1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: The volume. All right, we'll go to Hoops today. You're 2 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: at the volume. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Hope all you guys 3 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,080 Speaker 1: are having a great week. We are continuing our player 4 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:25,119 Speaker 1: rankings today, moving into our top five and the final 5 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: player in our second tier, Superstar Tier number five, Anthony 6 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: Edward's going to be doing a deep dive on him 7 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: today at the tail end of the show. Today, I'm 8 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: going to go through every single player in this five 9 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: through fourteen group, the second tier of superstars, and for 10 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: the younger guys, I want to talk about what I 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: think their peak can be one day. And for the 12 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: older guys, I want to talk about what their peak was, 13 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 1: look at the specific stretch of their career, where they 14 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: were playing, the best basketball that they played, and where 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: they stacked up in the league at that point in time. 16 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: Should be a fun little exercise at the tail end 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: of the show, you guys, before we get started, to 18 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: subscribe to The Hoops and my YouTube channel so you 19 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,479 Speaker 1: don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter, 20 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: Underscore JCNLTS. You guys, don't miss sho announcements. Don't forget 21 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: about a podcast feed wherever you get your podcast. Unders 22 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:11,479 Speaker 1: Under hoops tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave 23 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: a rating and a review on that front. Jackson's doing 24 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 1: a great work on our social media feeds Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, 25 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: and TikTok. Make sure you guys follow us there and 26 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 1: the last but not at least keep dropping mail bag 27 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: questions in those YouTube comments. We'll get to him in 28 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: our Friday mail bags over the course of the remainder 29 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: of the offseason. All right, let's talk some basketball. So 30 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: it's funny because I put ants at number five last year, 31 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: and that was probably it was two things. It was 32 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: the pick that I got caught the most shit for, 33 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: and I would argue it was one of the bigger 34 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: mistakes that I made with that list. Again, the rankings 35 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: are supposed to predict who will be the most valuable 36 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: player in that coming season, and I thought Jason Tatum 37 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: in retrospect after watching last year, pretty clearly was the 38 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: fifth best player in the league. Last year, I thought, 39 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: at you know, in a lot of ways took a 40 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: big leap and many ways moved up the ladder, but 41 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: in the postseason in particular, continued to show some of 42 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: the flaws that you expect from a player. His age, 43 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,519 Speaker 1: which are going to do a lot of talking about today, 44 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: but in retrospect, that was one of my bigger mistakes 45 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: last year was putting ant up at five. It should 46 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: have been Jason Tatum. But as I look at this season, 47 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,359 Speaker 1: landed with antet number five, and I think it's the 48 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: right spot for him in this coming season. He's the 49 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: most reliable player in the league by a mile in 50 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: terms of availability, which we'll talk about in a minute. 51 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: He took a massive leap in both scoring volume and 52 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: efficiency last year. He's in a phase of his career 53 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: where we can expect substantial improvement year over year, and 54 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: I think in particular, his struggles against Oklahoma City were 55 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: very informative for him in his player development. Again, we're 56 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: going to spend a good amount of time talking about 57 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: that today. I think his playoff shortcomings are a little 58 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 1: overstated because he's basically been amazing outside of the two 59 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: Western Conference final series, and he's basically just struggling with 60 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: the highest levels of playoff basketball right now, which is 61 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: pretty typical for a superstar in his early twenties. The 62 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,679 Speaker 1: way that Anthony Edwards is so like those shortcomings made 63 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 1: it a close call for me. Was Steph, but I 64 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: ended up landing on Ant at the number five spot, 65 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: and I feel pretty good about it this year. I 66 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: was a year two early with it last year, but 67 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: I think this is where he falls in the league's 68 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: hierarchy at this point in time. Let's look at last 69 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: season in review, seventy nine games played for Anthony Edwards. 70 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: He's played in seventy nine games three years in a row. 71 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: He's played in at least seventy games every season of 72 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: his career. This is a crazy stat. Here's a list 73 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: of players who missed more games just last season that 74 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards has missed in the last three seasons combined. 75 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: Excuse me, ah, I am under selling this. Here's a 76 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: list of players who missed more games last season, just 77 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: last season, that Anthony Edwards has missed in his entire career. Luka, Doncic, Tyrese, 78 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: Maxi Palla, Boncaro LaMelo, Ball, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Zion Williamson, 79 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: Cam Thomas, Joel Embiid, John Morant, Brandon Ingram Kawhi, Leonard, 80 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: Brandon Miller, Chris tops Porzingis, Lori, Markinen, John Collins, Jalen Johnson, 81 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:19,480 Speaker 1: Jayden Ivy Dejohon, Tay Murray, Emmanuel Quickly, Paul George, Jordan Clarkson, 82 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 1: Jalen Suggs, Jared McCain, Jonathan gaminga, Mark Williams, chet Holmgren, 83 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: Aaron Gordon, Jeremy Grant, DeAndre Ayden, Aaron Nee Smith, Chris Middleton, 84 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: and Herb Jones. Every single one of those dudes miss 85 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,479 Speaker 1: more games just last season that Anthony Edwards has missed 86 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: in his entire career, and he's never missed a playoff game. 87 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: So to put it very simply, he is by far 88 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: the most dependable night to night superstar in the NBA 89 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: right now. He reminds me of a young Lebron in 90 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: the sense that, like you'll see him turn the shit 91 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: out of his ankle and you'll be watching the TV 92 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: thinking there's no way he's gonna be good to keep playing, 93 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: and then he's ripping through the defense to the rim 94 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: like ninety seconds later. It's a big upside for him 95 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: on a list like this, Like we can talk about 96 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards's ceiling and we're certainly going to today, but 97 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: he is by far the most likely player in the 98 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: league to at least be at or near his ceiling 99 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 1: every night from October to late May or June, and 100 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: that's a big feather in his cap on a list 101 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 1: like this. Ended up being the major differentiator for me, 102 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: especially with that debate, was Steph, who I think is 103 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: a better basketball player in the small sample still to 104 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: this day. His averages last year in seventy nine games 105 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:35,600 Speaker 1: twenty eight points per game, six rebounds, and five assists 106 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: with one point eight stocks, forty five percent from the field, 107 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 1: forty percent from three to eighty four percent from the line, 108 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 1: massive increase in his three point volume last year. One 109 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: of the things that I did predict correctly with Aunt 110 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: last summer was that his newfound shooting stroke was real, 111 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: and I predicted that he would shoot well that season, 112 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,799 Speaker 1: and he did. He just leaned into it almost comically. 