There are a lot of sports fanatics out there who often spend a huge amount of their free team dreaming up scenarios that would allow certain players to play with each other in the same team. Usually, this involves players who were alive at different times or playing for clubs on the other side of the world, so in reality, it would never have been possible. However, that doesn’t stop these types of fantasy’s, where none of these issues would ever be a problem.

In the world of soccer, it would probably see players such as Pelé lining up alongside Diego Maradona, with the likes of Johan Cruyff, Lionel Messi, Franz Beckenbauer, Steven Gerrard, Bobby Charlton, Roberto Carlos and Lev Yashin also turning up to play in this fantasy team. Obviously, all of these players would be peak versions of themselves, instead of how they are now, which for some of them means old age, ill-health or dead.

England test cricket fans often talk about their all-time 11, with players from the past 100 years appearing. Jack Hobbs would open with Alistair Cook, with Len Hutton coming on at three, with Michael Vaughan or Joe Root just behind him. Is there space in the team for Kevin Pietersen, Ian Botham and Ben Stokes? Would Jim Laker, Sydney Barnes and Jimmy Anderson at their beaks be able to tear into the batting lineup of anyone they came up against? Of course, it will never happen, but it is a great way to pass the time.

We occasionally get glimpses of such teams in charity games, where retired players will often put on the outfit one more time, to line up with other greats, for an informal game with the aim to raise as much money as they can. Soccer Aid is one such charity, where an England XI line face off against a Rest of World team, with both former players and celebrities taking part. In the upcoming edition, the England side sees the likes of Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes take on big names such as Patrice Evra, Pablo Zabaleta and Clarence Seedorf. These games actually happen, so it is the closest to a dream team we might ever get to see in the world of Soccer.

When it comes to the world of basketball, fans often talk about how they’d love to see the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and LeBron James feature in the same game. It would certainly drive people wild. It is unlikely to happen, so instead, fans often will look back at the season just gone, to see who would make it into their NBA dream team of 2021. Let’s have a look at some of the top performers from last year, to see who were the best NBA picks to make it into our fantasy dream team.

MVPs in every position?

Last season in the NBA was severely hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning everything started later than it should have done ordinarily. Therefore, the playoffs didn’t actually kick off until May 22, with the finals beginning in July. The two teams who made it all the way were the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. After a 6 game series, where the Suns had gone into a two-game lead, it was the Bucks who won the Championship, with the series finishing 4-2.

Interestingly, neither side contained the player who was voted as the 2021 MVP. That man was Nikola Jokic, who plays as a Center for the Denver Nuggets. He has the highest efficiency per game rating in the league at 35.9, and also had 60 Double-doubles, more than anyone else.

Stephen Curry, a Point guard for the Golden State Warriors, is another former MVP, winning the award in 2015 and 2016. He also had a stellar year in 2021, with his average points per game being 32.0.

At Small forward, we would have another former MVP, Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets. Durant suffered a nasty torn Achilles injury in the 2019 NBA Finals, which for many would have been almost impossible to recover from. Not only did Durant do so, but if anything he has improved since his time on the medical table. The Nets were beaten by the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but Durant was arguably one of the best players last season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo won the MVP in the NBA in 2019 and 2020. As a Power forward, he played an instrumental part in helping the Bucks win their first NBA Championship in 40 years.

The one man who isn’t a former MVP is Shooting guard Devin Booker of the Suns. He was unlucky to miss out on picking up an NBA ring this season, but if he carries on his form into 2022, he might just make it.

So that’s our 2021 NBA dream team. Now, if only a franchise owner had a billion dollars spare, we could actually see these guys all line up together!