WEBVTT - Grading my 2025 NBA Player Rankings: Who I got WRONG & RIGHT 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:16.680 The volume. All right, well, good to hoops to night 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:18.560 here at the volume heavy Friday, everybody. I hope all 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:20.520 of you guys had an amazing week. It is our 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:24.000 first player rankings mail bag. We're actually gonna move pretty 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:26.759 quickly through the questions today. Ask sixteen questions from you 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.000 guys again, as we're going through player rankings. If there's 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.360 a player that you disagree with too high, too low, 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:33.640 two players, I think that should be switched. Whatever it 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:36.000 is you disagree with, drop them in the mail bag 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:39.160 or in the YouTube comments on our full episodes on YouTube. 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:41.800 Right mail bag, colon, drop your question. We'll get to 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:43.960 them on Fridays throughout the rest of the way. Lots 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:46.240 of good ones to get into today. Again, sixteen questions, 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:48.440 so we'll be moving through pretty quick. You guys know 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:49.800 the drill before we get started. To subscribe to the 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:51.440 Hoops and OT YouTube channels, you don't miss any more 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:53.680 of our videos. You need about six thousand more subs 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:55.320 to get two hundred and fifty k, which is our 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:58.080 goal as of right now. So if you guys are 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:00.520 not subscribed, just take a second scroll. I think that'subscribe button. 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:02.240 It would help us a lot if you're already subscribed 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:04.839 like this video. Sign up for post notifications. That helps 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:08.400 us a lot. All right, let's talk some basketball. First question, Jason, 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.679 your list is a projection for the season start to finish, 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:14.640 so it's logically an entertaining video for you to react 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:18.000 to your list one year later. No, I would thoroughly 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:20.880 enjoy that good and bad predictions. Love the show, keep 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:25.240 up the good work. So in the interests of participating 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:28.320 in this idea, I went through my list from last year. 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:32.000 I have seven, seven specific things that I thought I 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.039 was wrong about, and then we'll go over the rest 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:35.479 of the list. The rest of the list I actually 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.160 think I feel pretty good about with where I was at. 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:41.080 Right again, there's a lot of projection here, but these 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:43.800 are the seven things that I got wrong last season. 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:48.000 First of all, Luca over Shay. So I had Luca 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:50.920 at two and Shae at three. There was no case 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.520 in any way, shape or form to have Shae over 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:56.840 to have Luca over Shae last season based on what 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:00.240 we saw during the season, Shae was more reliable terms 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:03.040 of his night to night availability. Luca struggled to stay 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:05.880 healthy throughout the season and then ended up not even 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:10.160 able to play in the postseason, he was less efficient 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:14.480 both in true shooting and in turnovers. Shaye was a 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:17.160 less damaging defender. Like it just Shay was just better 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:21.440 than Luca in every single way. Now do I My 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:25.720 whole rationale for putting Luc over Shay was pretty simple. 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:30.160 It was basically the Luca from twenty twenty four is 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:33.640 a better scorer than Shay and a better passer than Shay, 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:39.080 And so that was literally just my reasoning for putting 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:42.239 Luca in that position. A couple of things. Shay then 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:45.600 proved to be a better, more efficient score. Now we're 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:47.040 going to talk about this when we get to Shay 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:50.200 later on in the list, but Shay has been a 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:53.080 precipitous playoff dropper in his career as a scorer, and 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.120 that is something that I think is a relevant point 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.760 in this discussion. But when you factor in the fact 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:00.600 that Shay is a regular season player has asked Luca 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:03.560 as a scorer in terms of his ability to score efficiently, 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:07.679 factor in the turnovers, and then the fact that Shay 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:10.040 doesn't turn the basketball over, which is a huge value 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:12.400 add for him, it closed the gap there. Now the 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:16.280 question is is, like, do I think like the Luca 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.760 from March is capable of being better than Shae. Yeah, Like, 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:22.760 I think it's on the table this year. Spoiler alert, 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:24.840 Luca is not going to be over Shae on the 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:27.240 list this year. But do I think there's a universe 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:30.359 where Luca has a better season than Shaye this year? 