This week on NBA.com, we're dedicating a different day to take a closer look at each decade in league history.

Today, it's the 2000s.

MORE: The 2010s All-Decade Team

One thing we're doing each day is an All-Decade Team made up of the two-best guards, two-best forwards and the best centre of the respective decade. For the 2000s, we're starting with the 1999-2000 season and ending with the 2008-09 season.

With all that in mind, here's how the All-Decade Team looks for the 2000s...

G: Steve Nash

Nash fought off plenty of competition from the likes of Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups, but the Phoenix Suns maestro's accolades speak for themselves.

A two-time MVP winner (2005 and '06), Nash was the architect of the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns offences and was a regular member of the 50-40-90 club.

Arriving in Phoenix in 2005, Nash led the Suns to a top-two seed in the Western Conference in his first three seasons, however, despite their regular-season success, they weren't able to progress beyond the Western Conference Finals. 

Nash led the league in assists for three seasons (2005–2007), was selected as an All-Star six times in the decade, and made six All-NBA teams (3x first team).

While he didn't have the team success as others on this list, his place at the head of the revolutionary 'seven seconds or less' Suns teams, is still felt to this day in the modern game. 

G: Kobe Bryant

Individual accolades, team success...Kobe Bryant dominated the 2000s.

You can't tell the story of the 2000s without Kobe Bryant. From his perennial success on the court to his global superstardom off it, Bryant achieved everything in the 2000s.

A 10-time All-Star in the decade, he was named to an All-NBA team each year of the decade, including seven selections to the All-NBA first team and as a two-way force on the court, Bryant was also named to eight All-Defensive teams, including six first-team nods.

A two-time scoring champion in the decade (2006 and '07), Bryant won four of his five NBA titles in the 2000s and made six trips to the NBA Finals, capped off with a Finals MVP trophy in 2009 — only Tim Duncan comes close to that level of success.

The 2008 MVP scored more points than anyone in the 2000s and gave us the scoring performance of a generation, pouring in 81 points in 2006 against the Toronto Raptors — the second-highest points total in NBA history.

Put simply, Kobe Bryant was the 2000s.

F: Dirk Nowitzki

This is where things get interesting. 

Tim Duncan owns the other forward spot, but the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, could arguably lay claim to the other — but Nowitzki gets the nod here. 

Through the decade, Nowitzki earned eight All-Star selections, was named to eight All-NBA teams, including four selections to the first team and was part of the 50-40-90 club in his MVP season in 2007.

Nowitzki deserves a spot here, not only for his individual accolades but for his ability to consistently have the Mavs be at the top of the Western Conference. 

He led the Mavs to 50+ wins in every year of the decade, including three 60-win seasons in 2002-03 and 2005-06 and 2006-07

While James boasts multiple MVPs in the decade and Garnett, a perennial All-Star, who won a title in 2008, Nowitzki's consistency sets him apart.

F: Tim Duncan

The best power forward of all-time is an easy pick for the All-Decade team. 

After winning his first NBA title in 1998-99, Tim Duncan went on to dominate the decade at the forward position, leading the Spurs to 50+ wins every year, including two 60+ win seasons in 2002-03 and 2005-06.

The Big Fundamental racked up the individual accolades along the way, earning 10 All-Star selections, two Finals MVPs, and two regular-season MVP awards, to go with his three championships for the decade (2003, 05, 07).

Duncan earned 10 All-NBA selections, including seven to the first team and was just as dominant on the defensive end, earning 10 All-Defensive Team selections, including seven to the first team. 

C: Shaquille O'Neal

The centre position on the All-Decade first-team should come as no surprise. 

Has there been a more dominant force in the history of basketball than Shaquille O'Neal?

Shaq started off the decade with a bang, winning a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, regular-season MVP, and Finals MVP, while leading the league in scoring (29.7 points per game).

Only his Laker teammate in Kobe Bryant can boast an MVP, Finals MVP and scoring title in the decade. 

O'Neal won all four of his championships in the 2000s, along with three Finals MVPs and was named as an All-Star nine times. He was named to an All-NBA team seven times, including six on the first team and earned three All-Defensive selections. 

2000s All-Decade Second Team

G: Jason Kidd: Kidd will go down as one of the best PG's in the game and took the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back Finals appearances early in the decade. 

G: Allen Iverson: A.I.'s peak came in the decade, claiming three scoring titles, three-time steals leader, an MVP and a whole lotta broken ankles.

F: LeBron James: Two MVP awards, Rookie of the Year, and five All-Star selections, he might have entered the league a third of the way through the decade, but James' accolades speak for themselves.

F: Kevin Garnett: 10 All-Star selections, four rebounding titles, Defensive Player of the Year, MVP and an NBA championship. KG did it all.

C: Ben Wallace: Four Defensive Player of the Year awards.......enough said.

2000s All-Decade Third Team

G: Chauncey Billups: Six consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in the decade, along with a title and Finals MVP in 2004, Billups more than delivered in the post-season. 

G: Dwyane Wade: Wade played just six seasons in the decade, but propelled the Heat to their first NBA championship, earning Finals MVP, along with five All-Star selections and four All-NBA selections

F: Paul Pierce: Only Nowitzki, Iverson, and Bryant scored more points than Pierce in the decade. The Truth was a bucket every night, winning his only championship in 2008 along with being named Finals MVP.

F: Tracy McGrady: T-Mac finished the decade eighth in scoring, winning two scoring titles along the way. He was named Most Improved Player of the Year in 2000-01 and earned seven All-Star selections. 

C: Amare Stoudemire: Alongside Steve Nash, Stoudemire was a monster in the pick-and-roll for the Suns. He earned three All-NBA selections at center in the 2000s, four All-Star berths as well as the 2003 Rookie of the Year award.

Honourable mention: Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, and Gilbert Arenas

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