The playoffs continue to rage on, but there are 26 teams sitting at home with nothing to do but twiddle their thumbs, watch the Conference Finals, and wait for next season to start.
For their sake, we wanted to look ahead with the next edition of the OFFSEASON BLUEPRINT series. In each, we'll preview some big decisions and make some recommendations for plans of attack along the way. Today, we're looking at the Orlando Magic.
step one: "just shoot" - me
Veteran coach Steve Clifford has always been known as a defensive specialist. He's good at that. Alas, once the ball crosses that pesky midcourt line, our problems start to emerge. In Clifford's first year in Orlando, the Magic finished with the 22nd best offense. This past season, they sagged down to 23rd. Sadly, these anemic offenses are nothing unusual for the franchise. Amazingly, they've been in the bottom 10 for offensive rating every season since 2011-12 -- that's a streak of 8 years running.
The primary issue during this entire stretch has been a lack of shooting. This past season, the Magic ranked 19th in three-point attempts, and only 25th in three-point percentage. As a team, they shot 34.3% from three, over a full point off from the NBA league average (35.8%). The issue ran up and down the roster. Consider this: of the 19 players who recorded minutes for the Magic this season, 17 shot below league average from three. The only two who matched the league average rate were Evan Fournier and Melvin Frazier (who played 6.6 minutes per game and shot 8/16 total.)
Of course, assessing the problem and fixing it are two entirely different animals. The team's invested in players like Markelle Fultz, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Vucevic, who could all improve to the "average" range but are never going to be sharpshooters from deep.
The easiest solution would be to utilize your # 15 pick to snag a shooter like Aaron Nesmith (Vanderbilt). Nesmith is probably the best shooter in this draft class, hitting 52% from three and 83% from the free-throw line this past year in his 14 games before injury. The sample size in college tends to be unreliable, but Nesmith's shooting form looks the part of a true 38-40% shooter. Better still, Nesmith has the length to play either the SG or SF spot.
Outside of that quick fix, the team may need to make some serious shakeups to the roster to make this combination work.
step two: find the silver lining in your shitty day
As any Orlando Magic fan will tell you, there's one bright spot at the center of this universe: Jonathan Isaac. He's a rising offensive threat, and already one of the best and most versatile defensive players in the NBA. He may have been on track to earn first team All-Defense, and maybe even a Defensive Player of the Year trophy one day.
Unfortunately, Isaac tore his ACL in the bubble and will likely miss the entire upcoming season. Yikes. It's one of the most brutal and disappointing breaks of an already-bad 2020 calendar year.
Outside of literal magic, there's nothing the team can actually do about that. They're going to need to soldier on and make the best out of a shitty situation.
If there's any positive here, it's that Isaac's injury may open the door for the Magic to "showcase" Aaron Gordon. Gordon's gone from being the star of the team to a potentially odd fit on this roster. He's not coming off a terribly strong year either, with averages of 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. After 6 seasons in the NBA, it may be time to give up on the idea that Gordon can be a top option on offense. He doesn't have the shooting or scoring skills to get to that level. More likely, he's best served as a 3rd or 4th option who primarily provides defense, energy, and athleticism. There's value to that, but it may be more valuable to another team that lacks those qualities on their roster.
With Isaac out, the Magic can feature Aaron Gordon and try to increase his trade value as much as possible. He's on a reasonable deal ($18M + $16M) that would make a trade easy to figure out logistically. With an increased role, he may be able to put up good raw stats (maybe 20-8-5?) that would make him even more appealing as an asset.
The team may as well aim high to start. Buddy Hield may be on the market, and Portland may be frustrated enough to consider trading C.J. McCollum for a package that would include Gordon. On the lowemore realistic end, the team could consider a deal for Minnesota SG Malik Beasley (a restricted free agent right now), or something with the Phoenix Suns (both Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson have good shooting potential). In terms of the draft, the Magic may be able to get something in the 5-10 range if they deal Gordon now, but should be able to fetch a solid R1 pick or more if they wait until Gordon starts putting up better numbers.
The Magic can consider a future without Gordon for a few reasons. Jon Isaac should be the future at forward, of course, but I'm also high on the potential of current rookie Chuma Okeke. He's been out all year with an injury, but at Auburn he looked like a dynamic threat that may end up being as good as Gordon himself.
step three: check the sportsbook to see if your bets paid off
The Orlando Magic have taken some big swings over the last few years, primarily with upside plays like Markelle Fultz and Mo Bamba. In both cases, the team needs to determine if they ended up cashing in - or crash 'n burning.
Let's start off with Markelle Fultz first. The Magic made a low cost move to acquire him (in terms of assets) and that looks like a smart move at the moment. With a longer leash and the ball in his hands more often, Fultz is starting to resemble a key player again. This past season (Year 3 for him), he averaged 15.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per 36 minutes. He's still a bad shooter (27% from 3, 73% from the FT line), but he's improving there. He's also taken massive leaps in his ability to slash and convert inside the arc. His FG% in the 3-10 foot area has gone from 21% to 30% to 42% over the last few seasons. He's showing glimpses of the talent that made him the # 1 pick.
The problem is: while Fultz was low cost in terms of assets, he's not low cost in terms of salary. Because he had been the # 1 pick, he'll be paid $12M next season, and then have a qualifying offer of $16M for 2021-22. If the team doesn't think Fultz justifies that type of commitment, they may not retain him at all. Given that, it'll be critical that the team can make a decision about Fultz based on his play this upcoming season. In a lot of ways, it's a make or break year for his Magic career.
The team has a longer window regarding Mo Bamba. He's under contract for the next two seasons before his own restricted free agency. That not-so-coincidentally lines up close to Nikola Vucevic's three years remaining ($26M + $24M + $22M). Over the next year or two, the Magic need to determine whether Bamba is going to be ready to take the mantle at center, at which point they can either trade Vucevic or let him walk at the end of his deal. Right now, it's very hard to know. Bamba didn't show much in Year 2, but sometimes it takes players with his unique frame extra time to develop their bodies. If Bamba turns out not to be starting material, then that will set the franchise back in the long term. Getting a decent starter is the least you can expect out of a # 6 overall pick.
step four: you play to win the games (but it never hurts to have a Plan B)
Even with Jonathan Isaac's injury, the Orlando Magic aren't going to throw in the towel and tank next season. The roster is too solid for that, and coach Steve Clifford is too motivated for that. You're not going to convince an old veteran coach -- entering Year 3 -- to took his foot off the gas.
Orlando doesn't have the cap space to go off on a shopping spree, so retaining their own free agents may be the most prudent step. Swingman Evan Fournier has a $17M player option that he may be inclined to pick up. That said, he's coming off a strong year -- 18.5 points and 39.9% shooting from deep -- and may want a longer-term commitment. If Fournier demands a longer deal, the Magic should probably give it to him. He's one of the more underrated scorers in the league right now.
Midseason acquisition James Ennis also has a player option (for a modest $2M). The team shouldn't bend over backwards to bring him back, but it'd be nice to have him around. He's an experienced vet capable of playing the 3 or 4.
Backup PG D.J. Augustin represents a trickier negotiation. He's ceded his role as a starter to Markelle Fultz, but he still played 25 minutes a night and contributed 10.5 points and 4.6 assists. He's a steadying presence on the court in addition to being one of the better shooters on the team. As a 12-year veteran, he's also a good mentor to a young guard like Fultz. That said, the 32-year-old Augustin may not want to come back to play for a middling team. He could chase a ring somewhere else like L.A. or Brooklyn. It doesn't make a load of sense for Orlando to overpay to bring him back given his declining role and their modest expectations for this next season. Hopefully the two sides want to keep their partnership going. If not, the Magic should eye other solid backup PGs who can take some pressure off Fultz and allow him to play some SG as well. Among the names that may fit this bill would be Shabazz Napier (WAS), Yogi Ferrell (SAC), or Matthew Dellavedova (CLE.)
I tend to think the Magic can make tweaks on the margins, "run it back," and still contend for the 7th or 8th seed in the East. That said, if they get off to a nightmare start, they should have a Plan B in their back pocket. We've already mentioned a possible Aaron Gordon trade, but they would have to consider trades of Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, and Terrence Ross as well. While Coach Clifford may not want to blow it up and rebuild, he may not have a choice if the season starts to slip away from them.
previous offseason blueprints
ATL, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DET, HOU, IND, GS, LAC, MIL, MIN, NYK, POR, SA, SAC, UTA

[OC] The Chicago Bulls rebuild imploded again this year. How can they pick up the pieces and make it better next time?