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.600 Of course that's possible. I'm a huge believer in Luca's ceiling. 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:36.320 I only saw it for one month in a Lakers jersey. 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:38.480 I'm rooting for him. I didn't think he touched it 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:41.040 at all the first half season he played with the Lakers. 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:44.320 He didn't really touch it much last year for the 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:47.080 most part, But in that March stretch, I was like, 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:50.040 holy shit, this guy is good. So like, it's not 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.040 a question of whether or not I believe in Luca's ceiling. 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:54.360 I certainly do. That was why I put him over 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:57.920 Shae last year on the list. But Luca has shown 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:00.640 far less ability to be at an to stay at 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:03.120 his ceiling compared to Shay, and that that's where I 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:07.480 was really wrong. There two Ant at number five. Two 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:09.520 years in a row. I had Ant at number five, 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.520 and I think both times I had him too high. 0:04:12.640 --> 0:04:14.560 The first year I had him over Tatum. That ended 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:18.359 up being a mistake. Last year. Obviously Tatum wasn't in 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:21.000 the equation. You didn't even make my list because of 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:24.520 the Achilles injury, right, But I had him at five 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:26.880 because I thought he would take a leap ended up, 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:29.920 you know, cutting down some of his three point volume, 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:32.839 but it was it kind of led to an uneven 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.320 up and down season, ended up physically breaking down at 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:37.680 the end. Hasn't really developed as a process or the 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:40.479 way that i'd like. I remain a huge Anthony Edwards 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:44.919 fan and someone who's rooting for him, but the leap 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:48.080 that I'm expecting him to take as like a like 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:50.760 a real grown adult version of himself just as it 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.480 remains to be seen. And I think both years having 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.520 him at five was too high. Victor. I had Victor 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.960 at number seven, which again felt right going into last season. 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:02.640 I don't think anybody expected him to be as good 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:04.680 as he was last season, so I was wrong about that, 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:06.680 But I don't feel too bad about it because I 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:11.240 don't think anybody like Victor's threatening number one, and I 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:13.840 just don't know many people that had him threatening number 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:17.000 one exactly a year ago, So like shout out to Victor, 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:19.760 but I did have him too low at number seven. 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:22.080 I had Trey Young and Anthony Davis on the list. 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.800 Those guys ended up playing a combined thirty five games, 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:26.960 so that ended up hurting both of them in this 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:30.200 year's list. That was a big wrong for me. I 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:34.000 kid cunning him at number eighteen. Spoiler alert, He's going 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:36.680 to be way higher this year. Cad has impressed me 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:38.640 a ton over the course of the last year. That 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:41.000 ended up being too low for him. I had ja 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:44.239 Dubb over Jaylen Brown. I had j Dub at twenty 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.640 in Jaylen Brown at twenty one. Now, Jadub was coming 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:48.800 off of a finals where like he was great for 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:53.200 the final two rounds and had a forty point finals game. 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:58.400 And Jadub certainly had injury issues this year. But even 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:00.440 if you factor in the injury issues, which I don't 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:03.719 think any of us saw coming, I still think Jalen 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:07.760 Brown just like especially given the responsibility that was on 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:09.520 his plate. I just think he was. I think he 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:12.040 was and is a better basketball player than Jdeb Right now, 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:14.320 Do I think Jadub can become a better player than 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:16.640 Jaylen Brown, Yes, especially if he stays healthy. I heard 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:19.279 he's working out with Shay's trainer and doing some stuff 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:22.600 like that to kind of rebuild his body a little bit. 