113 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 1: So with just the sheer amount of volume of three 114 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: point shots that he was putting up, he was one 115 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:02,840 Speaker 1: of the top three to three point shooters in the 116 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,280 Speaker 1: league last year. He was number one in makes if 117 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: you were to include shot quality, volume efficiency. There were 118 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: three guys who really separated themselves from the pack as 119 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: three point shooters last year Steph Curry, Malik Beasley and 120 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards. I would argue that Steph was the most 121 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: impressive three point shooter last year, especially considering quality. I 122 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: put Ant second in Malik Beasley third. So I thought 123 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: Ant was the second most impressive three point shooter in 124 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: the entire NBA last year. There's a big leap forward 125 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: for him in that very specific regard. That came with 126 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:42,919 Speaker 1: both upsides and downsides. Again, with the upsides and the downsides, 127 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: they both fell in line with my basketball worldview. He 128 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 1: gained in the form of large sample efficiency. This is 129 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: a concept we've talked about a ton on this show. 130 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: High volume three point shooting. Leaning your into that shot profile, 131 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: you will gain in the form of large sample efficiency. 132 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,840 Speaker 1: Very rarely well you see a player massively increase their 133 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: scoring volume, all simultaneously increasing their efficiency, and Ant did. 134 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: And the reason why is because of his three point volume. 135 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: He went from twenty six points per game to a 136 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: twenty eight points per game, and he logged from he 137 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: went from fifty eight percent through shooting to sixty percent 138 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: your shooting. So a substantial increase in volume and a 139 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: substantial increase in efficiency because of that increase in three 140 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: point volume. Again, when you tilt your volume, your shot 141 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 1: profile towards three point line. There is a lot to 142 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: gain in large sample efficiency. But as I always say, 143 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: skewing heavily towards three point shooting makes you highly susceptible 144 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: to variants. And in the Thunder series in particular, Ant 145 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: had three duds. He had a one for nine from 146 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: three game, and he had two to one for seven 147 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: from three games, and the Wolves lost all three of 148 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: those games. In fact, if you looked, you kind of 149 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: zoomed out from the Wolves in their postseason run last year. 150 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: There is a pretty clear correlation between his three point 151 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: shooting and his team winning. When he shot over forty 152 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: percent from three in the playoffs last year, they went 153 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 1: seven to zero, and when he shot below thirty percent 154 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: from three, they went one for five, one in five. 155 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,679 Speaker 1: Excuse me. I think it would really benefit from better 156 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: balance in his approach, and we'll talk more about that later, 157 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: especially when we do a deep dive into OKC series. 158 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: But one of the things that I'm counting on here 159 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: for man is I do think he learned his lesson there. 160 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,200 Speaker 1: I do think we'll see more balance enhanced shot profile 161 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:35,959 Speaker 1: next season. Now let's look at the play type data. 162 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,079 Speaker 1: He was an excellent pick and roll player. Last year, 163 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: he ran over twelve hundred of him and got one 164 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: point zero seven points per possession including passes. That was 165 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: in the eighty first percentile. Being over one thousand reps 166 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: puts you onto our high volume list as we go 167 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 1: over every summer. He ranked seventh out of the thirteen 168 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: players in the NBA last year to run at least 169 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: one thousand pick and rolls. For Guy in his early twenties, 170 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: big accomplishment for him. He shot extremely well of pick 171 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 1: and roll. He was forty percent on pull up threes 172 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: out of ball screens on massive volume. Trey Young was 173 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: the only NBA player last year to hit more threes 174 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: out of pick and roll than Ant did, and Ant 175 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,679 Speaker 1: was the only player in the NBA to attempt at 176 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,680 Speaker 1: least two hundred pull up threes in ball screens and 177 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: to make at least forty percent of them. That's obviously 178 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: going to drive up his pick and roll scoring efficiency. 179 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: Then he has a really good floater. He only takes 180 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: about once a game, but he made forty nine percent 181 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: of his floaters last year. Gets nice and close to 182 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: the basket, uses it as a deceleration move. He'll get 183 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 1: like downhill into the defender's chest and then he'll like 184 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,839 Speaker 1: sidestep into a little floater that allows him to shoot 185 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: before getting to the rim protector, which has been vitally 186 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 1: important for him in some of the spacing issues that 187 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: they've dealt with with Gobert really impressive scoring in the 188 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: ball screen situations. We're going to talk a little bit 189 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,079 Speaker 1: about Ant as a playmaker today, but the truth of 190 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: the matter is he's very very much a traditional score archetype. 191 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: Self awareness is key. Understand who you are when it 192 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 1: comes to that top tier of playmaking. That's almost always 193 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: something that you're born with. That's like a natural kind 194 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: of like processing thing. With the way you see the floor. 195 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 1: That's not a death sentence. There are a lot of 196 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: guys in NBA history who have been great as primarily scorers. 197 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,199 Speaker 1: You know, we were talking about that with Kevin Durant 198 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 1: the other day. The other day. Michael Jordan is a example. 199 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: That's why Ant gets kind of compared to him a lot. 200 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,839 Speaker 1: But like for An, it's not about becoming some surgical playmaker. 