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By the turn of the millennium, basketball had already reached an astronomical level of popularity all over the world. We saw the rise of young players who were drafted out of high school and we also saw the decline of the future Hall of Famers from the previous decade.
Also read: Top 10 Regular Season scorers in NBA History
The Los Angeles Lakers were the most successful team of the decade. They started off by winning the first three championships of the new millennium and they topped it off by winning another title in 2009. The San Antonio Spurs won the three rings (2003,2005,2007) while the Detroit Pistons (2004), the Miami Heat (2006) and the Boston Celtics (2008) were the other teams to capture a title during the decade.
The 2000s also produced a new breed of players that played the game in a way that had never been seen before. Players such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry all made their debuts during this decade and changed the way the game was played.
The 2000s were extremely hard to pick just one player from each position as standouts since there were so many players who could have been picked as the best. So, let's take a look at our picks for the best starting five of the decade.
Point Guard - Steve Nash (Dallas Mavericks/Phoenix Suns)
The point guard spot was tough to choose from on this list. Unlike today's game, the 2000s had so many great guards who were floor generals instead of having a score-first mentality and with the likes of Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Chauncey Billups it was really tough to pick a definitive best but due to accolades, Nash has to be our pick.
His first few seasons in the decade weren't anything special but once he was a regular starter for the Mavericks, there were signs of greatness and Nash earnt his first two All-Star appearances. Once he was traded back to Phoenix, he changed the way the game was played.
In Phoenix, he was named an All-Star four more times from 2005-2008. He was the league leader in assists from 2005-2007 and was also named to the All-NBA first team in those years. He also joined the 50-40-90 club in 2006 and did it again in 2008 and 2009 as well. The biggest accolades for Nash came in 2005 and 2006 when he was named the league's MVP on both occasions.
Though he had incredible personal success, Nash was never able to reach the NBA Finals. The closest he got was the conference final in his two MVP seasons (2005,2006) with the latter run being ended by his former team in Dallas.
Shooting Guard - Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
I don't think that anybody could go with another choice for the two-guard position in this decade. Although players like Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade did have their moments, Kobe Bryant was on another level. He gave the fans so many memorable moments throughout this decade such as his eighty-one point effort against the Toronto Raptors in 2006 and was also one of the most successful in terms of championships.
He reached the finals on six occasions and won four titles in the 2000s. The first three came at the start of the decade when he along with Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to a three-peat. He would suffer two finals losses in 2004 and 2008 before beating the Boston Celtics in 2009 to win his fourth title in ten years.
Bryant's individual honors and achievements in this period were matched by none. He was named an All-Star every year in the 2000s and was named to the First-Team on nine occasions. He was also one of the better defenders in his position and was named to the All-Defensive first team seven times.
His two biggest personal achievements in the decade came in 2008 when he won the regular season MVP award and when he was named finals MVP the following season.
Bryant also went on to win another title and finals MVP in 2010.
Small Forward - LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Also read: 5 Achievements LeBron James was the youngest to reach
LeBron James might be the most anticipated NBA draft pick in history. When he joined the league in 2003, he soon showed that he could live up to and exceed any expectations that were given to him by winning the Rookie of the Year award.
In 2005, he was named an All-Star in just his second season and went on to appear in every All-Star game in the decade. He won two All-Star game MVPs in 2006 and 2008. James was named All-NBA first team four times and to the second teams twice. He was also the league's scoring leader in 2008. In 2005 Lebron became Cleveland's single-game points record holder by scoring fifty-six points against the Raptors and in 2008 he became the franchise leading points scorer.
After finishing second in the MVP voting in 2006, James won his first MVP award in 2009. He also finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting in the same season.
Unfortunately, James didn't play with a team that was likely to contend for a title, but due to his brilliance, he made the Cavaliers contenders. In 2007, LeBron dragged an extremely mediocre Cleveland side all the way to the NBA finals before getting swept by the Spurs. He would reach the conference finals in 2009 but lost to the Orlando Magic.
Power Forward - Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Like the point guard spot, the first decade of the twenty-first century produced a number of world-class power forwards. The likes of Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan were all All-Stars and leaders of their teams during the same period.
While it is fair to say that Garnett at his peak was the best of the lot, Duncan's consistency and his team's success gives him the nod. His style of play was so simple but extremely effective. This led to Shaquille O'Neal naming him "The Big Fundamental".
Duncan led the Spurs to three NBA finals (2003,2005,2007) in the decade and won all three. He was named finals MVP in 2003 and 2005. Other than that, Duncan finished not only the decade but his whole career by never missing the playoffs.
Individually, Duncan seemed to get better and better with age. He was named all All-Star in every year of the decade and to the FIrst-Team on seven occasions in the 2000s. He also won the All-Star game MVP in 2000. Duncan was also named to the All-Defensive first team seven times in the decade.
Duncan's biggest personal achievements were in 2002 and 2003 when he won back-to-back regular season MVP awards. He retired in 2016 and is considered the greatest power forward to ever play the game.
Center - Shaquille O'Neal (Orlando Magic/Lakers/Miami Heat/Phoenix Suns)
In the 90s we were introduced to an absolute monster named Shaquille O'Neal and by the end of the millennium, he was in his prime. While in the peak of his career O'Neal was arguably the most dominant player since Wilt Chamberlain. His size along with a surprising amount of athleticism was just too much for one or sometimes even two people to handle.
O'Neal had by far the best start to the twenty-first century when he led the Lakers to three consecutive titles and was named finals MVP each time. The Lakers reached the finals for the fourth time in 2004 but lost to the Pistons in six games.
Following some issues with Lakers management O'Neal left Los Angeles in 2004 to join the Miami Heat. In his second season with Miami, he along with Dwyane Wade led the Heat to their first ever NBA championship.
O'Neal also enjoyed a host of individual accomplishments in the decade. He was named an All-Star eight times and to the First-Team from 2000-2006. He was also named the league's MVP in 2000 and led the league in scoring that same year.
He eventually retired in 2011 and is known as one of the greatest big men of all time.
Guess the Lakers players!