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:26.040 But certainly having him over Jalen Brown last year was 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.880 a mistake. And then lastly I had Evan Mobley one 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:30.920 spot over BAM and we had a whole debate about it, 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:34.200 and I was higher on MOBILEI. But the offensive development 0:06:34.240 --> 0:06:36.719 continues to not come around, and now he's actually threatening 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:39.320 to be kind of like BAM two point zero. And overall, 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:43.000 I just I like Bam a touch more as a 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:47.320 especially as a playoff player. Factoring in his size and strength, 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:49.800 I just think he's more physically resilient a little bit 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.520 better I think Bam. I just I've changed my mind 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.039 on that I had Mobiley barely over BAM. Now I 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:58.680 have BAM barely over Mobiley. So that's something that I'm 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:00.240 going to say I was wrong about because I have 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:02.680 since changed my mind. But again, honestly, I feel pretty 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:05.080 good about the rest of the list. Jokich. This is 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.640 the list for you guys at Jokich at one again. 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:09.640 I understand that most people aren't going to have him 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:11.200 at one this year. You guys will see where I 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.400 have him this year. But like I don't think any 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:15.760 player really has a great claim for number one, so 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:20.760 I don't think anybody could say, now, that's a terrible take. 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.880 I look at two, Shay at three, Yannis at four, 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.080 and it was five. Six was Steph Again. We didn't 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:29.960 know Steph was going to physically break down the way 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:33.120 that he did. Victor wemen Yama seven number eight. Lebron 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:35.440 certainly wasn't anywhere near that good in the regular season, 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:36.840 but I thought he was one of the ten best 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:40.400 playoff players last year. Jaylen Brunson at nine. He won't 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:41.800 be that low this year, but I thought that was 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:45.880 fair going into last season. Anthony Davis at ten, Kevin 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:48.680 Durant at eleven. I had Donovan Mitchell at twelve, Kawi 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:52.720 Leonard at thirteen, Joel Embiid at fourteen, Devin Booker at fifteen, 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:56.960 Jimmy Butler at sixteen, Pascal Siakam at seventeen, Cad Cunningham 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.760 at eighteen, Palo at nineteen, j Dubba at twenty, Jalen 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:03.239 Brown at twenty one, Evan Mobley at twenty two, Bam 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.080 at twenty three, Trey Young twenty four, and then Jamal 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:09.560 Murray twenty five, spoiler alert, Jamal Murray will be brought 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.119 up in today's video. But yeah, that's my quick little 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:20.440 rehashing of last year's ranking. Jason, I'm curious why Rudy 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:22.720 Gobaert didn't even make your top fifty. I understand the 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:26.080 offensive limitations, and then his defense isn't universally valuable against 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.720 all offenses. But I still struggle to find fifty players 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.240 that I'd rather have, even in less than ideal matchups. 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:33.160 He's still an elite defender and in the right scheme, 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:35.679 he's still a top five defensive anchor in basketball. He's 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:38.120 also an elite rebounder, underrated passer, in one of the 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:41.640 league's best screen setters alongside getting LaMelo Ball, I think 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:43.400 we could see a slight resurgence in him as a 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:45.840 lot threat. I totally agree. I know you said not 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.560 to overreact to his recent performance, but I thought I 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:50.439 thought the Joki series was a reminder of just how 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.440 impactful he still can be what ultimately kept him off 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:55.760 of your list. So this is why I love doing 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.439 these mailbags. You guys are all really smart basketball fans, 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:04.120 and you I really appreciate your perspective. I should have 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:08.600 had Rudy in my list of fifty one or fifty 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:10.640 I think it was fifty one players that I considered. 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:13.959 Whatever that number was, he should have been on that list. 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:16.880 I started to look back on my not my honorable mentions, 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:19.360 but my guys that just missed the cut for honorable mention, 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:22.079 and there were some guys on there like Zion Williamson 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:24.520 and Brandon Ingram and Jaron Jackson that I just think 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:28.480 Rudy Gobert might be better then, so he should have 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.800 made that list. There was just an oversight on my part. 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:33.559 You laid out your case perfectly. Totally agree that he 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:37.720 could see a resurgence offensively alongside LaMelo Ball this year. 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:40.640 I'm just a big believer in Rudy Gobert. I even 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:44.720 think when you're talking about like the defense that isn't 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:48.120 universally valuable against all offenses, I think that could be 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.400 said about any rim protecting center that gets stretched out. 