The Best Team-and-Decade Pools to Draft From
Every pick in 5 Picks starts with a draw: a team and a decade. The pool you get handed decides what is actually on the board, so knowing which team-eras are deep — and which are top-heavy — is half the battle before you ever tap a card.
Depth beats a single superstar
Because you fill five positions from whatever pools the draw gives you, a pool that is two stars deep and nothing else can leave you reaching late. The most reliable pools are the ones with quality at three or four positions, not just one famous name at the top.
The 1980s Lakers and Celtics are the classic deep pools: Showtime gave you guards, wings, and bigs who could all play, and Boston's frontcourt ran three deep on its own. The 1990s Bulls are top-heavy by contrast — Jordan and Pippen tower over the rest, so if the draw lands you there, grab the stars early and expect a steep drop-off.
Modern pools spread the floor
The 2010s and 2020s pools skew toward shooting and playmaking. The 2010s Warriors are loaded with perimeter scoring and the spacing that the engine's shooting and three-point ratings reward. If you are chasing an efficient, modern build, these are the pools to lean into.
Older, frontcourt-heavy pools — the 1990s Rockets around Olajuwon, the 2000s Spurs around Duncan — pay off the other way: rim protection and rebounding win you possessions the box score does not always celebrate. Both styles can win; just know which one your draw is pushing you toward.
Read the pool before you pick
The team and decade guides list each pool's best players by position. Skim them before a session so the draw does not surprise you: know which eras run deep at point guard, which ones are all centers, and where the value sits after the obvious first pick.
When the draw is unkind, that is what skips are for — but every skip you spend is one you do not have later. Drafting from a pool you already understand is almost always better than rolling the dice on a fresh one.
Keep reading: browse the team & era guides, sharpen up with the drafting strategy, or start a match.