Role Player Dream Team

[ojandpizza]

Since we have all kinds of different All-Time lists with great players I thought it would be a nice change of pace to give some love to some of the role players out there, guys who weren't necessarily the star player or face of the franchise guy.

Everyone is going to have a different opinion of how the define a "role player". In my opinion a role player isn't a 2nd or 3rd star, it isn't someone who could carry a successful team on their own, or a player who's role was to be the go-to offensive threat.. Which means my list will not include guys like Pippen, Hondo, Worthy, Bosh, etc.. I by no means consider those type of players "role players".. But if one of you do by all means post them to your list.

I also tried to mostly incorporate players who were part of championship teams, as I felt being able to fill a role to put a good team over the top was the most important aspect of being a role player.

My team:
PG - Maurice Cheeks
SG - Michael Cooper
SF - Detlef Schrempf
PF - Dennis Rodman
C - Wes Unseld
6th - Vinnie Johnson
F - Toni Kukoc
G - Derek Fisher
C - Mark Eaton
F - Robert Horry
G - Steve Kerr
F - Tom Sanders

Honorable mention: Bruce Bowen, Lamar Odom, John Paxson.. Didn't choose Bowen because I had enough defense, I preferred Schrempf to Odom and Kerr to Paxson..

Just missed: Rip Hamilton, Dennis Johnson, Maurice Lucas, Dikembe Mutombo, Joe Dumars, Shawn Marion.. In the end I just couldn't label any of these guys as "role players".

Who's on your list? Mines obviously an All-Time list, yours can be current, All-Time, or whatever.

[ojandpizza]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

If I had to make a current league team, it would probably be:

PG: Jose Calderon
SG: Jimmy Butler
SF: P.J. Tucker
PF: Kenneth Farried
C: Joakim Noah
6: Mike Miller
7: Tony Allen
8: Andre Drummond
9: Shane Battier
10: Patrick Beverley

Possibly the last year I'll be able to consider Butler a role-player, and Noah, like Rodman, Unseld, etc, will probably be one of the rare players who builds a hall of fame career out of being a great role-player.

[Dice]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

Point Guard: Mark Jackson - One of the smartest players that played the game. Always knew who to go to and when to get them the ball.
Shooting Guard: Byron Scott - Dead eye jump shooter and athletic. Underrated defender.
Small Forward: James Posey - Had enough range on his jump shot to space the floor. Nasty attitude with a gangsta mentality, what a championship team needs.
Power Forward: Antonio Davis - A banger who could mix it up with the best of them. Can occasionally provide points as well.
Center: Joakim Noah - Does everything consistently a center is supposed to do to help a team win except score. If he could score at least 15ppg, he’d be the best center in the league right now.

[MattUM]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

PG: Rajon Rondo (pre-rebuild)
SG: John Starks
SF: Peja Stojakovic (debatable as a role player)
PF: Andrea Bargnani
C: Dikembe Mutumbo

Bench:
PG/SG: Drazen Petrovic
SG: Shannon Brown
SG/SF: JR Smith
SF/PF: Toni Kukoc
C: Andrew Bynum



I think it's an interesting topic, I mean could I get players who were role players in the beginning of their career? You could get rookie Penny, second-year Kobe, third-year Tmac, early McHale, and Bynum. Lol that team would be so fun to watch.

[AlexBrady]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

PG: Lenny Wilkens- The classic facilitating point guard who could score when he had to.
SG: Joe Dumars- Did whatever had to be done for his team to win.
SF: John Havlicek- Perpetual motion man with no holes in his game.
PF: Dave DeBusschere- Best man to man defender ever at power forward.
C: Bill Russell- The perfect role-playing big man.

Bench
K.C. Jones- Hellacious defender at the point.
Jim Cleamons- One of the most underrated point men of all time.
Michael Cooper- Versatile lockdown defender.
Scott Wedman- Tough as nails defender with fine instincts.
Scottie Pippen- Versatile and complete player.
Gus Johnson- Ranks up there with DeBusschere in his man to man defense.
Wes Unseld- Incredible strength. Did all the heavy lifting.

[Rockie_Fresh88]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

No DFisher ?

