Selecting the field for an NBA 1-on-1 tournament
February 19th, 2010 | Basketball, Sports | 21 Comments »
My secret business plan is to hold my own 1-on-1 basketball tournament at either the Staples Center or Madison Square Garden annually.
Shh, don’t tell anyone.
Revenue would come from:
- ticket sales
- broadcast rights (domestic and international)
- merchandise sales
- event sponsors
The winner would take home a significant cash prize – between $1m and $3m. I have no clue what’s financially viable, but it needs to be large enough to attract top-flight players to increase legitimacy, ticket sales, the value of the broadcast rights, sponsor appeal, etc.
I have the basic rules fairly clearly laid out:
- jump ball determines first possession each game
- clear the ball to the three point line
- 14 second shot clock
- field goals count for two and three points
- shooting fouls result in free throws
- loser’s ball
- bonus after 5 fouls
- first to 21
- win by 2
But the big issue is player selection.
There are two obvious approaches to player selection that I can think of.
The first approach would be to determine the field by online fan voting, with a subset of NBA guards and wings eligible for selection (similar to the process for selecting the starters for the All-Star Game). Tournament seeding would then be determined by the voting results. This is simple and makes sense, but unfortunately almost asssures Yi Jianlian of a spot in the tournament (great for international broadcast rights, awful for legitimacy).
The second approach would be to structure the event as an invitation-only tournament. In this scenario, seeding could still be determined by fan voting, but it could also be left to tournament organizers to determine. Tournament organizers, or a selection committee, possibly, would be responsible for player selection.
In the case of an invitation-only tournament, which players would you have to invite, and how would you seed them?
We’ll assume that the ideal tournament would have 16 players, meaning that there’d be 16 tournament games (15 single-elimination games and 1 third-place game), and, assuming an average playing time of 15 minutes per game, a total event time of roughly four hours, which we’d spread over three days – 8 first round games on Day 1, 4 quarter-finals and 2 semi-finals on Day 2, and the third-place game and finals on Day 3.
So how do you choose the 16 best players for a 1-on-1 tournament in the NBA?
We’ll assume that these are the players you’d at least consider from the players currently playing in the NBA:
Atlanta
Joe Johnson
Boston
Rajon Rondo
Ray Allen
Paul Pierce
Chicago
Derrick Rose
Cleveland
Mo Williams
Lebron James
Denver
Chauncey Billups
Carmelo Anthony
Detroit
Ben Gordon
Golden State
Stephen Curry
Monta Ellis
Corey Maggette
Houston
Kevin Martin
Indiana
Danny Granger
Los Angeles Clippers
Baron Davis
Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant
Ron Artest
Memphis
OJ Mayo
Rudy Gay
Miami
Dwyane Wade
Milwaukee
Brandon Jennings
Michael Redd
New Orleans
Chris Paul
New York
Nate Robinson
Tracy McGrady
Danilo Gallinari
Oklahoma City
Russell Westbrook
Kevin Durant
Orlando
Vince Carter
Philadelphia
Allen Iverson
Andre Iguodala
Phoenix
Steve Nash
Portland
Brandon Roy
Sacramento
Tyreke Evans
San Antonio
Tony Parker
Manu Ginobili
Richard Jefferson
Utah
Deron Williams
Andrei Kirilenko
It’s an imperfect list, but I don’t think it matters too much. The players you think I ”snubbed” probably wouldn’t crack the top 16 for the tournament, anyway.
I’ll assume that the first five seeds are relatively obvious, and consist of the following players (although the exact order is, no doubt, debatable):
- Lebron James
- Kobe Bryant
- Dwyane Wade
- Carmelo Anthony
- Kevin Durant
The other 11 players are a bit tougher to determine, let alone seed.
I’ll say that the best 2-way player in the game deserves to be next:
- Ron Artest
People will say that he’s over the hill, but I disagree.
The next two selections earn their seeds by virtue of their combined scoring prowess and size:
- Joe Johnson
- Danny Granger
I’m assuming they’d have an advantage over smaller/slower players, which round out the top 16. First, the smaller players:
- Chris Paul
- Deron Williams
- Rajon Rondo
- Derrick Rose
- Steve Nash
(An aside: when you include John Wall, Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and Jose Calderon (what? Have you seen him play since he went back to the bench? The man’s possessed), how amazing is this decade going to be for point guards?)
