and Heat tied with 3 titles each) the most recent champions will be seeded higher

The participating teams:

1 Seed -Boston Celtics – 17 NBA Titles

Point Guard – Bob Cousy

Shooting Guard – John Havlicek

Small Forward – Larry Bird

Power Forward – Kevin McHale

Center – Bill Russell

2 Seed – Los Angeles Lakers – 16 NBA Titles

Point Guard – Magic Johnson

Shooting Guard – Kobe Bryant

Small Forward – Elgin Baylor

Power Forward – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Center – Shaquille O’Neal

3 Seed – Chicago Bulls – 6 NBA Titles

Point Guard – Derrick Rose

Shooting Guard – Michael Jordan

Small Forward – Scottie Pippen

Power Forward – Horace Grant

Power Forward/Center – Dennis Rodman

4 Seed – San Antonio Spurs – 5 NBA Titles

Point Guard – Tony Parker

Shooting Guard – Manu Ginobili

Small Forward – George Gervin

Power Forward – Tim Duncan

Center – David Robinson

5 Seed – Golden State Warriors – 4 NBA Titles

Point Guard – Stephen Curry

Shooting Guard – Mitch Richmond

Small Forward – Chris Mullin

Power Forward – Nate Thurmond

Center – Wilt Chamberlain

6 Seed – Miami Heat – 3 NBA Titles – (Most recent – 2013)

Point Guard – Tim Hardaway

Shooting Guard – Dwyane Wade

Small Forward – LeBron James

Power Forward – Chris Bosh

Center – Alonzo Mourning

7 Seed – Detroit Pistons – 3 NBA Titles – (Most recent – 2004)

Point Guard – Isiah Thomas

Shooting Guard – Joe Dumars

Small Forward – Dave DeBusscherre

Power Forward – Bob Lanier

Center – Ben Wallace

8 Seed – Philadelphia 76ers – (Most recent – 1983)

Point Guard – Maurice Cheeks

Shooting Guard – Allen Iverson

Small Forward – Julius Irving

Power Forward – Charles Barkley

Center – Moses Malone

With the participating teams and players in place, the first matchup would pit the number one seed Boston Celtics against the eight seed Philadelphia 76ers. Firstly, looking at the back court, the Celtics have a gifted passer in Bob Cousy running the point so the Celtics would have no trouble finding open looks. Cousy finished in the top three in assists his entire career and there is no one better to feed the ball to legendary shooter Larry Bird and down low to Kevin McHale. Alongside Cousy, is John Havlicek who can fill every column on the stat sheet, averaging 20.8 points over his career. The man known as Hondo could score with the best in the league as well as pass, averaging over five assists eight times in his career. Combined with Larry Bird’s lights out shooting and Kevin McHale’s flawless post game, this Celtics team has the ability to score from anywhere. Defensively, Bill Russell’s ability to alter and block shots, as well as pull down countless rebounds leading to outlet passes for easy baskets makes it hard to find a flaw in this team.

As for the Sixers, the defensive/offensive combination of Maurice Cheeks and Allen Iverson provides for a diverse back court. Cheeks is fifth all time in steals and his ability to get into the passing lanes could make it difficult for the Celtics to spread the ball. Iverson can explode for 40 points at any time and was also a great pick pocket, averaging as high as 2.8 steals per game in 2001-02. Despite not being a great shooter, Julius Erving has had some big scoring nights against Larry Bird in the past, including a 37-point performance in their first meeting in 1980. Barkley and Malone down low contains two league MVP’s and an amazing rebounding and scoring combination. Malone won the rebounding title four straight years from 1980-1984 and averaged a double-double for an amazing 14-year span. Barkley, like Iverson, can go off for 30-plus points on any given night also averaged a double-double over a 15-year span.

Despite a stacked Sixers team, the edge would go to Boston. Turnovers would be a major issue for the Sixers as Iverson, Malone and Barkley are all ranked in the top 20 in total turnovers all time. With an intelligent and unselfish team like this Celtics group, their defense would get them over the line here. Dr. J may have problems getting to the rim with Bill Russell guarding the paint, and the sheer size and presence would be too much for Barkley. Cheeks would not provide much of a scoring threat, causing the Celtics to trap and double team Iverson on the perimeter. Barkley was never a great defender and up against one of the best post players in NBA History in McHale, the Celtics have enough talent in all five spots to get the job done. There is enough offensive fire power to get hot and take some games away but ultimately the Sixers fall short.