201 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: It's just about making the necessary strides to be good 202 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: enough at it right. He'll make nice driving kick reads 203 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,199 Speaker 1: in ball screens, you'll see him elevate and rifle and 204 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: opposite corner pass Jaden McDaniels for a good look. He 205 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 1: has become a more willing passer over the years, but 206 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: he's very much a reactionary passer. He's not going to 207 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: anticipate things and pass people open. He's going to see 208 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:00,560 Speaker 1: openings and throw the ball reacting to the defense reacting 209 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: to him. And that's fine because I think I think 210 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: he has the potential to be a true like a 211 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,040 Speaker 1: APEX scorer in this league. And I also think he 212 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: has the chance to be an all defense level two 213 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: way player that is enough to make him a top 214 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,679 Speaker 1: tier superstar one day. He just needs to become more 215 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: surgically reliable as a scorer the way a guy like 216 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: Shay Gilsis Alexander is, and he'll need to reach that 217 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: all defense level, which we'll get more into in a 218 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 1: little bit. His one on one stuff wasn't great last year, 219 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: and this is where I think the three point shooting 220 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 1: really came back to bite him. He ran six hundred 221 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: and thirty six ISOs and post ups last year, including passes, 222 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: and got just zero point nine to one points per possession, 223 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,760 Speaker 1: not good. I just think this comes down to a 224 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: combination of two things. One the go Beart problem. Just 225 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,840 Speaker 1: in general, in ISO situations, you're not getting the benefit 226 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: of Gobert as a screener. You're getting Gobert in the 227 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: dunker spot. And it's not a particularly good lob passer. 228 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: Gobert's particularly good lob finisher. It just creates some spacing 229 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: issues there. The second piece of it is just an't 230 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 1: bailed on the mid range shot. An shot fine on 231 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 1: pull up threes in ISO shot thirty eight percent. Not 232 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: as well as he did in other areas as a 233 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: three point shooter, but that's enough to like. Thirty eight 234 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,599 Speaker 1: percent from three is like I was. I had a 235 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: comment on the Lebron video where someone was like, why 236 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 1: did he say thirty six percent is good on pull 237 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: up threes in ball screens? Thirty six percent on threes 238 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,680 Speaker 1: in ball screens is fine. That's well over a point 239 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 1: per possession. Thirty six percent on pull up twos is bad. 240 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: You would be correct about that, But when it comes 241 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: to pull up twos, you want to be in the 242 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: high forties at a minimum. But when it comes to 243 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: pull up threes, as long as you're over thirty five percent. 244 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: You're getting enough points per shot out of it that 245 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 1: it's a good shot. An shot thirty eight percent on 246 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: pull up threes out of ISO, that's fine. The problem 247 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: is he shot just forty one percent on twos out 248 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: of ISO and just thirty one percent out of the post. 249 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: Now again, like we talked about the spacing piece, but 250 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: the second piece of it is and just bailed on 251 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: the mid range shot. This year, we are extremely excited 252 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,959 Speaker 1: to announce our new presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet. 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If you are someone you know has a 277 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 1: gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred and 278 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: nine with it gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler 279 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia. 280 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty four, so the year before last, and 281 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: had built out a pretty robust set of like short 282 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: fades over both shoulders little step back moves and you 283 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: just generally leaned on his short range scoring way more. 284 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 1: He ran five one hundred and seventy one to one 285 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: on ones that year and got one point zero three 286 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 1: points per possession, which is really solid one on one 287 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 1: work on substantially higher mid range volume, substantially higher post 288 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: up volume. That's a part of his game that he 289 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: just let go. And what that's what really concerns me 290 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: about what happened last year. It shows a lack of 291 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: emphasis on that part of his game. I want Aunt 292 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: to emphasize that as part of his development moving forward, 293 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: so that he's just more rounded. In twenty twenty four, 294 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: Aunt attempted to shoot out of the post sixty eight 295 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: times last year. That dropped it just thirty five times. 296 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: He posted up seven times total in this year's playoff run. 297 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: He did so twenty seven times two years ago, and 298 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 1: guess what, he got one point nine points per possession 299 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: out of the post. So he posted up to devastating 300 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: effect in the twenty twenty four playoff run like twice 301 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: a game and literally went down to doing it like 302 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: once every other game. That's abandoning a super efficient play 303 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: type that is just about proven to be more impactful 304 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,480 Speaker 1: in the postseason because of the physicality than high volume 305 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: three point shooting is. Looking at short range jump shooting. 306 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty four, attempted two hundred and ten jump 307 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: shots inside his seventeen feet. In twenty twenty five, that 308 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: dropped to one hundred and thirty six, almost half, and 309 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 1: it especially showed in the playoffs. He took forty of 310 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 1: those short twos in the twenty twenty four Western Conference 311 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: Finals run. He made twenty one of them. That's fifty 312 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: three percent. That's one point zero five points per shot. 313 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: He was getting great success out of mid range jump 314 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 1: shooting and post ups in that playoff runt, physical aggression, 315 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 1: using his athleticism to get more consistent shot making closer 316 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: to the rings him. He went from forty down to 317 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:06,959 Speaker 1: just sixteen of those in this most recent playoff run. So, 318 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: in other words, despite making real progress as a short 319 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: range scorer and getting real reliable results in that twenty 320 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: twenty four playoff run, and bailed on it in the 321 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 1: name of large sample efficiency in the form of high 322 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:28,840 Speaker 1: volume three point shooting. I thought this difference in philosophies 323 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 1: was especially glaring in the Western Conference final series against 324 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: Oklahoma City this year. To elite defenses going at each other, yeah, 325 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: did in like Minnesota's game plan picking up shape, you 326 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: know at half court. That was something that I think 327 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,119 Speaker 1: it's more harm than good. But to elite defense is 328 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:47,880 Speaker 1: going at each other two very different types of scorers. 