As we continue to wait for real basketball to happen (or not?), it may be a good time to monitor teams that will definitely be missing out on all the playoff bubble hijinks.
Here's a look at the CHICAGO BULLS, with a special shoutout to true Bulls' fans like celsius_two_3_two for helping me review the content.
PART ONE: From Playoff Challenger to Challenger space shuttle
Like any proper degenerate, I like to make a few Las Vegas "oveunder" bets before the season (note: don't try it at home, it's usually a waste of time and money.)
Still, a few win totals jumped out at me. Among them: the Chicago Bulls, oveunder 33.5 wins.
Now, the logical move may have been to pound the "under" here. After all, this was a team coming off two seasons with 27-55 and 22-60 records. However, I couldn't help but overthink this one. Sure, the Bulls had a very bad 2018-19 season (highlighted by Fred Hoiberg getting fired and Drill Sergeant Jim Boylen taking over). At the same time, they played better in the second half of the season. Boylen (douche or not) would presumably keep improving their defense. Moreover, Boylen and the front office were on shaky ground in terms of their job security, which usually motivates an organization to push forward and win as much as possible.
The front office clearly had that in mind as well, signing Tomas Satoransky and Thaddeus Young to sizable $10M+ contracts. Neither are great players, or perhaps even good players, but they're solid and reliable veterans whom the team could immediately plug into a rotation. These Bulls felt deep, balanced, and perhaps ready to strike. After all, star Zach LaVine would be set to enter Year 6 in the league. Otto Porter would be entering Year 7. Some of their other "young" pieces weren't that young; for example, Kris Dunn and Denzel Valentine are both 26 right now.
Overall, this felt like a recipe for success. Or at least, semi-success. The Bulls were ready to take a jump. Making the playoffs may have been unrealistic, but 35-38 wins felt doable. "OVER" it is!
Flash forward nearly a year later, and I've got so much egg on my face that vegans won't even talk to me anymore. Turns out, these "new Bulls" were the "same ol' Bulls." They'll end the season with a 22-43 record, which would have put them on pace for 27.8 wins over 82 games, well under the 33.5 set by Vegas.
So what went wrong? How did this potential darkhorse run so far off the rails that it needed to get shot and turned to glue? Let's take a closer look.
PART TWO: Missing Otto Porter III + D
One of the major reasons the Chicago Bulls disappointed in 2019-20 was injuries. Center Wendell Carter missed time, and Otto Porter III barely played due to lingering hip injuries. He appeared in 14 games, and only drew 9 starts (averaging 23 minutes per game.)
On the surface, Porter shouldn't feel like a huge loss. After all, this is a player who's never averaged as much as 15 PPG in any season in his career and has never sniffed an All-Star team.
That said, the loss of Porter had a trickle down effect that hurt the team in numerous ways.
Offensively, Porter is a low-usage player who's about as efficient as anyone in the league. For his career, he shoots over 40% from three (40.4%). Better yet, he's only averaged 0.8 turnovers per game (1.1 TO per 36 minutes.) He's what you'd call a role player / assassin. He gets in, hits his target, and slips out without being noticed. Porter actually has a little more versatility to his offensive game than the average catch-and-shoot player (he can take you down on the block, for example), but most often, he's used as a spacer and he thrives in that regard. Without Porter's shooting, the Chicago Bulls' offense looked even more sluggish than usual. Their offensive rating ranked 27th out of the 30 teams in the league.
Porter's loss also showed up in other ways. Porter's not a great defender -- he's probably "above average" -- but that's still an asset to have in your lineup. He's a savvy player who's usually locked in defensively, despite one infamous Shaqtin' A Fool moment. He also has good size and length for his position at 6'8" with a 7'1" wingspan.
That size is a key element to this discussion. Porter has "plus" size as a small forward. In his absence, the Bulls struggled to fill that void with the same. They ended up shifting Zach LaVine (6'6", 6'8" wingspan) over to small forward quite a bit. LaVine played 67% of his minutes at SF this past season according to basketball-reference. You can take those positional play-by-plays with a grain of salt because it's not easy to track and label, but that's still a notable difference in terms of the roster composition. The Bulls were smaller than average at SF, and smaller than average at SG with rookie Coby White (6'4", 6'5" wingspan) playing the majority of his minutes there.
The natural follow up to this may be: so what? Even with those size limitations, Jim Boylen's Bulls still finished with the 14th best defense (up from 25 last year.) However, the lack of size on the wings helped contribute to the Bulls' problems on the glass. They finished 30th (out of 30 teams) in total defensive rebounds, and 28th in rebounding differential (-3.6 per game). Using rebounding totals isn't always the best metric to use because bad teams miss more shots (and thus allow their opponents more rebounds). However, if you dig deeper, the numbers still aren't pretty. The Bulls' grabbed 75.6% of their potential defensive rebounds -- 5th worst in the league. Overall, they grabbed 47.9% of all potential rebounds -- 2nd worst in the league. "Rebounds" may be not be an en vogue stat in general, but it's a weakness that still hurt the team at the margins. When you're a mid-level team, those extra few possessions per game could mean the difference between a win and a loss.
The good news? Porter will likely be back and healthy next season. The bad news? He's not cheap. He'll almost certainly pick up his oversized $28M player option. In another circumstance, he may try to rip it up and renegotiate a long-term deal with the Bulls or another team instead, but the murkiness around the cap and around his health makes that too difficult to imagine. Barring a trade, he'll be back with the Bulls next year, and will help the team win a few more games.
PART THREE: Misusing their offensive weapons
The Chicago Bulls are a young team, built around young stars like Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen. Both LaVine and Markkanen have some limitations overall, but they're both gifted offensive players. So given that, how is it that the team only finished 27th in offensive efficiency?
In terms of the national media, a lot of the blame tends to fall on Zach LaVine. After some inefficient play early on in his career, the narrative has stuck that LaVine is an "empty calorie" or "volume" scorer. However, the results on the court don't really justify that anymore. Sure, LaVine shoots a lot, but he doesn't take as many bad shots as you may expect. He takes 8.1 threes per game (and makes an above-average 38%). He takes 5.6 free throw attempts per game (making 82% for his career.) Overall, that's a winning formula. LaVine's efficiency and true shooting is above league-average, no small feat for a player averaging 25.5 points per game this year. You'd like to see him hammer his way to the line even more, but he's not the problem for this team (offensively.)
Meanwhile, Markkanen has some work to do. For a 7-footer, he's a gifted shooter. He shot 42.3% from three in college (and even flirted with 50% early in the season.) He carried that success over to the NBA for his first two years, netting over 36% from three each year. His results at the free throw line (84% then 87% as a second-year player) illustrated his potential to keep improving from there. 7-footers tend to get labeled as "stretch bigs" if they can get anywhere over 30% from three; Markkanen has the potential to get closer to 40%.
However, that leap didn't happen in Year 3. Markkanen sagged to 34.4% from three, and "only" 82.4% from the free-throw line. But those percentages aren't what bothers me. Percentages will go up and down over smaller sample sizes like that. What's more concerning is how Markkanen's role shrunk offensively. After averaging 15.3 field goal attempts last season, he slipped down to 11.8 attempts this season per game. Even if you account for a few less minutes, he dropped from 17 FGA to 14 FGA in terms of "per 36" numbers.
As mentioned, Markkanen is an offensive player. He's a shooter. I'm no coaching genius (and neither is Jim Boylen apparently), but I'd encourage a shooter to SHOOT. Because if Markkanen isn't a focal point of your offensive attack, then he's not doing much good for your team. He's not a good defender -- he's not a good rebounder. This is like the Justice League sending Aquaman off to the find evil aliens in the desert; we're misusing his talents here, people.
Practically speaking, the next Bulls' coach needs to rethink the approach with Markkanen. Personally, I believe he has more in the tank offensively than he's been allowed to show so far. Maybe he's not Dirk Nowtizki, but he's still an extraordinary talent as a shooter for his size; I'd make a point of funneling him the ball. And if the problem is that he's getting marginalized by ball-dominant LaVine, then Markkanen should come off the bench as a 6th man scorer instead. He needs to be an offensive priority whenever he's in the game. And consequently, a better offensive philosophy and system needs to be installed in order to allow that to happen.
PART FOUR: Natural growing pains
When the Chicago Bulls' playoff chances slipped away, Jim Boylen and the front office finally unleashed their rookie, Coby White.
White took advantage of that greenlight and turned up the gas as a scorer. He'll end the season with a modest 13.2 points per game, but that undersells his impact as a scorer. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 18.5 points per game. That trended upwards over the course of the season as well. White averaged over 20 points per game in February and March (albeit over a limited 14 game size.) If White can do that as a 20-year-old rookie, then it's fair to suggest that he could be routinely scoring over 20 PPG in his prime.
While Coby White has some obvious virtues -- highlighted by his quickness and his cool hair -- there are some natural concerns and growing pains that he showed. He scored, but he didn't necessarily do that with efficiency. He shot only 39.4% from the field, and netted only a 50.6 true shooting percentage that's well below the league average.
Defensively, White also struggled. Playing "up" at SG for 71% of his minutes (and even at SF for 17%!), White's limited size and limited experience showed. ESPN's real/plus minus metric graded him as -1.9 impact per 100 possessions. If you wanted to count White as a point guard, that would rank 89th best (out of 94 qualifiers.) If you envision him as a shooting guard, that would rank 134th (out of 137 qualifiers.)
That debate -- is Coby White a point guard or shooting guard? -- is an important one. Sure, we're in an era of "position-less" basketball to some extent, but players still have certain roles offensively and certain assignments defensively. White's limited size and length (6'5" wingspan) projects best as a point guard. However, he's more of a scorer than a natural distributor. He only averaged 3.8 assists per 36 minutes this season, not far removed from the 5.2 assists per 36 minutes he averaged back in college at UNC. His playmaking can improve, but he's more of an attack dog by nature.
This combination of strengths and weaknesses makes you wonder about the long-term fit next to Zach LaVine. If the Bulls' long-term plan is to play White at SG and LaVine at SF, then they're always going to be behind the eight-ball in terms of length and rebounding (especially with Lauri Markkanen at the 4.) If their plan is to start White as a point guard, then they're going to have to rely on LaVine to be more of a lead facilitator, or on the entire team to adopt more of a ball-moving offense 1-5.
Most realistically, White projects best as a super-scorer off the bench, a la Lou Williams. To excel in that role, he'll need to continue to draw more free throws (he was at only 2.0 FTA per game as a rookie), but the potential is there to improve his shot selection and become a big-time scorer. Staggering White and LaVine would also allow them to be aggressive as scorers without stepping on each other's toes.
PART FIVE: Done with Dunn?
The other reason that it'll be important for the new Bulls' coach and front office to devise a long-term plan for Coby White is because it will affect other decisions on the roster. Among them: the fate of Kris Dunn.
Like Coby White, Dunn has some extreme strengths and weaknesses -- they just happen to be in opposite order. He EXCELS defensively. He has a big frame (6'9" wingspan) and natural instincts on that end. He nabbed 2.0 steals this season in only 24.9 minutes of action. A lot of times, "steals" can be misleading because they amount to gambling. For Dunn, it's more reflective of his actual talent. He has extremely quick hands; he could have made a lot of money as a gunslinger back in the Old West. In some ways, he reminds you of Andre Iguodala on the ball defensively, combining length, strength, and savvy.
The rest of Dunn's game is a mixed bag. He's not a bad distributor (averaging 6.0 assists in both 2017-18 and 2018-19), but he's a poor shooter. He's also had injury issues flare up over the course of his career. As mentioned, he's already 26 years old, so it's unrealistic to expect him to become a wholly different player in the next few years. With Kris Dunn, you mostly know what you're getting to get. So the question is: do you want it or not?
The Bulls will have to make that choice this offseason, as Dunn enters his (restricted) free agency. There's a chance that COVID will infect the cap and allow them to retain him on his one-year qualified offer of $7M. Alternatively, there's a chance that another team will swoop him and sign him to an offer sheet. He'd make some sense for a team like the Detroit Pistons, who could invest in him as an heir apparent to Derrick Rose at PG. If a team like that offers Dunn a deal in the 3 year, $8-10M per year range, will the Bulls match it? TBD.
Again, a lot depends on their views regarding Coby White. If they envision White as a future starter at PG, then there's less of a need for Kris Dunn. The Bulls would be able to start White at PG as soon as next year, with Tomas Satoransky as a combo guard off the bench and Ryan Arcidiacono serving as a third point guard and insurance policy. If the team envisions Coby White as a SG (or combo guard off the bench) then there's more of a need for Kris Dunn to platoon with Satoransky as a lead guard.
This game of musical chairs may be getting more crowded, because there's also another element at play: yet-another lottery pick.
PART SIX: Drafting some Help
Currently, the Chicago Bulls are slated in the # 7 position in terms of the NBA Draft order. They have a 9% chance of moving up to # 1, and a 32% chance of moving into the top 4. If they can make that leap, then that would mean adding another potential star to the fold. It's not a strong draft by any stretch, but SG Anthony Edwards (Georgia) and C James Wiseman (Memphis) have the potential to be good starters. If they can land someone like that, you ignore "fit", take the potential stud, and work out the rest later.
More likely, the Bulls will be picking in that 7-8 range. That's still a good pick, of course, but not one that should cause you to throw the baby out with the bath water and ignore the composition and needs of your team.
Again, this is why the "Do the Bulls need a PG?" question becomes so critical. This is a poor draft, but it's strongest in terms of its point guard depth. According to ESPN's draft experts, 5 of the top 13 prospects are point guards (LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, Killian Hayes, R.J. Hampton, Cole Anthony). A few of those -- namely Hayes and Anthony -- are "pure" point guards who don't have enough size to switch around and play minutes at the 2.
Among the crop that's likely to be available around pick 7, here are some potential fits.
PG TYRESE HALIBURTON, IOWA STATE (# 8 on espn). Haliburton is one of the easiest "fits" for the Bulls and for basically every team, because he offers a versatile set of skills. He's technically a point guard (averaging 15.2 points and 6.5 assists last year) and can capably fill that role. Better still, he can be effectively off the ball. His three-point shot looks a little wonky, but he converts it well, hitting 42.6% of his threes in college. Defensively he's got good size (6'5" with a 6'10" wingspan) and instincts (2.5 steals, 1.3 fouls last year). In a sense, Haliburton can be a "3 + D" point guard that plays alongside a ball-dominant player, be it Zach LaVine or Coby White. If the team drafts him, you figure it'd be with the intention of using him as an upgrade on Dunn (slightly worse defense but better offense.)
SG DEVIN VASSELL, FLORIDA STATE (# 16 on espn). Like Haliburton, Devin Vassell is another player who could fit well on virtually every team because of his 3+D potential. He's hit 41.7% of his threes in his two years at FSU with a good-looking form that's aided by good size for his position and a higher release than Haliburton. Right now, Vassell is listed around 6'6" with an estimated 6'10" wingspan, but he looks bigger than that to my eye. That's crucial because it would allow him to play both SG and SF and draw some different assignments defensively. I also like Vassell's personality off the court; he seems like a good kid that should continue to improve. Like Haliburton, Vassell is the type of player that should easily into a lineup with LaVine and/or White.
SF DENI AVDIJA, ISRAEL (# 5 on espn). I'm not going to pretend to have as much confidence in my projection of Avdija, who's played in the international youth circuit and has been a rising star with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Based on what I do know, he could be an intriguing boom/bust pick around # 7. He's a big forward (6'9") who can convert inside, and better yet, has a real knack for playmaking. The Bulls' young stars -- Zach LaVine, Coby White, Lauri Markkanen -- are all better scorers than passers right now, so perhaps Avdija can operate as a de facto point forward and help the offense click into place. Right now, his shooting results have been shaky though, so he's not someone you can just throw out there and tell to stand in the corner as a 3+D option. If you take him, you need an actual plan to highlight his skill set. The Bulls' top exec Arturas Karnisovas is from Lithuania originally, so you presume that he'd have no qualms about selecting an European like Avdija (whose dad is Serbian) if need be. Of course, that logic didn't quite work out for Sacramento GM Vlade Divac and Luka Doncic.
SHAKIER FITS. Alternatively, there are some players in the Bulls' draft range that may not be ideal fits. As mentioned, Killian Hayes and Cole Anthony are more of traditional ball-dominant point guards; I don't love the idea of that next to Coby White and Zach LaVine. I'd also be wary of Dayton's PF Obi Toppin. Toppin has strong scoring potential with a decent shot and good athleticism inside. That said, he's a little stiff in the hips defensively, and may duplicate Lauri Markkanen in that regard.
PART SEVEN: Buh-Buh Boylen
One of the Chicago Bulls' biggest decisions will be among their first. Technically, the new front office has not fired coach Jim Boylen yet, but it appears that his clock is ticking on that decision. It's only a matter of time.
Candidly, Boylen gets too harsh of a rap from national media and fans. He's not a complete asshat. He's had success as a defensive assistant in the past, and did help the Bulls' defense improve some over the past few years. He'd be a fine assistant coach somewhere in that limited capacity.
However, he does seem woefully out of his depth as a head coach. He's never had success in that role before, and he didn't have any now. His offensive system is virtually nonexistent, and his attitude is boarish. Usually those "Drill Sergeant" coaches get a short-term year or two of improvement from a young team, but he couldn't even do that. We need to pull him out of there before there's a full-on Full Metal Jacket rebellion here.
Looking ahead, the Bulls need to pick a coach that can get the team back on track, especially in terms of their offensive philosophy. That said, the Bulls have to be careful not to "zigzag" too much in their coaching hires. They went from Tom Thibodeau (the gruff, defensive-heavy coach) to the Anti-Thibodeau in Fred Hoiberg (likable, low-key former player), and then jumped on the seesaw again with the complete opposite in Boylen. There's always a tendency to go for the opposite of your last coach, but presumably there's a happy medium in between these two poles. Goldilocks was happy to find something "just right," so Karnisovas should be as well.
According to media reports, Ime Udoka is a top candidate, and would be a natural fit. While Udoka doesn't have head coaching experience yet, he's about as "ready" as any first-time coach would be. He's a former player, and a long-time assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio (and now has worked the last year in Philadelphia.) The Spurs' philosophy is an ideal template for the Bulls to use, both in terms of their offensive ball movement and their locker room culture.
I'd also recommend Kenny Atkinson as a viable candidate. He didn't mesh with the new superstars in Brooklyn, but he'd done a great job prior to that in terms of rebuilding a broken Brooklyn team. He specializes in pace and space offense, and player development. That sounds ideal for this team right now.
There are a few other candidates out there that would be worth interviews (Chris Finch, Wes Unseld Jr., Chris Fleming, Nate Tibbetts, Alex Jensen, Dave Joerger, etc) but Udoka and Atkinson represent a very solid top two. Hiring either of them would be a great first step for this new administration.
TL;DR
The Chicago Bulls' "breakout" didn't happen; instead, they broke down. However, the foundation isn't bad here. If the new front office wants to push for the playoffs next year (manifested by keeping Otto Porter and continuing to play veterans) then it's not unrealistic that they can get up to 35-40 wins with better health and a better offensive system. Conversely, the team may decide they're further away than that, and take a step back to collect their bearings.
other offseason blueprints
ATL, BKN, BOS, CHA, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, HOU, IND, GS, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, NO, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHX, POR, SA, SAC, TOR, UTA, WAS

InnocentPossum's Season-Long Bets

Countdown to Kickoff 2020: Sporting Kansas City

Welcome to the /MLS Sporting Kansas City Countdown to Kickoff!

If you fancy a trip back in time, here are 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.
Many thanks to dd12939 for allowing me to steal this template.
Now on with the show!
Team Name: Sporting Kansas City Head Coach: Peter Vermes Technical Director: Brian Bliss Captain: Matt Besler Stadium: Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, KS Ownership: Sporting Club Mascot: Blue the Dog Kits: Primary, Secondary Supporters Groups: The Cauldron and South Stand SC Subreddit: /SportingKC USL Championship Affiliate: ~~Swope Park Rangers~~ Sporting KC II News and Commentary: The Blue Testament, The Full 90, Talkin' Touches Podcast, No Other Pod Twitter Follows: Andy Edwards, Chad Smith, Mike
History: • MLS Cup: 2000, 2013 • Supporters’ Shield: 2000 • US Open Cup: 2004, 2012, 2015, 2017 Coaches: • Ron Newman (1996-1999) • Bob Gansler (1999-2006) • Curt Onalfo (2006-2009) • Peter Vermes (2009-Present)
Sporting Legends: • Winger Predrag “Preki” Radosavljevic (1996-2000/2002-2005) • GK Tony Meola (1999-2004) • Coach Bob Gansler (1999-2006) • Defender Jimmy Conrad (2003-2010) • DefendeCoach Peter Vermes (2000-2002/2009-Present) • Owner Lamar Hunt (1995-2006) • Midfielder Chris Klein (1998-2005) • MidfieldeAssistant Coach Kerry Zavagnin (2000-2008/2009-Present) • Forward Mo Johnston (1996-2001)
• Forward Josh Wolff (2003-2006, 2008-2010)
2020 Season Opener: Saturday, February 29 at Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2020 Home Opener: Saturday, March 7th vs. Houston Dynamo
Preseason Roster
Predicted Preferred Gameday 18: 4-3-3

-------------------Pulido------------------- --Salloi---------------------------Russell-- ------------Felipe-------Espinoza----------- --------------------Ilie-------------------- -Martins-----Besler-----Puncec-----Zusi- -------------------Melia--------------------

Subs: Sanchez, Barath, Dia, Kinda, Busio, Gerso, Shelton
Note: It is entirely possible Gerso starts over Salloi. That’s the only real positional battle for the opener, though.

2019 Overview

Western Conference Table

Pos.	Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts.
10	Houston Dynamo	34	12	18	4	49	59	-10	40
11	Sporting Kansas City	34	10	16	8	49	67	-18	38
12	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	8	16	10	37	59	-22	34

Offensive Leaders

Player	Minutes	Goals	Assists
Felipe Gutierrez	2722	12	3
Johnny Russell	2115	9	9
Krisztian Nemeth	1559	8	2
Yohan Croizet	1091	3	2
Gianluca Busio	923	3	1
Gerso Fernandes	1749	2	6
Ilie Sanchez	2509	2	5

Season Review

Heading into 2019, expectations were sky-high for SKC fans. Fresh off of securing the top spot in the Western conference and being one half away from going to the final game of MLS Cup, Sporting returned a bunch of veterans and brought in some new players to replace and improve upon the departures. We’ll talk about the players later, but suffice to say: they didn’t. Even the most pessimistic SKC fan wouldn’t have predicted the bottom falling out quite as hard as it did in 2019, causing SKC to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2010. It seems that everything that could go wrong, did. The fact that the season started off as well as it did made the collapse all the more painful.
We began our season in CONCACAF Champions League, beginning with the toughest draw of any MLS team: Toluca. Since SKC was the lower seed, we started our campaign at home, with the second leg of the contest being at Toluca. The result? 3-0, SKC. Goals from Nemeth, Gerso, and Ilie. Nemeth looked like the goalscorer we needed at the striker position, Gerso looked like he was going to put it all together with a goal and an assist, and Ilie did this. It was as great of a result as we could have imagined, heading down to Mexico with a commanding lead and no away goals conceded. Everyone expected a cagy, defensive match where we held on for dear life and advanced. Instead, Sporting KC scored in the 8th minute and never looked back, ending the game with a 2-0 victory and heading on to the next round 5-0 on aggregate. At one point, Toluca’s own fans were mocking their team, shouting “Ole!” every time SKC completed another pass. It was hailed around the league, with articles written about the historic win and pundits calling Sporting KC potentially the best pure possession team in MLS history. It’s safe to say that the hype was very real. Next up: MLS play.
We opened our MLS campaign against LAFC, who finished third in the West in their expansion year and were widely considered to be a real contender in 2019 (and for good reason). The game took place three days after the victory in Toluca, and three days before we were scheduled to travel to Panama to take on Independiente in the next round of CCL. Peter Vermes opted to play his full first choice XI in California, wanting to fight for as many points as possible to avoid digging a hole early. It would have worked, too, if it wasn’t for a meddling Diomande, who broke the 1-1 tie in the 90+4 minute to give LAFC 3 points. It was a disappointing result, but not cause for any panic. LAFC was good, SKC was tired, all was fine. Fontas suffered a hip pointer and was subbed out, but that’s no big deal. Oh, how naive we were. We didn’t know what was coming. Next up: Independiente. We traveled down to Panama and brought a 2-1 deficit, as well as an injured Salloi, home. SKC beat Philadelphia 2-0 in the home opener, calming concerns that things were going wrong. The home leg of the Independiente contest had SKC cruise to a 3-0 win, 4-2 on aggregate, and backup striker Hurtado was hurt, undergoing knee surgery and given a 2-3 month timetable for return.
The next two games were MLS play: a 1-1 tie with Colorado made notable by former SKC striker Diego Rubio scoring the opener before Russell’s incredible free kick salvaged a draw for SKC. There was also the 7-1 home victory over Montreal. Nemeth hat trick, Busio goal, tons of fun. Unfortunately for SKC fans, that was just about the last bit of fun for a long while. Their next win wouldn’t come until the end of May against Seattle. The next CCL matchup was against Monterrey, who completely obliterated SKC to the tune of 5 goals to nil. In the first leg. The second leg wasn’t much better, with Monterrey beating SKC in KC 5-2, for an aggregate score of 10-2.
The rest of the season was very bad and I won’t spend much time on it. Two wins against Seattle was certainly nice, but there were way too many embarrassing scorelines. 1-4 against SJ, 0-3 against Atlanta, 1-5 against LAFC, 2-7 against LAG, and 0-6 against FC Dallas all stand out. I’ll get into the players, but it’s safe to say that injuries completely and utterly destroyed SKC’s season. At one point, there were 6 players healthy enough to practice. SKC earned 1 point from the 6 games they played after August to close out the season.