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:52.880 I mean we saw it against the Knicks for Wemby, right, 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:54.439 So like, I just think Rudy is one of the 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:56.280 very best defenders in the league. Totally agree with you. 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:58.240 He should have made the list. You were right. Thank 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:01.520 you for breaking it down for our listeners truly interested 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:04.040 in why you didn't even consider Jamal Murray as a 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.360 top twenty five player yet his best season last year, 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.880 putting up twenty five point four points, four point four rebound, 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:11.720 seven point one assists on an insane forty eight percent 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:15.959 forty four percent eighty seven percent shooting splits carry Nuggets 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:19.600 team that was destroyed by injuries all year. Made third 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:21.400 team All NBA, and some analysts thought he should have 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:22.840 made second team. If you're going to rank an All 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:24.760 NBA player so low, I think there should be some 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.640 explanation or expecting a major regression next year or a 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:33.480 serious injury. I did the NBA analyst version of sticking 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:35.960 your neck out for Jamal Murray last year because I'm 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:37.760 just a big believer in him, and I'm a big 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:40.280 fan of Jamal Murray. And I put him at twenty five, 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:43.320 put him over James Harden, and I got shredded for 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:46.360 it online and all year in the regular season, I 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:48.840 was like, HHM, I was right about Jamal. You know, 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:50.760 looking at him, he's having this great season, best regular 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.480 season of his career, and then he threw up that 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:57.000 stinker in the first round series against Minnesota and I 0:10:57.040 --> 0:11:00.560 started to look back at the last few seasons, and 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:05.040 he's kind of been a big playoff dropper in a 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:08.520 way that is concerning to me compared to the way 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:11.640 I viewed him as a playoff player. So, for example, 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:13.839 after averaging twenty six points per game on fifty nine 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:16.440 percent for shooting in the twenty twenty three title run, 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:20.320 in his last three tight playoff runs, he's averaged just 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:22.840 twenty one point seven points per game on fifty one 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:25.920 percent for shooting, which is really really bad. And if 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:29.120 you take away, like he's done enough to kind of 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:34.760 like continue the reputation like big games here there, big 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:37.960 shots here there, like hit two game winners against the 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:40.240 Lakers in that first round series. I've said this before, 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:42.319 but like the Lakers were actually like this close to 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.400 the Nuggets that year. Just Jamal Murray just snatched their 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:48.280 soul in every game. The Lakers like literally led like 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:51.080 eighty percent of that series. For the record, I think 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:52.679 the Nuggets were a better team. I'm not trying to 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:55.000 say that the Lakers were better, but I just thought 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:56.760 that series was a lot closer than the four to 0:11:56.840 --> 0:12:01.000 one score. And again, Jamal Murray was the separating factor 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:02.720 there in a lot of ways, but like, if you 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:05.200 remove those game winners, like, it's been a lot of 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:08.600 mishots and a lot of like just him not looking 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:12.120 nearly as impactful on the playoff stage. And I again, 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:17.480 like I still believe in Jamal, I just can't in 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:20.720 my right mind as a got as you know, for 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:23.360 the purpose of this list talking about October through June, 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:25.440 I can't put him as high as I did last 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:27.800 year because now we have a larger sample size of 0:12:27.880 --> 0:12:30.000 him kind of going down a level when he gets 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:34.360 to the postseason. What's your argument for having ad outside 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:36.400 of the top thirty two. I understand the health concerns, 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:38.000 but for the most part the last year and a half, 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.400 he's been pretty much playing for tanking teams that had 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:42.319 every reason to keep him off the court for as 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:45.600 long as they could. Again, I'm a big believer in 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:49.560 AD when he's healthy, and I think there's a couple 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:53.280 of things. He's reached a point where he's so heavy 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:55.679 and so late in his career that I do actually 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.520 legitimately have issues about his concerns about his ability to 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:01.760 stay healthy. But two, once again, I think the best 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.280 indicator of future performance is past performance. And it's hard 