Who would you rather be?

[etv78]

If you played in the NBA, would you rather be the best player on the team with the #1 pick, or the 12th man on the champ?

[pancakes3]

top dog for sure. heck, i'd rather be top dog on a stinker than playing pippen to MJ.

[Dignan]

Everyone wants to play. If you're the 12th man, when you get in, it's only to join Club Trillion. Since you're not using any energy sitting at the end of the bench, that means you're running sprints, doing cardio after the game is over.

Still, if you're the best on the bad team do you want to be playing with a bunch of bad players that aren't helping you and are a source of frustration?

Go for the rings, even if you're at the end of the bench.

[etv78]

I'm in the "gravy-train a winner" camp.

[Mahaloth]

Well, the 12th men contribute a lot to practices, so I think they feel like part of the team.

I'd rather be a champ than the leader of a losing team.

[iamnotbatman]

Is with all questions in life, the correct answer is the one that results in the most pussy. I'd go with the #1 pick.

[Snarky_Kong]

Originally Posted by pancakes3

top dog for sure. heck, i'd rather be top dog on a stinker than playing pippen to MJ.

Did/do you play sports?

I'd much rather be the better player on the bad team both because I'd actually play and I'd make a lot more money. If it was best on a crappy team or 5th or 6th man on the champion then I'd go with 5th or 6th. I find it insane that an athlete would trade a HoF career and 6 championships for never winning anything just because the best athlete of all time would overshadow you.

[pancakes3]

in HS, i was a starter for football and a scrub for basketball, which was cruel irony because i like hoops way more than football. i've really done nothing else particularly athletic with my life other than the occasional church league basketball, occasional flag football/ultimate frisbee game, or sporatic badmintoning (to my chagrin, awfully strenuous on the knees).

as not to get too cathartic, but i just like doing things my way. if i'm going to be good enough to be a franchise player, why give that up just to win a championship in the most technical sense? if i'm good enough to be the cornerstone of a franchise, why would i sacrifice all that talent just to ringchase? it's far more important to me to be good at something than to obtain a piece of jewelry and a footnote in some almanac.

i mean put it this way. john paxson in the '93 finals drilled the 3 pointer to win the game and the series, but only had 8 points in the contest. The #1 overall pick of that season (missed the playoffs) was Shaq. wouldn't you choose being Shaq and take your chances in competing for future championships on your own terms also, rather than the sure thing in being a shooting specialist for MJ for the rest of your career?

[Snarky_Kong]

Originally Posted by pancakes3

i mean put it this way. john paxson in the '93 finals drilled the 3 pointer to win the game and the series, but only had 8 points in the contest. The #1 overall pick of that season (missed the playoffs) was Shaq. wouldn't you choose being Shaq and take your chances in competing for future championships on your own terms also, rather than the sure thing in being a shooting specialist for MJ for the rest of your career?

Sure, but neither of those things is related to the hypothetical.

[NDP]

Originally Posted by pancakes3

top dog for sure. heck, i'd rather be top dog on a stinker than playing pippen to MJ.

[Emphasis added.]

Scotty Pippen was a Hall-of-Famer in his own right so he's not the best player to use in this example. A better one would be some obscure reserve or utility player that somehow ended up playing on a team that won multiple championships (e.g., someone like Mark Madsen).

[pancakes3]

Originally Posted by Snarky_Kong

Sure, but neither of those things is related to the hypothetical.

as in both guys are BETTER than what the OP meant? would adam morrison versus say... john wall be a better example? i'd definitely rather be john wall.

or as NDP said, would i rather be mark madsen than john wall? still john wall.