Players

Check out The Blue Testament’s Year in review for every player, located here!
Shoutout to major_winters_506 for their offseason roster thread here

Transfers Out

Date	Player	Position	Action
11/19	Medranda	Midfielder	Removed: Picked in Expansion Draft
11/19	Zendejas	GK	Removed: Traded to Nashville SC
11/21	Sinovic	Defender	Removed: Contract Option Declined
11/21	Feilhaber	Midfielder	Removed: Contract Option Declined
11/21	Zelalem	Midfielder	Removed: Contract Option Declined
11/21	Nemeth	Forward	Removed: Contract Expired
11/21	Hasler	Defender	Removed: Contract Expired
11/21	Wallace	Defender	Removed: Contract Expired

Jimmy Medranda: Sporting loses another fan favorite in the expansion draft, as part of a deal including leaving Jimmy exposed and trading Zendejas to Nashville SC. Jimmy was always the heir apparent to Seth Sinovic, while also being able to fill in pretty much anywhere on the pitch. His 1v1 ability will not be forgotten, nor will his incredible goals. Unfortunately, injury really robbed him of a lot of time.
Adrian Zendejas: The three-year backup to Melia moved on in a trade with Nashville SC. He only made one appearance with the senior team, starting the 1-1 tie with FC Cincinnati.
Seth Sinovic: Seth was acquired by SKC in 2011 from the New England Revolution. Since then, he’s made 210 appearances for us before having his option declined this offseason. He was signed in free agency by the Revs. I think every SKC fan still believes that at some point before the end of the season, we’ll see Seth back on the team and winning the starting left back position. After featuring there for so long, and fighting off so many challengers, it just makes sense.
Benny Feilhaber: Another long-time SKC veteran, Benny returned this season from his stint with the Colorado Rapids while SKC was in the midst of its horrible injury crisis. He started 13 games, and gave us some life when we needed it most. Benny had his option declined and remains a free agent.
Gedion Zelalem: The extremely talented midfielder never found his footing under Vermes, only managing 5 starts for the injury-riddled SKC. His reportedly very expensive option was declined, and he was picked up by NYCFC.
Krisztian Nemeth: Oh, what could have been. Nemeth had a promising start to his second stint with SKC, scoring 7 goals in his first 11 regular season games in 2019, and 4 in CCL. Unfortunately, he would only score once the rest of the way en route to Vermes choosing to not renew his contract. Nemeth is currently without a team.
Nicolas Hasler: Hasler was signed for one year to be defensive/midfield depth, and he did just that in 2019, making 9 appearances for SKC. Hasley now plays for FC Thun of the Swiss Super League.
Rodney Wallace: Rodney Wallace was signed as wing/left back depth for 2019. He had one start, playing 27 minutes before suffering a season-ending injury. Wallace is currently without a team.

Transfers In

Date	Player	Position	Action
11/26	Sanchez	GK	Added: Selected in Re-Entry Draft
12/4	Puncec	Defender	Added: Signed through 2021
12/9	Shelton	Forward	Added: Signed through 2022
12/10	Pulido	Forward	Added: Signed through 2023
1/10	Dia	Defender	Added: Signed for 2020 with options through 2022
1/13	Townsend	Midfielder	Added: 2020 MLS Super Draft
1/13	Kasak	Defender	Added: 2020 MLS Super Draft
1/23	Kinda	Midfielder	Added: One-Year Loan
2/4	Dick	GK	Loaned to USL Championship side Phoenix Rising FC for the 2020
2/14	Reid	Defender	Added: On loan from West Ham

Richard Sanchez: Sanchez was acquired via the re-entry draft from the Chicago Fire after making no appearances in 2019 for them. He will serve as backup to Tim Melia while Dick gets experience on loan and Pulskamp starts for SKCII.
Roberto Puncec: Puncec was out of contract after playing for HNK Rijelca in the Croatian league. He appears to be the starting right center back next to Matt Besler, starting there in every preseason match so far. Puncec has played extensively in Europe between Israel, Croatia, and the 2. Bundesliga.
Khiry Shelton: Shelton returns after a short stint with SC Paderborn, during which he rarely featured and never scored for the senior team, while suffering an injury which caused him to miss substantial time. While Shelton was injured, Paderborn earned promotion to the Bundesliga, which seems to have proved too high of a level for Shelton. Nonetheless, he’s back in KC and appears to be much improved technically, and figures to be the backup striker and potentially a feature on the wing.
Alan Pulido: The Striker that was Promised. He’s here. Sporting KC ownership finally opened their pocketbooks, spending a rumored $9.5m on the Mexican striker who won the golden boot in Liga MX’s 2019 Apertura. Pulido appears to be the perfect striker for what Vermes wants, with a high defensive workrate, combination ability, positional flexibility, and a deadly finish. Expectations are sky-high for the player who more than doubled SKC’s historical net spend.
Amadou Dia: Dia returns to SKC after a three year stint in the USL with Phoenix. He will be the backup left back behind Luis Martins.
Jaret Townsend: Hey look a draft pick!
James Kasak: Hey look another draft pick!
Gadi Kinda: I Gadi say, this guys’ name seems Kinda great for puns. Kinda was acquired on loan from Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem. He had enjoyed a breakout season in 2019, scoring 7 goals and 4 assists from midfield in 16 appearances. The Ethiopian has yet to feature for the senior Israeli national team, despite appearing for their youth teams. He was called up for EURO 2020 qualifying. Kinda appears to be midfield depth, but is sure to push for a starting spot this season. He has impressed in preseason with his runs, footwork, and work rate.
Winston Reid: The 31 year old New Zealand center back is on loan from West Ham, who he’s made 222 competitive appearances for. Reid hasn’t made a senior competitive appearance since March 2018 due to injury. With almost two years off injured, this move appears to be a gamble that he can regain his form and once again become a top defender. If he does, he will undoubtedly be cemented in the SKC backline.

Returning Players

The Vets

Roger Espinoza: A bulldog in the central midfield, Honduran international Roger Espinoza was drafted by Sporting KC in 2008. Apart from two seasons he spent in England with Wigan, Espinoza has been a mainstay in the middle of the field, playing as a box-to-box destroyer. Roger lost a chunk of 2019 to injury, and another chunk to red cards (three, tying his personal “best” and moving into the league lead for total). He also proved just how much he means to this team, as SKC went on a terrible run when he was out. As Peter Vermes continues to search for a replacement for the 33 year old, expect Roger to continue to get plenty of minutes.
Matt Besler: Drafted in 2009 by the then-Kansas City Wizards, hometown hero Matt Besler has long been a stalwart in Peter Vermes’ defense. Apart from a down year in 2016, Besler has been one of the most consistent players in recent memory, but he’s 33 years old and his contract expires at the end of the year. Could this be the last year we see Besler in an SKC uniform? He looks to be entrenched as a starter and our captain, but it’s uncertain how much longer that will last with a potentially deep CB room behind him.
Graham Zusi: Zusi has been a near-constant presence on the wing for Sporting since he was drafted in 2009, though since the beginning of 2017 he has become Peter Vermes’ go-to right back. 2019 saw him named an MLS All Star, although most believe that honor was a year too late and not quite deserved this year. Regardless, how they told him was one of the highlights of the season. Graham looks to be the starter at right back yet again, but Lindsey is gunning for his position and Zusi may not be able to hold him off for much longer. Zusi’s contract runs through 2021.
Tim Melia: The 2017 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year should need little introduction at this point, nor should his storied career move from Rochester Rhinos’ backup to MLS pool goalkeeper to his current tenure with Sporting Kansas City. While Melia, along with the rest of the backline, performed not very well in 2019, he will look to regain his top form as the starter between the sticks.

The New Core

Johnny Russell: Scottish winger Johnny Russell returns for his third year in Kansas City having made himself a favorite both on and off the field. Most often deployed as an inverted right winger, his strength and skill terrorized defenses as he contributed 9 goals and 9 assists in 28 games last season. Look for him and his pet turtle to continue to put the fear of god in defenders from the right side of the field.
Ilie: The 29-year-old Spanish midfielder is a product of the Barcelona academy and played for Barcelona B for five seasons before a short stint in 2. Bundesliga with 1860 Munich. After joining SKC in 2017, he locked down the starting defensive midfield spot, starting 67 of 68 league games over two years and becoming an essential part of the team’s midfield structure. 2019 saw Ilie start 27 games, and when he was on the field he seemed much less effective than in years past. An All-Star in 2018, Ilie will look to regain that form this year.
Felipe Gutiérrez: Chilean midfielder Felipe Gutierrez was probably the MVP of the team in 2019, scoring 12 and assisting 3. Guti was behind only Melia in minutes played, and could be found at all three midfield positions throughout the year, although Vermes obviously prefers him at the attacking midfield spot. His ability and versatility means that it’s a safe bet Guti Gang will be in contention for the most starts on the team, as well as team MVP.

Something to Prove

Andreu Fontas: Fontas, uh, didn’t exactly work out in his first year. His $1m salary was part of the reason why Ike left, and then Fontas only started 10 games, a number of which were very bad, before getting injured for several months. Once he was healthy, Vermes declined to include him in the 18, and Fontas had surgery as soon as the season was over, which will keep him out for roughly the first month of this season. It’s widely speculated that the front office plans to buy out Fontas’s contract, considering the additions of Puncec and Reid and the fact that Fontas doesn’t appear to be in Vermes’s plans even when healthy. The biggest stumbling block for that is his contract: guaranteed at $1m through 2022, it would cost $3m to buy him out and get the cap space that he takes up back. The fans want him gone, so we’ll see if the ownership continues the “injection of capital” and buys out his contract.
Botond Barath: The Hungarian center back entered 2019 as the third center back on the depth chart, but ended up starting 20 games, behind only Matt Besler. Barath wasn’t a disaster, but he certainly didn’t distinguish himself as part of Sporting’s backline. Heading into 2020 it appears that he will go back to being a third or fourth option on the depth chart, capable of stepping up when needed but unlikely to be a difference maker.
Graham Smith: The 24 year old draft pick has yet to impress for the senior team, starting 10 games and giving up 20 goals last year (including 7 to Zlatan and the Galaxy). Barring another injury disaster, Smith will likely find himself playing the whole season with SKCII, as the fifth center back on the depth chart.
Luis Martins: Brought in to replace Seth, Martins appears to have done what nobody has done before: actually replace Seth. Starting the final 9 games of the season, Martins flashed his potential on offense and appeared capable on defense. Martins will start at left back this season and will hope to provide that spark of offense on the left side that Vermes has been searching for, while improving upon 2019’s truly terrible defense.
Daniel Salloi: After leading the team in goals in 2018, Salloi suffered a pretty severe decline in production, only managing to find the back of the net once, in the second to last game of the season. By the way the team celebrated, you’d think we had just won the cup. Salloi was another player who lost time due to injury, getting hurt in CCL against Independiente. Daniel will surely look to rediscover his form this season, which should see him draw plenty of starts at left wing.
Gerso Fernandes: Gerso was another player hampered by injuries, breaking his left wrist in a game against New England. He had seized the starting role at left wing from Salloi after Daniel’s run of poor form, but wasn’t a clear-cut starter when he returned from injury. Gerso possesses speed that nobody else on the roster has, so he will definitely have a role to play. The battle between him and Salloi for the left wing remains open, and both will surely see plenty of minutes.
Eric Hurtado: Guess what happened to Hurtado in 2019? You’re right, he was injured. Sporting’s backup striker lost most of the season to injury, starting only 8 games, all after the season was pretty much over. It appears that the 29 year old will fall to third on the center forward depth chart.

The Kids

Jaylin Lindsey: After starting 6 games in 2018, Lindsey only started once for SKC in 2019. The reason? You guessed it - he got injured. Turning 20 this year, Lindsey will look to unseat Graham Zusi at right back, something that should be easy if Zusi plays as poorly as he did in 2019. Sporting a ton of personality, Lindsey is a fan-favorite and should at least get minutes rotationally, assuming he stays healthy.
Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal: Long-touted as the future of SKC’s defensive midfield, Kuzain missed his chance to get minutes with the first team by getting injured right when SKC needed players the most. Instead, he spent the entire season with SPR, often playing further ahead in the midfield than his preferred position. His passing accuracy of 88.4% shows his skill with the ball, and the 21 year old homegrown will look to have a breakout year with SKC II and potentially get minutes in the senior team’s crowded midfield.
Gianluca Busio: Sporting KC’s most promising prospect, 17-year-old Homegrown player Gianluca Busio, was the second-youngest player to ever sign an MLS contract, and is the second-youngest goal scorer in MLS history (thanks a lot, Freddy Adu). In his second full year as a professional, Busio took advantage of SKC’s injury situation by staying healthy, increasing his minutes from 153 in 2018 to 923 in 2019. While Busio occasionally looked lost, he more often did not look out of place playing with men significantly older than him. While he didn’t lock down a starting spot, Busio will look to improve on his minutes for the second consecutive year as part of a very crowded midfield.
Cameron Duke: The 11th homegrown player in SKC history, the 19 year old midfielder has been in the Sporting Academy since 2012, and has been part of the US youth national team at the U-14, U-15, U-16, and U-18 levels. Duke will almost certainly spend the entire year with SKC II.
Felipe Hernandez: Felipe Hernandez is the first player to go from a SKC Academy affiliate, to the SKC Academy, to the Swope Park Rangers and then to the first team. He’s been touted as the heir apparent to Roger Espinoza, and often looked the part while drawing tons of starts with SPR. He scored eight goals for the USL team, second only to the center forward. Hernandez has the potential to see some midfield time with the senior team, but look to see him spend the bulk of his time with SKC II
Tyler Freeman: The youngest player signed to the first team, Freeman spent the whole season fighting for minutes on a poor SPR team, starting only 12 games. The 17 year old forward will look to improve his minutes and production with SKC II this year.

2020 Preview

Things to Watch

WE GOT A STRIKER Mission accomplished. After spending years and years waiting for the ownership to open up their wallets and pay for a big-time number 9, they finally did it. And boy, did they do it. Sporting’s net spend on transfer fees heading into this offseason was approximately $4m. Alan Pulido reportedly cost $9.5m, or more than double that. If he can live up to his price tag and capitalize on the opportunities SKC regularly produces, Pulido will score a ton of goals.
What’s a defense? Unfortunately, all the goals in the world don’t mean much without a competent defense to back them up. 2019 was a horrible year for SKC’s usually stellar defense. They let in 67 goals, a mark only beaten by FC Cincinnati. Vermes has responded by bringing in two new center backs, Puncec and Reid, keeping Martins around after he started the last run of games last year, and letting everyone else get healthy over the long, long offseason. If SKC wants to be back in the postseason, the defense will have to massively, massively improve.
#PlayYourKids
The HashtagPlayYourKids movement had its ups and downs with SKC in 2019. A couple of kids missed out on opportunities due to injury, most notably Jaylin Lindsey and Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal. Busio managed to improve his MLS minutes substantially, however, and SKC fended off a couple of suitors to hold on to the extremely promising midfielder. If Vermes wants to boast one of the best academies in MLS, and he does, then he’ll have to give the kids some more time with the senior team, something he’s been criticized for not doing in the past. The players with the clearest path to minutes are Busio in the midfield and Lindsey at right back, along with Salloi at left wing, so expect to see those three to get a solid amount of time. There are seven total homegrowns on the roster, including Busio, Lindsey, Kuzain, Cameron Duke, Tyler Freeman, Felipe Hernandez, and Daniel Salloi.
Do the vets still have it? As the corollary to #PlayYourKids, SKC still has a number of older players on the team. The biggest question of this year might be “Was 2019 an aberration due to injury, or a sign of things to come for Besler, Roger, and Zusi?” While Vermes seems to be betting, at least initially, that the older guys still have what it takes, there are capable and hungry replacements waiting in the wings for them to slip up. This is likely the last window for trophies for those three all together, so they will have a strong desire to work hard and prove that they’re not completely over the hill yet.

