Clearly, the Dream Team also could have seen fromthe cards spread before them in those much talked about late night post-game poker sessions, the hands that took down the pots, full houses, and three of a kind were better than pairs or a single high card. They also learned the value of each other as competitors and strategiests. On the other hand maybe, Jordan won too much from his colleagues at poker for them to ever play together and Texas Hold’em was their undoing.

Magic saying he wouldn?t join up with other superstars is a bit pointless, as we pointed out they were already his teammates (Jabar and Worthy). Bird played in Magic?s era, and they were rivals since college but Larry also played with two other top 50 players, in McHale and Parrish. The big threes or the magic numbers, were already there for both of them. That?s not to mention Bill Walton, also a NBA top 50 recognized player, joined Bird on the Celtics, and Magic Johnson also had Bob McAdoo regarded alongside Dominique Wilkins as the most worthy omissions from the top 50 list.

The fact that any of their supporting cast could have been, and in some cases were, stars elsewhere skews the argument. Lebron played on a Cleveland Roster that welcomed a Shaquille O?Neal farther along in his decline than either Parrish or Jabbar. And that was LeBron?s high point of second fiddles in terms of name recognition. Guys like Antwan Jamison won?t make the top 50 of the second 50 years anytime soon despite being serviceable.

The other guys on Magic and Bird?s rosters weren?t chopped liver either. Perhaps, the savviest of the three in player evaluation and development as a GM, Larry Bird has been noticeably quiet in weighing in on the rival issue because maybe he realizes just how loaded his teams were. Parrish and McHale were stellar players that complemented Bird immeasurably. Paired with a backcourt of Denis Johnson and Danny Ainge the Celtics were loaded 1 through 5 and into their bench.

In the NBA?s rankings of the top 10 teams of all time, done in 1997, at the same time as their top 50 list, Magic, Bird, and Jordan?s best teams all made the list. Even with LeBron joining Bosh, and Wade the Heat will struggle to make such lofty company. Simply, put the fourth and fifth guys won?t be as good as Larry or Magic?s.

When Jordan entered the league Bird and Magic were the benchmarks but they were also a few years ahead of him. When Chicago built an NBA championship team they did it around Michael and they recruited, drafted, and traded players that filled niches. None, moreso than Scottie Pippen, whose versatility enabled Jordan the freedom to be the greatest player ever and to be a winner. The process in Chicago stands in stark contrast to the series of fits and starts in Cleveland concerning roster building that Lebron was burdened with.

To be continued?