The Franchise Man: Top 5 NBA 'Video Game' Teams Before Video Games

[RaychelSnr]

The 2010-11 Miami Heat are going to be a very special and unique team in many ways. This Heat squad may also end up being the best NBA video game team to date.

This year the Heat will surely be rated as high -- if not higher -- as any other team in NBA Elite or NBA 2K. The Heat will probably ruin online play as well since everyone will play as them.

This got me thinking, what were the best "video game" NBA teams ever in the times before video games? Which teams would have ruined online play in the '70s and '80s?

To get to the bottom of this, I think we first have to define what makes a great NBA video game team.

Great video game teams must have at least two superstars. One should be a big who can finish and preferably block shots, and the other should be a slasher who can finish strong at the rim. Those two dynamic players should also be surrounded by size and shooters.

Now, it’s possible to have this combination and still not do well in real life. Take the 2004-05 Houston Rockets for example. They won 51 games and did not get out of the first round, but they were a great video game team with the combination of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

So with that explanation out of the way, here is my top-five list of teams that go down as the greatest NBA "video game" teams before video games.


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[MajaFiggaz]

1K86= 1086 = Fail.. Other than that this was a great read LOL.

[sammy g]

That 1968-69 Laker team would be nearly impossible to stop in a video game.

[cheez7]

Mr. Kennedy, while I applaud the inclusion of the underappreciated 1976-77 Sixers squad, you're missing perhaps the greatest team in NBA history, the 1966-67 Sixers. Not only did they finish the regular season with a 68-13 mark (28-2 at home), they ended the Boston Celtics eight-year run as champions.

Wilt Chamberlain put up video game numbers in real life, so I can only imagine how unstoppable/unfair virtual Wilt would have been... I don't think the versions of virtual Wilt we've seen over the years do him justice since a skill-cap of 99 is sellling him short.

Hal Greer was one of the best two-guards in NBA history. Chet Walker was ahead of his time as a player who excelled in the fast break. Billy Cunningham is an all-time great (20 ppg, 10 rpg, 4 apg for his career). Larry Costello was one of the league's first great guards, although he was in the twilight of his career by that season. Luke Jackson was one of the toughest big men of his era.

FOUR Sixers averaged 18+ points that season (Chamberlain 24.1 ppg, Greer 22.1 ppg, Walker 19.3 ppg and Cunningham 18.5). You could play an entire game without Chamberlain taking a single shot and still dominate offensively... not to mention having Wilt the Stilt guarding the rim on defense; keep in mind, he never fouled out of a single game (regular season or playoffs) for his entire professional career and averaged FORTY SIX minutes played per game in 1966-67.

[speedkills]

Re: The Franchise Man: Top 5 NBA 'Video Game' Teams Before Video Games

1K86= 1086 = Fail.. Other than that this was a great read LOL.

lol. China's Sung Dynasty had a really good team that year led by Yao Ming's great, great, great, great, great, great, great .... grandfather.

[threattonature]

Baylor retired early during the season before the Lakers won the title.

[Jeffx]

Re: The Franchise Man: Top 5 NBA 'Video Game' Teams Before Video Games

Mr. Kennedy, while I applaud the inclusion of the underappreciated 1976-77 Sixers squad, you're missing perhaps the greatest team in NBA history, the 1966-67 Sixers. Not only did they finish the regular season with a 68-13 mark (28-2 at home), they ended the Boston Celtics eight-year run as champions.

Wilt Chamberlain put up video game numbers in real life, so I can only imagine how unstoppable/unfair virtual Wilt would have been... I don't think the versions of virtual Wilt we've seen over the years do him justice since a skill-cap of 99 is sellling him short.

Hal Greer was one of the best two-guards in NBA history. Chet Walker was ahead of his time as a player who excelled in the fast break. Billy Cunningham is an all-time great (20 ppg, 10 rpg, 4 apg for his career). Larry Costello was one of the league's first great guards, although he was in the twilight of his career by that season. Luke Jackson was one of the toughest big men of his era.

FOUR Sixers averaged 18+ points that season (Chamberlain 24.1 ppg, Greer 22.1 ppg, Walker 19.3 ppg and Cunningham 18.5). You could play an entire game without Chamberlain taking a single shot and still dominate offensively... not to mention having Wilt the Stilt guarding the rim on defense; keep in mind, he never fouled out of a single game (regular season or playoffs) for his entire professional career and averaged FORTY SIX minutes played per game in 1966-67.

