NBA Jam Power Rankings: Which Team Featured the Best Duo?
Old School vs. New School
As an added bonus, I decided to take a look at some of the top tandems in the league today to see how they would stack up against the lethal combo of Stockton and Malone. I chose these duos based off of which players ranked highest in nERD, so when you see someone like Dwight Howard excluded for someone else, it's because his nERD score simply wasn't good enough. Here are the five modern day squads that stack up best against the dominant Jazz team of the early 90s.
#5 New Orleans Pelicans
Anthony Davis: 19.1 nERD
Jrue Holiday: 1.1 nERD
Team Total: 20.2 nERD
#4 Chicago Bulls
Jimmy Butler: 12.7 nERD
Pau Gasol: 9.4 nERD
Team Total: 21.1 nERD
#3 Houston Rockets
James Harden: 19.1 nERD
Terrence Jones: 2.5 nERD
Team Total: 21.6 nERD
#2 Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry: 20.5 nERD
Klay Thompson: 7.9 nERD
Team Total: 28.4 nERD
#1 Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul: 18.8 nERD
DeAndre Jordan: 14.1 nERD
Team Total: 32.9 nERD
As you can see, there are really only two tandems in today's NBA that were even in the same ballpark as Stockton and Malone, but before I get to them, let's take a quick look at the other three duos. Just like the 1992-93 Suns and Rockets, this season's Pelicans and Rockets rank so high on this list due to the dominance of one player on each team. While the throwback squads were led by Hall of Famers named Charles and Hakeem, the new school teams are captained by two of the best young stars on the planet in Anthony Davis and James Harden. However, as good as both of these potential future Hall of Famers are, the lack of surrounding talent truly cripples their chances against the elite of both today and days past.
While the Bulls are definitely a more balanced bunch than the Pelicans and Rockets, they lack a truly elite talent to push them over the top. Although Jimmy Butler put together an outstanding campaign this year, boasting a 122 offensive rating and very impressive 104 defensive rating, and the 34-year-old veteran Gasol managed to post one of the best years of his career -- he averaged 18.5 points per game to go along with 11.8 boards and a whopping 2.7 blocks per game -- neither can match the true star power of the three teams who ranked ahead of them in these rankings.
On to those who our metrics believe actually stood a chance against the dominant Jazz squad of old. It should come as no surprise to see the Splash Brothers near the top of this list. Curry -- the reigning MVP -- led the league in win shares per 48 minutes (.288), value over replacement player (7.9) and nERD (20.5) this season while shattering his own single season three-point record. While Curry was the greatest player on the planet, Thompson defined the phrase "He's on Fire!" this season. Klay poured in 40-plus points on four different occasions this season, and even dropped 37 points in one quarter against the Kings in January. All that said, our algorithm still favors the old school Jazz by the smallest of margins, as the Splash Brothers finished with a combined nERD just 0.8 behind Stockton and Malone.
However, one tandem does seem to possess the talent to take down the Jazz' duo of legends. Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan are the only duo of teammates to both finish this season with double-digit nERD. They ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in our player power rankings, and both of their skill sets seem to translate perfectly into the video game world. With CP3 draining threes and dishing out alley-oops, and DeAndre Jordan putting the proverbial boom in "BOOMSHAKALAKA," the Clippers seem like the absolute dream squad to throw down with in NBA Jam, past or present.