329 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:54,440 Speaker 1: Shay was able to get these consistent bits of short 330 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 1: range shot making that carried him in that series, and 331 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 1: he bolstered it with thebility to get to the foul line. Ant, 332 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: on the other hand, at several ice cold nights from three, 333 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 1: and he's not as good at getting to the line. 334 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 1: As a result, Sga was able to score more effectively 335 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: and I was digging into the numbers. The difference was 336 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:21,879 Speaker 1: almost entirely short range scoring and free throws. So Shae 337 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,399 Speaker 1: badly outscored Ant in that series. He had one hundred 338 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:26,920 Speaker 1: and fifty seven points to Ant having just one hundred 339 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: and fifteen. It's a forty two point gap over the 340 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 1: course of the series. Excuse me, a yeah, forty two 341 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:36,880 Speaker 1: point gap. That's massive, and it was almost entirely made 342 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: up of short range scoring and free throws. Shay made 343 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: twenty nine twos outside of the restricted area. It made 344 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: forty four free throws. That's one hundred and two points 345 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: right there. Ant made fourteen twos outside of the restricted area, 346 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 1: so less than half as many, and just twenty two 347 00:18:55,920 --> 00:19:00,960 Speaker 1: free throws half as many. That's fifty points. That oneh 348 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: two to fifty gap. That was literally the difference between 349 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,919 Speaker 1: the two of them as scorers in that series. Ants 350 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 1: game built on three point shooting failed him. SGA's game 351 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 1: built on short range scoring and the ability to get 352 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:20,879 Speaker 1: to the line that did not fail him. That's the 353 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:23,399 Speaker 1: change in approach that we need to see from Aunt 354 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:25,960 Speaker 1: in order for him to jump from that second tier 355 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 1: of stars into that first tier of stars. Again, like 356 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:33,439 Speaker 1: we talked about earlier, Step one, self awareness, acknowledge the 357 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,959 Speaker 1: type of player that you are. Aunt is never going 358 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 1: to be the type of dude who averages tennis sists 359 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: per game. A good portion of that playmaking talent is 360 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: what you're born with. I think that Aunt certainly could 361 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 1: be a guy who you know, in his early thirties 362 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: is around seven eight assists per game just because he 363 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: becomes super experienced at making the reads all the time. 364 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 1: But I don't see him getting into that APEX play tier. 365 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,960 Speaker 1: So APEX as a player is basically best scorer in 366 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:09,199 Speaker 1: the league, dominant perimeter defender, the Michael Jordan archetype that 367 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:14,119 Speaker 1: is his path. So step two is identifying this flaw 368 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 1: in his approach, and I do believe that Aunt will. 369 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 1: I think we're going to see a massive increase in 370 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,160 Speaker 1: Ant in short range scoring this year as soon as 371 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:28,199 Speaker 1: this season, at the expense of large sample efficiency. Like 372 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,679 Speaker 1: I am fine with Ant dropping a little bit in 373 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:36,080 Speaker 1: his true shooting percentage this year, his post up volume 374 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 1: needs a skyrocket. I think he needs to lead the 375 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 1: league and guard post ups this year. He's built like 376 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: an am tank and it's going to be something he 377 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 1: can lean on in the postseason. Two, he needs to 378 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: emphasize short range shot making in his ISOs. Work guys 379 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 1: down closer ten feet from the basket, build out those 380 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:58,639 Speaker 1: short step backs both directions, turn around over your right shoulder, 381 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,320 Speaker 1: turn around over your left shoulder, maybe a left shoulder hook. 382 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,400 Speaker 1: The advanced footwork like step throughs, things like that short 383 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: range scoring, and then lastly the foul drifting. I may 384 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: hate that shit, Aunt strikes me as the type of 385 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: dude who probably hates that shit too, But if you 386 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: could figure out a way to get to the line, 387 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 1: maybe one more time per half, like maybe just adding 388 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 1: pump fakes out of the post or taking some more 389 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,399 Speaker 1: aggressive driving angles to get into defender's chests forcing the 390 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: reft to blow the whistle. But if you could find 391 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: a way to get a couple extra free throw attempts 392 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: per game, I think that would go a long way 393 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 1: as well. This is where Aunt actually has the capability 394 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: of one day surpassing a guy like Shake Gildas Alexander. 395 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: Those are you guys who've been following the show for 396 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:44,639 Speaker 1: a while, might remember I got into a debate with 397 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 1: the nerd Sess guys years ago, it's like two or 398 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 1: three years ago about who had a higher potential ceiling 399 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: between Aunt and SGA. And the truth is Aunt does 400 00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: have more potential. He has to earn it to actually 401 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 1: get there. But his size, strength, and athleticism is an 402 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 1: absurd tool. He's built like an absolute truck, and he 403 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: has the potential to build out a bully ball game 404 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: that SGA could never build out. He has a quicker 405 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:20,160 Speaker 1: first step, He's far more explosive at the rim. Vertically, 406 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: Ant has the potential to be a much better defender, 407 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:28,639 Speaker 1: But right now, SGA is better than him at all 408 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:33,240 Speaker 1: those things. Sga is a far more polished post player 409 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:37,119 Speaker 1: right now. He's better at using change of pace and 410 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:39,400 Speaker 1: counter moves to get all the way to the rim, 411 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: so he gets to the rim more often and finishes 412 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: at a higher percentage when he gets there. He's a 413 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:46,920 Speaker 1: better brim finisher, he's better at drawing fouls when he 414 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:50,920 Speaker 1: gets there. And even though Ant has all this defensive potential, 415 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,880 Speaker 1: Shay is a better defender than him right now. He's 416 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: more attentive off the ball. Ant would certainly be better 417 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: than SGA one on one playing on an island, but 418 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: who's stupid enough to attack Ant one on one? You 419 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: run him through screens where he can struggle to navigate screens, 420 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,360 Speaker 1: and you take advantage of his lack of attention off 421 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: the ball. I think Ant has all world defensive potential, 422 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 1: but right now, Shay is the more useful off ball 423 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: defender because he's got good length and he's always in 424 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: the right spot he plays it, pays attention to the 425 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: defensive scheme and where he's supposed to be, and that 426 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 1: makes him a more useful defender, a more complete defender 427 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 1: right now. Now. None of that is a death sentence 428 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:38,679 Speaker 1: for this rivalry. Shay is a solid three years older 429 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: than Ant, and if you actually compare the season Ant 430 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: just had to a season from SGA three years ago, 431 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,199 Speaker 1: Aunt is actually considerably better than SGA was at that 432 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 1: point in time. So Ant is technically ahead of schedule, 433 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 1: but he's got a long way to go. SGA made 434 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: massive leaps in those three years. He's an It's got 435 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,679 Speaker 1: his work cut out for him. I get super excited 436 