20. Carmelo Anthony = Guile
Carmelo Anthony and Guile: cult favorites, but perennial also-rans. Used well-as Melo was at the power forward spot this past season-Guile is one of the strongest and most versatile characters in the Street Fighter universe, but his mechanics as a fighter are unique. Whereas projectiles thrown by Ryu are advancing moves, Guile has to charge his Sonic Boom and Flash Kick by holding away from the opponent or down.
Try to play frantic or overly aggressive with him and you might be all right, but keep him under control and he really shines. Anthony has always been at his best when he's not gunning, when he's instead making smart plays and taking good shots. Of course, playing that way won't guarantee him a ring any more than casting Jean-Claude Van Damme in the Street Fighter movie made Guile the series' main character. Maybe Melo needs to get a sweet oversized flat-top. Iman Shumpert could probably help him with that.
19. Kevin Durant = Ken
I've tried to approach each of these fighter-player combinations on their own merits and without trying to fit them into the sometimes convoluted backstories and histories that Street Fighter gives their universe of characters, but I couldn't resist this. If LeBron is Ryu, it seems only right to make Kevin Durant Ken. If James' dominance continues unchecked, it's possible that Durant's career will always be overshadowed by his, but astute followers of the game already know that Durant has his own Ken-esque appeal.
Less freighted with concern than Ryu, Ken is quicker, a little more fun, yet maintains a friendly but by no means casual rivalry with his training partner. But where Ken is cocky and egotistical, Durant has always come across as humble, diligent. The relationship between Ryu and Ken is an archetypal one: the serious, dedicated protagonist and his looser, wilder sidekick. In the real world, people are rarely just one thing. We're all Ken, we're all Ryu.
18. LeBron James = Ryu
Bear with me: Yes, LeBron James has all the makings of a boss character. The way he combines every imaginable basketball skill with nigh superhuman strength and speed would make him a natural for Seth, the chrome-skinned, technique-gobbling cyborg who awaits you at the end of Street Fighter IV. Or even Gill, the winged two-tone endgame boss of Street Fighter III (although with a less robust hairline). But no: For the foreseeable future of the NBA, LeBron James is the game's main character.
Ryu will always be Street Fighter's main character. (Sorry, Alex.) Like Ryu, LeBron has a way of making dominance and consummate skill almost boring, making thunderous dunks and chasedown blocks like so many fireballs and endless dragon uppercuts. In spite of his back-to-back championships, though, it seems like LeBron still hasn't learned to channel what Ryu finally learned to control at the end of Street Fighter IV: his Satsui no Hado or "Surge of Murderous Intent." When and if he does, look out.
17. Kenneth Faried = Blanka
At first, Metta World Peace seemed like a natural pairing with Blanka because of his complete unpredictability, but ultimately, who better to compare with Street Fighter's original feral warrior than the force of nature they call "Manimal"? Faried is a monster of pure energy on the glass and in transition; you can almost imagine him hurtling down the court wrapped in lightning as he looks for an alley-oop from Ty Lawson or Andre Miller.
So maybe his skin isn't green (from eating plants, as per Street Fighter lore) and his hair isn't bright orange, but the speed and power are there, as the ferocious mane is intact.
16. JaVale McGee = Dan
If you're a Street Fighter fan, here are some things to know about Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee: on Twitter, he retweets himself rather than just writing a tweet, for no reason anyone can determine; he once pretended to adopt a pair of platypi; he has a mustachioed alter ego named Pierre. Oh and the mustache is tattooed on his left index finger.
And if you're an NBA fan, Dan Hibiki is essentially a parody of a ripoff (based on a character from Art of Fighting who was based on Ryu/Ken), is best buddies with Blanka (whom he calls by his given name "Jimmy") and has a Super Combo taunt that does NO damage, lasts for six seconds and ends with him giving a thumbs up to the player through the screen. Case closed.
15. Anthony Davis = Dhalsim
Let's start with incredible length. Davis is 6'10", easily a foot taller than Dhalsim, but his wingspan is a frankly astounding 7'6" with a standing reach of NINE FEET. Dhalsim, of course, has a standing reach of something like 25 feet but the point is: tremendous length and also tremendously skinny.
Davis might not be able to teleport, but he will sneak in and hit you with midrange jumpers along the baseline when you least expect it. Most importantly, both are gentle souls at heart, with somewhat reserved and stoic exteriors belied by a fire within that only arises in intense competition. And as anyone who has seen Davis swat a shot can attest, he can, like Dhalism (according to the Street Fighter Wiki), "project his arms and legs outward in order to deliver attacks that would be out of the range of normal limbs."
14. Derrick Rose = Chun Li
The thing that Chun Li and Derrick Rose have most in common is that they're all over the place, and usually before you even know it. Rose, of course, was sidelined for all of last season with an ACL injury, but you only have to look back at highlight dunks from 2011–12 to remember how his hops seemed big enough to let him bounce off the edge of the screen while his speed was so blazing it made everyone else look grayed out and caught in a Super Combo.
