Best Starting 5 by Age

[KingsOfKings]

This might be a random article, but at least I took a stance on players and it might generate some discussion.

The way I posed this question is..."Who would play better for one season with the talent as-is on the site?" I also used some random filters to try to get the lists down to a manageable size to pick from.

Age 22
PG Ricky Rubio - His outside shooting touch, handling ability, and solid defense would start this team off right.
SG Eric Gordon - Already-refined defense and outside shooting gives him the edge over Jrue.
SF Al-Farouq Aminu - We'll take his impressive ratings and 21.2 ppg
PF Victor Claver - His scoring is okay, but he's a weak spot with subpar rebounding and defense inside.
C BJ Mullens - Not amazing scoring-wise, but at least offers defense and rebounding in the middle...and he's the only C that's 21 years old.

Age 23
PG DJ Augustin - I thought for a while about going with Crittendon's better D, but Augustin is just too impressive to turn down.
SG Derrick Rose - holy crap, he is good, again turning down better defense from Mayo for the all-around game.
SF Bill Walker - what an impressive all-around game
PF Greg Oden - Duh...great scorer, amazing D and rebounding.
C ...do I really have to pick the all-around defense and rebounding of Patrick Patterson or Spencer Hawes over the impressive rookie season of Ogilvy scoring-wise? I'm going to go with Hawes for the 4 blocks a game and so people can accuse me of the homer pick.

Age 24
PG Tywon Lawson - Not an impressive scorer, but he can dish it out to the rest of the team.
SG Gerald Henderson Jr - Scoring leader, I'll take it!
SF Tyler Smith - He offers enough scoring and defense, but not the greatest.
PF Jeff Green - Some scoring, solid D
C Andrew Bynum - Very good defensive and rebounding presence and he can score fairly well too.

Age 25
PG Dominic James - Strong overall game, perhaps lacking in PG skills, but it works.
SG Monta Ellis - Gotta love his scoring punch.
SF Jamont Gordon - I just couldn't do Josh Smith here so I had move Jamont back to SF so this team would be worth a damn.
PF Randolph Morris - Most-proven and the most talent, easy choice.
C CJ Giles - Best defense/rebounding combo and best scoring.

Age 26
PG Chris Paul - very slight edge over Marcus Williams
SG Chris Lofton - gotta love the outside shooting, scoring overall, and solid D
SF LeBron James - The game doesn't even do him justice and he's still amazing.
PF Chris Bosh - if Al J wouldn't have regressed last TC, this might have been close...but it's not.
C Dwight Howard - Everyone else is mortal, need I say more?

Age 27
PG Raymond Felton - Good scorer and phenomenal passer and defender
SG Andre Iguodala - He brings good scoring and great defense
SF Carmelo Anthony - No homer pick here, great scorer and elite defender as well.
PF Amare Stoudamire - A force scoring-wise, it overcomes a slight weakness defensively and rebounding, but it's worth it for the scoring.
C Andrew Bogus - Nobody really close and he is very solid.

Age 28
PG Devin Harris - gave the slight edge over TJ Ford due to better scoring and defense, despite slightly worse handling.
SG Ben Gordon - Deadly outside shooter with good handling and defense
SF Kelenna Azubuike - Good all-around talent beats out Granger here.
PF Channing Frye - Je can score, rebound, and defend well.
C Emeka Okafor - Good scorer and great defensive player and rebounder, great big man.

Age 29
PG Gilbert Arenas - Jameer is a good PG, but Agent Zero just outclasses him in every aspect.
SG Dwayne Wade - He's an all-around player and a 2nd superstar for this team.
SF Gerald Wallace - He's a true SG, but with no options, I had to move him to SF.
PF Tyson Chandler - He's a solid player with good defense and rebounding.
C Chris Kaman - He's a solid center in the right areas, but not great.

Age 30
PG Kirk Hinrich
SG Joe Johnson
SF Caron Butler
PF Zach Randolph
C Yao Ming

(to be continued...)

[dajason]

HOMER- there I said it. : )

[KingsOfKings]

ah thank you

[dingles87]

while i like seeing eric gordon on there, there's no need to mention jrue in the same sentence. he can't hold EJ's jock

[gvlakers]

How is Bynum not on there at 24?

[KingsOfKings]

Fixed...I swear I didn't see him in my search when I went through it.

[Sonics GM]

Durant beat out by Bill Walker...I guess I could see that. That 23 year old class is very strong. That starting 5 in 23 class could of been first team all league last season.

[Detroit Pistons Sports Group]

yeah god id love to somehow put together say top ten of each age and play a Mini tournament. May the best age win... That be pretty cool to see if its experience or youth. team with maybe More stars but lessor role players or team with all around very good players no weakness no STAR though... Its an article thats pretty interesting but not sure if will lead to any great debate.

[dajason]

Well the REAL class of 23...

Age 23
PG DJ Augustin
SG Derrick Rose
SF Bill Walker
PF Greg Oden
C Andrew Ogilvy

Is hands down the best of the Age groups. IMO.

[KingsOfKings]

You're thinking that Ogilvy getting #1 option status and scoring 24 ppg makes up for his lack of rebounding and defense in comparison to the other two I mentioned.

I believe that if Hawes and Patterson were #1 options, you would take the defense/rebounding for a drop in a point or two...I wanted to make this into a best player kind of thing, not a "who looks the best because of strategies and circumstances" kind of thing.

[dajason]

Um, Ogilvy was not the #1 option, but thanks for playing.

[KingsOfKings]

I checked the opening season DC which said differently. After spending way too much time on this and going through your depth charts, he spent 1 sim as the #1 scoring option, like 9 as the #3 scoring option, and 2 as the #2 scoring option...
A little more impressive...

That said, he still didn't rebound as well or set a season record in blocks/game. This team would be better with a defensive presence than another scorer. I'm still not convinced about who is better out of the 3 players, but I'm happy with my homer pick of Hawes.

[dajason]

And thats fine, you can have the homer pick, the rest of the league can have Ogilvy. And the claim of not rebounding well? 10.5 boards a game and 2.4 blocks is not shabby, .6 boards and 1.6 blocks doesnt mean all that much... 8 ppg difference is huge. And if we are throwing out all the stats, what about Ogilvys 87% FT percentage to Hawes sub 70%. Lets just turn the game into Hack-a-Hawe. Oh and How many years has Mr. Hawes been in the league? 4 and with B potential where does he go from here? Ogilvy is the ROY, signed for 3 more years cheap, and has super A pot and will get a ton better....

All of these things need to be included if you are determining your super team. : )

This all being said, Id love Hawes to be Ogs backup.

[Detroit Pistons Sports Group]

ROFL i have to agree with Atl GM after its all layed out there and i am a firm believer of the BIG BLOCKING Bigs of which i have in Lopez just behind your Hawes....

[KingsOfKings]

Yay, it's debate.

I stated very clearly at the top of the article that this was the player I would want for 1 year with the talent as-is on the site...You're right that Ogilvy has more potential to grow...but that wasn't the foundation of the article.

0.6 boards and 1.6 blocks in fewer minutes I will add...and the blocks and overall defense are a big deal in my opinion.