Prognosis

There are a lot of open questions for this Sporting KC team, which means the range of outcomes is going to be wide.
Realistic Best Case Scenario Turns out, 2019 was entirely the fault of historic levels of injury! Sporting looks like the 2018 and early 2019 team, dominating with the ball, snuffing out counter-attacks, and scoring at will by committee. The team returns to the top of the Western Conference and is competitive throughout the playoffs, although not quite doing enough to win the whole thing - the roster construction isn’t quite there. The team does bring home a trophy, though, winning the USOC in a thrilling game.
Realistic Worst Case Scenario The veterans really are past it, the kids aren’t quite ready, and injuries do not stay away. The back line remains mediocre and Pulido can’t put the offense on his back. SKC misses the playoffs for the second year in a row, and calls for Peter’s job get much, much louder.
Realistic More Probable Scenario Injuries hurt in 2019, but they clearly weren’t the only problem. The defense improves from last year, but is just league average. The midfield is much better than last year, and 5 players play more than 1000 minutes, keeping everyone fresh and competitive. The front three really improves with the addition of Pulido, and SKC scores a ton of goals and is generally fun to watch. It’s enough to put SKC back in the playoffs, and even win a playoff game! Unfortunately, that’s where things end, as Sporting falls in the second round of the playoffs in a competitive game. They make a USOC run, but don’t win that either.

(OC) Every nba team subreddit is pretty perfectly summed up by their top keywords

This all started because I was checking out subredditstats.com to see stats for ripcity. The way I see it is if you aren't a top contributer on your teams subreddit, then you are a casual nephew. Anyways, I started to notice a lot of the top keywords for ripcity were comically summing up the sub. That's when I noticed that you can see lists of others subs on reddit that match up based on keywords and the results were hilarious. Naturally I started checking every teams subreddit stats. Here are the results.
Definition of "Top Keyword": The keywords that are most often used on this subreddit in particular, relative to the global frequency of that key word
Definition of "Related Subreddits by Keywords": The most closely related subreddit by keyword usage overlap

Team	Top Keywords	Related Subreddits by keywords
Atlanta Hawks	trae (565.1) 328 (334.9) 3-point (287.1) hawks (242.9) first-round (215.3) 👀👀 (200.9) merchandising (200.9) doncic (188.4) 2018-19 (167.4) embody (167.4) reb (167.4) ast (158.6) lobs (150.7) conveys (143.5) 18-19 (137) 76ers (135.2) buyout (132.2) mentorship (125.6) olaf (111.6) 🐐 (107.6) flippy (100.5)	ArcherFX (5) TransSpace (5) opera (5) TsumTsum (5) Feminism (5) Barcelona (5) falcons (5) Flipping (5) bloodborne (4) vinyl (4) introvert (4) AskOuija (4) gonewildstories (4) wholesomebpt (4) crappyoffbrands (4) Portland (4) holdmyfeedingtube (4) battlefield_one (4) CallOfDuty (4) fullmoviesonyoutube (4)
Boston Celtics	2018-19 (380.3) ast (287.2) sign-and-trade (221.8) #22 (178.3) #20 (158.5) rafters (158.5) 76ers (150.5) sharpshooter (138.7) resigning (135.8) tantalizing (126.8) boomed (126.8) backcourt (118.8) facilitator (110.9) highlights: (110.9) raves (108.9) prototypical (105.6) re-signing (101.9) one-year (99) opts (97.5) clinched (95.1)	introvert (27) winemaking (27) littlespace (26) CLG (26) lawschooladmissions (26) Clojure (26) Geniva_ (26) AfterTheLoop (26) DetroitRedWings (25) Blogging (25) OutreachHPG (25) ihadastroke (25) NSFWFunny (25) XWingTMG (25) SexToys (25) aws (25) calmhands (25) RandomActsOfGaming (25) WeWantPlates (24) wedding (24)
Brooklyn Nets	clinch (830.7) 76ers (342.2) 3pt (225.7) tonight's (180.6) nets (160.7) cornerstone (144.5) postseason (144.5) pregame (120.4) chants (120.4) 538 (120.4) post-game (108.3) announcers (108.3) buzzer (103.2) bigs (103.2) offseason (102.3) sharpshooter (90.3) playoff (85.2) angelo (80.3) all-star (80.3)	ImGoingToHellForThis (3) njpw (3) orangetheory (3) masterforgiveme (3) NotHowDrugsWork (3) ElderScrolls (3) gonewildstories (3) ArcherFX (3) Doom (3) Trumpgret (3) holdmyfeedingtube (3) coins (3) Ohio (3) Dentistry (3) badroommates (3) cs50 (3) quiteinteresting (3) ShitPostCrusaders (3) hammockcamping (3) TrueBlood (3)
Charlotte Hornets	hornets (316.6), kemba (158.3), mediocrity (108.5) supermax (93.3) yahoo (88.5) usp=sharing (81.4) 113 (59.4) two-way (56.5) rounders (48.5) teal (47.5) draft (47.3) lottery (46.5) defeat (45.7) rafters (45.2) franchise (45) lamb (42.4) 76ers (40.7) dunks (40.7) buzzer (40.7) $160 (40.7)
Chicago Bulls	basketball-reference (403.8) 🐐 (302.8) shitposts (226) two-year (207.7) 🌹 (201.9) bulls (188) #15 (173.1) tenured (148.3) postgame (148.3) screener (138.4) 21-year-old (138.4) mixes (133.1) dunks (129.8) pre-game (129.8) 2018-2019 (125.9) sprained (115.4) multi-year (115.4) mismatches (115.4) 3pt (108.2) 00:00 (106.5) bleacherreport (98.9)	adops (14) ManchesterUnited (14) bestofnetflix (13) NewYorkIslanders (13) Torontobluejays (13) mead (13) NUFC (13) naturalbodybuilding (12) manchester (12) BiggerThanYouThought (12) coldshowers (12) R6ProLeague (12) Dentistry (12) UBC (12) NotHowGirlsWork (12) Parahumans (12) dxm (12) AroundTheNFL (12) Rift (12) creepy (12)
Cleveland Cavaliers	sexton (333) ovation (208.1) courtside (199.8) die-hard (190.3) cavs (172.7) lobs (166.5) wingspan (166.5) 73-9 (153.7) 👑 (138.8) two-year (133.2) 2018-2019 (124.9) bonehead (124.9) pacers (121.1) officiated (111) finalizing (111) doubters (102.5) ᴴᴰ (99.9) 3-point (99.9) post-season (95.2) boneheaded (90.8) vacancy (88.8)	subnautica (12) realmadrid (11) GamePhysics (11) trance (10) CGPGrey (10) DetroitBecomeHuman (10) R6ProLeague (10) DOG (10) sailormoon (9) apolloapp (9) EngineeringPorn (9) dogs (9) njpw (9) ArcherFX (9) plotholes (9) lifeisstrange (9) americangods (9) cancer (9) TrueSTL (9) cosmology (9)
Dallas Mavericks	mavs (539.8) 🐐 (244.4) dirk (209.5) rebounds (112.8) offseason (91.7) luka (75.2) 76ers (72.4) all-star (71.3) 41 (68.5) mid-game (67.9) rookie (67.9) off-season (65.2) rounders (65.2) retiring (63.4) rebounding (63.4) knicks (61.1) grouping (59.8) tonight's (58.2) 2018-19 (54.3) all-time (52.4) bingo (52.1)	linguistics (13) CuckoldCommunity (13) cancer (12) calmhands (12) youtubehaiku (12) EmpireDidNothingWrong (12) KamikazeByWords (12) Earwolf (12) northernlion (12) Blazblue (12) NUFC (11) doommetal (11) learnart (11) realmadrid (11) newsokur (11) battlebots (11) entertainment (11) CatsAreAssholes (11) HaircareScience (11) WeWantPlates (10)
Denver Nuggets	postgame (278.1) ejection (250.3) 6:00 (208.6) 76ers (208.6) 8:30 (197.6) 8:00 (173.8) espn (154.5) presser (139) nuggets (134.7) 3-3 (125.1) 11:00 (119.2) standings (104.3) swagger (83.4) post-game (83.4)	flicks (8) lawschooladmissions (8) saskatoon (8) ihadastroke (7) iOSProgramming (7) masseffect (7) bostonceltics (7) xmrtrader (7) astrophotography (7) itookapicture (7) DesignatedSurvivor (7) nononono (7) littlespace (7) coins (7) writers (7) eroticauthors (7) wine (7) Nootropics (6) SandersForPresident (6) howto (6)
Detroit Pistons	pistons (765.2) boxscore (284.3) equivalents (243.7) ejected (160.6) floaters (160.6) rebounder (160.6) rebounds (154.7) threes (139.4) watch: (127.7) expiring (120.4) offseason (114) fouls (106.3) 7:00 (100.3) rebounding (100.3) undersized (100.3) 107 (89.2) piston (81.5) off-season (80.3) hobbled (80.3)	Earwolf (18) masseffect (17) trance (16) AndroidMasterRace (16) tales (16) Blogging (15) Seahawks (15) natureismetal (15) mflb (15) actuary (15) gonewildstories (14) plotholes (14) rally (14) Swimming (14) entertainment (14) taoism (14) qotsa (14) bestofnetflix (14) calmhands (14) recruitinghell (14)
Golden State Warriors	amas (283.7) steph (176.5) rebounds (170.2) all-time (141.9) つ (132.4) ༼ (132.4) dubs (129) playoff (122.9) ༽つ (122.9) #11 (122.9) threes (122.9) nicknames (113.5) klay (104) re-sign (104) jerseys (99.3) refs (95.6) 7:30 (92.2) #8 (81.1) warriors (77.5) nba (75.1)	nba (6) Patriots (6) lakers (6) Yogscast (5) inthesoulstone (4) starcitizen (4) eagles (4) PUBG (4) NoMansSkyTheGame (4) anime (4) deadbydaylight (4) running (4) weedstocks (4) thanosdidnothingwrong (3) amateurgirlsbigcocks (3) DestinyTheGame (3) circlejerk (3) DCcomics (3) marvelstudios (3) KarmaCourt (3)
Houston Rockets	◕_◕ (582.5) basketball-reference (524.3) ༽つ (475.7) ༼ (475.7) つ (475.7) hammy (339.8) floater (326.2) floaters (326.2) shimmy (254.9) 455 (244.7) doubters (233) 🐐 (219.6) 372 (203.9) one-year (203.9) capela (203.9) lob (191.9) rebounds (182.4) 419 (174.8)	cursedimages (6) NYGiants (5) cowboys (5) Aleague (5) coys (5) AustralianPolitics (5) Eyebleach (5) thalassophobia (5) lockpicking (4) ImGoingToHellForThis (4) Shitty_Car_Mods (4) forwardsfromgrandma (4) WhatsWrongWithYourDog (4) Justfuckmyshitup (4) SpecArt (4) pitbulls (4) HalfLife (4) motogp (4) Swimming (4) webcomics (4)
Indiana Pacers	offseason (182.7) rebounds (157.3) tendon (116.5) televised (116.5) smothered (116.5) yahoo (112.8) re-sign (109.2) thad (104.9) 440 (104.9) pave (99.9) usp=sharing (94.5) jerseys (94.1) 76ers (94.1) postseason (80.7) off-season (79.5) swept (77.7) layup (74.9) dunked (74.9) 107 (72.8) playoff (70.3)	zelda (1) gameofthrones (1) AnimalsBeingBros (1) gardening (1) itookapicture (1) nevertellmetheodds (1) madlads (1) raspberry_pi (1) BustyPetite (1) thewalkingdead (1) NatureIsFuckingLit (1) PetiteGoneWild (1) Filmmakers (1) 3DS (1) somethingimade (1) getdisciplined (1) dogswithjobs (1) celebnsfw (1) snowboarding (1) digitalnomad (1)
LA Clippers	clipper (299.4) two-way (188.2) halftime (188.2) laker (188.2) clippers (168.6) lob (156.8) 7:30 (156.8) bobblehead (130.7) 76ers (122) rebounds (117.6) lakers (115) rookies (109.1) tix (108.6) broadcaster (104.6) waived (104.6) stubhub (104.6) lou (100.8) milos (94.1) underdogs (87.1) comeback (86.7) playoffs (81)	VideoEditing (7) exchristian (7) XWingTMG (7) rap (7) ukulele (6) GoneErotic (6) bindingofisaac (6) fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu (6) TaylorSwift (6) boxoffice (6) CuckoldCommunity (6) Dreams (6) gonewild30plus (6) devops (6) cocaine (6) tarot (6) ketoscience (6) fantasyhockey (6) composer (6) Geniva_ (6)
