NBA All-Decade Team: The Starters

Unlike most All-Decade teams, I’m not interested in simple achievement awards. This won’t be an exercise in selecting the “best” NBA players of the last decade; moreover, this won’t be reverent towards the many all-time greats of the last ten years. As I said in a recent article:

I plan on making some difficult cuts to make sure that the team could mesh for an entire 82-game season plus playoffs. I’ll take offensive and defensive fit along with ego into account.

Film Study: The Poor Offensive fit of Team USA, Cody Houdek, 2019

The Rules

Before offering my selections, here are the basic rules of this article series:

1. Like Bill Simmons’ Wine Cellar Team, all players must be selected from a single year.
2. Players who were injured during their selected years won’t necessarily experience the same injury; however, unless otherwise argued, they will be more susceptible to injury.
3. I will consider player ego and team chemistry while making selections.
4. I will select a total of twelve players.

Since I want to give each player his just due, I will split my selection into multiple articles including a defense of my cuts.

Final disclaimer: I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking, Googling, considering different statistics, and asking people on Twitter about my selections. I promise that any player I left off was a strictly professional decision and not a deep-state decision to shift the public narrative. Let’s do this.

The All-Decade Team’s Unquestionable Locks

LeBron James 2013 – 26.8 points/ 8 rebounds/ 7.3 assists/ 1.7 steals/ .9 blocks. True Shooting Percentage – 64%; Backpicks BPM – 8.8; PIPM – 8

Stephen Curry 2017 – 25.3 points/ 4.5 rebounds/ 6.6 assists/ 1.8 steals/ .2 blocks. TS% – 62.4%; Backpicks BPM – 6.9; PIPM – 8.7

Kevin Durant 2016 – 28.2 points/ 8.2 rebounds/ 5 assists/ 1 steal/ 1.2 blocks. TS% – 63.4%; Backpicks BPM – 6.6; PIPM – 5.6

When I first conceived of this thought experiment, these were the first three players that came to mind. While LeBron is a clear cut “first best” player, both Durant and Curry can function as tremendous offensive options off the ball. It’s not that LeBron doesn’t bring value as a shooter and cutter when not directing the offense, but Durant and especially Curry’s otherworldly shooting make them prime candidates next to LeBron. Respectively, Durant and Curry scored in the 88th and 97th percentile on spot-up possessions according to Synergy.

Admittedly, Curry’s 2016 season was maybe the best offensive season in the history of the league. The issue is that I strongly believe that Curry and the Warriors were a bit too cocky at that time. After Curry’s post-season injury, Draymond’s ill-timed nut-punch, and the shocking 3-1 comeback from the Cavaliers, Curry came back humbled and hungry for more. That’s the Curry that I want. Plus, he wasn’t half bad that season (I actually wrote an article about how he should’ve won MVP that year).

As for Durant, his 2014 was a phenomenal offensive campaign, but Ben Taylor noted both defensive and passing improvements since. When slotting next to other superstars, it’s important to excel in many “portable” skills such as offensive rebounding, defense, shooting, and passing. These are skills that helps a player add value without having the ball. If Durant improved in multiple of those facets, then he becomes all the more valuable to a super-team.

The All-Decade Team’s Last Starters

Dwyane Wade 2010 – 26.6 points/ 4.7 rebounds/ 6.5 assists/ 1.8 steals/ 1.1 blocks. TS% – 56.2%; Backpicks BPM – 5.2; PIPM – 6.1

Anthony Davis 2018 – 28.1 points/ 11.1 rebounds/ 2.3 assists/ 1.5 steals/ 2.6 blocks. Backpicks BPM – 4.6; PIPM – 4.8

Honestly, Dwyane Wade wasn’t initially on my list. Despite his tremendous first-step, athleticism, midrange game, and passing, his skills don’t necessarily mesh with other ball-dominant superstars.

From 2011-13, he missed 20 games and the Heat improved without him (from a 61-win pace to a 63-win pace).

Backpicks GOAT: #22 Dwyane Wade, Ben Taylor, 2018

According to Synergy, Wade scored in the 33rd and 41st percentile on off-screen and spot-up possessions respectively in 2010. Besides transition, these are the most common off-ball offensive possessions that a player can take, so these numbers paint a poor picture.

Nevertheless, I’ve argued before that point guards who can’t shoot or defend should go obsolete. Wade is the perfect future point guard in that he’s big and a fantastic defender. Also, while stockpiling ball-dominant scorers isn’t a good strategy, it’s not a bad idea to have at least a couple in case of injury, different rotations, etc. In that role, Synergy shows a more promising result. If you including passing, Wade scored in the 90th and 83rd percentile respectively in isolation and pick-and-roll ball-handling possessions.

Anthony Davis was an extremely interesting case. Clearly, 2019-20 is his best season because of his considerable growth on defense, but that counts for next decade. He had stretches of transcendence in 2018-19, but between the trade requests, injuries, and general weirdness, I don’t trust that season.

Besides, Davis showcased ridiculous upside in the 2017 playoffs when he led the Pelicans to a sweep against the higher seeded Trailblazers. In those four games, he averaged 33 points and 11.8 rebounds per game on 64.9% true shooting.

Furthermore, as much as he doesn’t like playing center, he has played over a third of his minutes at the five this season with excellent results. That flexibility between the four and five will help build an array of lineups.

Part 2 Coming Soon

So far, I’ve selected five players meaning that we have seven to go. I have no idea how I’ll split apart those last spots, so follow me, Overtime Heroics, and Overtime Heroics – Basketball on Twitter for immediate updates on the All-Decade team. If you have questions or thoughts, please @ me to get the discussion going!