Winner – Boston Celtics 4 – 2

The next first-round matchup would pit the Los Angeles Lakers against the Detroit Pistons. If the Lakers have the edge talent wise, the Pistons have the edge in pure grit and toughness. That factor alone would make this series a closer one than it would seem on paper. The leader of the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons in Isiah Thomas could no doubt matchup in scoring, assists, and defense with Magic Johnson. Still holding the NBA Finals record for points scored in a quarter against Magic with 25, Thomas would be a constant pest on the perimeter. Joe Dumars is regarded as the greatest defender who ever guarded the great Michael Jordan so matching up with a similar scorer in Kobe, ‘Joe D’ would take away a lot of Kobe’s weapons. Dumars was also known to guard several different spots and with Elgin Baylor on the floor, the Pistons would have a tough time stopping Baylor and Bryant at the same time. Baylor still holds the record for points scored in an NBA Finals with 61 and Pistons small forward Dave DeBusschere would be unable to match up on the stat sheet.

Where the series would be won, however, would be down low. With the tandem of Kareem and Shaq tangling with Lanier and Wallace, the Lakers would be almost un-guardable. Lanier possessed some nice offensive weapons which included a tough left handed hook shot, but Kareem was certainly on another planet offensively. Stopping Shaq is impossible, but Ben Wallace has proven in the past that he is one of the handful of players who has been able to at least slow the Lakers legend down as we saw in the 2004 Finals. However, the combination of Shaq and Kareem would ultimately be too much for the Pistons as the Lakers are just flat out better at every position.

Winner – Los Angeles Lakers – 4 – 1

Match up number three would fulfil almost every NBA fans dream, providing LeBron James against the great Michael Jordan. Starting with two explosive, Chicago born point guards in Tim Hardaway and Derrick Rose, both have had injury plagued careers. Both Rose and Hardaway would almost cancel each other out with their ability to get to the basket and score the ball. Hardaway’s best year in Miami came during the franchise record setting 1996-1997 season, leading the team to 61 wins, with an average of 20 points per game and eight assists. Rose, meanwhile, averaged 25 points per game with seven assists in 2010-2011, his best year stat wise in Chicago.

Looking at the paint, Chris Bosh would easily out match Horace Grant. Bosh has the offensive skill to be a number one option, as we have seen in Toronto and at times with Miami when needed. Grant is a double-double capable player but Bosh gets the edge in their match up. Alonzo Mourning and Dennis Rodman have a well-documented past against one another, with Rodman seemingly getting the upper hand mentally in several battles between the Heat and Bulls over the years. The battle of the dynamic duo’s in Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen and Dwyane Wade/LeBron James, is what a series between these two teams would come down to.

Looking at a pure stats perspective, Jordan and Pippen are superior in almost every category. The Chicago duo from 1991-1993 have more points, assists, rebounds, blocks and overall have a better field goal percentage than the Heat duo. In their first three finals series as a tandem, LeBron and Wade combined for a total of 38 points in the final five minutes of each game. Jordan and Pippen managed to reach that number in one Finals series alone, that being 1998. Looking at the numbers, MJ and Pippen are simply unmatched. This is why the Chicago Bulls take the series and move on to the next round.

Winner – Chicago Bulls 4 – 2

The final first-round series would see the five-time champion San Antonio Spurs up against the reigning NBA champions, Golden State Warriors. The edge at the point would certainly go to Steph, due to his unreal shooting ability. Despite being one of the best point guards in the league, Parker is a below average defender and poor outside shooter so keeping up with Steph offensively is out of the question. Mitch Richmond and Manu Ginobili is a real toss up as both players have a solid outside shot and the ability to score around the basket. At the small forward spot, George Gervin would be too much for opposite number Chris Mullin, as the ‘Iceman’s’ scoring ability vastly overshadows his counterpart. Gervin averaged 20,708 points over his ten-year career as opposed to Mullin’s 17,911 over sixteen years. While a better outside scorer by a wide margin, Mullin’s best scoring year came in 1989, averaging 26.5 points per game along with a career playoff average of 13.8 points per game. Gervin’s best was an average of 33.1 points per game in 1980 with a playoff average of 27 points per game.