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 1: about Ant because I think his potential is preposterous. We 437 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: talked a second ago about how Ant's defensive talent hasn't 438 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: really had high level impact yet, but he has the 439 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:19,000 Speaker 1: potential to be like a game breaking defender. He could 440 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:21,080 Speaker 1: easily become one of the two or three best perimeter 441 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: defenders in the entire NBA if he just got better 442 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,600 Speaker 1: at navigating screens and he's got the quickness to do 443 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: it and the strength to do it. He has the 444 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:35,119 Speaker 1: strength to switch onto bigger forwards and switches, and he 445 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: is ridiculous weak side potential jumping passing lanes and protecting 446 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: the rim if he can just become more attentive and 447 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: smarter in the game plan. So I absolutely think it 448 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,920 Speaker 1: could be an all defense level player. That's not really 449 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: in the cards for a guy like SGA, in my opinion, 450 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: and he's quite literally just barely scratching the surface of 451 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 1: his offensive potential. This feels crazy to say, considering he 452 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 1: just averaged twenty eight points per game on sixty percent 453 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 1: for shooting for a full season. When he starts to 454 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: master like timing on his drives and change of pace 455 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,240 Speaker 1: and just getting a little bit more methodical with the 456 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 1: way he attacks the basket, when he becomes a master 457 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 1: short range score, which I think is in his future, 458 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: when he goes up just that little bit of an 459 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,160 Speaker 1: extra level as a playmaker just from making the same 460 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: reads thousands of times, when he starts to figure out 461 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,159 Speaker 1: how to get defenders out of position to draw that 462 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,920 Speaker 1: extra couple of fouls per game. He's got a long 463 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:37,160 Speaker 1: way to go, But I think Aunt legitimately has best 464 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 1: player in the world potential. I'm not sure SGA has 465 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:48,080 Speaker 1: that he has the physical talent to be an indomitable, 466 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: too way force in the playmaking talent, Like, when you're 467 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:57,600 Speaker 1: looking at these guys in this tier, you have got 468 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: to be really, really great at multiple things to be 469 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:09,400 Speaker 1: the best player in the world. Shay is transcendently great 470 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: as a score which is enough to move him into 471 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: this top tier, but he doesn't have the defensive talent 472 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: to be like extremely good on the defensive end, and 473 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,360 Speaker 1: he doesn't have the playmaking talent to be extremely good 474 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: as a playmaker. I think you need to check two 475 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: of those boxes to enter into that conversation with like Jokish, 476 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,600 Speaker 1: who is a transcendently great scorer and a transcendently great 477 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 1: playmaker and has the ability to check multiple boxes. One day, 478 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 1: I think he could be a transcendently good scorer and 479 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,159 Speaker 1: a transcendently good defender. That is the pathway to him 480 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: becoming the best player in the world. I want to 481 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,679 Speaker 1: be very clear, I'm just talking about potential. There is 482 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,040 Speaker 1: a I would argue it's more likely than not that 483 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: Ant kind of ends up as just another guy in 484 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: the top tier for the majority of his career, But 485 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: that potential is there. It's going to take obsessive competitiveness, 486 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: obsessive work behind the scenes, dedication, and willingness to do 487 00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: the dirty work. But I do think Ant has all 488 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,159 Speaker 1: world potential, the ability to be remembered as one of 489 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: the guys who took the title of the best player 490 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: in the world at some point in time, and has 491 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:27,399 Speaker 1: the potential in the meantime. I think number five is 492 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: a bet, a safe bet for Ant In this coming season. 493 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:33,719 Speaker 1: He's gonna play at least seventy five games. He's going 494 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: to average at least twenty eight points per game on 495 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: at least fifty eight percent through shooting, assuming he cuts 496 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 1: down on his three point volume a little bit, I 497 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,919 Speaker 1: expect him to invest more in short range scoring. I 498 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: think he did learn his lesson after last year, and 499 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:50,440 Speaker 1: I don't think it would be a bad trade off 500 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,200 Speaker 1: if he lost a little bit of that regular season efficiency, 501 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:57,320 Speaker 1: but he became a more reliable playoff score And again, 502 00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,840 Speaker 1: like everything, I'm grading him on a curve here. When 503 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:01,560 Speaker 1: I talk about best player in the world, I mean 504 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:05,800 Speaker 1: he's played forty two playoff games, made two Western Conference 505 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 1: Finals run, and he is a career twenty seven points 506 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,399 Speaker 1: per game on fifty nine percenter shooting in the playoffs. 507 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:18,240 Speaker 1: That's the guy that we've all nitpicked into oblivion. Ant 508 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 1: is in the unfortunate position of being a player in 509 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,639 Speaker 1: his early twenties who is consistently making deep playoff runs 510 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:31,160 Speaker 1: and consistently facing off with experienced superstars, and those dudes 511 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: outplay him. This is causing everyone to hyper focus on 512 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 1: his flaws, but when the reality is he's crushing it 513 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: for a guy his age. In the meantime, I have 514 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: a ranked at number five, but I am really curious 515 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:47,240 Speaker 1: to see if he can actually capitalize on that all 516 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:51,160 Speaker 1: world potential. All right, now that we're done with our 517 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,360 Speaker 1: second tier of superstars, I wanted to take some time 518 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 1: to look back at this grouping talk about what their 519 00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 1: absolute peaks were, or for the younger guys, what their 520 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:07,200 Speaker 1: actual peaks could be. I'm gonna start at number fourteen 521 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:09,520 Speaker 1: and work our way up the list. So number fourteen 522 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: Joel Embiid. I actually had a hard time with this one. 523 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:15,920 Speaker 1: I settled on the twenty twenty one season. I understand 524 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: that he won the MVP in twenty twenty three and 525 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: put up all those crazy scoring numbers, but that was 526 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 1: a phase of his career where he was super banged 527 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 1: up and he really struggled to get through seasons healthy 528 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:25,760 Speaker 1: and he just wasn't very good when he would get 529 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,600 Speaker 1: to the playoffs every year all banged up. In twenty 530 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: twenty one, that was really the only year where he 531 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: played multiple playoff rounds and didn't experience any sort of 532 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 1: substantial drop off in his scoring or efficiency in the 533 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:42,800 Speaker 1: postseason compared to the regular season. In the twenty twenty 534 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 1: one regular season and Beat averaged twenty nine points and 535 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 1: eleven rebounds eleven rebounds on sixty four percent through shooting. 