The final three spots go to gritty players who probably can’t keep up with the young’ns above, but who can still grind out games, find ways to win, use their size to their advantage, and take their man off the dribble using their wily veteran moves (things like “reverse pivots” and “head fakes”):
- Manu Ginobili
- Paul Pierce
- Tracy McGrady
Yeah yeah yeah, none of you want McGrady there, and most of you will probably fight about the final 11 seeds in general. Relax. That’s the point of this blog post. I’m curious to see who people think the 16 players should be, and what order they’d seed them in. The only rule is no post players – no Dwight Howard, no Chris Bosh, no Pau Gasol or Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan or Dirk Nowitzki. Other than that, go nuts.
Incidentally, how amazing is this idea? I just hope I get to make it a reality before Kobe starts his physical decline.
Related posts:
CIS Championships – Acadia downs Carleton
Most optimistic and naive statement ever?
My 2012 NBA All-Star reserves
The Second Unit
The Raptors need Joe Johnson, maybe, Zaza Pachulia, definitely
February 19th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
your no-post player rule seems kind of arbitrary especially in relation to face-up 4s but going with it anyway i have…
1. lebron james 2. kobe bryant 3. carmelo anthony 4. dwyane wade 5. kevin durant 6. chris paul 7. brandon roy 8. tyreke evans 9. deron williams 10. stephen jackson 11. joe johnson 12. rudy gay 13. steve nash 14. monta ellis 15. OJ mayo 16. derrick rose
this tourney is going to put a premium on shooting percentage, who can get their own shot and then shot selection. lockdown defense is not going to help that much imho. with a full court to work with artest doesn’t stand a chance against the quickest 1s and 2s. maybe a few years ago but not today.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Duuude. Roy? Ahead of Deron and Joe Johnson? C’mon. And SJax? Ahead of Nash?
I feel bad about omitting Nowitzki, Jamison, et al, but it feels as if
you have to draw the line somewhere. You can’t have Shaq backing Nash
down. We need some sort of level playing field.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Stephen Jackson is one of the most underrated players in the NBA. He would bully Nash. He can score in the post, face the basket, he’s a long, quick defender, good mental focus.
Roy and Williams are pretty much a toss-up. Joe Johnson struggles a little bit going left, isn’t amazing off the dribble in general and is more predictable than either Roy or Williams.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
I also gave Roy an extra bump because so much of his offense already is one-on-one. If there are fouls called especially. He can go both left and right equally well, get his 15 foot jumper over Williams, great change of pace dribbles. His offensive efficiency in isolation in game situations this year is way ahead of Williams and Johnson, matched only by James and a few others. The entire nature of his game is one on one. Williams is better 5 on 5 but that’s not the task here, right?
February 19th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
I’m a Raps guy, so I don’t watch as many Blazers games as you do, but
I’m just thinking about quickness and size, and Roy’s not a stand-out
in either regard. In 5-on-5 situations I’m confused by how well he
does (it looks like he’s moving in slow motion), but in 1-on-1, I just
think Nash would eat him up.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Nash plays no d whatsoever, part of what makes him so good is that he uses the threat of his passing to create driving lanes for himself or space for his shot. If its pure one on one it’s a totally different game.
Roy has sneaky quicks, he never looks like he is going full speed but gets to the basket against everyone. The Blazers play the slowest pace in the league so his stats take a hit. But they basically turn their entire 4th quarter offense over to him and just let him go one on one play after play because he produces points so consistently.
here’s a chart that might be helpful: http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/289927/Off_possVSppp2.jpg
that shows offensive efficiency and number of possessions from this year.
February 19th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
That’s a crazy graph. I had no idea Maggette was so effective.
February 19th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
I’d go:
1. LeBron
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Tyreke Evans (Yes, seriously)
4. Kobe
5. Kevin Durant
6. Carmelo
7. Derrick Rose
8. Chris Paul
9. Deron Williams
10. Brandon Roy
11. Russell Westbrook
12. Tony Parker
13. Brandon Jennings
14. Rajon Rondo
15. Steve Nash
16. Joe Johnson
That was way harder than I thought it’d be.
February 19th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Tyreke Evans is obviously the most questionable choice, mostly because you’ve seeded him so high, but I’m just as surprised that you think Russell Westbrook is one of the top 16 one-on-one players in the league, and that he’s _better_ than Rondo, Nash, and Joe Johnson.
Even Wade over Kobe…that’s ballsy.