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:06.520 for me to rely on past performance for Ad because 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:08.400 he's been such a non factor in the league for 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:11.000 the last two seasons, and that just puts him in 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:13.679 a situation where again, he made our list. He he 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:15.840 was outside of the top thirty two, but he made 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:18.360 our list. He's a guy that I certainly think, when 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:20.720 he's healthy and everything comes together, is capable of being 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:24.280 a deeply impactful player. But I just can't put him 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:28.319 high on these rankings when he's played so little over 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:30.000 the last two years. And again, you're right, it's not 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:32.360 all his fault. The tanking teams have been involved, but 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:35.040 he's also been hurt. And I'm curious to see, you know, 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.880 if he can kind of rehab his reputation this year. 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:39.600 But let's call it what it is. If Ad goes 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:42.000 out play seventy games this year and looks great, he 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:44.360 will be rehabbing his image. It's not like, oh, this 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.080 is just what he's been No, no, no, he will be 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.040 rehabbing his image if he's able to do that. This 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:54.000 season made it until twelve minutes, made it twelve minutes 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.199 until Jalen Johnson, who averaged twenty two to ten and 0:13:56.280 --> 0:13:57.920 eight at twenty four years old, is not even an 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:00.719 honorable mention. Won't listen to the rest. But no way 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:02.320 in the world he doesn't make their honorable mention for 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.160 Top twenty five. I'm gonna give whoever this is another 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:09.520 opportunity to send a message for next week's mail bag. 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:12.760 Tell me who you replace any honorable mention, right, Like 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:14.559 I certainly don't have to have him over any of 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:17.040 the top twenty five guys. But my honorable mentions are 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:19.160 Denny Avdia, who I view as one of the better 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.440 It just flat out a way better offensive player than 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:23.480 Jalen Johnson. And by the way, Jalen Johnson is just 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:29.080 like a bad defensive player. Jay Dubb who again had 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:33.360 a forty point Finals game, Evan Mobley, Pascal Siakam, the second 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:35.840 player on the finals team literally two years ago, Dylan 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:38.080 Harper you could argue he was this first second best 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.560 player in the NBA Finals this year, Steph Castle, who 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:42.880 is the guy who literally played Shay into one of 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:45.600 the worst playoff series for an MVP ever. And then 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:49.480 Pala Boncaro, like, who are you arguing Jalen Johnson over 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.760 in that list? Like I just I make the case 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:56.080 for me, Like I like Jalen Johnson, I believe in him. 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:58.080 There's certain things in his game that are starting to 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:01.000 turn around. I certainly think he has potential to be 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.360 a great. But like to me, I've always consistently been 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:07.760 a little bit lower than consensus on Jalen Johnson because 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:12.840 specifically his issues as a half court offensive initiator and 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:16.080 as a defensive player at large. Those are the two 0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:18.200 things that prevent me from getting as high on him 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:20.400 as his box score numbers would lead you to believe 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:22.800 in it. Box score is super impressive. But like again, 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.239 and I've told people to do this as an exercise, 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:27.480 write down your top twenty five. Just do it. Just 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:29.440 do it and see how hard it is. It's hard 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.800 because the talent in the league is insane. So yeah, 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:35.400 Jalen Johnson didn't make my top thirty two, but he 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:37.680 did make my lists. Of all the candidates we considered 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:40.080 for the top twenty five, I just couldn't argue I 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:42.000 can't make a case for Jalen over any of those 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:46.320 seven guys I just mentioned. Next question, I have a 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:48.320 hard time believing LaMelo Ball is not a top thirty 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:50.800 two player. I think he deserves an honorable mention at least. 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:52.400 I know he's not your favorite player to watch, but 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:54.360 I'm curious to know your reasoning for putting some of 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:56.040 these other guys ahead of him when he's one of 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.480 the best offensive engines in the league to do his elite playmaking. 