NBA All-Time Starting 5: Creating the ultimate lineup without altering positions
Small Forward: LeBron James
The first decision for LeBron James was locking him into a position. LeBron entered the league as a shooting guard, was the league's best small forward for a decade or more, but now has moved into more of a power forward role with occasional minutes at center. Given that he is one of the best passers and playmakers in league history and could obviously thrive as a point guard, you have one of the few players in NBA history who could truly excel at all five positions.
He spent more time at small forward than power forward, however, so he lands here - perhaps to this team's deficit, as the competition at small forward is fierce. There is a real argument to choose Larry Bird because of his shooting and killer mentality -- Larry Legend isn't letting anyone beat him in a "game for all of time" setting -- and Kevin Durant and Dr. J are compelling choices as well.
Even so, LeBron James is obviously the pick here. He is (in my opinion) the greatest player of all time, even if Michael Jordan is THE pick for a single game. In this scenario, we can have both, and James' skill and versatility are an excellent choice on this team of all-time players. He is a defensive wrecking ball, able to defend on the perimeter or rotate on the backline for help defense. Pairing him with two other elite frontcourt defenders (which we will do) makes this team nearly impossible to score on.
On offense, James can be the nominal point guard, bringing the ball up and initiating the offense. He is lethal running inverted pick-and-rolls with the likes of Stephen Curry or Michael Jordan, or he can get off the ball and screen for them in turn. He is a freight train in transition and his cutting and rebounding are likewise incredible because of his all-time basketball IQ and awareness of every player on the court.
LeBron James is obviously taking part in our all-time lineup.
Others Considered: Larry Bird, Kevin Durant, Julius Erving