Power ranking shoe company rosters for an actual 5v5 tournament

CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 08: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers defended by Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors during Game Four of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 8, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 8: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors looks on during Game Four of the 2018 NBA Finals on June 8, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

1. Nike

The Team: LeBron James, Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gobert

Projected Offensive Rating: 125.5, Projected Defensive Rating: 105.7, Projected Net Rating: 19.8

Okay, let’s start with the obvious. Team Nike has the two best players on the planet — Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Putting those two on any team alone makes them a contender.

Team Nike then adds the Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo to the squad. So, if two large players driving to the rim wasn’t enough, they add in Giannis. He has the ability to do everything on the basketball floor. Last year, he averaged 26.7 points, 10 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Whatever it is that LeBron and KD need him to do, he will do with excellence. Oh yeah, and people think that he has the potential to end up better than LeBron solely because of how much of an athletic freak of nature he is. He needs to work on his jump shot to reach that point, but with KD and Paul George in the fold, he won’t have to.

George shot over 40 percent from 3-point range last year while coming up with 2 steals per game. With this team, he would act as a spot-up shooter, a role which he finished in the 92nd percentile last year. On top of that, he would likely be asked to pick up the toughest defensive assignment.

Helping George anchor the Team Nike defense is the Stifle Tower himself, Rudy Gobert. Gobert made this team over Kyrie Irving, with whom the projected net rating was 14.3. That is in large part to the incredible defense he plays — last season’s, Defensive Player of the Year. He plays that outstanding defense while being an efficient player in all other aspects of the game. Gobert has averaged a double-double each of the last two seasons, reeling in 20.5 percent of total rebound over the course of his career. Last year, he shot 62.2 percent from the field, and will finish when the play makers get him the ball inside.

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Team Nike is a juggernaut. They will always have the two best players on the court, the Greek Freak who can do anything, the best 3-and-D player and last year’s Defensive Player of the Year. That team doesn’t lose this tournament.

And with that, we crown our champions of the shoe company basketball tournament … Team Nike!

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