[bakan723]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

Pippen was a great role player, as much as I hated the Bulls.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

Shots fired with the Pippen and Noah mentions


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[JazzMan]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

PG: Mo Williams
SG: Jeff Hornacek
SF: Hedo Turkoglu
PF: Dennis Rodman
C: Mark Eaton

Bench:
Shawn Marion, SF
Steve Kerr, PG
Lamar Odom, PF
Danny Ainge, SG
Michael Cooper, SG
Robert Horry, PF
Kurt Thomas, C

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

Good topic by the OP.

Gonna have to think about this one for a while but I do know that Andrei Kirilenko will be on my team. Dude was a joy to watch while he was in Utah because he could do just about anything you asked of him. Could score, rebound, block, force TOs, one of the best defenders in the league and still is to this day. Basically did the things that showed up and didn't show up in the boxscore/stat sheet. Like the Mark Jackson choice by Dice and I might have to throw him in as well.

I'll come back and post once I have the SG, PF and C spots selected.

[mrclutch]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

PG: Lenny Wilkens- The classic facilitating point guard who could score when he had to.
SG: Joe Dumars- Did whatever had to be done for his team to win.
SF: John Havlicek- Perpetual motion man with no holes in his game.
PF: Dave DeBusschere- Best man to man defender ever at power forward.
C: Bill Russell- The perfect role-playing big man.

Bench
K.C. Jones- Hellacious defender at the point.
Jim Cleamons- One of the most underrated point men of all time.
Michael Cooper- Versatile lockdown defender.
Scott Wedman- Tough as nails defender with fine instincts.
Scottie Pippen- Versatile and complete player.
Gus Johnson- Ranks up there with DeBusschere in his man to man defense.
Wes Unseld- Incredible strength. Did all the heavy lifting.

I wouldn't call any of your starting 5 role players but nice team.

[PaperChasing59]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

PG: Eric Snow
SG: Aaron Mckie
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Taj Gibson
C: Kendrick Perkins

Eric Snow could defend the 1 or 2 positions, developed a consistent mid range later in his career and just seemed tough to me. Really liked how hard he played.

Aaron Mckie was versatile in defending multiple positions as well as running the point or playing shooting guard. Loved the fact he won a 6th man of the year award, very deserving.

Luol Deng is still playing but reminds me of the first two guys i just mentioned. Tough nosed defender but he like Mckie could also get you 20 points on a given night.

Taj Gibson is a very good defender and just looks to be giving a lot of effort out there.

Kendrick Perkins is still a good defender and I hear is excellent at setting picks, like real tough picks to get players open. He gets flack because of his offense but before his injury in Boston he seemed pretty okay offensively. I guess it slowed down a bit, but now he seems to be a underrated player because of his deficiencies on that end.



Could think of more but thought of these guys for now.

[SteelersFreak]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

PG: Lenny Wilkens- The classic facilitating point guard who could score when he had to.
SG: Joe Dumars- Did whatever had to be done for his team to win.
SF: John Havlicek- Perpetual motion man with no holes in his game.
PF: Dave DeBusschere- Best man to man defender ever at power forward.
C: Bill Russell- The perfect role-playing big man.

Bench
K.C. Jones- Hellacious defender at the point.
Jim Cleamons- One of the most underrated point men of all time.
Michael Cooper- Versatile lockdown defender.
Scott Wedman- Tough as nails defender with fine instincts.
Scottie Pippen- Versatile and complete player.
Gus Johnson- Ranks up there with DeBusschere in his man to man defense.
Wes Unseld- Incredible strength. Did all the heavy lifting.

I'm not sure if we're all on the same page on what a role player is...

[AlexBrady]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

I'm not sure if we're all on the same page on what a role player is...

It used to be an honor to be called a role player. Now its an insult. Just shows how much the definition has changed over the years.

[vtcha]

Re: Role Player Dream Team

Some of these players listed as 'role players' is just .. "in a Stephen A Smith voice" .... so disrespectful.

To me, I consider a role player as someone that generally averages less than 30 MPG, is not an All-Star, or is not part of the focal/core piece their respective teams- Basically someone that comes off the bench and provides a spark to the team, either offensively or defensively.

With having said that, here is my list based on active players.

PG: Jarrett Jack, Ramon Sessions, Steve Blake
SG: Tony Allen, Marco Belinelli, Danny Green
SF: Matt Barnes, Shane Battier, Mike Miller
PF: Taj Gibson, Markieff Morris
C: Chris Andersen, Tiago Splitter

IMO the Spurs probably have the best role players in the league right now. They have much underrated/un-sung heroes who can impact the game at any given night.