Los Angeles Lakers	lakers (69.5) bandwagon (52.9) #4 (36.4) championships (28.6) playoffs (28.6) basketball (28.3) protest (27.8) fries (27.8) resign (24.6) playoff (22.9) 30th (22.2) 81 (21.9) championship (21.2) coaching (20.5) celtics (20.5) franchise (19.9) haters (19.2) suns (18.8) dunk (18.8) lebron (18.7) 11th (18.4)	nba (15) NBA2k (6) warriors (6) sports (6) holdmyjuicebox (3) sportsarefun (3) baseball (3) CollegeBasketball (3) hockey (3) theocho (3) GreenBayPackers (3) Patriots (3) Moviesinthemaking (2) Art (2) PraiseTheCameraMan (2) thick (2) holdmyfeedingtube (2) radiohead (2) Bundesliga (2) CFB (2)
Memphis Grizzlies	2018-19 (897) 667 (415.3) grizzlies (400.8) 273 (398.7) four-year (249.2) 789 (213.6) buzzer (207.6) lithuanian (199.3) parsons (199.3) sprain (199.3) 364 (166.1) 407 (166.1) opts (166.1) bridged (166.1) y'alls (166.1) conveying (158.6) 488 (142.4) 429 (142.4) sidelined (142.4) 286 (142.4)
Miami Heat	🐐 (326.8) 2018-2019 (186.8) jerseys (171.2) 305 (138.6) one-year (130.7) bosh (108.9) expiring (96.8) clinched (93.4) 76ers (88.8) re-sign (87.2) basketball-reference (87.2) quickness (87.2) 18-19 (81.7) rebounder (81.7) clots (81.7) 2019-2020 (81.7) dion (79.2) contend (77.8) shined (72.6) lob (72.6) #13 (72.6)	Nerf (16) DesignatedSurvivor (16) Torontobluejays (15) OverwatchLFT (15) SandersForPresident (14) ottawa (14) SeriousConversation (14) Persona5 (14) drones (13) ar15 (13) skeptic (13) Morrowind (13) SampleSize (13) Porsche (13) coys (13) bestofnetflix (13) FreeCodeCamp (13) XRP (13) gamecollecting (13) PersonalFinanceCanada (13)
Milwaukee Bucks	2018-19 (1443.7) #22 (911.8) #17 (823.2) plantar (705.6) #21 (696.5) dey (633.2) sprain (617.4) meet-up (569.9) bilateral (569.9) #34 (455.9) first-round (379.9) score: (357.6) crossword (341.9) #13 (325.7) boxscore (303.9) postgame (266) 2018-2019 (253.3) #11 (240) clinching (228) fiserv (228) 7-0 (211.1)	Perfectfit (8) NewYorkIslanders (8) ManchesterUnited (8) gallifrey (8) NYGiants (8) NUFC (8) Cubs (8) Torontobluejays (8) EmpireDidNothingWrong (8) ar15 (7) WaltDisneyWorld (7) Foodforthought (7) EngineeringStudents (7) simpleliving (7) GamePhysics (7) lifeisstrange (7) surfing (7) RetroPie (7) trance (7) entertainment (7)
Minnesota Timberwolves	🌹 (337.7) 76ers (315.8) buzzer (184.2) season: (122.8) jerseys (119.5) waived (110.5) sideline (110.5) dismal (110.5) preseason (105.3) jumpers (92.1) wolves (85.6) timber (79) averaging (74.7) butler (74.6) offseason (74.6) brewer (73.7) players' (73.7) 6'6 (73.7) foolishly (73.7) paparazzi (73.7)	Colts (12) transhumanism (11) mountainbiking (11) nyjets (11) miamidolphins (10) NYYankees (10) ladybonersgw (10) steelers (10) Blogging (9) OutOfTheLoop (9) suns (9) MURICA (9) realmadrid (9) Brawlstars (9) ussoccer (9) selfhosted (9) careerguidance (8) GameDeals (8) ProtectAndServe (8) PlantBasedDiet (8)
New Orleans Pelicans	pels (429.3) lobs (412) fleeced (282.5) first-round (235.4) 3-point (235.4) pelican (211.1) backcourt (193.9) 19-20 (188.4) roster: (188.4) 9:30pm (188.4) pelicans (182.4) suitors (171.2) rebounder (166.2) off-ball (157) 2018-19 (157) sweepstakes (157) 757 (157) 2019-20 (138.5) ● (134.5) intangibles (134.5)
New York Knicks	rounders (254.5) porzingis (247.5) knicks (210.9) undrafted (173.2) booed (132) 🐐 (127.3) kp (125.6) hardaway (123.7) rookies (108.9) homegrown (99) backcourt (99) courtside (89.1) kemba (86.6) boxscore (78.6) knox (74.2) 2018-19 (74.2) fleeced (74.2) trey (67.5) rafters (66) 840 (63.6)	Nerf (21) telltale (20) wewontcallyou (20) tattoos (20) NUFC (19) vegetarian (18) dogs (18) NotTimAndEric (18) bestofnetflix (18) NSFWFunny (18) PowerShell (18) ArcherFX (18) ar15 (18) Volkswagen (18) boxoffice (18) RepTime (18) SoccerBetting (18) Mid_Century (18) coys (18) iOSthemes (18)
OKC Thunder	melo (356.5) 0-4 (254.6) dunks (198) ◕_◕ (198) rebounds (198) 2018-19 (165) 419 (118.8) dunking (118.8) perennial (118.8) ༽つ (110) 39% (110) 3pt (99) brodie (99) buyout (99) つ (90) ༼ (88) buzzer (86.6) thunder (84.9) 0-3 (84.9) sprain (84.9) dunk (83)	tattoos (8) PantheonMMO (8) blazbluextagbattle (8) mylittlepony (8) PixelDungeon (8) AskElectronics (8) ems (8) BlackSails (8) ApplyingToCollege (7) PleX (7) Pets (7) EngineeringStudents (7) tifu (7) confusing_perspective (7) delusionalartists (7) KendrickLamar (7) zen (7) aws (7) 49ers (7) googlehome (7)
Orlando Magic	2018-19 (602.3) bamba (401.5) kuzma (354.3) clinched (334.6) 6'9 (321.2) 909 (240.9) 6'10 (240.9) hustles (240.9) spg (229.4) fleeced (229.4) 406 (200.8) re-sign (182.5) playoffs: (172.1) bandwagoners (160.6) 810 (160.6) 889 (160.6) 727 (160.6) scenarios: (160.6) 2018-2019 (154.4) scorers (133.8)	simpleliving (4) volleyball (4) SanJoseSharks (4) NYGiants (4) GamersBeingBros (4) lifeisstrange (4) zen (4) littlespace (4) trackers (4) Porsche (4) CHICubs (4) marchingband (4) EmDrive (4) OutreachHPG (4) youtubehaiku (3) NSFW_GIF (3) trippinthroughtime (3) raspberry_pi (3) westworld (3) meirl (3)
Philidelphia 76ers	sixers (957.9) 76ers (495.4) 6'11 (209.2) turnovers (179.3) order: (179.3) '19 (177) collapsing (165.1) doink (139.5) fultz (125.5) refrain (116.2) 2-way (104.6) tobi (104.6) boban (104.6) acquisitions (104.6) structured (101.3) embiid (97.1) re-sign (91) re-signs (89.7) jimbo (89.7) 33rd (89.7) 🅱️ (83.7)	Nerf (22) AZURE (22) WeWantPlates (21) halifax (21) masseffect (21) telltale (21) PowerShell (20) SocialistRA (20) entertainment (20) satanism (20) DesignatedSurvivor (20) R6ProLeague (20) marchingband (20) introvert (20) NYGiants (20) OutreachHPG (20) opera (20) WaltDisneyWorld (19) aws (19) TsumTsum (19)
Phoenix Suns	suns (279.7) sarver (139) rebounds (96.6) preseason (92.7) assists (80.5) 3pt (79.7) turnover (74.5) rebounding (72.4) turnovers (65.2) threes (65.2) chants (63.2) rookies (62.1) contagious (57.9) buzzer (57.9) overreact (57.9) playmaking (57.9) rotations (57.9) booker (57.9) offseason (57.9) chant (55)	Foodforthought (18) rubyonrails (18) BasketballTips (18) TheyAreBillions (17) drums (17) CollegeBasketball (17) astrophotography (17) Torontobluejays (16) ketoscience (16) DeathStranding (16) lostarkgame (16) winnipegjets (16) leafs (16) counting (16) pussypassdenied (16) LetsNotMeet (16) Eyebleach (15) radiohead (15) phish (15) realmadrid (15)
Portland Trailblazers	blazers (320.7) blazer (296) postgame (222) speedy (167.3) turnovers (166.5) rebounds (136.6) buzzer (130.6) trailblazers (118.4) kanter (98.7) threes (92.5) laker (88.8) 🐐 (88.8) 2018-19 (84.6) 76ers (84.6) beaters (74) possessions (74) clinch (74) blooded (74) tibia (74) beater (69.7) standings (67.3)	beta (4) FemdomCommunity (4) CuckoldCommunity (4) ukulele (4) chicago (3) Filmmakers (3) masseffect (3) therewasanattempt (3) OutOfTheLoop (3) youtubehaiku (3) rally (3) BiggerThanYouThought (3) cordcutters (3) trippinthroughtime (3) paradoxplaza (3) KendrickLamar (3) googleplaydeals (3) gay_irl (3) drums (3) theydidthemath (3)
Sacramento Kings	pbp (668.6) boxscore (579.9) nbcsports (443.5) 2018-19 (238.8) rebounder (238.8) doncic (238.8) basketball-reference (208.9) 5-5 (159.2) 👑 (152) relinquish (143.3) 6-3 (143.3) rebounds (124.4) 🤙 (119.4) willie (109.4) © (102.3) 6:00 (95.5) wining (95.5) 238 (89.5) 5-3 (85.3)	blackmagicfuckery (18) OutreachHPG (18) Reluctance (18) TaylorSwift (18) Braves (18) cancer (18) Foodforthought (18) CuckoldCommunity (18) winnipegjets (18) Rift (18) XWingTMG (18) gonewild30plus (17) WaltDisneyWorld (17) leafs (17) DepthHub (17) exchristian (17) XRP (17) HomeServer (17) aws (17) NSFW_GIF (17)
San Antonio Spurs	boxscore (1546.9) demar (197) millsap (140.1) 🐐 (140.1) basketball-reference (140.1) #20 (136.2) rafters (116.7) doubters (116.7) seeding (116.7) backcourt (105.1) bricking (105.1) 484 (105.1) 417 (105.1) 2018-2019 (100.1) spurs (95.5) 9:00 (87.6) triples (87.6) 529 (87.6) spur (87.6)	R6ProLeague (10) F1Technical (9) cosmology (9) mylittlepony (8) washingtondc (8) youtubehaiku (8) nudism (8) PPC (8) HTML (8) astrophotography (8) mother4 (8) SexToys (8) RetroPie (8) Geniva_ (8) gonewild30plus (7) PartyParrot (7) StuffOnCats (7) SampleSize (7) creepy (7) wine (7)
Seattle Sonics	relocated (380.9) snek (274.3) nationally (274.3) preseason (228.6) royalties (195.9) relocating (171.4) 1979 (158.2) relocate (155.8) dunk (150) renovation (137.1) decker (137.1) dilutes (137.1) announcer (137.1) introductions (137.1) unfulfilled (137.1) boycotting (137.1) renovating (137.1) contention (137.1) colorways (137.1) devious (137.1) -and (137.1)
Toronto Raptors	raptors (297.4) raptor (233.7) ༽つ (205) ༼ (205) つ (184.5) raps (167.7) buzzer (167.7) kawhi (113.8) jv (97.9) pascal (95.9) condolences (87.1) 3pt (83.9) ovation (83.9) streamable (75.5) chants (74.6) tomorrow's (69.9) dunks (67.1) lowry (62.9) buyout (62.9) bromance (59.9) threes (59.2)	bestofnetflix (12) Vaping101 (12) FargoTV (12) Borderlands2 (12) funhaus (11) comicbookart (11) farcry (11) Multicopter (11) 49ers (11) datasets (11) eroticauthors (11) booksuggestions (11) WaltDisneyWorld (11) Browns (11) esports (11) ActionFigures (11) KendrickLamar (11) Earwolf (11) fcbayern (11) Voltron (11)
Utah Jazz	boxscore (357.2) 2018-19 (116.5) 7:00 (93.2) snubbed (93.2) jazz (92.2) reigning (79.9) off-season (77.7) donovan (76.2) hardens (74.6) dunks (74.6) buzzer (69.9) threes (67.8) ovation (66.6) offseason (63.1) rockets (62.4) 3pt (62.1) boos (55.9) berth (55.9) contending (55.9) underdogs (55.9) seeding (55.9)	SoccerBetting (5) NewYorkIslanders (5) rage (4) OutOfTheLoop (4) dogs (4) Perfectfit (4) DepthHub (4) WeWantPlates (4) HealthyFood (4) powerwashingporn (4) hentai (4) ofcoursethatsathing (4) delusionalartists (4) Coffee (4) gainit (4) creepypasta (4) funhaus (4) DnDGreentext (4) shockwaveporn (4) bestof (4)
Washington Wizards	locker (89.8) playoff (80.2) jersey (76.2) lottery (61) offseason (58.8) chant (58.8) nba (55.7) championship (55) basketball (47.3) draft (43.1) drafting (42.8) wizards (40.7) playoffs (40.1) coach (40.1) resign (38.5) coaching (38.5) lineup (35.6) averaging (32.1) pts (32.1) tanking (32.1) drafted (28.9)	Hydroponics (14) XWingTMG (13) HomeKit (13) sabres (13) Torontobluejays (13) introvert (13) PPC (12) AndroidMasterRace (12) ultimate (12) Basketball (12) electricians (12) MilitaryPorn (12) Filmmakers (12) PHP (12) iRacing (12) NintendoWaifus (12) astrophotography (12) godot (12) gog (12) The100 (12)