And while Chun Li might have played third or fourth fiddle to Ryu, Ken and Guile, she was an awful lot of SFII players' MVP, just as Rose was in 2011.
13. Steph Curry = Vega
Let's get the biggest disconnect out of the way right away: one of Vega's signature traits is his narcissism, whereas Steph Curry is notable for his level head and almost ego-free game. But here's where it comes together: they can both hurt you from almost anywhere. The first time you saw Vega scale that fence in Street Fighter II, you were probably like, "Where is he going?" And then from out of nowhere came a deadly swan dive called the Flying Barcelona Attack.
If you watched Curry in the playoffs last year against Denver, you saw him throw up shots from all over the court; the corner; the 3-point line at the top of the key; sometimes barely a step past half-court, it seemed-and they all seemed to go in. Of course, like Vega, Curry is vulnerable up close; his shaky ankles have bothered him throughout his career and the Spurs smartly forced him through as many screens as possible in the Western Conference semifinals to test those ankles. Nevertheless, seeing him work his long-range magic was a treat. Hopefully his ankles prove ultimately more resilient than Vega's claw.
12. Tim Duncan = Gouken
Could there be a better fit for Tim Duncan, the wily, seasoned vet still leading his team to the Finals while putting up per-36 numbers that resemble his athletic prime, than Gouken, the karate master who raised Ryu and Ken, teaching them the series' signature Hadoken and Shoryuken moves?
The parallels are even there with Kobe Bryant, who mirrors Gouken's brother, Akuma. Where Bryant is fiery, consumed by competition, Duncan is almost eerily placid, his displays of on-court emotion generally restricted to disbelief at foul calls. Gouken's pacifist and spiritual bent dovetails with Duncan's benign, occasionally flat affect, which masks a tireless and thoughtful worker.
11. Zach Randolph = E Honda
Pinky swear: This is not based on anything as juvenile as Randolph being fat, or even sumo wrestlers being fat. Anyone who's watched sumo wrestling understands what serious athletes they are. But both E. Honda and Z-Bo have groundbound games based on wielding mass with grace and supplemented by surprising quickness.
Honda will bust out a hundred-hand slap in a flash just like Randolph will catch it on the block and spin in towards the rim, getting just the right edge to sneak in there for a quick two points. Is he going to throw it down emphatically? Not likely, since his vertical might not even make double digits. Honda's not going to bounce all over the screen either, instead relying on staying low and in control and breaking out the Sumo Headbutt at just the right moment.
That's what you come to Z-Bo and E-Ho for: old school big man game.
10. Russell Westbrook = Fei Long
It seems only fitting to match up the one fighter modeled after the incredibly disciplined and freakishly athletic Bruce Lee with Russell Westbrook, a player who's often been called the best pure athlete in the NBA. Like Fei Long, Westbrook's signature is his speed and his intense competitiveness.
As Long advises defeated opponents in Street Fighter II, "You must learn to block or my speed will always overcome you!" Like many intense competitors, Long can come off as cocky or arrogant, and Westbrook has plenty of detractors who bemoan his lack of pure point guard skills. But they're missing the point: Westbrook is just a great player, regardless of position. Somehow, though, I can't see Long wearing a polo shirt printed with lures and red glasses after a match.
9. DeAndre Jordan = M Bison
Physique aside, it might not be immediately apparent what the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan and the psychopathic leader of Shadaloo have in common. Bison is, after all, a megalomaniacal dictator who's fond of brainwashing and Jordan is just a rather large and athletic human being without many tangible basketball skills beyond jumping really high.
But if you saw Jordan's merciless destruction of the Pistons' Brandon Knight in all its glory last season, you might understand. As Knight rotated into the paint in a game attempt to slow down the charging Jordan, Jordan leapt high into the air, met Knight at the apex, caught the alley-oop and threw it down so hard that Knight may as well have had the little yellow SFII stars circling around his head when he got up.
If that's not a Psycho Crusher, I don't know what is.
8. Dwight Howard = Sagat
Oh right: Here's the muscly bully no one really likes. Way way back in the original Street Fighter, Sagat was the Emperor of Muay Thai and the game's final boss, kind of like Dwight circa 2011 when he was a runner-up MVP candidate and the most dominant big man in the NBA.
But where Ryu's defeat of Sagat left him broken and with a giant scar across his chest, the killing blow to Howard's reputation was self-inflicted as he forced his way to the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the 2012-13 season and then proceeded to complain about the team's coach, style of play, role in the offense and his relationship with Kobe Bryant. Now that Howard has moved to Houston, he's looking to ascend back to that boss level that Sagat once again achieves in Street Fighter II.
Of course, even there, Sagat played second fiddle to M. Bison. But it wasn't so long ago that Howard was considered one of the top two or three players in the NBA. Sagat might never again have been as imposing as he was the first time you faced him in the arcade on a Street Fighter II, but he's still plenty deadly, even if you can just pick him off the menu these days.
