All-Time NBA "A" Team: Best Players Whose Last Names Begin with the Letter A

The NBA championship is approaching, so the top squad from the East will soon face off against the best in the West. The best of seven championship series should be one of the most exciting in recent years, since there really is no clear favorite from either conference. In order to win, each squad will have to bring its A-game as well as its A- Team.

The first letter of the alphabet is a very important one in basketball. It's even in the league abbreviation, NBA. The league's all-time leading scorer has four A's in his name. One of the most valued stats is designated as A, for assists. No one should be surprised that some of the greatest players in professional basketball players had names that began with A.

Here are two rosters of the top A players in basketball history, based on their career stats from www.nba.com/players.

First Team

Center - Kareem Abul-Jabbar: Coming out of UCLA as Lew Alcindor, this center dominated as a Milwaukee Buck before gaining even better stats as a Laker. Jabbar is the sport's all-time leading scorer, helped in part by his classic hook shot that was nearly indefensible.

Forward - Ron Artest: The troubled guy seemed to be forever silhouetted by controversy, but he was a tough basketball player. He averaged scoring double figures for ten straight seasons, and he was one of the most proficient rebounders in the game.

Forward - Mark Aguirre: after a standout college career at Depaul, Aguirre starred for the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged over 20 points a game for six straight seasons from '82-'83 until he left the Mavs in '88-'89.

Guard - Nate Archibald: "Tiny" was a huge force for the championship Celtics of the late 70s and early 80s. The Hall of Famer's standout season, though, came with Kansas City-Omaha, when he led the league not only in assists, but also in scoring, averaging 34 points per game.

Guard - Ray Allen: A prolific shooter from three point range, the perennial all-star averaged over 20 points per game each season from '99-'00 until '06-'7 during stints with the Bucks and Sonics.

Second Team

Center - Alvan Adams: The dominant inside force for the 70s and 80s Phoenix Suns averaged nearly ten rebounds and double figures in points per game for all but two of his NBA seasons.

Forward - Nick Anderson: Mostly with the Orlando Magic, this star from Illinois scored over 11,000 points and grabbed over 4000 rebounds in a 13 year career.

Forward- Willie Anderson: This unsung member of the San Antonio Spurs averaged double figures in points for five of his first six seasons with the team. He reached the playoffs for seven straight seasons with the Spurs , Knicks, and Heat.

Guard - Rafer Alston: Primarily as a member of the Rockets and the Heat, Alston averaged double figures in points for eight straight seasons starting in '03-'04.

Guard - B.J. Armstrong: As point guard of the Bulls in the 90s, Armstrong helped transform the team into a dynasty.