When you say Malone I hope you mean Moses and not Karl, Karl was not even the best 4 of his time (Charles). I also dont see how Kobe makes it as the second best 2 guard of all time, I would rather throw in Big O or move one of the 80's 3 men at that spot.
As the teams are however I would take team 2 and not because Im an MJ fan boy but because Kareem was always a nissy and always got abused my Mchale, always.
Ok so heres my ultimate 5 man team with players in their primes. Also, take into consideration that I am making a team with 1 ball and 1 shot per 24 seconds, so when I say MJ I mean MJ as a defensive role and a system scorer, Magic and Bird would dominate the ball on my dream team, not MJ.
1- Magic.
2- Jordan.
3- Bird.
4- Duncan.
5- Olaujowan.
Can you imagine that squad? Magic and Bird two of the best offensive players ever paired with the 3 best defensive players at their positions ever. MJ the best defensive 2 guard, Duncan the best defensive 4 man (that one is arguable), and Olaujowan the leader in blocks in NBA history. Could you imagine running a high low with Olaujowan at the elbow and Duncan on the low block? Could you imagine putting Duncan at freethrow line extended about 18 feet away from the basket (angle at the board) and Olaujowan on the block? Could you imagine MJ on the low block matched with some helpless 2 guard with both Duncan and Olaujowan crashing the boards from the weakside? All of this orcastrated by the court savvy and vision of Magic and Bird????? The only man you could double down off of in this rotation is Magic, and as always shown in his Laker days, you simply could not play off of Magic simply because he couldnt shoot, he would get that big body into you in the paint and either finish 5 feet away from the rim or make a pass that no point could defend? Bird spreading the offense and doing the little magical things?
The only problems I could see with this lineup are guards who are two fast for magic and 3's who are too fast for Bird. Thats OK though because they play ,such great offball defense that when they get beat they would know how to send them to the greatest shotblocker in NBA history. (I think it should be noted that it was hard for me to put MJ on this list. If he could play as I want him to it would be easy but its hard to imagine MJ not dominating the ball as he is the greatest individual player of all time).
My bench would be full of great players but all of whom could come in and fill a specific role.
1- Gary Payton- For my money the greatest defensive point ever with only Kevin Johnson coming close.
2- Charles Barkley- One man fast break, great intensity on both ends of the court and would get any loose rebounds that Duncan whose slower couldnt. It pains me not to put Charles in the starting line up.
3- Oscar Robertson- Instant points, would either match him up against a slower 2 guard or a smaller 1 for instant offense.
4- David Robinson- The most versatile 7 footer to ever play the game (dont say Nowitzki. Nowitzki cant guard ****.). Could put him in to stick a 3, 4 or a 5, that alone is two valuable to leave off my squad. Plus could you imagine him running the break with Magic? A 7 footer that runs like 3 on the same team as Magic would be overkill.
5- Kobe Bryant- I hate Kobe Bryant. However I can not deny his talent and it would be hard for me to find a spot for him in the offense. The best thing I could think of is using him as an uber skilled James Worthy who could also spread the floor with his shooting.
6- Kurt Rambis- Because he had cool *** goggles and he could kick the **** out of players without getting ejected. Always loved that about Kurt, great enforcer.
7- Ray Allen- Give me the greatest shooter of all time on my team please.
Ok thats it. A few peices I really miss. ESPECIALLY SHAQ IN HIS PRIME. But as this is a super team squad and there is only 1 ball, I would prefer not to have him. Plus Olaujowan in his prime destroyed Shaq when Shaq was atleast at his physical prime. Kind of miss having Isaiah on the squad too, but come to think about it Chris Paul is better right now than Isaiah ever was.
Final adendum. If there were 5 balls with infinite shots and team chemistry didnt matter I would have had Shaq and others for sure.