536 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: In the playoffs, he averaged twenty eight points eleven rebounds 537 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:56,000 Speaker 1: on sixty three percent through shooting. He had some turnover issues, 538 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 1: especially at the end of the Hawk series, but if 539 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 1: you guys remember that was the series where Ben's Simmons 540 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: like just completely shit the bed and they probably advanced 541 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: to the conference finals and have a great shot to 542 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:08,640 Speaker 1: win the title if they get a better performance out 543 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: of Ben Simmons in that series. I think at that 544 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:16,520 Speaker 1: point in time, even including the playoffs, you would have 545 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:18,920 Speaker 1: to consider Embiid in that top five, like he was 546 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 1: a consensus top five player at that point in time. 547 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: He had some best player in the World buzz in 548 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: later years, like when he was competing for MVPs, but 549 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 1: mostly from a regular season box score standpoint, and a 550 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: lot of like Philadelphia seventy six ers fans, a lot 551 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: of basketball people understood at that point that Embid was 552 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: too physically beat up and too inconsistent as a playoff 553 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,600 Speaker 1: performer to actually be considered as one of the top 554 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: guys back in twenty twenty one. I think that was 555 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:48,840 Speaker 1: the year where you look at him as a consensus 556 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:52,440 Speaker 1: top five guy. Unfortunately, I think that will end up 557 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 1: being Embiid's peak. I don't think he'll ever be able 558 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: to get back to that level again with his knee troubles. 559 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:00,920 Speaker 1: Number thirteen Kawhi Leonard, I think the answer to this 560 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,960 Speaker 1: one is pretty clearly twenty nineteen. I think he hit 561 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: higher levels as a basketball player later on, but he 562 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 1: was unable to sustain them because of his knee troubles. 563 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,240 Speaker 1: Like if you wanted to pick like a very small 564 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: window for a peak, I would look at his two 565 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: playoff runs in twenty twenty one and twenty twenty three 566 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,680 Speaker 1: before he got hurt both years. In those thirteen playoff games, 567 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:23,560 Speaker 1: he was like Robot Kawhi at his finest thirty one points, 568 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,560 Speaker 1: eight rebounds, and five assists per game on fifty seven 569 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:29,440 Speaker 1: percent from the field, forty two percent from three to 570 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,520 Speaker 1: eighty eight percent from line, with two point one steals 571 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 1: per game. That's probably the highest individual peak he reached, 572 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,280 Speaker 1: but thirteen games isn't enough to qualify for something like this. 573 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: I think twenty nineteen was like that mind body skill 574 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 1: peak for Kawhi Leonard. He wasn't quite as good as 575 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:47,960 Speaker 1: he was in later years, but he was actually healthy 576 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,680 Speaker 1: enough to sustain it. He aver hised twenty seven points 577 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 1: and seven rebounds on sixty one percent true shooting in 578 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 1: sixty regular season games. He played in all their playoff 579 00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: games that year, he averaged thirty one points and nine 580 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,160 Speaker 1: rebounds on sixty two percent tro shooting. In the playoffs, 581 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:05,920 Speaker 1: he hit all sorts of iconic shots on his way 582 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,080 Speaker 1: to a finals MVP for an awesome Raptors team and 583 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 1: hoisted the trophy. I think at this point in time, 584 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: he was the clear fourth best player in the world, 585 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: behind Lebron Stephan kd. Now, if you want to argue 586 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 1: Kawhi second because KDE and Lebron were both hurt that year, 587 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: sure go ahead, But I mean Lebron literally went right 588 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,600 Speaker 1: back the next year, whipped Kawai's ass and was clearly 589 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 1: the best player alive and won the title. So I 590 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:31,840 Speaker 1: don't I think that was more injury related, And then 591 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:35,360 Speaker 1: I would argue that Kawhi's ceiling has been higher than 592 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,719 Speaker 1: Kd's ceiling post Kd's Achilles tear. But I thought healthy 593 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,320 Speaker 1: KD in twenty nineteen was still a better player than 594 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard at that point in time. So I think 595 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: like Kawhi peaked as like the fourth best everyone's healthy 596 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:54,080 Speaker 1: player in the world during that particular season. Number twelve 597 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell. I think we're actually at Donovan Mitchell's peak 598 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 1: right now. More or less, that's the peak of his 599 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 1: mind body skill connection. Like we talked about earlier, he 600 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:05,840 Speaker 1: might not be putting up the same numbers he did 601 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:07,480 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty three, but I think he's a much 602 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:09,680 Speaker 1: better game manager now, and he's a better defender now 603 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 1: than he was there towards the end with the Jazz, 604 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: and he just put together a monster playoff run this 605 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:18,720 Speaker 1: last season. I do think this is the highest Donovan 606 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: Mitchell will ever get. I'm not gonna say that he 607 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,680 Speaker 1: can't move up. I just don't necessarily think he will. 608 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:27,240 Speaker 1: He relies very heavily on his athletic advantages at this 609 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:29,240 Speaker 1: point in his career, but he's about to turn twenty 610 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:32,080 Speaker 1: nine years old. I think he may plateau here for 611 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 1: a couple of years, but I would be surprised if 612 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,080 Speaker 1: he ever moved up substantially, like I'd be surprised if 613 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:38,960 Speaker 1: we were ever talking about Donovan Mitchell as the fifth 614 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 1: best player in the world. I think this is more 615 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 1: or less the peak for him. But I don't don't 616 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 1: get hung up on the number twelve thing. Like the 617 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,720 Speaker 1: league is super deep with talent. The bottom line is 618 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,080 Speaker 1: this year I considered him to be on the same 619 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 1: level as the second tier superstars in this league, which 620 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:56,920 Speaker 1: I think is an amazing accomplishment, especially for a guy 621 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:01,640 Speaker 1: who was a thirteenth pick, number eleven. Kevin Durants, I 622 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,880 Speaker 1: think his peak was twenty eighteen. The numbers weren't super 623 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:06,719 Speaker 1: impressive because of the fact that he was playing on 624 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: the most talented roster ever assembled, but they were impressive nonetheless. 625 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:12,800 Speaker 1: Twenty six points, seven rebounds on five assists on sixty 626 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:16,280 Speaker 1: four percent shooting, a career high one point eight blocks 627 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 1: per game that year in the playoff run, twenty nine 628 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,719 Speaker 1: eight and five on sixty one percent tr shooting, culminating 629 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:25,359 Speaker 1: in what I thought was the best game he ever 630 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,399 Speaker 1: played in one of the best individual games I've ever 631 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: seen any NBA player in the history of the league. 