NBA Ultimate Player

If you’ve never stopped to think about the individual physical components that make for a great NBA player, NBA Ultimate Player will prove an interesting and somewhat whimsical look at basketball’s biggest stars. Each segment of the hourlong program selects a certain part of the body and uses interviews and often spectacular game footage to show which past and present players best epitomize excellence—for example, eyes that can see and analyze the court are the bread and butter of the best point guards, including John Stockton, Bob Cousy, and Magic Johnson, while the arms of Bill Russell, George Mikan, and Karl Malone provide defense and offense.

The most unexpected category, mouth/hair, describes how a player can express his personality through trash talking or a certain hair style, e.g., Dennis Rodman. (Notably absent is Michael Jordan’s wagging tongue.) The program doesn’t always anoint one player as the best in a single category (though Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas get the nod for hands and feet, respectively), preferring instead to compare without judgment the nimble feet of Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin McHale, and Tim Duncan, or the athletic legs of Julius Erving, Grant Hill, and Vince Carter. And when it comes to heart, who could choose between Willis Reed’s courageous performance in the 1970 finals and Jordan’s unstoppable will to win?

DVD bonus features include 4- to 6-minute profiles of Karl Malone, Rick Barry, James Worthy, Connie Hawkins, Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins, and Jerry West as well as three-minute segments on NBA All-Star Saturday (rookie challenge, 2-ball, three-point shooting, and dunk competition) and Sunday 2001 (one of the more entertaining games in recent years, featuring a furious comeback by the East).