7. Blake Griffin = Dee Jay
A year ago, I would have pegged Blake Griffin for Sagat: a muscly bully no one really liked very much. Prior to last season, Griffin seemed well on his way to being not very well liked as a player in the NBA. In spite of his tremendous dunking ability, there was a sense that his game was somewhat shallow and that-perhaps even more importantly-he was kind of a jerk.
But it only took a season of well-executed time-traveling commercials to make everyone feel like Griffin was a pretty alright and genuinely funny dude. Now he seems like one unending smile, sort of like Dee Jay, whose overriding characteristic is his relentlessly cheery mood. Don't get me wrong: Dee Jay's also a bouncy, fun fighter in the ring, which fits neatly with Blake on the court, a player at his best when he's let loose to hunt for alley-oops from Chris Paul.
6. Chris Paul = Makoto
In spite of his State Farm commercials, in spite of playing in one of the country's largest media markets, it's always seemed like Chris Paul has flown a little under the radar compared to superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard. Maybe it's because he's almost normal-sized. Maybe it's because he's not the same kind of athletic freak as those other players, or teammate Blake Griffin. Injuries have slowed his once quick first step, and now he relies on an ironclad midrange jumper, his vision, and his ability to create creases in the defense to work his magic.
Likewise, Makoto looks on first blush like she's going to be another quick female character but as soon as you take control of her, you realize she's slow, deliberate and powerful. One of her biggest weapons is her change of pace, where she can hold back her Hayate, building power until she launches and lands a fierce punch. In her own way, Makoto is as challenging to our preconceived notions of fighting game characters as Chris Paul is rewarding to our throwback ideas of what a point guard should be: creative, reactive, opportunistic, fleet of mind if not of foot.
5. Kyrie Irving = Guy
This couldn't be more straightforward: Guy is a ninja, Kyrie Irving is a ninja. Have you seen him wrongfoot defenders, leaving a sea of shattered ankles in his wake as he breaks to the basket? Did you see him drop Brandon Knight (who's had a rough time this past year; see also: Jordan, DeAndre) to the floor with a quick crossover and stepback in the Rising Stars game?
He's a master of misdirection, and although the one-on-one format of Street Fighter doesn't allow Guy to attack from the shadows like a true ninja, he relies on speed and moves like the Hozanto, where he spins forward under an opponent's attack and delivers a jabbing elbow. If only Kyrie Irving would wear some sweet red and white Jordan Is like Guy appears to in Street Fighter Alpha 3 this comparison would be nearly flawless.
4. Dwyane Wade = Cody
Sure, Cody was a hero in Metro City when he helped save Mayor Mike Haggar's daughter (and his girlfriend), but a stint in prison has left him handcuffed, bitter and not at all above dirty tricks. Wade's similar penchant in his youth for throwing his body around willy-nilly has left him, like Cody, slowed but still offensively-oriented. And like Cody, Wade plays dirty.
For Cody this means throwing sand in his opponents' eyes or throwing rocks when they least expect it. For Wade it means flopping and flailing, occasionally taking players down in the process, leading to injuries like Rajon Rondo's dislocated arm or Kobe Bryant's broken nose. Maybe the Heat's alternate jerseys next year can have horizontal stripes and cuffs.
3. DeMarcus Cousins = Balrog
The Street Fighter Wiki describes the boxer Balrog as "self-centered, hot-tempered, arrogant, flippant and ... often refusing to take responsibility for his actions." Sounds like a good fit for DeMarcus Cousins, a player of tremendous natural talent who unfortunately spends way too much time making pained faces at the refs and refusing to get back on defense.
When he's fully invested in the game, he's a terrifyingly nimble big man, light on his feet and deceptively strong. But give him that midrange (or even long-range) jumper and he'll try to hit it. For him, those shots should be like kicks for Balrog: non-existent.
2. Kobe Bryant = Akuma
The first few lines of Akuma's "Personality" section on the Street Fighter Wiki pretty much say it all: "Akuma is a cold and extremely powerful warrior whose sole purpose of existence is to hone his fighting skills by battling and destroying strong foes. He rarely displays any sign of emotions, aside from occasional bursts of anger, and almost never smiles. He takes his training very seriously, and deals brutally with those who dare interrupt him."
All he needs is a wildly popular Twitter feed, a jutting chin, a couple blandly positive hashtags and Akuma basically IS the Black Mamba. Next thing you know, that kanji of "heaven" he shows off at the end of matches is going to turn into a 24. #yourewelcome
1. Nikola Pekovic = Zangief
This one's just too perfect. The Slavic origin. The beard. The mohawk. The massive strength. Amazingly, the 6'11" Pek even outweighs the 7' Zangief, who is 254 lbs (according to the Street Fighter Wiki) while Pek tips the scales at 291 lbs. The comparison only seems to get more apt as you consider the things that one of them has that would be totally perfect for the other.
I have zero problem picturing a massive tattoo on Zangief's arm incorporating a medieval warrior, screaming eagle and giant bear, while I have equally little trouble imagining Pekovic executing a spinning piledriver on an opposing center. I'm fairly certain that wrestling grizzly bears is a hobby for both of them. Motion to start referring to Pek as "The Red Cyclone."