Putting Together Michigan State's All-Time Starting Five
The Michigan State Spartans have owned the title of a blue-blood men's basketball program and have earned sustained success throughout the decades. Looking across the entire history of Spartan hoops, we are putting together the Spartans' all-time starting roster, plus a sixth man off the bench.
This ranking is based solely on what each of these players did in East Lansing. Taking away any high school or professional accolades, this all-time lineup ranking focuses on what each guy did at the Breslin Center.
PG: Earvin "Magic" Johnson
You cannot begin the conversation for Spartan greats without the one and only Magic Johnson. A Lansing native and a staple to the program, Johnson goes down as one of the best to ever do it in the Green and White, with his No. 33 jersey retired in the Breslin rafters.
Johnson spent two seasons at Michigan State from 1977 to 1979, etching his name in program history forever. A national champion in 1979, he earned the Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award along with consensus first-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten, which he won twice.
Standing at 6-9, Johnson was the ultimate point guard because he was head and shoulders above any of his matchup defenders. The fantastical passes he dealt helped lead to his iconic nickname and did things on the basketball court that nobody had ever seen before. He is the obvious point guard.
SG: Mateen Cleaves
Cleaves is another staple for Spartan basketball, as he played a massive role in the 2000 national championship team. A Flint native that spent five seasons under head coach Tom Izzo (1996 to 2000), Cleaves is next best to Johnson and would assume the two-guard role for this all-time team.
He was also named a Final Four Most Outstanding Player when he led the Spartans to their second and most recent title at the turn of the century. He was a first-team All-American in '99, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year ('98, '99), Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player ('99), and he had his No. 12 is retired at MSU.
The accolades are certainly there, but what Cleaves did for the Spartan program as a whole was the most impressive thing. He helped bring legendary status to the program, which still lives on to this day. The Spartans are known for many players, and Cleaves is one of the most notable.
SF: Denzel Valentine
The small forward spot was a tough choice, but Valentine takes the cake. A four-year player in East Lansing was captivated by an absolutely incredible 2016 season, one that cements Valentine as one of the best Spartans ever.
In 2016, Valentine was the best player in college basketball, winning AP Player of the Year, the only Spartan to ever do it. He was a first-team All-American, won the Julius Erving Award, Lute Olson Award, Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, and Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
The Lansing native averaged 19.2 points that season, shooting 46% from the field and 44% from 3-point range. He was the perfect catch-and-shoot player that could go off the dribble and elevate over anyone. He certainly deserves to be amongst the rest of Spartan royalty.
PF: Steve Smith
Smith is another guy that deserves all the credit in the world for helping cement Michigan State as a blue blood program. Another Michigan native, out of Highland Park, Smith was another four-year Spartan (1987 to 1991) that has his No. 21 jersey retired at the Breslin.
He averaged a career 18.5 points, 1990-91 being his best year with an average of 25.1 points on 53% shooting, which is stunning and one of the highest averages in program history. He was a second-team All-American ('91), and a two-time first-team All-Big Ten ('90, '91) honoree.
While Smith was a guard, considering his height of 6-7, he gets the power forward spot.
C: Draymond Green
It is almost impossible to leave Green off this starting five. He would assume the center role for this legendary squad and would stack up with any opposing big man they put across from him as one of the best post players to come through the program.
The Saginaw, Mich. native had bled Green and White since the day he finished high school and was a staple in Spartan history, playing from 2008 to 2012. Nobody embodied the culture of being a Spartan Dawg more than Green, and his success was built from that mantra.
Having his No. 23 jersey retired is just one of the many accolades that Green put together at Michigan State. Despite the championship accomplishments he has had at the NBA level, Green's college career made him accustomed to winning and finding success.
His 2012 season was historic, winning NABC Player of the Year, first-team All-American, Big Ten Athlete of the Year and Player of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors, and conference tournament Most Outstanding Player. He was also the Big Ten sixth man of the year in 2010.
Sixth man: Cassius Winston
Coming off the bench, a guy that just missed the starting five due to a pair of absolute legends being at the top. Winston is in that Spartan legend status for the career that he had in East Lansing, one of the most memorable of the past 25 years.
Ranked as one of the top players in the country coming out of U of D Jesuit High School, Winston lived up to his hype and became an all-time great for Michigan State from 2016 to 2020.
Winston was a two-time consensus second-team All-American ('19, '20), Big Ten Player of the Year ('19), two-time first-team All-Big Ten ('19, '20), third-team All-Big Ten ('18) and Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player ('19).
Winston also led the Spartans to their 10th Final Four in program history, pulling off an incredible upset over the Duke Blue Devils in 2019. He was the centerpiece of the teams he played on and was one of the most respected and loved players to come through the program.
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