In the paint, Golden State without a doubt have the rebounding edge as Nate Thurmond and Wilt Chamberlain are two of only four players in NBA history to pull down 40 rebounds in a single game as well as two of only five players to average 20-plus rebounds in a season. Despite being one of the greatest shot blockers and rebounders of all time, Duncan is vastly ahead in each stat category. Duncan leads Thurmond in career field goal percentage with 50 percent to 42 percent, and averages 21.2 points per game as opposed to Thurmond’s 11.9 points per game in the playoffs. Wilt would be a case of damage control for the Spurs, as Robinson would do his best to slow Chamberlain down. ‘The Big Dipper’ and the ‘Admiral’ would certainly be a great match up, with Wilt being the better scorer and Robinson a somewhat underrated two-way center.

Chamberlain and Robinson were both good shooters with some nice range but the obvious nod goes to Wilt here, ability wise. In terms of scoring, it’s not even close with Wilt averaging over 30,000 points in his Hall of Fame career in arguably the deepest era for centers, almost 10,000 more than Robinson. However, considering the selfish ‘hot and cold’ personality of Chamberlain as compared to the unselfish, team first play of the Spurs, San Antonio gets a close series victory over the Warriors as Mullin and Thurmond are unable to keep up in the clutch with Gervin and Duncan.

Winner – San Antonio Spurs – 4 – 3

In the first semifinals matchup, the Boston Celtics meet the Chicago Bulls. Looking at the backcourt matchup, Derrick Rose and Michael Jordan’s sheer power to get to the basket would be too much for Bob Cousy and John Havlicek to cope with. However with Bill Russell’s presence at the rim, Jordan and Rose’s scoring would be slowed to a degree, possibly having to rely on jump shots in Rose’s case as Jordan’s uncanny finishing ability would be enough to score on Russell on more than a few trips. The Celtics would look to Bird and McHale for replies on offense with McHale putting up big scoring numbers on Horace Grant. While Scottie Pippen was a better defender than Bird, there is no question as to who the better overall player is, and that is Larry Bird. Bird would out-rebound and out score Pippen in this series, while racking up a few assists to Havlicek and McHale along the way. Bill Russell and Dennis Rodman would be neck and neck for rebounds but with Russell’s outlet passing ability a huge difference maker on offense, the Celtics take a tight series. Between Bird, McHale and Havlicek, there is too much talent for Jordan to keep the Bulls alive.

Winner – Boston Celtics – 4 – 3

The second semifinals would see the Los Angeles Lakers up against the San Antonio Spurs. With Elgin Baylor and George Gervin dead even in scoring over their playoff careers with 27 points per game apiece, Baylor's rebounding ability would give the Lakers a slight edge in controlling the game. Shaquille O’Neal holds a career record of 26 points and 12 rebounds on 53 percent shooting when playing against David Robinson who averaged a lesser 18 points and 10 rebounds on 47 percent shooting when matched up against Shaq. Despite being relatively even scoring wise, Magic’s size is too much for Parker on the perimeter. Shaq and Kareem’s ability to draw necessary double teams allows Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor to score on open looks and cuts to the rim. Duncan and Kareem have an even stat line on the boards with a slight edge in scoring for Kareem as the depth of talent on the Lakers proves too much. Los Angeles wins the series and move on to the Finals.

Winner – Los Angeles Lakers – 4 - 2

Which brings us to the final two teams, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Looking at matchups, Magic and Cousy are two of the best passers the NBA has ever had. However the sheer size, vision and speed of Magic would certainly prove too much for Cousy. While relatively even in scoring, with Magic finishing his career on 19 points per game and Cousy on 18 points per game, Magic averaged four more assists than Cousy over his career while shooting 52 percent compared to the Celtic point guards 37 percent. Kobe Bryant and John Havlicek matchup fairly even numbers wise in every category across their careers. Given Kobe’s era was stronger in terms of talent for the shooting guard spot, with the likes of Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade to name a few, perhaps Kobe gets the slight push in front.

At small forward, Elgin Baylor and Larry Bird are neck and neck stats wise. However, Bird’s passing ability gives him the edge racking up over 2,000 more assists in his career than Baylor. With Kevin McHale and Bill Russell manning the paint against Kareem and Shaq, again it would be a case of trying to slow the two big men down. Against the best defensive centers in the NBA, Shaq still managed to score over 20-plus points, and against Bill Russell, things wouldn’t be much different. This Lakers squad is too deep, and despite a close series, the Lakers edge it for the title of greatest teams of all time.

Winner – Los Angeles Lakers 4 - 3