Thank you!!!!!!

[ccoaxum]

i think the "The USA Dream TEAM" the one with Jordan and all the other great superstars on one team would be the that team that should not be allowed to use online or a video game period!

[eye guy]

Re: The Franchise Man: Top 5 NBA 'Video Game' Teams Before Video Games

I don't think the versions of virtual Wilt we've seen over the years do him justice since a skill-cap of 99 is sellling him short.

No, 99 would've been alright, but the rest of the NBA roster might've had to been an average of 60-65...

[bigdnlaca]

Re: The Franchise Man: Top 5 NBA 'Video Game' Teams Before Video Games

Sorry but you not including the sixers championship team of 83 is a travesty. (think that was the year they won it all). That team was on of the best teams of all time. Moses coming off an mvp season to join dr.j, cheeks, toney, and others. You can also include the sixer team in 84-85 that included all the great players plus barkley.

[crandolph]

Mr. Kennedy.....read Bill Simmon's book, huh???..........anyways, i like the article. But In your summary before the list, you said each team needed two superstars. Big man and a slasher. How about and NBA MVP with an unstoppable shot and a guy who once averaged a triple-double. Like the list, but you forgot the 1970-71 Bucks. Kareem and The Big O. Thats all you need.

[crusaderhoops10]

Mr. Kennedy.....read Bill Simmon's book, huh???..........anyways, i like the article. But In your summary before the list, you said each team needed two superstars. Big man and a slasher. How about and NBA MVP with an unstoppable shot and a guy who once averaged a triple-double. Like the list, but you forgot the 1970-71 Bucks. Kareem and The Big O. Thats all you need.

Of course I read it and I couldn't help using the term "Magic 2.0" in a piece like this.

There should of been an honorable mention section of this article. Obviously '83 Sixers, '71 Bucks and '67 Sixers would be on it. But as I'm sure you all can tell, this wasn't a list of the best teams in NBA history otherwise I'd of gone with the '86 Celtics instead of '87.

The '67 Sixers definitely are up there, I just didn't go with them because I was already using a Wilt team at number 1 (I know, lame excuse). I mean, it would be pretty boring if every team on the list was one that Wilt played for just because he was so dominant. That's why I didn't do a list of the best video game teams from the 90's because they all would have been Jordan's Bulls.

Here's the reasons why I left off the '83 Sixers and '71 Bucks.

NBA video games would have been obsessed with Lakers and Celtics by 1983. There's no way that before the Sixers even won the title would that team have been rated as well as LA or Boston. Plus, both LA and Boston would have had big men that could have matched Moses in video games, even though Moses dominated in real life.

The dominance that came with those Sixers teams all started with Moses and I doubt that video games would have captured that with Kareem on LA's teams and the bigs in Boston. Moses dominating the glass the way he did is kind of like Barkley when it comes to video games. Try creating a 6'6'' Barkley and grabbing 14 boards a game in a video game. It doesn't happen, height matters too much, hence the '86 Rockets and a 7'4'' Sampson being so valuable.

As for the '71 Bucks, Big O wasn't enough for me as a slasher that late in his career. And right after the Knicks won the title, you know everyone on that Knicks team would have been rated in the 80's a la an '06 Spurs team. The Bucks wouldn't have been the best rated team on that game.

But both of those teams were definitely on my mind along with the Knicks teams and late 80's Pistons.

It's funny though how no one argues for the team that won 11 titles. Maybe because their best player probably would have been rated a 90 even though somehow we should have found a way to rate him a 115 with a computer glitch not allowing him to lose big games.

[Eski33]

You have to include the 88-89 Pistons. Those guys made defense in the NBA what it is today. Back then, every team scored in the 100's...The Pistons were the first to hold teams in the low 90's over the course of an entire season.

[aloncho11]

Re: The Franchise Man: Top 5 NBA 'Video Game' Teams Before Video Games

'83 Sixers and the Blazers and Supersonics championship teams with Walton and Dennis Johnson would be awesome..

[tril]

great read.
too many teams to mention. Im surprised you didn't mention any of the Bucks teams, especially the 70-71 bucks.
Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bob Dandridge- most underrated player of that era, Jon McGlokin,

if you all want comparisons to the Heat, then the 7071 Bucks should be the one that should be mentioned.
This team was stacked.