February 19th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
From my experience in 1-on-1, it’s about speed and the ability to get to the bucket. And with someone like Tyreke Evans who is about as unguardable as LeBron in terms of getting to the rim, I just think he’d be unstoppable.
As for Russell Westbrook, he’s the same way. He’s probably one of the five or six quickest/fastest players in the league and he’s going to be able to get to the rim.
February 19th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Those are bold, bold statements, sir. Evans is as unguardable as LeBron? Now, granted, I’ve only seen a few minutes of gameplay from both Evans and Westbrook, but they hardly seemed like they were as unguardable as LeBron, and certainly didn’t seem more formidable than, say, Deron Williams.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Interesting concept, and to echo Ben, I’m a little surprised that there’s a lack of low post players. But no big deal. Okay, here we go:
1. LeBron James
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Carmelo Anthony
4. Kobe Bryant
5. Kevin Durant
6. Monta Ellis
7. Tyreke Evans
8. Brandon Roy
9. Russell Westbrook
10. Derrick Rose
11. Tony Parker
12. Chris Paul
13. Deron Williams
14. Joe Johnson
15. Brandon Jennings
16. Kevin Martin (learning how to be a Martin homer already)
I’m a little surprised at the lack of Ellis love, too.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Ellis at 6 is bold. Martin at 16 is funny. He just looks like a high school player to me. And again – Evans and Westbrook in the top 10…wow.
I’m honestly surprised no one’s tried to give the first seed to Kobe.
February 22nd, 2010 at 3:43 am
What happens if the ball goes in the bushes but then bounces back on to the court? Is that counted as out?
February 22nd, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Overlooked criteria: ability to create your own shot and not get dominated on the other end by either the opponent’s speed or size
1. Lebron
2. Kobe
3. Wade
4. KD
5. Melo
6. Roy
7. Reke
8. JJohnson
9. Gay
10. D.Will
11. Rose
12. Gerald Wallace
13. Granger
14. S.Jax
15. Artest
16. OJ Mayo
February 22nd, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Man, Evans at 7…I really need to see a full game of his. Gerald Wallace is interesting at 12.
March 7th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
1. LeBron
2. Kobe
3. Durant
4. Wade
5. Roy
6. Carmelo
7. Dirk
8. Joe Johnson
9. Stephen Jackson
10. Corey Maggette
11. Danny Granger
12. Rudy Gay
13. Deron Williams
14. Steve Nash
15. Chris Paul
16. Monta Ellis
March 7th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Putting Melo at 6 is tough. The man’s got the best midrange game in the game. Bar none.
March 7th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
One more suggestion. What if you made three tiers: point guards, wings and big men? Steve Nash couldn’t hang with LeBron for a second, but with his shooting prowess and ability to hit awkward shots he’d be pretty awesome against guys his own size. Then you could also watch Dwight Howard dribble the ball up against Shaq,which would be high comedy in itself. Then maybe the winners of the divisions could go head to head with one wild card determined by the runners-up in the three divisions playing a game of 21. That is something I would watch!
March 7th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Where do you put Dirk?
I dunno. I mean, Nash would have as good a chance as any against Lebron. As far as I can tell, there’s no way Lebron doesn’t win this, or at least make it to the finals. The real question is who his challenger is. It could be any of Kobe, Melo, Durant, and Wade.
The important thing is having enough of an incentive. I think $3 million would do it. I don’t think even Lebron or Kobe would sneeze at that. So who ponies up the money and organizes this thing? If not the League, then a broadcaster. If not a broadcaster then a big corporate sponsor (McDonald’s/Foot Locker/Sprite/Target/Amex NBA 1-on-1 Tournament). If not a big corporate sponsor then a dude with a lot of cash who loves the game and knows how to make his prize money back from ticket sales, merchandise, etc. Cuban? Probably not. But maybe Brandt Andersen… Or, hell, Jay-Z. His Roc Nation artists could perform at “half-time” of the events to promote their new albums/singles…
All food for thought, I guess.
July 22nd, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Man are you guys crazy D wade yes should always at least be in number 2 behind Lebrone because D wade is number 2 in the league in driving to the hole, YOU DON’T WATCH HIS GAMES!!! Kobe can’t stop him once he began to drive, shoot the Cav’s when they had Lebrone had trouble stoping him just ask Anderson V if you don’t believe me LOOK AT THE GAMES!!!