Edit: Fixed Nuggets. Those dudes are always making tables so a lot their top keywords all screwed with my table.

Official /r/NBA Power Rankings #0 (10.22.2019) - Let the Games Begin Edition

28/30 rankers reporting this week. /NBA's Power Rankings are published every two weeks which is a bit different from most rankings. Other than that we rank the teams the same way as our competition. If write ups are left blank the team rep decided not to submit. We encourage any user to fill in the blanks in the comment section. We are still looking for a Grizzlies ranker so apply here if interested!

#	Team	Record	Comment
1	Clippers	0-0	With two of the most anticipated free agents in modern history, and certainly LAC history, the Clippers' future is looking bright. While Kawhi is all but certain to play less than 82 games, Paul George is still hurt, and likely won't be back for a couple more weeks. As a result, I don't think I am ready to call LAC #1 JUST yet. Let's wait and see what happens with PG out for a bit, and what Kawhi, Lou, Trez, PatBev and the rookies can accomplish in that time.
2	Bucks	0-0	With sky-high expectations, the Bucks and their reigning MVP are in uncharted territory coming into this season, and it is time to see whether or not they will be able to live up to them. This offseason's most significant change for the Bucks is the loss of Malcolm Brogdon. However, Jon Horst did a great job getting some value back in an S&T and replaced him with a platoon of SGs who can bomb away from deep. The roster is even deeper than last year with Robin Lopez, Wes Matthews, Kyle Korver, and Dragan Bender joining, but this team will be judged on its playoff success, another 60 win season with an ECF exit would be a failure.
3	76ers	0-0	Another Sixers offseason that included empty gym videos of their PG taking shots. The Sixers have high expectations after an off-season that saw Jimmy, TJ, and JJ get replaced by Horford and Josh Richardson. This team is much deeper, but still lacks shooting and will potentially look to fill that void with a mid-season trade. An easy early schedule (2nd easiest until Xmas) should allow the team to work out the kinks with the new additions.
4	Rockets	0-0	The acquisition of Russell Westbrook has been is one of the biggest question marks for the upcoming season. Will he and James Harden work well together? It's happened before, but many argue that the two players have changed too much since then. I personally think that Westbrook's fast-paced style will benefit D'Antoni's system more than Chris Paul's play style did, and I am optimistic about the prospect of surrounding Westbrook with the best group of shooters he has ever had.
5	Lakers	0-0	A new era is upon the Lakers. With only a couple players returning from the previous season, the team looks to build off the chemistry that AD and LeBron built off of during the preseason. Health will be a large portion of conversations during the season and who will be the player that steps up to be the third guy? Whatever happens, we're sure tto have a media drama filled season.
6	Nuggets	0-0	Basketball’s back, baby! With the city of Denver craving a distraction from the Broncos’ awful season, the Nuggets arrive on the stage with lofty expectations for a franchise that hasn’t made a Finals appearance in their 43 years in the NBA. With unicorn big man Nikola Jokic firmly cemented as a franchise cornerstone, the future of this team now depends on the pieces that surround Jokic. If Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and co. can develop into consistent high volume scorers next to Jokic, the Nuggets will certainly be in the Finals discussions by the end of the season.
7	Jazz	0-0	With additions of Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jeff Green, and more, the new-look Jazz look to continue their defensive identity this season. With preseason showing some hiccups in the team's schemes, the challenge of steering Utah into the postseason lies squarely on coach Quin Snyder to fix the glitches and show how dangerous the Jazz can be on both sides of the ball. Rudy Gobert will chase a DPOY trifecta, while Donovan Mitchell will continue to rely on his improved spida skills after a successful summer outing in international play. Meanwhile, questions still loom for this team. Can Derrick Favors' presence be replaced by commitee? Will there be revolving door starting lineup based on matchups? Will the bench have enough firepower? Utah looks to answer those questions early against a slew of Wester nconference opponents.
8	Trail Blazers	0-0	Portland didn't have any big moves this off-season, but they quietly improved their biggest shortcoming - shooting from people other than Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Returning players Zach Collins, Jake Layman, and Meyers Leonard look considerably improved as well. Neither of these should be enough to propell them to contender status, but they should remain a competetive playoff team. And if Collins really emerges, they might really surprise people.
9	Warriors	0-0	Steph dropped 40 points in 25 minutes. Looks like we may get a 15-16 Steph kinda season. Warriors clearly have size issues and will have difficulty on the boards. Warriors offense is a bit slower paced than it has been in the past and it's been easier for defenses to read. With bodies going on and off the injury list we haven't had a real glimpse of what this team is. The regular season is just about here though.
10	Celtics	0-0	Going into the season, there's a million questions surrounding the Celtics. Was Kyrie the problem? Is Hayward going to step up? Is Jaylen Brown going to prove he's worth the max/close to the max? Or is he going to find himself on the trade block? Is Tatum going to take another leap? Is Kemba going to flourish? Is Brad going to prove he's still deserving of being considered a great coach? How in the world will the Celtics survive with a ragtag assortment of big men led by Enes Kanter??? The Celtics jump right into the fire to start the season with matchups against the 76ers, Raptors, and Bucks, and then two matchups against the Knicks before the next edition of the powerrankings.
11	Raptors	0-0	The raptors went all in, and it worked. Now, we’re left with what remains. Hope for the future comes through our developing players such as Pascal Siakam, and Fred Van Vleet Sr. Offseason losses of Kawhi Leonard & Danny Green will hurt significantly, but hopefully players such as Norman Powell & OG Anunoby can step up in their places. Many minor offseason acquisitions took place this offseason, so it will be interesting to see if any of the new raptors can stand out. One of the more intriguing to myself is Euroleague sharpshooter Matt Thomas. As we won’t be contending this year, look for possible trade deadline moves of expiring contracts such as Marc Gasol, for potential draft picks. Overall it should be an interesting season to watch our youth movement develop further, and we should still be good enough to contend for a top 5 seed in the east.
12	Pacers	0-0	The early story for the 2019-2020 Pacers will involve how well the new pieces fit together on offense. TJ Warren, TJ McConnell, Jeremy Lamb, and Goga Bitadze all flashed at points in the preseason, and Indiana will need as much help as it can get before Victor Oladipo returns to action. Oladipo surprisingly progressed to 5v5 drills recently, but no timetable is in place for his return. If the Pacers offense can muster up enough energy in the first months of the season, there's no reason Indiana shouldn't be right back in the thick of the playoff race come early spring.
13	Nets	0-0	Basketball is back and Brooklyn saw a lot of change this offseason. The most obvious change is adding Kyrie which will add several new layers to the offense. His ability to score from anywhere on the floor will open up opportunities for Jarrett and Deandre in the Nets' PnR-heavy offense. Levert, Dinwiddie, and Harris will be returning to similar roles as last year but there will be a little extra attention for Levert who made major improvements last offseason and will try to do the same this year. With additions in Prince, Temple, and Nwaba who have all looked solid so far, Nets fans have a lot to look forward to this season.
14	Spurs	0-0	Mismatched roster? Check. Guy/s viewed around the league as at best a #2 or #3 option on a contending team featured as your two most important players? Check. A wide variety of players that need the ball to effective and operate in overlapping areas? Check. Yet will all that being true, I will let you be the one that declares this isn't a playoff team. Roster construction, be damned. One reason to be optimistic going into the 2019-2020 season is Demar Derozan's willing to shoot open three pointers off the catch without hesitation during the last game of the preseason (only 3 but in 1 game!). If this continues and defenders have to at least step towards him and contest, a lot of the floor spacing issues on offense between Him and LMA could be relieved.
15	Heat	0-0	With the new seasons come new faces and new hopes that we'll be competitive.Happy that we got to get a player as great as Jimmy Butler although I'll miss Josh Richardson. I hope that Justise Winslow and Bam Adebayo are able to take the next steps although I've been waiting for Winslow for years to do so. I'm not hoping for anything amazing out of this year's draft picks just because of the time it takes to adjust, but Herro should do some good for us. I'm expecting the Heat achieve a middle of the pack playoff berth between 4-8 depending on how everyone performs. Hopefully we're not in the timeline where the Heat also tank and that means the only good team in South Florida is the Florida Panthers (I hope Quenneville makes some magic for us).
16	Kings	0-0	The Sacramento Kings have an opportunity to take another step forward after competing for the 8th seed in the West for a significant portion of last season. While the Kings fell short of the playoffs last year, they enter this season in a great position to continue building upon what they created last year with new Head Coach Luke Walton on the sideline. The Kings largely brought their core back, and added some great supplementary pieces in Dewayne Dedmon and Cory Joseph. The current wildcard, even before we start the season, is the extension negotiations with Buddy Hield who came close to Joakim Noah'ing the City of Sacramento. If a deal is struck expect harmony - if the two sides reach an impasse... That's the Kings, baby.
17	Mavericks	0-0	The Mavs had a rough offseason: they had equal odds and Memphis and New Orleans to jump into the top 2, but stayed put and conveyed the pick to Atlanta. They then missed out on big free agents and blamed the fans for getting their hopes up. Luckily, Porzingis signed his contract as expected, and Dallas got some mid-tier signings in Delon Wright and reuniting Seth Curry in Dallas. The biggest question marks this year are Porzingis' health and who is the 5th starter. The Mavs are a top heavy team, but with Rick Carlisle consistently getting the most out of his bench each year, there's a good chance the Mavs will be in the playoff hunt.
18	Magic	0-0	New season, basically the same roster. Bringing back Vucevic and Ross on long-term contracts left some scratching their heads, but consistency is typically touted as necessary for continued success, so guess we'll just have to see if that's true. Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba showed serioues growth during preseason and Markelle Fultz finally came out of the woodwork. With so much uncertainty surrounding his health, Fultz came out and showed that he can still play the game. He'll start off as the backup point but I have no doubt the plan is to eventually have Fultz starting if he's able to stay healthy. Playoffs are once again the expectation but first we'll have to see if this team can replciate that late season success that got them to the playoffs last year.
19	Pistons	0-0	The Pistons have a lot of swing for this season. Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond are coming off career years, Reggie Jackson had a full offseason for the first time in years. The problem is several key players have injury issues (Blake, Rose, Jackson) and they may have the weakest wing rotation of any team trying to win games. They need a leap from at least one of Kennard or Bruce Brown.
20	Pelicans	0-0	The Pelicans obviously had a huge roster turnover this offseason, and that will have huge implications to start the season. Typically teams with high roster turnover have slower starts, and perhaps struggle with chemistry issues. But due to great veteran leadership from guys like Jrue Holiday and JJ Redick, a fantastic coaching staff lead by Alvin Gentry (as well as Chris Finch and Jeff Bzdelick), and an eager group of young players without egos who are ready to learn and adapt I'd bet on the Pelicans starting out hotter than most expect. The beginning of the schedule for this team has them playing some great teams, but there are enough chips on these guys shoulders to put Lays out of business. I don't expect a slump coming out of the gate.
21	Hawks	0-0	There some people with some very lofty expectations of the Hawks this season, mostly due to the idea that progression in the NBA is linear, but there are some major concerns with the Hawks this season. Having 3 rookies being a significant part of your rotation generally isn't a recipe for improvement and the loss of Dewayne Dedmon is likely going to be felt more than most people expect. Turnovers were once again a massive issue for the Hawks in the preseason just as they were last year, The Hawks first ~20 games of the season are absolutely brutal so a slow start is all but guaranteed for a team leaning on a lot of young players. In spite of all the negatives, Hawks fans still have plenty to look forward too as they add the very promising De'Andre and Cam Reddish to the already established core of Trae Young, John Collins, and Kevin Huerter. It wouldn't be surprising if, like last year, the Hawks struggled mightily early in the year and then slowly become better and better in the back half of the season.
22	TWolves	0-0	New season new regime for the Wolves. Finally building a roster and offense built around Karl-Anthony Towns. That combined with health and thisnteak might sneak into the playoffs.
23	Bulls	0-0	This is not "the year" for the Bulls, but given the state of the East, an 8-seed run is not out of the question. Over the offseason, the Bulls signed veteran F Thaddeus Young and G Tomas Satoransky and drafted PG Coby White to build on the core group of LaVine/Lauri/WCJ. Our full roster is starting to look acceptable save for a few oversized contracts, so Bulls fans should approach this season with cautious optimism about our ability to win games. Head coach Jim Boylen is a strange case; with three quarters of a season under his belt, a new year is as much of a chemistry-building exercise for him as it is for the players. May the injury gods finally bless us this year. Go Bulls!
24	Thunder	0-0	Oklahoma City will look slightly different this year, with franchise legend Russell Westbrook swapped out for Chris Paul and star forward Paul George sent west for Danillo Gallinari, SGA, and a wealth of picks. While the current starting lineup looks solid and the roster synergy might actually be better than during the Westbrook years, the high probability of a deadline firesale for Gallinari at minimum and possibly Adams or Paul makes this team incredibly difficult to predict for now.
25	Wizards	0-0	HE BACK! The best possible news of the offseason came this past week when Bradley Beal decided to extend his contract for an additional two years with the Wizards. Despite all the incompetence of the front office during these past few seasons, Beal has remained loyal to the team, and has decided to stick it out through the rebuild. It will be a tough one, however, as without backcourt mate John Wall, Washington will likely finish near the bottom of the league this year. That said, young pieces Thomas Bryant, Rui Hachimura, and Troy Brown Jr. will be given every chance to showcase their talents this year, and it will be exciting to see how they develop. Expect another dismal year from the Wizards defensively, as the team decided that the solution to their defensive woes was to add Isaiah Thomas, Ish Smith, and Davis Bertans, all of whom are essentially glorified traffic cones.
26	Suns	0-0	The Phoenix Suns finally have a roster of NBA players. A 3y$51M deal for Ricky Rubio headlined the Suns' interesting offseason, in which newly minted permanent GM James Jones attempted to remove all the trash of the McDonough tenure and hopefully begin an era of competence. The Suns made a handful of other moves including hiring Monty Williams to a full five year deal, the longest ever under Sarver ownership.
27	Grizzlies	0-0	The Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson era is upon us. Morant is replacing long time Grizz Grinder Mike Conley as a point guard and the Grizzlies highest draft selection since Thabeet in 2009. Got some big shoes to fill. Iguodala's status is still in the air but the Grizz are holding out on a buy out to hopefully attain assets in a trade. Iguodala is still wanting to be on a contender but would be a great mentor for this young squad.
28	Knicks	0-0	NOO YAWK KNICKS BAYBEE! A few things: 1) The team is probably the deepest in the Association, with a bench mob that all brings talent to the table. 2) The young core has progressed well, with Frank getting more aggressive and taking more shots, DSJ fixing his shot issues, Knox taking contact much better and not settling for shooting, Mitch being Mitch but with less fouls, Trier being instant offense off the bench and RJ being a beast on the stat sheet. 3) As for the signings: Morris has been exactly the spiritual leader Fiz has wanted for the gritty team he's been preaching about since coming here. While he's still a hothead, his tenacity is what a young and motivated team needs as a rallying point. Randle has been excellent, with his underrated playmaking shining as he's allowed to initiate a lot of the offense. His ability to barrel into the paint and draw doubles down low opens the perimiter for shooters like Ellington, who has been exactly as advertised. Portis and Taj bring spacing and versatility to our bigs, as both are wlling teammates. I personally am not a fan of the Elfrid Payton signing, because he's even worse than Frank at shooting, but his passing is outstanding and his improvisational skills after a play breaks down help keep the team going. Here's to the only team with NEW YORK on the jersey!
29	Cavaliers	0-0	Well, here we go again. Let's buckle in and hope our new guys get more good reps in and we can hope to see improvement over the course of the season. We have a very young group that all could show signs of improvement, with new faces on the floor this year including Jim Henson (who was hurt all last year) and Darius Garland, our newly drafted guard. Get your beer ready, it's gonna be a long season. At least Kevin Love is sticking around and actually seems pretty content about it!
30	Hornets	0-0	The Hornets finally did it. They finally committed to a tank season. It isn’t clear whether or not it was purposeful, but one thing is for sure: the team isn’t going to win many games. There are bright spots, however! Miles Bridges showed flashes last year, PJ Washington has impressed in preseason, and Terry Rozier seems to be relishing the opportunity to be the leader of a basketball team. While the departure of our GOAT Kemba Walker and the existence of the Batum contract still sting, there is a fun young team in there somewhere. Maybe… just maybe… they’ll turn some heads in the future. Onward, tank!

[OC] How many All-Time Top 25 Players are Currently in the League? (longpost)

There was some conversations going around NBA twitter, about two months ago now, about the liklihood of current stars passing the current perceived legends (one I remember specifically was, what's more likely, Harden>Kobe, Steph>Magic, or Durant>Bird). That conversation piqued my interest a ton, I don't think we do a great job of contextualizing non-Lebron stars and so I thought I'd try my hand at just that. To make it something I could tangibly work towards, I narrowed down the idea to "How Many Top 25 Players are in the League", and producing at a high level.

To do that, needed to establish something resembling a consensus All-Time ranking, and I used Simmons Pyramid and top 50 lists from CBS and SI. The point of doing that instead of making my own list from scratch was that the focus of this analysis was contextualizing current players and I was hoping it would save time and prevent people from yelling at me. Ultimately, I basically used those as a framework to get a consensus group of 25 players, and then I put them in tiers (GOATs, Generational Talents, and Greats) from there based on the consulted works and criteria I thought made some sense. All the stats are pulled from Basketball Reference, so shout out to them. There's also pre-80s tiers from Greats and GOATs, just because the stats from that era are so weird and it would make any threshold basically pointless. The descriptions/reqs for each tier aren't supposed to be end all be alls, just a general idea, though I'm sure Kobe being in Tier 3 instead of Tier 2 will bother some people (the cutoff line basically became three titles as The Guy vs two, because I feel like the two title guys are closer to Malone than they are to Duncan). Anyway, another housekeeping note, I listed Wade and Dirk among the established All-Time Top 25 because they're role players at this point, and I wanted to focus on guys still playing at a star level.After the list of 'consensus' top 25 are four sections looking at current players, all focused on different career points and viability. And that's pretty much it, this is long as hell, but covered a lot of ground.
Last note on the formatting, the career profiles are sequenced like:

Player Name

career stats
peak season
awards/accolades

with notations for any top ten ranking within major categories. There are a couple exceptions, Dirk and Havlicek have a line for peak season as well as an extra for playoff peaks just below it, because they had unreal playoff runs that didn't conicide with their regular season peaks that I felt were relevant; and Harden's peak season is a consecutive two years, because I thought it was impressive mostly.

The projections for current players are based on 538s CARMELO model, it projects BPM and RPM (translated into wins), so players on good teams are rewarded and the more games you play in, assuming you're a plus player, the more you're rewarded. The stat doesn't trace production though, it's a plus/minus metric, I'm using it as a baseline for like, for how long and how good is each guy expected to be. Link here to CARMELO
Oh also, I actually ended up with 26, not 25 All-Timers, but I thought that would make the title even more nonsensical than it is and that's why I'm telling you here. On with it forreal now >

TL ; DR

Current Consensus All-Time Rankings
Tier 1: Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain
Tier 2: Shaquille O’ Neal, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson
Tier 3: Kobe Bryant, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwayne Wade, John Stockton, Kevin Garnett, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bob Pettit

Current Stars With All-Time Careers
Part 1, Already In: Lebron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant
Part 2, All-Time Peak but Short on GP: Stephen Curry, James Harden
3 and 4 aren't defintive , but are notable
Part 3, Toss Up: Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook
Part 4, Too Soon to Tell: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Karl Anthony-Towns, Ben Simmons
From my research I'd say there's at least 5 of the 25 best players ever in the league now, playing at a high level, and possibly as many as 11. Safe bet seems like 8 seems, it's hard to imagine at least one of BookeRuss/KAT/Simmons as well as Davis and Giannis busting hard enough to knock them off the path they've set for themselves and once the Lebron era finishes up the standard will be raised a good amount. This lil paragraph is gonna be posted at the end if you stick around till then.

And for the people who like to read lots of stats and some words, enjoy ~

Pre-80s Tier 1 - GOATs

Bill Russell

963 GP: 14k Points ⋄ 21k Rebounds ^{2nd All-Time} ⋄ 4k Assists ⋄ 163 Win Shares ⋄
18.9 ppg/23.6 rpg: 60-20 Record ⋄ 1st seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄
5x MVP ⋄ 11x All-NBA ⋄ 1x All-Defense ⋄ 4x Rebound Leader ⋄ 11x Champion ⋄

Wilt Chamberlain

1045 GP: 31k Points ^{5th All-Time} ⋄ 24k Rebounds ^{All-Time Leader} ⋄ 4.6k Assists ⋄ 247 Win Shares ^{2nd All-Time} ⋄
50.4 ppg/25.7 rpg: 59-21 Record ⋄ NBA Finals Runner-Up ⋄
4x MVP ⋄ 10x All-NBA ⋄ 2x All-Defense ⋄ 7x Scoring Leader ⋄ 1x Assist Leader ⋄ ROY ⋄ 1x FMVP ⋄ 2x Champion ⋄

Tier 1 - GOATs 1000+ GP, 10x+ All-NBA, 6x+ combined MVP and FMVP, top 5 all-time points and win shares

Michael Jordan

1072 GP: 32k Points ^{4th All-Time} ⋄ 6.7k Rebounds ⋄ 5.6k Assists ⋄ 2.5k Steals ^{3rd All-Time} ⋄ 214 Win Shares ^{5th All-Time} ⋄
30.4 ppg/6.6 rpg/4.3 apg/2.2 spg: 72-10 record ⋄ 1st seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
5x MVP ⋄ 11x All-NBA ⋄ 9x All-Defense ⋄ 10x Scoring Leader ⋄ 1x DPOY ⋄ ROY ⋄ 6x NBA Champion ⋄ 6x FMVP ⋄

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1560 GP ^{2nd All-Time}: 38k Points ^{All Time Leade}^r ⋄ 17k Rebounds ^{3rd All-Tim}^e ⋄ 5.6k Assists ⋄ 3.2k Blocks ^{3rd All-Tim}^e ⋄ 273 Win Shares ^{All Time Leade}^r ⋄
31.7 ppg/16.0 rpg/3.3 apg: 66-16 record ⋄ 1st seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
6x MVP ⋄ 15x All-NBA ⋄ 11x All-Defense ⋄ 2x Scoring Leader ⋄ 1x Rebounding Leader ⋄ 4x Block Leader ⋄ ROY ⋄ 6x NBA Champion ⋄ 2x FMVP ⋄

Tier 2: Generational Talents 900x+ GP, 4x combined FMVP and MVP, 10x All-NBA

Tim Duncan

1392 GP: 26.5k Points ⋄ 15k Rebounds ^{6th All-Time} ⋄ 4.2k Assists ⋄ 3k Blocks ^{5th All-Time} ⋄ 1k Steals ⋄ 206 Win Shares ^{7th All-Time} ⋄
22.2 ppg/12.9 rpg/3.9 apg/2.9 bpg: 60-22 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
2x MVP ⋄ 15x All-NBA ⋄ 15x All-Defense ⋄ ROY ⋄ 5x NBA Champion ⋄ 3x FMVP ⋄

Magic Johnson

906 GP: 17k Points ⋄ 6.6k Rebounds ⋄ 10k Assists ^{5th All-Time} ⋄ 1.7k Steals ⋄ 156 Win Shares ⋄
23.9 ppg/6.3 rpg/11.2 apg/1.7 spg: 65-17 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
3x MVP ⋄ 10x All-NBA ⋄ 4x Assist Leader ⋄ 5x NBA Champion ⋄ 3x FMVP ⋄

Larry Bird

897 GP: 21.8k Points ⋄ 9k Rebounds ⋄ 5.7k Assists ⋄ 1.5k Steals ⋄ 146 Win Shares ⋄
25.8 pgg/9.8 rpg/6.8 apg/2.0 spg: 67-15 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
3x MVP ⋄ 10x All-NBA ⋄ 3x All-Defense ⋄ ROY ⋄ 3x NBA Champion ⋄ 2x FMVP ⋄

