The Controversy of the Best Team in the 21st Century and Footnotes of the Times: When Curry and Jokic reconstruct the Basketball Narrative

When the 21st Century Best Team selected by CBS Sports was released, the discussion in the basketball circle was like a combination of stones thrown into the lake - Curry, Kobe, James, Duncan and Jokic, which was both reasonable and beyond controversy.

The battle for point guard: How Curry rewrites the definition of "great"

Putting Curry in the point guard position is the most thorough subversion of traditional perception. Before him, the greatness of the point guard was often bound to assists and positional warfare organizations. Stockton's image of the passing machine and Kidd's all-round commander role constituted people's classic imagination of this position. But Curry redefined the value of the point guard with a 3.8 three-point shooting average of 43.3% career three-point shooting percentage - he doesn't need to hold the ball for 20 seconds, and a running around the pile after no ball cover can instantly disintegrate the opponent's defense line.

Four championship rings, historical three-point champions, and two MVPs (including unanimous votes), these hard honors are enough to support his selection. More importantly, he has allowed basketball to enter the "space era". Now the league averages 3-pointers per game have increased by 67% compared with 2010. Behind it is Curry who proved that "the farther away from the basket, the greater the threat." When fans argued about "whether Paul should be selected", they were actually arguing: which one should be remembered more about changing the revolutionary nature of basketball play and the persistence of traditional position functions? The time and space dialogue between centers: Jokic and O'Neal's "domination" distinction between Jokic and O'Neal, is the focus of controversy, and this is essentially a collision of two dominant forces. During the three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002, O'Neal averaged 30.4 points and 15.4 rebounds per game, and his shooting percentage in the finals was as high as 59.5%. The bulldozer-like basket crushing is the most primitive violent aesthetic in basketball history. But Jokic used his career data of 20.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game to show another possibility - a center who can start tactics from the three-point line and tear the defense with the ball from behind.

The selectors may value "the adaptability of the times". Under the current trend of changing defenses, O'Neal's defensive limitations will be amplified, and Jokic's flexibility from defense from 1 to 5 is more in line with modern basketball logic. But it must be admitted that O'Neal's peak dominance is phenomenal - he once asked the league to modify the joint defense rules and add three-second violations in the penalty area. This influence that forces the rule change is a height that Jokic has not yet reached. The core of the dispute is actually the game of the selection criteria of "horizontal comparison of historical status" and "vertical adaptation to the needs of the times".

Consensus and inheritance of the front line: From Duncan's stability to James' omnipotent

The selection of James and Duncan is almost undisputed, and they represent two extremes of the forward position. Duncan has been stable for 19 years, 5 championships and 3 FMVPs, anchoring the definition of "power forward" on the "offensive and defensive cornerstone" - his 45° board shooting and low post support are the perfect footnotes of the "positional war is king" era at the end of the last century.

And James has proved with his 20-year career that the small forward can be a "basketball Swiss Army Knife". The only historical data of 40,000 points + 10,000 rebounds + 10,000 assists, has won four championships across three teams, and his "ball-holding core" model has affected a new generation of stars such as Doncic and Antetokounmpo. From Duncan's "team gear" to James's "system engine", the evolution of the forward line is clearly visible to these two people.

The uncrowned king of point guards: Why Kobe is the best choice in the 21st century

Kobe's selection is the most unsuspecting answer. In the position of point guard, no one can match the right side of the 21st century - 5 championships, 2 FMVPs, and 11 best defensive teams. He is the ultimate template for the combination of offense and defense. Unlike Iverson's agility and Wade's explosive power, Kobe's greatness lies in the technical integrity behind the "Mamba Spirit": from back-to-back singles to bottom corner three-pointers, from steal counterattacks to key ball finals, he has mastered almost all the skill packages of the shooting guard.

Fans argued that "Bryant went to the second team and O'Neal" actually confused the concept of position. Kobe is the point guard and O'Neal is the center, and the two are not in a competitive relationship. But this question just reflects the Lakers' dominance during their three consecutive championships - that team has two historical players in positions, and time will ultimately give everyone a suitable historical position. The essence of the selection: not the answer, but the dialogue: any selection of the best team is subjective, and this list of CBS is more like a prism. It recognizes Curry's revolution in basketball play, affirms Jokic's reshaping of the center position, and pays tribute to Kobe, James and Duncan's stability across the times. Controversy is precisely its value - when we argue about who should be selected by O'Neal or Jokic, we are actually discussing: Is the greatness of basketball destroying the absolute power of the opponent or the evolutionary wisdom that adapts to the times?

21st century basketball went from "inside hand-to-hand combat" to "space projection", from "superstar singles to "team passes and cuts", this best team is like a condensed evolutionary history. Curry's three-pointers, Jokic's pass, and James' all-roundness are defining new great standards. Perhaps several years later, when future generations select the best team in the 22nd century, they will also smile for today's controversy - because the charm of basketball lies in inheritance and breakthrough without standard answers.