After watching Game 2 of WCF and listening to a very interesting Mike and Mike show this morning, I wanted to see people's thoughts.
Who is a current NBA superstar?
I got 7 (in no order):
Derrick Rose Kevin Durant Dwight Howard Chris Paul LeBron James Kobe Bryant Dwyane Wade
Who you got?
EDIT: My bad, I missed out Dirk. Oversight. Love his game.
LBJ- hes in his prime, tough physical, can drive to the hoop like no other and brings energy
no wonder he leads the nba in jerseys sold
solid list. each are nasty... think you should put Dirk up there, a 7 footer sitting out behind the 3 pt line and can play in the paint, not something you see every day lol
Agree with Dirk. Not right now, but in two years I would throw Blake Griffin in.
Melo and D-Will, though neither have sniffed a championship run yet
Agree with Barofsky. Gotta get Dirk on there.
Lol @ no Dirk.
that's a really good list--you excluded borderline superstars like Melo/Amar'e/ and past superstars like KG/ Timmy D.
I think a decent case could be made for Melo, even though all the criticisms of him being a volume shooter are with merit. I honestly think he is a lazier version of KD that plays even less defense; the proliferation of small foward talent in the NBA is obscene.
Derrick Rose is a definite superstar but the weakest player of those 7--once he learns consistency he will be lethal. He won the MVP and all, but he is like 1A compared to 1.
The funniest part of your list is that there are no power forwards on there and only one big (Dwightzilla), which is a reflection of the lack of big men in their prime in the NBA.
Well, I missed out Dirk but rectified that now.
Melo, I'm not sold on. He's a great scorer but how much has he improved his game to the level of LeBron or Wade? Even intangibles like making the correct pass out of a double team he sometimes makes mistakes. Knicks could rue that trade if he continues to be a ballstopper, esp when DWill was there to be had.
Surprised no one has mentioned Amare. I think he heads the list of the 'Tier 2' players so to speak. Him or DWill anyway but I dont think DWill will remain out of that list for long.
I like Blake but no way is he a superstar on the court yet. Agree two years from now, this list removes Kobe and adds Blake, DWill etc
Carmelo, Williams, and Dirk are all tier 2. These guys don't carry teams (usually) and/or draw crowds the way any of the above do. And carmelo is a selfish ass one man show not capable of making those around him better.
Very solid list. Basketball is a young man's game now and athleticism counts for so much. In most cases, athleticism overcomes skill now.
Disclaimer: I'm a broken down, overweight, slow, 6 foot, white guy that can't jump and who used to play Div 3 basketball and I'm getting close to 30. I'm pissed that I could never run and jump (relatively speaking) and that I stopped growing at 6 feet. I should have stuck with baseball.
Monta Ellis is a monster. His numbers alone should put him in this list, but he's got to start winning. I wish B-Roy was still ballin', I really enjoyed his game.
There is NO WAY Dirk is "tier 2", get the f*ck out!!. The man is always in beast mode. Granted that everybody is ridin' his dick lately because of the 48 point game, but he's been killin' it for a long damn time. He has an MVP, 11 All-NBA selections...c'mon, the man is the top 3 or 4 of the "Kobe Bryant Generation"...
You lost credibility as soon as you started the sentence with Monta Ellis. Good scorer but come on.
Kobe Bryant is not #1. He hasn't been clutch in over two years. D-Rose, LeBron, Wade and Durant (maybe) are all more valuable to their respective teams than Kobe as of now.
Dont agree with your order. although it depends on context. If youre talking superstars (i.e. whole package, celebrity, TV etc) now, a few tweaks (ie. swap 2 for 1, CP3 higher etc)
If we're talking closer, then I would agree with Kobe 1A and Dirk 1B.
I would leave Amare out for the same reason I cant include Melo or DWill. He's a beast though.
Henry Abbott of ESPN actually did a statistical study on this. Melo, CP3, Dirk, LBJ, are actually the best closers in the league.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/24200/the-truth-about-kobe-b…
Saying Kobe is the best closer in the league is more based on perception than reality. This year showed that the Lakers are better if Kobe gets 20-24 points when they need him to, rather than just jacking up shots out of the offensive flow. Incredible player, incredible athlete, but he is showing his age when he can't escape the timeless Jason Kidd in the last round.
i would've wholeheartedly agreed with you on 1. Kobe a few years ago. He is the best closer in the game, but you can't honestly say he is the best player in the game right now.
Amare does not belong on that list. Amare is like Joe Johnson, a max-contractish player who doesn't deserve a max contract. He is not a franchise player.
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