Bupkus, Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade
The first time around, Bupkus (the purple alien) stole the talent of Charlotte Hornets power forward Larry Johnson. This time, he’d be shifting up a few positions to shooting guard.
Dwyane Wade is no longer the player he once was, but as a friend of LeBron James and one of the most recognizable faces in the NBA, it’s hard to argue against his inclusion in the movie somehow. There aren’t a ton of great options at shooting guard, since Thompson would make it too many Warriors in one movie and Harden/Butler have never been more unlikable.
Having all of LeBron’s inner circle in the movie would be boring, especially since most of them are in the twilights of their careers. But Wade is still the face of the Miami Heat franchise, he’s still hitting clutch shots for a team looking to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals and he’s an extremely relatable presence who could hold his own on the big screen.
Wade is no longer at the peak of his powers, but that might actually help his case. While I completely understand this is an animated movie for children about aliens stealing the talents of NBA players to enslave the Looney Tunes, it’d probably be better if the lineup the Monstars chose wasn’t completely stacked.
LeBron, Bugs Bunny and a bunch of cartoons beating a Curry-Thompson-KD-Griffin-AD lineup would not only be unrealistic (even for a cartoon), but it’d also be kind of insulting to those players (even for a cartoon). To that end, let’s get LeBron’s old buddy Flash into Space Jam 2, with cameos from Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic thrown in for good measure.
Next: Small Forward