I’m asking this question in the spirit of March Madness.

Obviously, this answer is an easy no today. However, back in the day, top players used to stay 3-4 years. There were definitely college players who were better than NBA players (there are still a few today but not as much and it’s usually only vs. against the young rookies like Brandon Miller vs. Caleb Houstan). Historically though, there were plenty of examples. For example, Tim Duncan was probably easily a top 25 player in the world by the time he was a senior at Wake Forest. Both MJ/Hakeem were probably top 20 players (maybe top 10) in the world by their last year in college.

However, do you think there was ever a team that could beat an NBA team, and when was the latest year you think this was possible?

I would imagine maybe the UCLA teams with Kareem and later Walton (alongside other great players like Marques Johnson), but do you think MJ’s 1984 team (which didn’t even win a national championship) could beat the 1983-84 Pacers? I’m just throwing out some examples, but obviously maybe you can find better examples. Or perhaps you think the answer has always been no.

To be clear, let’s say that “could” beat an NBA team = favorite in a 1 game playoff. Obviously, anything “could” happen, but to define it more clearly, let’s say they would be the favorite in a 1 game playoff.