Is that supposed to read "the five most intimidating players"?
The first team is all centers. They wouldn't win a game against a regular starting NBA five.
The second team is 3 F, 1 C, and a G/F. Wouldn't fare much better.
Also - I thought Kareem was a nice guy.
I think in the first one his assumption is the centers would block shots and outrebound. So they would shut down the paint and yet their size would let them extend a perimeter out to the 3 point mark, so unless you're Seth Curry shooting from closer to half court, you're gonna have a contested shot.
The second he seems to have chosen players with history of shall we say, anti-social play, so the thinking is they'd foul you and beat you up.
There's obvious flaws in reasoning for both. Honestly, put Lebron and MJ on either of those and I'd say it'd be pretty intimidating, as they could leave one guy down at their goal (let one of the centers rest each quarter for instance) while they run the court, and both are big and athletic enough that they can guard and keep you honest past the 3 point line. Plus you'd have alley-oop potential. For the second group you'd have 3 of them frustrate (or bang up/injure) the opposing team's best player while Lebron and MJ build leads. By the time the other 3 foul out, it'll probably be too late to mount a serious come back.
Kinda surprised no Bill Russell on that first list by the way.