For our most recent podcast, Carl and I decided on the best lineups for each team choosing ONLY players that team had drafted. This made for some interesting lineups, but the pod wasn’t enough for us. We decided to add in two more teams, the Seattle Supersonics and an all-Undrafted team, to get our total teams up to 32; the perfect number for some bracket madness. We seeded each lineup during the pod as well and we are going to put the polls up on Twitter, so be sure to follow @sportcodex to be kept up to date. If you need a refresher on the draft rules, you can check out Part One here.

Today, we go through Teams 9 vs 24, 10 vs 23, 11 vs 22 and 12 vs 21. Onto the matchups!

9. San Antonio Spurs vs 24. Denver Nuggets

San Antonio

G – Tony Parker
G – Manu Ginobili
F – Sean Elliott
F – Tim Duncan
C – David Robinson
6th Man – Alvin Robertson

In typical Spurs fashion, this team is incredibly boring and predictable. But in typical Spurs fashion, this team would be incredibly tough to beat. This is basically the core of two different Spurs title teams, but both brought into their primes. Add to that team four time all-star Alvin Robertson, who was a great all-round talent who led the league in steals 3 times, and the Spurs are a formidable foe.

Denver

G – Jamal Murray
G – Donovan Mitchell
F – Jalen Rose
F – Carmelo Anthony
C – Nikola Jokic
6th Man – Dikembe Mutombo

It’s pretty crazy that 2/3 of this lineup just played significant roles in the playoffs just gone. In fact, two of these players, Donovan Mitchell, who was drafted by the Nuggets then traded to Utah for Trey Lyles (oops), and Mr. “I was hacked” himself, Jamal Murray, had themselves a breakout party in the first round. I haven’t even spoken about the fact that in his prime, Carmelo Anthony was one of the best pure scorers this game has ever seen. You have Joker setting them up and the guy Rudy Gobert wishes he could be in Dikembe Mutombo on the bench and all Jalen Rose would need to do is make sure his man doesn’t score 81 points.

10. Utah Jazz vs 23. Indiana Pacers

Utah

G – John Stockton
G – Deron Williams
F – Dominique Wilkins
F – Karl Malone
C – Mark Eaton
6th Man – Andrei Kirilenko

This is another formidable opponent, although for obvious reasons, we will make sure this team doesn’t play near any schools. But you have the all-time leader in assists and steals leading the way in Stockton. Let’s not forget Deron though. Sure, his career plummeted faster than Karl Malone’s chances of ever paying child support, but for a time, he was in the conversation as to whether he or Chris Paul were better. Dominique Wilkins, one of the greatest dunkers of all-time who had epic playoff matchups with two of the best in Bird and Jordan AND held his own, was actually drafted by Utah, only to be traded to ATL two months later (before playing a game for them) for John Drew and Freeman Williams…yikes. Anyone who knows me knows my thoughts on Karl Malone and not saying anything is the nicest thing I can say. Mark Eaton still owns the NBA record for most blocks per game in an NBA season (5.6) and Kirilenko was a fantastic all-around player who would be an absolute stud in today’s game.

Indiana

G – Reggie Miller
G – Paul George
F – Kawhi Leonard
F – Danny Granger
C – Rik Smits
6th Man – Antonio Davis

It may surprise you to learn that everybody on this team played in at least one all-star game. Yes, even Antonio Davis. But Reggie is one of the most clutch shooters in NBA history and went toe-to-toe with Michael Jordan himself. He has almost become a meme these days but Paul George is still one of the best two-way players currently playing. Speaking of memes, Board Man gets paid. Kawhi and PG were obviously destined to team up at some point and they do so again, but no load management here. Kawhi is a top-5 player in the NBA who has two titles and two finals MVPs under his belt. Granger was an elite scorer who unfortunately succumbed to the injury bug. Rik Smits was a Dutch man who could dunk and Antonio Davis was a decent big man who somehow landed on an all-star team.