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:00.760 I think this upcoming Tea Will season will change your 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:03.120 mind on him a bit of the show. So here's 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:05.760 the thing. I It's true that I'm not a huge 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.000 fan of LaMelo ball, but like I'm gonna be honest 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:11.760 with you, guys, Like I don't really have players that 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:15.680 I just decide I hate forever, Like it's it's not 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:17.440 like that, It's never been that serious to me. And 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.120 I also like, I don't know, like I don't know 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:22.640 these dudes as like human beings, and I don't feel 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:25.040 comfortable just like having like a personal vendetta against a 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.760 player that I don't haven't like sat down and spent 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:29.920 time with and understand who they are as people. You 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:31.760 have to have a pretty extensive track record of being 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:35.080 an asshole for me to really feel that way about 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:37.600 you as a basketball player. And you know, and there 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:40.040 have been players that have won me over over the years, 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:42.200 like I talked about it the other day with Dylan Brooks. 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:43.640 Like Dylan Brooks as a player I used to not 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:46.440 like because of several things that dirty plays, the attitude 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.840 and like, he's just won me over, right, Like I 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:51.120 grew up a Lebron fan. You don't think I had 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.440 my issues with Steph Now he's my second favorite player. 0:16:53.480 --> 0:16:57.520 Like I don't have any personal vendetta against LaMelo. Not 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.800 my favorite dude right now, but like I, I certainly 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:02.680 think it's possible that he has a great season with 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:05.880 the Timberwolves that changes my mind on him. Now, let's 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:09.040 dig into it a little bit. I've talked about before. 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:10.840 I do view him as one of the best offensive 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:14.800 engines in the NBA. We broke down in detail when 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:16.520 the trade went down and how I thought it was 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:18.320 going to be a bigger loss to Charlotte than they're 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:22.399 willing to admit. I want to actually bring in a 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:27.440 take from Zachlow, who obviously I think is the best 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:29.359 at what I do for a living. He's the very 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.040 best at it and someone that I look up to 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:32.639 a great deal. And it was a great honor to 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:35.920 be on his show during the Western Conference Finals last year. 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.119 Zachlow had a tweet right when LaMelo was traded that 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:42.520 I thought was really interesting, and I'm paraphrasing here, but 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.359 he basically said, like, I think the Hornets kind of 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.200 looked at LaMelo and thought, look at how physical these 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.800 defensive guards are in the playoffs. Look At what Steph 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:55.600 Castle's doing to Shagos Alexander, what lou Georg's doing, what 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:59.320 Cason Wallace is doing. The NBA playoffs are just a nasty, 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:03.040 physical environment. And LaMelo is like kind of an upright 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.879 skinny kind of like Lucy goosey dude, who certainly has 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:10.360 a ton of talent and is one of the most 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.320 impactful regular season players in the league, but like, do 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:16.080 we think he's good enough to be the guy that 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:19.679 can lead us through the trenches of physical playoff basketball 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:22.600 for four rounds? And zach Low is basically pontificating that 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:25.639 he thinks that was probably the reasoning behind Charlotte deciding 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:27.520 to move on from him, even more than anything having 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:30.920 to do with like his behavior for whatever you consider 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.639 that in this debate. And when I when I saw 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:35.920 Zach I think he tweeted that if I remember correctly, 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:37.679 it might have been it actually might have been a 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.800 podcast you know where they like kind of send out 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:44.240 a clip and pair like they you know, type out 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:46.560 what he said. But when I saw that, I was like, 0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:51.440 I wholeheartedly agree, Like I think like if even though 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:55.040 I believe in LaMelo's ability to create shots and why 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.399 I valued him greatly in what he did for Charlotte 0:18:57.480 --> 0:19:00.479 last year. The two things for me that him off 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:02.960 of my honorable mentions or one health He did have 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:06.240 a healthy season, but overwhelmingly in his career he struggled 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:08.159 to stay on the floor. That makes him for me, 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:11.760 a the furthest thing from a safe bet to be 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:14.120 able to navigate the season. And then secondly that piece 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:19.560