![](\"http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SPORTS/070424/Hdr_BuildingBlocks.gif\")
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spt_NBA_franchise_builders.sTitle = "NBA Franchise Builders";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders.appFooter = "By Chris Ekstrand, MSNBC.com contributor";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders.rowSpacer = "The question has probably been around as long as the concept of team sports.
If you could have any individual around which to build a championship team, whom would you choose?
The ongoing NBA playoffs seem to deliver another candidate for the crown almost every night. Yes, the defending NBA champion Miami Heat are led by four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal, but the Big Aristotle, while still formidable, is 35 now, and probably wouldn't be the choice due to his advancing years.
The teams trying to wrest the crown from O'Neal and Company have their own franchise players they are depending on to get them all the way to a mid-June coronation.
Who is your choice? Click on the menu for our eight best candidates.";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("","1. Steve Nash, Suns","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070314/070314_nash_vmed_10p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Lm Otero", "AP", "358", "275", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i-1].body = "
It's easy to see why many people would pick Nash to build a team around. He has proven that he can \"make his teammates better,\" the criteria most superstars are judged by these days. Not only has Nash transformed Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire from good players into great players, he's also made role players like Raja Bell and Boris Diaw into serious offensive threats with his prescient \"did-you-see-that?\" passes.
Nash is a rare player indeed. Whoever heard of winning your first NBA MVP awards in your thirties? The argument against building around Nash is that he is 33 years old and may only have two or three years of great play left. But in the win-now universe in which all NBA teams operate, who cares about tomorrow?";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("","2. Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070224/070224_nowitzki_vmed_9p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Tony Gutierrez", "AP", "358", "254", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i-1].body = "
There's never been anyone like Nowitzki in the NBA, and how many players can you say that about? The 7-footer is the favorite to win his first NBA MVP award, perhaps edging good buddy Nash for the hardware. Nowitzki was not only the best player on the best team this season, which many voters use as their criteria for the MVP, but he pulled out several of the close games the Mavericks found themselves in during their 67-win season with clutch shooting.
No NBA team has a defender who can stop Nowitzki consistently. He can shoot his fadeaway jumper over players his own size like they don't even exist, and he can drive the ball to the basket and finish against the more athletic small forwards teams try to use to guard him. Fouling him is a waste of time, too, as he hit better than 90 percent from the line. At 28, Dirk is at the height of his powers.";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("","3. Kobe Bryant, Lakers","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070418/070418_kobe_vmed_10p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Rich Pedroncelli", "AP", "358", "262", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i-1].body = "
There really is very little debate among NBA players who the best individual player in the league is. Bryant's ability to toss 40 or even 50 points on the scoreboard seemingly at will this season sort of settled that argument. Bryant is the closest thing to Michael Jordan that has ever emerged on the NBA landscape. No matter how battered the injury-riddled Lakers got this season, they had a chance to win every game because of Bryant's ability to make impossibly difficult shots in crunch time.
Bryant's size, athletic ability and nearly 87 percent free throw shooting make him the toughest player to guard in the NBA. Starting a team with Bryant means knowing you are going to get a spectacular show and close to 30 points on even an average night.";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("","4. LeBron James, Cavs","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070412/070412_james_vmed_8p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Mark Duncan", "AP", "358", "235", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i-1].body = "
No player who was not a dominant center has ever come into the league with the fanfare James received when he was the first pick of the 2003 NBA Draft. And James confounded any skeptics by living up to every expectation that was thrust upon his broad shoulders. At the ripe old age of 22, James has already passed all the individual goals that could reasonably or even unreasonably been foisted on him by an adoring yet demanding basketball public. Now they want postseason success.
The Cavaliers would sign James to a 15-year contract right now if NBA rules allowed such a thing. Given his age, his ability to size up situations and make the correct play under pressure and his staggering potential, James would make a fine choice as the foundation piece for any team.";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("","5. Dwyane Wade, Heat","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/061224/061224_wade_vlrg_12p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Alan Diaz", "AP file", "358", "259", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i-1].body = "
To those who know him best, it's no surprise that Wade opted for rehab and a return in the playoffs over season-ending surgery. Despite his smiling countenance and movie star appeal, Wade has an assassin's nerve and the barely-contained ferocity of a mountain lion. He may have a 21st century game on the outside, but when it comes to his desire to overwhelm and conquer an opponent, D-Wade is old school.
Wade averaged more free throw attempts than anybody in the NBA this season, and that's because he is utterly fearless when it comes to elevating around the basket and daring defenders to stop him. He takes a fierce beating and often ends up in a heap under the basket, but he makes the free throws and always comes back for more. Leadership is all about setting an example for your teammates, and nobody lays it on the line like D-Wade does every night.";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("","6. Tim Duncan, Spurs","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070127/070127_duncan_vmed8p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Elsa", "Getty Images file", "358", "239", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i-1].body = "
The Big Fundamental doesn't have the sexiest game in the league, but there's a reason why he's been named First Team All-NBA eight times and MVP twice. Duncan has textbook postup moves that can't be stopped, even when his defender is bigger and stronger than he is. Nobody is better at deflating double-teams than Duncan, who uses his keen intellect to read defenses and shred them with a pass to the teammate most open and most likely to do damage. The emergence of Tony Parker as a scoring threat has made Duncan even more impossible to stop, since teams have to concern themselves with helping Parker's defender keep him out of the lane.
Sure, Duncan turned 31 years old Wednesday. But while young phenoms like LeBron James try to manufacture the type of team chemistry that wins championships, Duncan already boasts three championship rings and he's looking for more.";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("","7. Yao Ming, Rockets","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060112/060112_yao_vmed_1p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Kimberly White", "Reuters file", "358", "212", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i-1].body = "
Before Yao arrived on the scene, players well over 7-feet tall who were also effective basketball players were about as common as an igloo in Houston. But at 26, Yao has quietly become the best center in the NBA. He has worked tirelessly developing his overall body strength and stamina to the point where he longer wears down. Instead, it is he who wears down opponents. It's laughable to think about now, but there were critics who contended that Yao did not have enough heart to be a primary scorer in the NBA and take the pounding that entails.
Yao's scoring average has gone up in every one of his five NBA seasons, to a high of 25 points per game this season. He's also brought back a well-known pastime to Rockets' shooters who watched their ancestors play with Hakeem Olajuwon. Want an open shot? Just pass to Yao, wait for the double-team and get ready for your open shot. Yao is a great centerpiece for any team.";
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("","8. Tracy McGrady, Rockets","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040708/070408_rockets_vmed_9p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Steve Yeater", "AP", "358", "195", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i-1].body = "
You can see it all coming together for Tracy McGrady. He's no longer playing the part of Atlas, trying to carry the whole world on his shoulders. With Yao Ming alongside, he knows the time is now for him to establish himself as a postseason star, and leave the regular season accolades behind.
So much is expected of McGrady because there is almost nothing he can't do on a basketball court. He can play point guard, catch and shoot 3-pointers, post up like a big man and blocks shots like a center. While injuries have sidetracked his career a bit in recent years, McGrady can do it all and is doing it in bigger games than he ever has before. Remember, Michael Jordan didn't win a championship until he was 28 years old. McGrady turns 28 next month, so there's still time for him to get to the winner's circle. "; spt_NBA_franchise_builders[i++] = new Array("spt_nba_franchise_builders","Who would you pick?","","","","", "lv2", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); // END editorial data