Shaquille O’Neal

1207 GP: 28.6k Points ^{8th All Time} ⋄ 13k Rebounds ⋄ 3k Assists ⋄ 2.7k Blocks ^{8th All-Time} ⋄ 182 Win Shares ⋄
29.7 ppg/13.6 rpg/3.8 apg/3.0 bpg: 67-15 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 14x All-NBA ⋄ 3x All-Defense ⋄ 2x Scoring Leader ⋄ ROY ⋄ 4x NBA Champion ⋄ 3x FMVP ⋄

Pre-80s Tier 3:Greats

Oscar Robertson

1040 GP: 26.7k Points ⋄ 9.9k Assists ^{6th All Time} ⋄ 7.8k Rebounds ⋄ 189 Win Shares ⋄
31.4 ppg/11.0 apg/9.9 rpg: 55-25 record ⋄ MVP ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 11x All-NBA ⋄ 6x Assist Leader ⋄ ROY ⋄ 1x NBA Champion ⋄

Jerry West

932 GP: 25.2k Points ⋄ 6.2k Assists ⋄ 5.4k Rebounds ⋄ 162 Win Shares ⋄
30.8 ppg/5.4 apg/7.9 rpg: 54-26 record ⋄ Finals Runner-Up ⋄
12x All-NBA ⋄ 5x All-Defense ⋄ 1x Scoring Leader ⋄ 1x Assist Leader ⋄ 1x FMVP ^{only FMVP in a losing series-37.9 ppg/7.4 apg/4.7 rpg} ⋄

John Havlicek

1270 GP: 26.4k Points ⋄ 8k Rebounds ⋄ 6k Assists ⋄ 132 Win Shares ⋄
28.9 ppg/9.0 rpg/7.5 apg: 44-38 record ⋄
18 GP/27.1 ppg/6.4 rpg/6.0 apg: 12-6 record ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
11x All-NBA ⋄ 8x All-Defense ⋄ 8x NBA Champion ⋄ 1x FMVP ⋄

Elgin Baylor

846 GP: 23k Points ⋄ 11.5k Rebounds ⋄ 3.6k Assists ⋄ 104 Win Shares ⋄
34.0 ppg/14.3 rpg/4.8 apg: 54-26 record ⋄ Finals Runner-Up ⋄
10x All-NBA ⋄ ROY ⋄

Bob Pettit

792 GP: 20.9k Points ⋄ 12.8k Rebounds ⋄ 2.4k Assists ⋄ 136 Win Shares ⋄
29.2ppg/16.4 rpg/3.1 apg: 49-23 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄
2x MVP ⋄ 11x All-NBA ⋄ 2x Scoring Leader ⋄ 1x Rebounding Leader ⋄ ROY ⋄ 1x NBA Champion ⋄

Tier 3: Greats Any of 1x MVP/double digit All-NBA/top ten in any major category gets at least a look here. Hakeem and Kobe could be up a tier, I just think they're closer to Malone than they are to Duncan, for example.

Kobe Bryant

1346 GP: 33.6k Points ^{3rd All-Time} ⋄ 7k Rebounds ⋄ 6.3k Assists ⋄ 172 Win Shares ⋄
26.8 ppg/5.2 rpg/4.9 apg: 65-17 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 15x All-NBA ⋄ 12x All-Defense ⋄ 2x Scoring Leader ⋄ 5x NBA Champion ⋄ 2x FMVP ⋄

Karl Malone

1476 GP ^{4th All-Time}:36.9k Points ^{2nd All-Time} ⋄ 15k Rebounds ^{7th All-Time} ⋄ 5.3k Assists ⋄ 2k Steals ^{10th All-Time} ⋄ 1k Blocks ⋄ 234 Win Shares ^{3rd All-Time} ⋄
27.4 ppg/9.9 rpg/4.5 apg/1.4 spg: 64-18 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ Finals Runner-Up ⋄
2x MVP ⋄ 14x All-NBA ⋄ 4x All-Defense ⋄

Hakeem Olajuwon

1238 GP: 26.9k Points ⋄ 13.7k Rebounds ⋄ 3k Assists ⋄ 3.8k Blocks ^{All-Time Leader} ⋄ 2k Steals ^{8th All-Time} ⋄ 163 Win Shares ⋄
27.3 ppg/11.9 rpg/3.6 apg/3.7 bpg/1.6 spg: 58-24 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ DPOY ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 12x All-NBA ⋄ 9x All-Defense ⋄ 2x DPOY ⋄ 2x Rebound Leader ⋄ 4x Block Leader ⋄ 2x NBA Champion ⋄ 2x FMVP ⋄

Moses Malone

1455 GP ^{7th All-Time}: 29.6k Points ^{9th All-Time} ⋄ 17.8k Rebounds ^{5th All-Tim}^e ⋄ 1.9k Assists ⋄ 1.9k Blocks ⋄ 179 Win Shares ⋄
24.5 ppg/15.3 rpg/2.0 bpg/1.1spg: 65-17 record ⋄ 1st seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
3x MVP ⋄ 8x All-NBA ⋄ 2x All-Defense ⋄ 4x Rebounding Leader ⋄ 1x NBA Champion ⋄ 1x FMVP ⋄

John Stockton

1504 GP ^{3rd All-Time}:19.7k Points ⋄ 15.8k Assists ^{All-Time Leader} ⋄ 4k Rebounds ⋄ 3.2k Steals ^{All-Time Leader} ⋄ 208 Win Shares ^{6th All-Time} ⋄
14.7 ppg/12.3 apg/3.1 rpg/2.4 spg: 60-22 record ⋄
11x All-NBA ⋄ 5x All-Defense ⋄ 9x Assist Leader ⋄

Charles Barkley

1073 GP: 23.8k Points ⋄ 12.5k Rebounds ⋄ 4.2k Assists ⋄ 177 Win Shares ⋄
25.6ppg/12.2 rpg/5.1 apg/1.6 spg/1.0 bpg: 62-20 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ Finals Runner-Up ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 11x All-NBA ⋄ 1x Rebounding Leader ⋄

Dirk Nowitzki - Active

1471 GP ^{5th All-Time} :31k Points ^{6th All-Time} ⋄ 11k Rebounds ⋄ 3.6k Assists ⋄ 206 Win Shares ^{8th All-Tim}^e ⋄
24.6 ppg/8.9 rpg/3.4 apg/50-40-90 splits: 65-17 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄
21 GP/27.7 ppg/8.1 rpg/2.6 apg ⋄ 16-5 record ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 12x All-NBA ⋄ 1x NBA Champion ⋄ 1x FMVP ⋄

Scottie Pippen

1178 GP: 18.9k Points ⋄ 7.5k Rebounds ⋄ 6k Assists ⋄ 2.3k Steals ^{6th All-Time} ⋄ 125 Win Shares ⋄
20.2 ppg/6.5 rpg/5.7 apg/1.9 spg: 69-13 record ⋄ 1st seed ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄
7x All-NBA ⋄ 10x All-Defense ⋄ 6x NBA Champion ⋄

Kevin Garnett

1462 GP ^{6th All-Time}: 26k Points ⋄ 14.6k Rebounds⋄ 5.4k Assists ⋄ 2k Blocks ⋄ 1.8k Steals ⋄ 191 Win Shares ^{9th All-Time} ⋄
24.2 ppg/13.9 rpg/5.0 apg (!)/1.5 spg/2.2 bpg: MVP ⋄ 58-24 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ WCF ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 9x All-NBA ⋄ 12x All-Defense ⋄ 1x DPOY ⋄ 4x Rebounding Leader ⋄ 1x NBA Champion ⋄

Julius Erving - no ABA

836 GP: 18k Points ⋄ 5.6k Rebounds ⋄ 3k Assists ⋄ 1.5k Steals ⋄ 1.3k Blocks ⋄ 106 Win Shares ⋄
24.6 ppg/8.0 rpg/4.4 apg/2.1 spg/1.8 bpg: 62-20 record ⋄ MVP ⋄ ECF ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 7x All-NBA ⋄ 1x NBA Champion ⋄

Dwyane Wade - Active

980 GP: 22k Points ⋄ 4.6k Rebounds ⋄ 5.4k Assists ⋄ 1.6k Steals ⋄ 118 Win Shares ⋄
27.2 ppg/5.7 rpg/6.7 apg/1.9 spg: 52-30 record ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
8x All-NBA ⋄ 3x All-Defense ⋄ 1x Scoring Leader ⋄ 3x NBA Champion ⋄ 1x FMVP ⋄

Steve Nash

1217 GP: 17.4k Points ⋄ 10k Assists ^{3rd All-Time} ⋄ 3.6k Rebounds ⋄ 130 Win Shares ⋄
18.8 ppg/10.5 apg/4.2 rpg/50-40-90 splits: 54-28 record ⋄ MVP ⋄ WCF ⋄
2x MVP ⋄ 7x All-NBA ⋄ 5x Assist Leader ⋄

David Robinson

987 GP: 20.8k Points ⋄ 10.5k Rebounds ⋄ 2.4k Assists ⋄ 3k Blocks ^{6th All-Time} ⋄ 1.4k Steals ⋄ 179 Win Shares ⋄
27.6 ppg/10.8 rpg/2.9 apg/3.2 bpg/1.7spg: 62-20 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ WCF ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 10x All-NBA ⋄ 8x All-Defense ⋄ 1x Scoring Leader ⋄ 1x Rebounding Leader ⋄ 1x Blocks Leader ⋄ 1x DPOY ⋄ ROY ⋄ 2x NBA Champion ⋄

Recap

Tier 1: Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain
Tier 2: Shaquille O’ Neal, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson
Tier 3: Kobe Bryant, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, John Stockton, Kevin Garnett, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bob Pettit, David Robinson

Part 1: Already In Self explantory, players who have already put in strong enough careers to be listed among the top 25 ever while still in their relative prime.

Lebron James

1143 GP: 31k Points ^{7th All-Time} ⋄ 8k Assists ⋄ 8k Rebounds ⋄ 1.9k Steals ⋄ 219.4 Win Shares ^{4th All-Time} ⋄
26.8 ppg/8.0 rpg/7.3 apg/1.7 spg/0.9 bpg: 62-20 record ⋄ 1st Seed ⋄ MVP ⋄ NBA Champion ⋄ FMVP ⋄
4x MVP ⋄ 14x All-NBA ⋄ 6x All-Defense ⋄ 1x Scoring Leader ⋄ ROY ⋄ 3x NBA Champion ⋄ 3x FMVP ⋄

Best Career Comps: Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Shaq (?)
Current Ranking: Borderline Tier 1/2
Projected Career:
There’s been a ton of ink already spilled on Lebron’s GOAT candidacy and all-time significance, so won’t spend much time here. Two more seasons at roughly his current production and that’s a consensus top 3 all time career, where he’d only be 36 with a chance to get into truly unprecedented levels of sustained dominance. Read Zach Kram’s piece if you want analysis here, it’s basically what I’m doing but more well defined and uniform in every way. Here’s roughly the range of numbers given there (Win Shares estimated):
40k Points ^{All-Time Leader} ⋄ 11k Assists ^{3rd All-Time} ⋄ 11k Rebounds ⋄ 260 Win Shares ^{2nd All-Time} ⋄

Projected Ranking: Tier 1

Kevin Durant

771 GP: 20.9k Points ⋄ 5.5k Rebounds ⋄ 3k Assists ⋄ 130.2 Win Shares ⋄
32.0 ppg/7.4 rpg/5.5 apg/1.3 spg: 59-23 record ⋄ MVP ⋄ WCF ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 7x All-NBA ⋄ 4x Scoring Leader ⋄ ROY ⋄ 2x NBA Champion ⋄ 2x FMVP ⋄

Best Career Comps: Dwanye Wade, Bob Pettit, Larry Bird
Current Ranking: Low Tier 3
Projected Career:
There have been 29 individual seasons of 30/5/5 averages, move that to 30/7/5.5 and it’s cut to 11 seasons, include a 60%TS qualifier to the search and you’ll find two seasons, Michael Jordan’s ‘88-’89 season and Kevin Durant’s ‘13-’14 season, increase the parameters to Durant’s actual averages of 32.0ppg/7.4rpg/5.5apg/1.3spg on 50/39/87 splits or 63%TS/56%eFG and he stands alone. That is a Tier 1 level peak, one of the 20 or so best seasons ever (maybe that’ll be my next project), but his candidacy is going to have some holes. This year has really strengthened the idea that even if Durant is better that Curry is more important to the Warriors, Durant got that FMVP (two now) and was fantastic in that (those) series, but to date only one (two) title (s) total and only one Finals appearance as “the guy”. I think that matters to an extent, looking at positional rankings he’s chasing Bird, who got three titles and two FMVP, but was no question the guy on all three of those teams. Durant’s career is going to be longer, so he’ll pass Bird statistically at some point within the next three years probably, with the metrics are pretty neck and neck. Once he gets to 900-1100 GP, he’ll be near or at the top of Tier 3 and once he closes in on 1200 he’ll be fringe Tier 2, with Hakeem or Kobe, the real question is how many games he has left. Multiple serious injuries to this point in his career, and it’s easy to forget he’s a legit 7 footer who’s going to be 30 next season, and the durability concerns that generally come with that. CARMELO was pretty spot on with his value this year, overestimated his decline just a touch, and he’s expected to be in the same range next year. After that, his value is projected in the above average wing range, similar to Jaylen Brown, KCP, and Kyle Korver this year, for the following three years; finally, two seasons in the Jeff Green/Buddy Hield range. Assuming he sticks at the 65-70 game range, that could look something like: 70 games at 25.0/6.5/5.0/1.0/1.0, 200 games at 21.5/4.0/5.5/1.0/1.0, and 130 games at 18.5/4.0/4.5/1.0/1.0, and Win Shares wise those sections should respectively net about 10, 21, and 9. Adding that onto his current career, his final profile would be:

1171 GP: 29.5k Point ^{8th All-Time} ⋄ 7.3k Rebounds ⋄ 5k Assists ⋄ 1.3k Blocks ⋄ 1.3k Steals ⋄ 170 Win Shares ⋄

If his defense actually picks up to peak OKC levels, the Warriors win 3-4 titles in a row, or he has one or two more 30 point seasons, his profile will end up a lot stronger than this, but based on this year and his projections I think it’s as likely his career gets short by injuries or he doesn’t even get 400 more games. There’s a lot of variance with Durant, his metrics have always been kinda weird and the deeper this Warriors run goes you’d think his regular season games will drop, ultimately this seems reasonable.

Projected Ranking: Upper Tier 3 - Borderline Tier 2/3

Chris Paul

892 GP: 16.7k Points ⋄ 8.7k Assists ^{9th All-Time} ⋄ 4k Rebounds ⋄ 2k Steals ⋄ 164.8 Win Shares ⋄
19.1 ppg/10.2 apg/4.6 rpg/1.9 spg: 56-26 record ⋄
8x All-NBA ⋄ 9x All-Defense ⋄ 4x Assist Leader ⋄ ROY ⋄

Best Career Comps: Magic Johnson, Steve Nash, Hakeem Olajuwon
Current Ranking: Lower Tier 3
Projected Career:
Currently 538’s projections have CP logging two more seasons of similar quality to this year’s effort, where he put up 18.6/7.9/5.4/1.7 in 58 games, then two seasons at roughly Rubio production, before transitioning into a full time role player. Some notable comps are late career Chauncey and Stockton, betting on at least 4 more quality 60 game campaigns appears to be safe though. The first two let’s say at 17/7/4/1.5 and the back two at 13/7/3/1, which adds 240 GP, 3.6k Points, 1.7k Assists, .8k Rebounds, and .3k Steals. For the first two seasons add on 18 Win Shares and for the back two add 8 Win Shares (CP got 10 this year, Rubio had 5 for reference).That puts a safe estimate for Paul’s final tally at:

1132 GP: 20.3k Points ⋄ 10.4k Assists ^{3rd All-Time} ⋄ 4.8k Rebounds ⋄ 2.3k Steals ^{5th All-Time} ⋄ 190.8 Win Shares^{10th All-Time} ⋄

Without getting into metrics and efficiency, and especially in a conversation generally very saturated with playoff accomplishments, it’s a bit complicated to establish Paul’s spot. Luckily I am using Win Shares and that stat displays a lot of what I’m talking about with CP3, specifically let’s compare him first to Wade, who holds an 100 game and 5000 point lead on Paul. Which hypothetically should give Wade a leg up in this metric, more game time and more pure production, but in actuality, Wade trails CP in this area by a margin of >50< Win Shares, or the equivalent of five ‘18 Chris Paul seasons (who lead the league in Win Shares/48), or two ‘72 Kareem seasons (the single season Win Share record); Pippen has 300 more games, more points, played for winninger teams, and is considered a better defender, but Paul has 25 more Win Shares (or two 2001 Allen Iverson seasons); Kobe has 300 more games and has doubled CP’s point total, yet only holds a 8 Win Shares advantage (that’s less than Paul had this year in a 58 game campaign); Nash has a 300 game edge, more Assists, and more Points, and is generally considered a better floor general, but even so trails CP by a staggering 40 Win Shares. Building on the abursdity of CP's Win Share collection, it’s not like Paul’s numbers are anything to look down on. There’s only 15 seasons on record with his career averages, of which he accounts for five, but it also doesn’t really seem acknowledged that he’s basically averaged 20/10 for a decade now. Honestly I kinda think it’s because he only averaged at least 20 for two of those seasons, and players aren’t really mentally benchmarked as elite scorers if they’re at 19.0ppg instead 21.5ppg. Regardless, Paul’s definitely up there already, honestly I’d have him tied with Wade in the 20s, and depending on his longevity going forward, he should pass Stockton. He won’t have the same longevity as Stockton, but the comparison between their peak seasons and longevity of peak is a joke, ultimately the 2nd PG All Time behind Magic is CP's for the taking. Game total and playoff success are working against him, and the clocks ticking, but I think he ends up passing Stockton and somewhere in the top 20. A consecutive decade with 19/10/4/2 on 48/38/88 as the premier defender at his position is just ludacris, his final act should add some much needed playoff success and resume padding.