632 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:35,560 Speaker 1: Game three of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 633 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:37,760 Speaker 1: That was a game if you guys remember Stephan Clay 634 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:41,200 Speaker 1: both went completely ice cold and basically no showed the game, 635 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:44,960 Speaker 1: and Katie went for forty three points, thirteen rebounds, and 636 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,640 Speaker 1: seven assists on fifteen for twenty three from the field 637 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:51,160 Speaker 1: in six for nine from three, and the box score 638 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:54,560 Speaker 1: doesn't really tell the full story. I thought he was 639 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,920 Speaker 1: masterful from start to finish. I thought he completely controlled 640 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,319 Speaker 1: the flow of the game. He hit the dagger over 641 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,759 Speaker 1: Lebron to end that game with from like twenty seven 642 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:05,799 Speaker 1: feet away from the basket. That was Kd's peak in 643 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:10,320 Speaker 1: my opinion. Now, the question is where did KD rank 644 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,880 Speaker 1: at this point in time. You know what's funny is, 645 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,759 Speaker 1: at the time, a younger version of me, almost a 646 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 1: decade ago, I thought KD was better than Steph at 647 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:21,879 Speaker 1: that point in time. But it was a long time ago. 648 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,160 Speaker 1: I was a much younger basketball fan. I didn't really 649 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,840 Speaker 1: understand basketball the way that I do now. I didn't 650 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,000 Speaker 1: understand advantage creation the way I do now. So I 651 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:34,120 Speaker 1: now feel pretty strongly that Steph was the best player 652 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:36,840 Speaker 1: on that team. So at that point in time, I 653 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:40,440 Speaker 1: would have put KD third behind Lebron at one in 654 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,480 Speaker 1: Steph at two. I just think Steph's advantage creation was 655 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:46,799 Speaker 1: the actual thing that made that team go. Steph was 656 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:50,560 Speaker 1: a little bit susceptible to variants, and yeah, like KD 657 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,360 Speaker 1: was saved their ass, but that's what made it a sweep. 658 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:57,360 Speaker 1: Like Steph was going toe to tote with Lebron without 659 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,839 Speaker 1: Kevin Durant in the couple of years before that partnership. 660 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:02,719 Speaker 1: I think Steph was a better player than KD at 661 00:36:02,719 --> 00:36:04,920 Speaker 1: that point in time. But that to me, like it's 662 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,799 Speaker 1: interesting because I do think KD reached a higher point 663 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:12,279 Speaker 1: in the league's hierarchy earlier on, Like from twenty twelve 664 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:15,040 Speaker 1: to twenty fourteen, he was the second best player in 665 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:18,200 Speaker 1: the world behind Lebron. I just think KD is a 666 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:21,600 Speaker 1: basketball player, was better in twenty eighteen. Steph just had 667 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 1: surpassed him at that point. There's no shame in that. 668 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:25,840 Speaker 1: I think Steph is the fifth best perimeter player of 669 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:28,040 Speaker 1: all time. That's just what happens when Steph Curry comes 670 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:32,160 Speaker 1: into the equation number ten. Anthony Davis, this one's easy 671 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:35,359 Speaker 1: twenty twenty twenty six points and nine rebounds with four 672 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:38,160 Speaker 1: stocks per game on sixty one percent through shooting. That 673 00:36:38,239 --> 00:36:43,040 Speaker 1: season an absolutely ridiculous playoff run twenty eight points and 674 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:46,400 Speaker 1: ten rebounds per game on sixty seven percent through shooting. 675 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,719 Speaker 1: Became an absolutely deadly jump shooter. In that playoff run, 676 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:54,080 Speaker 1: he shot forty seven percent on all jump shots. He 677 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:59,439 Speaker 1: shot sixty two percent on long twos outside of seventeen feet. 678 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:02,720 Speaker 1: He was thirty one for fifty, He had a game winner. 679 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,200 Speaker 1: He was a dominant defender the whole year, from start 680 00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:08,239 Speaker 1: to finish. It really answered the question of like, what 681 00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:10,280 Speaker 1: would it look like if you had the best defender 682 00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:12,440 Speaker 1: in the league but also a guy with a deadly 683 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:14,880 Speaker 1: jump shot, And that guy, in my opinion at that 684 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,879 Speaker 1: point in time, was the fourth best player in the world. Now, unfortunately, 685 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:21,719 Speaker 1: as with Embiid, I just think Ad is too far 686 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,239 Speaker 1: gone in terms of his injuries and the weight that 687 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:26,120 Speaker 1: he's put on and the age that he's at now. 688 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:28,319 Speaker 1: I don't think he'll ever pass that ceiling again. But 689 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:33,600 Speaker 1: twenty twenty was the peak of Anthony Davis' career. Number nine. 690 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:37,080 Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson, similarly to Donovan Mitchell. I think we're experiencing 691 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:39,440 Speaker 1: his peak right now. By the time you guys see 692 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:41,719 Speaker 1: this video, he'll be twenty nine years old, so he'll 693 00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:45,239 Speaker 1: begin to experience some age related declin and athleticism. But 694 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:46,960 Speaker 1: I do think he'll hang at this level for like 695 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:48,880 Speaker 1: similar to Mitchell, I think he'll plateau here for a 696 00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:51,560 Speaker 1: while before he go before he goes down. But we're 697 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,200 Speaker 1: in a three year span. We're in the playoffs for 698 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:56,840 Speaker 1: three consecutive seasons. He's averaged thirty points per game on 699 00:37:56,920 --> 00:38:00,719 Speaker 1: fifty seven percent through shooting with seven assists. That's one 700 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,399 Speaker 1: hell of a run from a guy who's now entered 701 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,719 Speaker 1: into that second tier of superstars. Again, we were talking 702 00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:11,080 Speaker 1: about this with like Shae at the top. Like, the 703 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,480 Speaker 1: problem with guys like Mitchell and Brunson is they're not 704 00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:18,759 Speaker 1: transcendently great at scoring the way that Shay is, and 705 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,800 Speaker 1: they don't have that I'm awesome at several different things. 706 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:28,279 Speaker 1: Tier like Brunson's a better passer than Donovan Mitchell, but 707 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:31,440 Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson still is not an elite passer, and he 708 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:34,640 Speaker 1: still is not a guy who can impact the game defensively. 709 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:37,759 Speaker 1: And so they're both really good scorers, but they just 710 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,640 Speaker 1: don't have the versatility elements of their game to crack 711 00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:43,120 Speaker 1: into that top tier. And if you're gonna crack into 712 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,320 Speaker 1: that top tier without versatility, you gotta be like Shae, 713 00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:49,120 Speaker 1: a guy who's gonna average damn near thirty four points 714 00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:51,600 Speaker 1: per game hyper efficiently. And that's just not what you're 715 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:55,440 Speaker 1: getting out of those two guys. So I look at 716 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,840 Speaker 1: Brunson and Mitchell is more or less at their ceilings 717 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:03,239 Speaker 1: right now. Number eight Lebron James peak for me with 718 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:06,880 Speaker 1: Lebron was twenty eighteen. It was unfortunately one of the 719 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,520 Speaker 1: worst rosters he ever played on, but he still managed 720 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:11,680 Speaker 1: to drag them to the finals. He averaged twenty eight 721 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,440 Speaker 1: points nine rebounds in nine asists on sixty two percent 722 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:17,520 Speaker 1: true shooting that year. Went up a massive level in 723 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:19,920 Speaker 1: the playoffs, one of the best individual playoff runs you 724 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:22,080 Speaker 1: will ever see in the history of the NBA. He 725 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:24,600 Speaker 1: averaged thirty four points, nine rebounds in nine a sists 726 00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:27,640 Speaker 1: without a dip inefficiency stated sixty two percent true shooting. 