All-NBA starting XI using Chelsea’s 4-2-2-2 system
Defensive midfielders: Jimmy Butler (Heat) & Darius Garland (Cavaliers)
Speed and versatility are the names of the game for the two players slotting into the defensive midfield roles in this line-up. Both Jimmy Butler and Darius Garland have carried the loads on their respective teams this past season. The pairing makes up the perfect duo in the middle of the park with the combination of toughness and grit. Furthermore, they both know the feeling of being doubted time and time again throughout their career, which builds character. Butler is an avid football fan who plays pick-up matches around Miami, along with being friends with Paul Pogba. He is a big fan of Neymar and the Brazilian National Team, which proves that he possesses relationships and knowledge of some of the best football the world has to provide.
Butler and Garland are like the second hand on a clock, they just keep ticking. Neither knows how to stop or not give 110% in everything that they do each day. The two players in the deep role of the midfield have to be able to push up and support in the offense, along with getting back on the defensive end. The fitness and ability to try to take on more than they think they can handle and succeed makes them the perfect duo in front of the back four.
Attacking midfielders: Donovan Mitchell (Jazz) & Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Two of the most dominant shot-makers in the entire NBA lead the charge in midfield. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum have improved each season in the NBA, and their eyes for the basket gives them the nod as the two attack specialists in the middle of the park. Mitchell will certainly play higher up on the pitch while Tatum could find himself either on the wing or in the role of the No. 8 on the pitch. Tatum and Mitchell are good friends off the basketball court, which could be a good recipe for a successful midfield duo. Tatum’s length and relentlessness in his ability to get to the cup bodes well for his versatility as an attacking midfielder on the football pitch.
Their games on the basketball court simply translate to the exact goal of what a player on a football pitch is trying to do: put points on the board. You would be hard-pressed to try to find two three-level scorers that have proven themselves in the NBA already and have plenty of room to continue to grow. Both are creative in their own ways trying to get to the bucket and could be used as the two beside the middle man in a 3-4-3 formation, if things change. In a 4-2-2-2 shape, these two would be best in the middle, above Butler and Garland, trying to wreak havoc in the box or find the forwards with a through ball. They would do well to set the pairing in front of them up with the passing abilities that Mitchell and Tatum have demonstrated through their progression.