11. Cleveland Cavaliers vs 22. Brooklyn Nets

Cleveland

G – Kyrie Irving
G – Ron Harper
F – LeBron James
F – Carlos Boozer
C – Brad Daugherty
6th Man – Kevin Johnson

I am actually surprised this team ended up starting off so low. You have Kyrie who, despite his thoughts on the shape of the Earth, is a very, very good player. I asked him for his thoughts on making this team but unfortunately, it was after he had made his media blackout vow. If you’re thinking of old man Ron Harper from the Bulls squads, you might be confused with his placement here. However, Cleveland (and Clippers) Ron Harper was a bad, bad man who could put the ball in the basket, averaging 23, 5 and 5 in his rookie season. Speaking of talented rookies, LeBron James, ever heard of him? He is literally the only player that has a legit claim at Michael Jordan’s throne (he doesn’t get it but his claim is legit). Boozer was a great power forward for a while and he can also give Bron tips on covering up them bald spots. Brad Daugherty is another guy whose career was cut short by injuries. He only played 8 seasons and was an all-star in five of them, with career averages of 19 points and 9.5 boards a game. And off the bench, Kevin Johnson was a lethal scorer for the vast majority of his career, only scoring in single digits in his first and last seasons.

Brooklyn

G – Kenny Anderson
G – Sleepy Floyd
F – Bernard King
F – Buck Williams
C – Derrick Coleman
6th Man – Mookie Blaylock

This might be the all-underrated team. People may forget, because he bounced around a lot later in his career, but Kenny Anderson was a 17+ point, 8+ assist guy for several seasons in a row. Combine him with Sleepy Floyd, a guy who was quite similar to Anderson and that’s a deadly backcourt. King was an elite scorer for the vast majority of his career, including averaging nearly 30 points a game in his age-34 season. Buck Williams was a double-double machine who hardly missed any games over his 17-year career and Derrick Coleman was a big man way ahead of his time, standing 6’10 and splashing 3’s before it was cool, while also averaging a double-double. Finally, Mookie Blaylock, a great all-round point guard off the bench. Rookies these days, like Mo Bamba and Tyler Herro get rap songs named after them. Mookie Blaylock nearly managed to have a whole-ass band named after him. And not some garbage indie band…literally Pearl Jam. Their original band name was Mookie Blaylock and he is the reason their debut album is named ‘Ten.’ It doesn’t help much in this exercise, but it is very cool nonetheless.

12. Philadelphia 76ers vs 21. Toronto Raptors

Philadelphia

G – Ben Simmons
G – Allen Iverson
F – Billy Cunningham
F – Charles Barkley
C – Joel Embiid
6th Man – World B. Free

1/3 of this team is made up of the Sixers current young stars, Embiid and Simmons, the latter of who should be safe from both the “shoot a 3” memes and the Kardashian Jenner curse. Then we have Iverson, the guy with arguably the biggest heart in NBA history, constantly going in against the behemoths in the paint despite his diminutive stature. You might ask “who?” when Billy Cunningham is mentioned but dude was a baller. At his peak he averaged 27 points and 14 boards in the 1969-70 season. Then is the Round Mound of Rebound, Charles Barkley. He has become a meme of late due to his horrible takes on Inside the NBA, his ever-increasing body mass, and his terrible golf swing. But the dude is a former MVP, and led the Suns to the Western finals back when the conference was even tougher than it is now. Off the bench, Free was an elite scorer who could also hand off some dimes.

Toronto

G – Damon Stoudamire
G – DeMar DeRozan
F – Tracy McGrady
F – Antawn Jamison
C – Chris Bosh
6th Man – Marcus Camby

This team is unique in that it features the franchise’s first four first round draft picks in their history; Stoudamire, Camby, McGrady and Jamison (who was famously traded for his college teammate, Vince Carter). Mighty Mouse was a fantastic scorer for the Raps while Camby held down the paint, being a 4-time blocks champion. T-Mac is one of the most gifted scorers of the 00’s, leading the league in scoring twice. Jamison was a late bloomer but eventually became a 6th man award winner and 2x all-star. DeRozan is a guy who doesn’t seem to get the credit he deserves as a solid all-round player, averaging 20 points, 4 boards and 4 assists for his career. Then we have Chris Bosh, a guy who some consider to be the best player in franchise history, averaging 20 and 10 over his Raptors career.

Here are the latest matchups, and there are some tough ones in the bunch. Make sure to follow The Sportcodex on Twitter to keep up with the polls and share them round. I’ll be back tomorrow with the next four matchups so until then…

PEACE!