727 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:30,239 Speaker 1: He coasted on defense in the regular season, but he 728 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:32,839 Speaker 1: was great on that end in the playoffs. He had 729 00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:36,200 Speaker 1: eight forty point games in that postseason run. He hung 730 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:39,560 Speaker 1: fifty on the Warriors in the finals. He hit multiple 731 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:43,480 Speaker 1: buzzer beating game winners. He won multiple series as the underdog. 732 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:46,880 Speaker 1: To put it very simply, not only was Lebron the 733 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:49,680 Speaker 1: best player in the league in twenty eighteen, I think 734 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:52,600 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen Lebron is the best basketball player to ever 735 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 1: play in the NBA. Number seven Victor Wimenyama, obviously not 736 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:01,360 Speaker 1: too much to dig into. Last season was his peak? 737 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:03,840 Speaker 1: The hard to see why it was his second season, 738 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:07,520 Speaker 1: obviously predictable leaps across the board. The question is what 739 00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:11,239 Speaker 1: will Wemby's peak be? And the answer is, I think 740 00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:13,280 Speaker 1: he will be the best player in the world someday. 741 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:16,080 Speaker 1: I talked about Aunt today and how he had the 742 00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:19,480 Speaker 1: potential to one day become the best player in the world, 743 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:22,680 Speaker 1: But it's far from a guarantee with Ant, I actually 744 00:40:22,719 --> 00:40:24,720 Speaker 1: think it's a safer bet with Ant that he cracks 745 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:27,400 Speaker 1: the top tier of superstars but never actually claims the 746 00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:31,879 Speaker 1: top spot. I personally would be surprised if Wemby never 747 00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,120 Speaker 1: actually took the top spot in the NBA. He's already 748 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:38,239 Speaker 1: the best defensive player in the world. He's very likely 749 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:40,399 Speaker 1: to get even better on that end in the coming years, 750 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:42,560 Speaker 1: as he gets better at reading and reacting to modern 751 00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:46,080 Speaker 1: NBA offenses, Like I think he'll become he's already the 752 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:48,799 Speaker 1: best defender in the NBA. I think he'll become far, far, far, far, 753 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,319 Speaker 1: far and away the best defender in the NBA in time. 754 00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:54,000 Speaker 1: But I also think it's almost a certainty that he'll 755 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,600 Speaker 1: eventually average thirty points per game on sixty two percent 756 00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:00,400 Speaker 1: true shooting or so, probably in the next like two 757 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:03,520 Speaker 1: or three years. So like I think he would require 758 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:08,279 Speaker 1: an injury or for Wemby to like just straight up 759 00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:11,160 Speaker 1: not figure a lot of basic shit out for him 760 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:13,880 Speaker 1: to not eventually become the consensus top player in the world. 761 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:18,399 Speaker 1: Two more, number six Steph Curry. I think his peak 762 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:20,439 Speaker 1: stretched from the end of the regular season in twenty 763 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:22,799 Speaker 1: twenty one to the time he hoisted the trophy in 764 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:26,040 Speaker 1: the twenty twenty two finals. I think that twenty twenty 765 00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:28,560 Speaker 1: two season was the one time in Steph's career where 766 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,480 Speaker 1: I think he had a really strong, really hard to 767 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:36,120 Speaker 1: refute case as the best basketball player alive. Like I 768 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:38,319 Speaker 1: disagree with Warriors fans, I think he was better than 769 00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:41,719 Speaker 1: Lebron during Lebron's prime. I you know, it gets to 770 00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:44,879 Speaker 1: be a debate with him in Giannis in twenty twenty one, 771 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:47,319 Speaker 1: I had Giannis as the best player in the world. 772 00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:49,920 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty one he won the title. Kind of 773 00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,320 Speaker 1: feels like you have to give it to him there. Jokic, 774 00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:55,080 Speaker 1: I think snatched it for good starting in twenty twenty three. 775 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:58,720 Speaker 1: Twenty twenty two, is that one season in Steph's career 776 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:01,480 Speaker 1: where I really do think he had a strong case 777 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:04,000 Speaker 1: to be the best player in the world. At that point, 778 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:07,839 Speaker 1: Giannis regressed a little bit off of his title winning 779 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:11,040 Speaker 1: season in twenty twenty one. Jokic hadn't really peaked yet, 780 00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:14,080 Speaker 1: maybe because of his rosters, but still we'll just you know, 781 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 1: he hadn't made that successful deep playoff run where he 782 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:20,120 Speaker 1: just alpha dogged everybody like he did the following season. 783 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:23,160 Speaker 1: Lebron was never the same after his high ankle sprain 784 00:42:23,239 --> 00:42:26,680 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one. Luca and Shakilvis Alexander weren't ready yet. 785 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:28,640 Speaker 1: I think that was the window in time where Steph 786 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:32,680 Speaker 1: had that best player in the world belt twenty twenty one, 787 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:36,400 Speaker 1: the second half of the season that was insane. Steph's 788 00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:40,880 Speaker 1: last forty three games that year, despite the entire league 789 00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:44,360 Speaker 1: throwing everything at him. Because KD was out, Klay Thompson 790 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:47,040 Speaker 1: was out, he was getting the most aggressive coverages in 791 00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:52,000 Speaker 1: the world. He averaged thirty four points per game on 792 00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:57,360 Speaker 1: sixty seven percent true shooting for forty three games. That 793 00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,480 Speaker 1: is far and away the most impressive scoring in afficiency 794 00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:04,720 Speaker 1: stretch of his career. He did battle a slight shooting 795 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:07,680 Speaker 1: slump in the following season, but on a better roster, 796 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:12,520 Speaker 1: he recaptured his touch in the playoffs, made the run 797 00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:15,000 Speaker 1: at the end, iconic game in Game four on the 798 00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,600 Speaker 1: road in Boston, gets that title that legitimizes everything and 799 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:23,160 Speaker 1: shuts the haters up from the previous titles. Lastly, number 800 00:43:23,160 --> 00:43:26,040 Speaker 1: five Anthony Edwards. I'm going to go with the twenty 801 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:29,279 Speaker 1: twenty four season, so two years ago. Obviously, he had 802 00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:32,440 Speaker 1: a much more impressive regular season this year with his 803 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:34,719 Speaker 1: high volume three point shooting. But I thought that he 804 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:38,320 Speaker 1: was more surgical and more physically aggressive as a scorer 805 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:40,359 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty four, and I think that made him 806 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:43,960 Speaker 1: a better player in the playoffs compared to the compared 807 00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:46,759 Speaker 1: to the following year. Now, as I said earlier, I 808 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:48,600 Speaker 1: do think at has the potential to be the best 809 00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:50,759 Speaker 1: player in the world someday, but I think it will 810 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:53,040 Speaker 1: require a lot of things to go right for him. 811 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:56,359 Speaker 1: I think he needs to maximize his defensive potential and 812 00:43:56,440 --> 00:43:59,160 Speaker 1: become a much more reliable possession of possession score and 813 00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:00,680 Speaker 1: he just has a long way to go to get there. 814 00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:04,040 Speaker 1: But I do think he has that potential. All right, guys, 815 00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:05,840 Speaker 1: It's all I have for today is always to sincerely 816 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:07,879 Speaker 1: appreciate you guys for supporting me and supporting the show. 817 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:11,000 Speaker 1: We will be back on Friday with a mailbag. I 818 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:11,960 Speaker 1: will see you guys back