42-mill leagues:
1. 91-92 Dennis Rodman
No matter what type of team you're running, this guy can fit in. He brings you tons of boards with good efg%, few turnovers, and plays a ton of mintues - at 100% efficiency over 3 positions. He also has high defense and gets you some steals and a few blocks. No real weakness.
2. 78-79 Moses Malone
3390 minutes. 54% shooter, 70%+ in the paint. almost 800 ftas while hitting 70%+ from the line. Doesn't foul, gets some blocks, has 80 defense... oh yeah, he also has 18% oreb and 26% dreb. Only weakness is high turnovers.
3. 87-88 Charles Barkley (89-90 Barkley in virtual tie)
3k+ mintues, 13% oreb, 20%+ dreb, 950 ftas (70%+ make rate), 70%+ paint scoring, 60%+ fg%, 10% ast%, gets a lot of steals and blocks. High turnover, high foul rates are weakness. 60+ def is respectable and all that is really needed in this version of the sim.
4. Steve Nash (most expensive 3 seasons)
Cheap, high ast%, huge efg%, huge ts%. defensive liability, high turnover rate do not punish Nash owners.
5. 02-03 Tracy McGrady
Best bang for the buck at the 2. 13% dreb, 4% oreb, 18% ast%, lot of 3s, lot of ftas, decent % at both, 35% usage, scores like crazy from all 3 zones, low tov%, fouling not a problem. also has 60-something defense.
6. 68-69 Wilt Chamberlain (66-67, 67-68 - ie, the support Wilt)
I choose this version because it's about 3-million bucks less. 15%+ oreb, 26%+ dreb. 3669 minutes. 10%+ ast%. Lot of ftas. High fg%. Will get you 20ppg without taking shots away from your other shooters. Huge paint presence. Will get you 4+ blocks a game without fouling. High turnovers blow, but he doesn't turn it over as much as is listed if you draft enough possessions.
7. 90-91 Terry Porter
58% efg, 130+ threes, decent amount of ftas (especially for a sub 22.1% usg player), 27% ast%, low turnover, low foul. Gets some steals. 65 defense. The perfect PG in this sim.
8. 05-06 Ray Allen (00-01 also great)
Top perimeter scorer in sim. Shoots more 3s than anyone and will shoot more ftas than listed (and at 90%, too). low tov%. Decent dreb (10%) and ast% (12%) for a 2. low defense doesn't seem to punish owner.
9. 96-97 Glen Rice
4.5 million bucks for 3360+ minutes of godliness on the offensive end. Lots of 3s. Many ftas at good % make rate. low tov%. Will shoot over 60% efg% for you in an up-tempo offense. Doesn't foul. Gets some steals. Terrible defense that really doesn't seem to matter. Doesn't hit the glass or pass, but what does it matter with all the rest?
10. Peja, the 3200 minute version.
Only Barkley has a higher ts% among guys with 22% or higher usage. Because of the nature of less ftas than they really got for older players, Peja ends up higher here. He has an incredibly low tov%, doesn't foul and seems to do everything better offensively than he should, while not punishing owners for his spotty defense. He doesn't board well, but 13% dreb is still okay when complimenting board lords like Moses and Rodman.
other good ones:
04-05 Damon Jones
07-08 Dwight Howard
87-88 Larry Bird
88-89, 89-90, 95-96 Michael Jordan
07-08 and 08-09 Lebron James
about 7 Reggie Miller seasons
94-95 Clyde Drexler
Ben Wallace season with 32% dreb
05-06 and 07-08 Chauncey Billups
94-95 Dana Barros
several Bill Russell seasons, 63-64 being foremost.
higher salary leagues demand different things... generally the minute monsters favored in $42 million cap leagues are ousted by guys who do more with their minutes, but don't necessarily play as much. With that in mind, I cannot make one list for both, as most of the guys in the $42 don't make the $52.