Mike Tuck selects his NBA Team of the Decade
BBL legend Tuck selects the starting five, sixth man and head coach of his All-Decade dream team
Wednesday 18 December 2019 09:53, UK
Who are the players who have defined the last decade of play in the NBA? We asked Sky Sports analyst Mike Tuck to select his Team of the Decade.
BBL legend Tuck selected his All-Decade starting five, sixth man and head coach while outlining his reasons behind each selection.
Have your say on Mike's picks in the comments box at the foot of the article.
Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, LA Clippers)
2010s resume: NBA champion (2014, 2019), NBA Finals MVP (2014, 2019), All-Star (2016, 2017, 2019), All-NBA first team (2016, 2017), Defensive Player of the Year (2015, 2016)
Leonard brought an NBA title to my hometown Toronto Raptors and he fought back from adversity from a major injury (and upsetting the San Antonio Spurs who are pretty much the nicest team in the league). Before that, he delivered a title in San Antonio and won Finals MVP in the process.
I think Kawhi's impact on the game has been huge across the league.
He played a lead role in taking down the two superteams of the 2010s, the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors, with absolutely incredible performances.
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
2010s resume: NBA champion (2015, 2017, 2018), regular season MVP (2015, 2016), All-Star (2014-19), All-NBA first team (2015, 2106, 2019), NBA scoring champion (2016)
Curry's body of work is incredible with two MVPS, three titles, five Finals appearances and six All-NBA selections across the decade.
At his size and coming from a mid-major college, people have questioned him through much of his career. At his position, the impact he has made on the game is pretty special.
Curry almost single-handedly changed the league with his shooting, breaking all those three-point records. He hit more three-pointers in twos seasons than Larry Bird did in his whole career!
If you compare the NBA to how it was in 2010, there is a lot more run-and-gun plays and a lot more three-pointers. The mid-range game is slowly depleting, being replaced with high percentage shots close to the basket and long-range threes.
A lot of that has to do with Stephen Curry.
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers)
2010s resume: Three-time NBA champion (2012, 2013, 2016), three-time Finals MVP (2012, 2013, 2016), regular-season MVP (2010, 2012, 2013), All-Star (2010-19)
Another guy whose body of work is absolutely insane - eight straight Finals appearances in this decade and an All-Star every single year. He showed he was able to do it with two different teams and as a hero and villain. He has had quite a decade! And with the way the Lakers are playing right now, he could be on the verge of something special again.
James is an icon, one of the best players of all time and probably the best player of the last decade.
When LeBron got injured last season and the Lakers missed the playoffs, everybody started talking like he was done. But, after a decade of grinding through long playoff campaigns, he finally got that rest that he needed and has been on fire this season. He looks revitalised and rejuvenated.
The best part of James' game now is the way, mentally, he is so involved. He is still putting up insane numbers but he has such good leadership qualities, sees the floor so well, gets everyone to buy into the system and makes the players around him better.
Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets)
2010s resume: Two-time NBA champion (2017, 2018), two-time Finals MVP (2017, 2018), regular-season MVP (2014), All-Star (2010-19)
Durant is probably my favourite to watch. He is a stone-cold killer on the court. There is no one in the league who can guard him. It will be great to see him try to pave the way forward in Brooklyn next year.
I like the Oklahoma City version of KD best. The year the Thunder made their Finals run (2012), he was still somewhat fresh in the league, super-young and super-hungry. OKC were a young team and he was leading from the front. He didn't quite have enough on his resume to get them through in that Finals series against the Heat but it was so great to watch.
Going to Golden State, he became a bit of a villain but you have got to respect the guy and respect his game because he is a killer on the court.
James Harden (Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets)
2010 resume: Regular season MVP (2018), All-Star (2013-19), All-NBA First Team (2014, 2015, 2017-19), Sixth Man of the Year (2012), NBA scoring champion (2018, 2019)
Harden's stats speak for themselves, especially over the last four or five years. The numbers he has put up are insane.
Harden gets overlooked a lot because he hasn't reached the Finals but he has been battling hard in the West. It's not as if he never made the Conference Finals or semi-finals.
Unfortunately, the Rockets always seemed to get matched up with Golden State and got knocked out. They came closer to taking out the Warriors when they were at 100 per cent than anyone else and may have completed the job if it wasn't for injuries.
Harden definitely deserves the nod.
Sixth man - Chris Paul (LA Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder)
2010s resume: All-Star (2010-16), All-Star Game MVP (2013), All-NBA first team (2012-14),
This is a tough, tough choice… Chris Paul? Blake Griffin? Russell Westbrook? Anthony Davis? Dwyane Wade?
Let's go with Chris Paul for the work he did with the 'Lob City' Clippers and the transition he made to the Houston Rockets.
He has been a top three, top five guys at his position all-decade long and he is always in that conversation.
In terms of leadership, he has that reputation of being harsh with his team-mates but you have to respect him.
Head coach - Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs)
2010 resume: NBA champion (2014), Coach of the Year (2012, 2014), All-Star Game head coach (2011, 2013, 2016)
We're talking about the overall decade so I have to go with Gregg Popovich and what he has achieved with the Spurs.
Good coaches are able to take what they have in terms of playing talent and put things together and make it work. You might not have the tallest or the most athletic players, but if you can take five guys on the court to buy into a system and a whole team to gel together and play to their strengths, that's the sign of a good coach.
The beauty of the Spurs at their best was that Popovich always did that. In the 2000s, they were almost boring to watch because they were so fundamentally sound but in the 2010s they evolved into a team everyone wanted to watch because of their ball movement.
I would have 100 per cent enjoyed playing for Pop. It looks like he would be hard on you at times but you would always look up to him. It's something more than basketball, he becomes your brother off the court. Building that type of bond with your coach makes you want to play hard.