Projected Ranking: High Tier 3

Part 2: All-Time Peak, Short on GP Title explains.

James Harden

687 GP: 15.8k Points ⋄ 4.1k Assists ⋄ 3.5k Rebounds ⋄ 1k Steals ⋄ 106.7 Win Shares ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 5x All-NBA ⋄ 2x Scoring Leader ⋄ 1x Assist Leader ⋄ 1x 6MOY ⋄
29.7 ppg/10.0 apg/6.6 rpg/1.6 spg: 120-46 record ⋄

Comparable Peaks: Larry Bird, Shaquille O' Neil + Steve Nash, Oscar Robertson
Projected Career:
First things first, Harden’s individual peak season, either last year or this year depending on playoff performance, is Tier 2 level. 30 ppg and 10 apg on his efficiency is plain absurd, the only better perimeter scorer seasons are Jordan and Lebron. The main two things working against him at the moment is it taking him 3 years to reach high volume numbers and lack of playoff accolades, so even though his peak is already better than Kobe's, it would take a great deal to pass him everything else considered. Next thing to note is a bit of a quirk in Harden’s CARMELO projections, his top ten closest comps include prime Grant Hill, Deron Williams, and Magic Johnson, as well as ‘91 Jordan and ‘10 Wade. Grant Hill had a steep drop off due to injuries, Magic had a medical situation that cut his prime short, Williams just fell off, Jordan took two years off for baseball, and Wade was at the tail end of his prime. It seems like those specific comps curbed his projections, because considering his durability and non-athletic dependent skillset I wouldn’t expect that much of a drop in production for another 3ish years when he hits 31-32. With those caveats out of the way, and a note that he overperformed his projection this year, CARMELO gives him three more years at around a Paul George/Derozan/Beal level and the three after that in Teague range. Next three years assume he stays in the 75 GP a year range, and I’m going with a line of 26.5/7.5/4.5 which... is low looking at his past 3 years and a tad generous looking at the CARMELO projections, but uhh.. can’t please everyone. That adds 6k Points, 1.7k Assists, and 1k Rebounds to his total, with roughly 35 Win Shares. That takes him through his 31 year old season, and for the following three years I’m gonna be a bit more generous in relation to the CARMELO numbers, for years 32-34 I think 65 GP with 23.5/9/4 is well within reason. This gives him another 4.6k Points, 1.8k Assists, and .8k Rebounds, plus 25 Win Shares going into year 15, where he’d be at 1107 career games. He’ll probably play longer than that but projecting that far gets dicey so his final talley here is:

1107 GP: 26.4k Points ⋄ 7.6k Assists ⋄ 5.3k Rebounds ⋄ 156.7 Win Shares ⋄

That’s a stronger profile straight up than Wade, Erving, Pippen, and Nash, and very much comparable to Barkley. 3 MVP level seasons with around 8x All-NBA and 1000GP is something only a handful of perimeter players have accomplished.

Projected Ranking: Tier 3

Stephen Curry

14k Points ⋄ 4k Assists ⋄ 2.8k Rebounds ⋄ 1k Steals ⋄ 93.3 Win Shares ⋄
30.1 ppg/6.7 apg/5.4 rpg/2.1 spg/50-45-90 splits: 73-9 record ⋄ MVP ^{first ever} ^unanimous ⋄ Finals Runner-Up ⋄
2x MVP ⋄ 5x All-NBA ⋄ 1x Scoring Leader ⋄ 3x NBA Champion ⋄

Comparable Peaks: Dwanye Wade, Steve Nash, Jerry West, Dirk Nowitizki
Projected Career: If Curry retired tomorrow he would go down as the greatest shooter to ever play the game and he already holds one of the best offensive seasons ever, putting up 30 a game on a ridiculous 67%TS/63%eFG (the only player with a season of that volume and efficiency) with an equally absurd 125 OffRating in 2700 minutes. Curry’s peak puts him in the Tier 1-2 conversation and in the top 5 point guard conversation, assuming he can start stacking games to bolster his resume. The main blemishes here are a good, but not great, first MVP season(24/8/4/2, 67 wins, title), no FMVP(he deserved Iguodala's), and not really breaking out till he was 24-25. He’s smack in the middle of his prime right now though, he could hypothetically double his game count depending on how he ages. There’s also at the very least, one more year of this Warriors run, but probably longer and while the Rockets are a very real threat, that team isn’t built for the long term. Point being, Curry could feasibly end up with 4-5+ titles, alongside 2 MVPs, a ton of wins, greatest shooter ever, and that’s looking like a resume that could start rivaling Magic. Bringing in the CARMELO, he’s projected to be pretty steady for the next six years; he underperformed this year because he only played 51 games, but is expected to stay at the same effectiveness next year, before marginal a drop, three years at that level, and another two after another small drop. It’s a close enough overall range I’m just going to combine all six of those seasons, 65 games a piece (he’s, somewhat surprisingly, only played less than 74 twice but playing full seasons as the Warriors age seems unlikely +leveraging in case of injuries) at 24.0/6.5/4.5/1.5. That point total may seem low, but that includes his age 34-35 seasons where you’d assume a dip in production of some kind; in terms of increasing Curry’s career stats, from this scenario he adds; 390 GP: 9.4k Points ⋄ 2.5k Assists ⋄ 1.8k Rebounds ⋄ .6k Steals and 55 Win Shares or so. Given that, we’re looking at a final tally of:

1,015 GP: 23.4k Points ⋄ 6.5k Assists ⋄ 4.6k Rebounds ⋄ 1.6k Steals ⋄ 143.3 Win Shares ⋄

A total like that with a peak as strong as his gets into Tier 2 range with enough wins and playoff success. I think his profile is a touch stronger than Durant given the two MVPs, 73 win season, and Championship prior to Durant joining. I’m not going to project titles or playoff success, but with his head start accolade wise and their success from here on out being tied, I give him a little bit stronger chance to end up Tier 2, especially if he ever nabs at least one FMVP.

Projected Ranking: Borderline Tier 2/3

Part 3: Toss Up A bit more vague, but I explain the reasoning on why they're not in the tier up in their projections.

Russell Westbrook

748 GP: 17k Points ⋄ 5k Rebounds ⋄ 6k Assists ⋄ 1.3k Steals ⋄ 90.1 Win Shares ⋄
1x MVP ⋄ 7x All-NBA ⋄ 2x Scoring Leader ⋄ 1x Assist Leader ⋄
31.6 ppg/10.4 apg/10.7 rpg/1.6 spg: 47-35 record ⋄ MVP ⋄

Projected Career: Well, this is definitely an interesting one, back-to-back triple double seasons, an MVP, a few deep playoff runs with Durant, but about to hit 30 with the very legitimate possibility he doesn’t sniff the Finals again. Despite a few notable scoring seasons, he only actually has 3 seasons above 25 ppg and his career average is somehow only 23 ppg despite a career usage of 32.7%. And yet, an MVP and 1000GP is close to automatic entry to this very definitive, scientific ranking; ultimately failing to pick up a title with Durant is probably going to hurt his resume a good bit when he’s lacking in so many other areas. Taking a step back from narrative and context, let’s see how his stats could measure out; CARMELO gives him two more elite seasons and then four really good seasons and Russ generally does play full seasons, so that could work in his favor. 150 games at 27.0ppg/8.5rpg/8.5apg/1.5spg with 18 Win Shares, and the four season period after that a very slight less game load where he’ll be ages 32-35, so 280 games at 24.0ppg/8.5apg/6.0rpg/1.5spg and 28 Win Shares. His new total given this is:

1,178 GP: 27.8k Points ^{9th All-Time} ⋄ 8k Rebounds ⋄ 9.7k Assists ^{7th All-Time} ⋄ 1.9k Steals ⋄ 136.1Win Shares ⋄

Everything said prior and acknowledging the holes in his game and legacy, that’s a damn impressive career profile. Top ten in scoring and assists, and he has a shot at steals too, basically the pure counting stats would have him in, but no 60 win or title seasons as The Guy is sorta damaging. “Best Player on a Bunch of Sub-50 Win Teams, Only 1 Finals Appearance with Prime Durant” isn’t a generous reading per say, but also wouldn't be particularly untrue to point out. There’s definitely a threshold where his numbers are so ridiculous he gets in though, and the MVP is a very strong accolade, so wait and see?

Projected Ranking: Fringe Tier 3

Anthony Davis

410 GP: 9.6k Points ⋄ 4.2k Rebounds ⋄ .7k Assists ⋄ 1k Blocks ⋄ .5k Steals ⋄ 62.5 Win Shares ⋄
28.1 ppg/11.1 rpg/2.3 apg/2.6 bpg/1.5 spg: 48-34 record ⋄
3x All-NBA ⋄ 3x All-Defense ⋄ 3x Block Leader ⋄

Projected Career:
Little fun fact about Anthony Davis, he is a full 25 years of age, and won’t turn 26 until -next- March. He led the league in PER at age 21 and should reasonably be in his prime for another seven years, even with some nagging injury concerns. Because of the day-to-day nature of following the league, it’s easy to forget perspective when looking at players, especially younger ones with prodigious talent. Anthony Davis averaged 28 and 12 with All-NBA defense when he was 23, and we’ve seen big men who didn’t fully blossom until they’re 28 or later. The sky is absolutely still the limit for AD basically, his metrics and the Pels defensive stats lag, suggesting that his team defense has room for improvement, he’s already added a 3pt shot this year, and now it looks like the Pels should be playoff competitors through Holiday and (possibly)Boogie’s primes with AD. CARMELO has Davis staying in the same range of production until he’s 30, but the model doesn’t go past there, I’m gonna give him to age 35 though with a guesstimate drop. This is projecting the farthest so even though the numbers will probably easily be in Tier 2 or 3, it’s not definitive. For these next six years, his production should be similar and should actually increase, but in the interest of being conservative here, 70 games a year at 27.0/11.5/2.0/2.0/1.0 with 11.5 Win Shares. Through his first six years he’s played 410 games, so it’s only a small uptick, but if he’s healthy from here on out that number should be higher too. At that point he’ll be 31 with five seasons till he’s 35, and a lot of great bigs still played full time into their late 30s, but given the modern NBA I’m going to drop him to 65 games a year for those years at 23.0/9.5/2.0/1.0 and 8.0 Win Shares. It is entirely reasonable to expect him to blow those numbers out of the water though, but even with that let’s take a look at his new profile, with an added; 745 GP: 18.8k Points ⋄ 7.9k Rebounds ⋄ 1.5k Assists ⋄ 1.5k Blocks ⋄ .7k Steals ⋄ 97.5 Win Shares. On top of his current numbers, that gives him a final line of:

1,155 GP: 28.4k Points^{9th All-Time} ⋄ 12.1k Rebounds ⋄ 2.2k Assists ⋄ 2.5k Blocks^{10th All-Time} ⋄ 1.2k Steals ⋄ 160.0 Win Shares ⋄

Moral of the story being that if AD stays healthy and stops improving he could sleepwalk into top ten All-Time in points and blocks. He’s at a point where he legitimately could have two more leaps though, on top of the possibility of him having a crazy long career, ala Dirk/Kareem; as well as the fact that during his real prime (generally ages 28-31): Lebron will be on the wrong side of 36 and the Warriors will be broken up or see some age regress as Curry and Durant head towards 35, so there could be some legit playoff success. He could end up anywhere in the top 25, and I would bet on him making it into there in some fashion.

Projected Ranking: Assuming health, floor is Tier 3. Outside that, who knows?

Part 4: Too Soon to Tell

This is seriously way-way-way too soon, however, there’s a few players who have historically impressive early careers and should be given a cursory glance.
Giannis Anteokounmpo
Why He’s Notable: This should go without saying, but averaging 27/10/5/1.5/1.5 with 12 Win Shares at age 23 is extremely impressive. Giannis could’ve gotten a profile, AD only has one more actual season on him, but AD has been producing like a cornerstone for four years now and Giannis has only been at this level for just two seasons, including the most recent campaign. He’s the youngest player in the modern era to have at least 25/9/4 in a season, so this is another sky’s the limit player, however I would say Tier 1 is likely out of reach though. He’s made a major leap every year in the league and is about six years short of his prime at the moment, so even though his first two seasons could weigh down his eventual career profile, he could very easily catch up to a lot of Tier 3 guys who had injury periods or weren’t first options large parts of their career. Depending on who the Bucks bring in to coach, Giannis could have Tier 1 peak as soon as next year if the Bucks defensive numbers tick back up and their win total starts to match their talent.
Ben Simmons
Why He’s Notable: Simmons statline this year was a startlingly impressive for a rookie,
81 GP- 15.8ppg/8.1rpg/8.2apg/1.7spg/0.9bpg/9.2 Win Shares, 52-30 record.
Well actually, the rookie qualifier isn’t even necessary to illustrate the rarity of his season, there have only ever been 16 seasons in the history of the NBA with a 15-8-8 line and of those 16 seasons, Simmons is not only the youngest but ranks second in DRPM and third in Defensive Win Shares. Include his 1.5 Steals a game and it’s an even more exclusive club with just seven seasons putting up that line. He is already 21 and the free throwing shooting is a concern, but even if he barely improved and averaged 18.5ppg/8.5apg/8.5rpg/1.5spg/1.0bpg/10 Win Shares as a top ten defender for the next 13-14 years, that’s an all time career. The fact that he’s already putting up All Time numbers bodes very well for the 76ers, his start was legitimately strong enough that Tier 2 is within the realm of possibility if he makes any major leap within the next 3-4 years.
Devin Booker
Why He’s Notable: Booker is one of 9 players to ever average 24.5ppg by age 21, and that’s honestly the only noteworthy accomplishment he has, but points are pretty important so note this accomplishment I have. Issue projecting Booker is his playoff and team success in the next decade is an complete unknown and and he could reasonably hit 6,000 Points before he’s 23, a near lock (health presuming) for the All-Time Points leaderboard. which deserves a mention at the very least. For reference, Kobe’s first four seasons netted him 4,240 Points, Dirk’s left him with 5,383; and Malone and Jordan played their rookie seasons at age 22. That’s the 3rd, 6th, 2nd, and 4th All-Time scoring leaders respectively, and Booker is absolutely in range to have a huge head start on a point total if he’s a legit 25 a game scorer moving forward.
Karl Anthony Towns
Why He’s Notable: KAT also falls in the prior mentioned group of sub-22 year olds with a 25 ppg season, doing so last year before the acquisition of Jimmy Butler. He has a couple of legs up on Booker when looking at their production to date: KAT has so far not missed a game in his career, his rookie season was a great deal more impressive, and his comical efficiency. He’s already sitting at 5,307 Points through his first three seasons, averaging 21.6 ppg at age 22 with these shooting percentages: 54/39/84 & eFG/TS of 58/62. Basically off to a strong enough start at a young enough age that the sky's the limit scoring wise, as well as nearly 12 boards a game for his first three seasons and a solid collection of metrics. It seems like his stock has taken a hit the past year, especially last few weeks, but all he’s shown so far in his career is machine-like levels of durability and production. His full potential could be held back by playing next to multiple high usage perimeter guys, though on the flip side maybe that will be offset by increased early playoff success.

That's That

From my research I'd say there's at least 5 of the 25 best players ever in the league now, playing at a high level, and possibly as many as 11. Safe bet seems like 8 seems, it's hard to imagine at least one of BookeRuss/KAT/Simmons as well as Davis and Giannis busting hard enough to knock them off the path they've set for themselves and once the Lebron era finishes up the standard will be raised a good amount.

sky bet league 1 top scorers 18/19 video

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Offseason Blueprint: for their next trick, the Orlando Magic need to make a ball disappear (down a net)