shit!
(Source: raiens-saubergs)
nba:
Nate Robinson of the Chicago Bulls and Deron Williams of the Brooklyn Nets greet each other after Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the Barclays Center on May 4, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Source: jesusshuttlesworth)
(Source: flight-time)
(Source: flight-time)
Kuwait Professional team With Very Similar Jerseys to the Wizards
[video]
“The NCAA should enact one rule that makes sense — if a player goes undrafted and doesn’t sign with an agent then he should be able to return to school.” — Andy Katz - http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/83625/3-point-shot-2014-draft-looks-loaded
y his face look like that
(Source: basednigel)
Westbrook in the cut thats a scary sight
(Source: 7oh3rd, via dacattakk)
1
Kevin Durant
AGE: 24
DOB: 9/29/88
HT: 6-9
WT: 235
POS: SF
PPG: 29.3
APG: 3.0
RPG: 6.7
3-YR WARP: 45.1
Current: He’s the clear choice for the world’s second best player, having already proven he’s the league’s top pure scorer. Durant was remarkable in getting OKC to the NBA Finals last season, and he is a better all-around player now, adding crisper ball movement and defensive playmaking. He also has learned how to score best in crunch time, by using his ball handling and size to create great shots. He’s a reluctant superstar and a consummate team player, perhaps behind only Tim Duncan as the best teammate in the NBA. — David Thorpe
Future: Can Durant actually get better? A 50-40-90 season while using nearly 30 percent of his team’s plays is probably the upper bound on his scoring, but Durant also continues to round out the rest of his game. His improved defense and rebounding mean, like LeBron James, Durant might end up as a matchup nightmare at power forward on a regular basis as he ages. — Kevin Pelton
2
Russell Westbrook
AGE: 24
DOB: 11/12/88
HT: 6-3
WT: 187
POS: PG
PPG: 22.7
APG: 8.3
RPG: 5.3
3-YR WARP: 34.2
Current: Had Rose been healthy, it would have made for a fun debate. And Westbrook might still have ranked No. 2. His will to win is almost unmatched, and no player has a bigger advantage than Westbrook does as an athlete at his position. He still takes too many jumpers early in possessions, but no one can question his commitment to winning because of how many astounding plays he makes to accomplish that goal. Improved ball handling and patience have made him a better set-up man. — Thorpe
Future: Though Westbrook is just 24, his WARP projections show he’s near his peak. Shoot-first point guards tend to top out earlier than players at other positions. To avoid that fate, Westbrook will have to find more balance in his shoot/pass ratios as he relies less on otherworldly athleticism to finish around the rim. This season’s improvement to league average from beyond the arc also is encouraging. — Pelton
3
Blake Griffin
AGE: 23
DOB: 3/16/89
HT: 6-10
WT: 251
POS: PF
PPG:17.8
BPG: 0.6
RPG: 8.4
3-YR WARP: 34.2
Current: Ignore those spectacular dunks, and Griffin still remains one of the league’s best “bucket-getters,” with explosive inside moves and counters of which he makes more than 70 percent. He is an underrated ball handler and passer, which makes him even more difficult to defend. Griffin is much better as a positional defender now, and one of the top defensive rebounders in the game. He has improved his perimeter shooting, and is a reliable free throw stroke away from being a complete player in all phases. — Thorpe
Future: Griffin has made steady improvement to his outside game. Hoopdata.com shows Griffin’s accuracy from 16-23 feet improving from 33 percent as a rookie to 37 percent last season and 39 percent so far in 2012-13, which is better than average. Griffin’s increasing versatility will give the Clippers more options on offense and make him more difficult to defend. — Pelton
4
James Harden
AGE: 23
DOB: 8/26/89
HT: 6-5
WT: 220
POS: SG
PPG: 25.8
APG: 5.3
RPG: 4.4
3-YR WARP: 36.6
Current: Harden has grown into one of the top offensive players in the NBA. He has got great vision and anticipates defenders well, which gives him a decided advantage as a scorer or passer. He’s solid on the perimeter and very tough to defend off the dribble with or without ball screens because of his power and ability to change speeds. He has proven he can be the best player on his team and still drive that team to a good record and a likely playoff appearance. — Thorpe
Future: Believe it or not, Harden has this group’s best WARP projection for 2013-14. Because these projections are based on a small pool of similar players, that doesn’t mean Harden will actually leapfrog former teammates Durant and Westbrook, but it does indicate he belongs in the conversation. As Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade age, Harden could soon emerge as the league’s top 2-guard. — Pelton
5
Derrick Rose
AGE: 24
DOB: 10/4/88
HT: 6-3
WT: 190
POS: PG
PPG: 21.8
APG: 7.9
RPG: 3.4
3-YR WARP: 31.7
Current: Rose has a lot of Durant in him, as he is a “reluctant” superstar, which is why his teammates love him so much. He is talent and humility personified. When healthy, he is the most explosive one-on-one dribble-drive threat at the point of attack in the game. His work ethic made him a respectable shooter, and though he does not have great vision, he is happy to pass if that is the best option. Rose has become an elite pick-and-roll player. — Thorpe
Future: Research doesn’t bear out the conventional wisdom that players are better in their second year back from a torn ACL. Still, ACL repair has improved to the point that Rose is unlikely to see serious long-term ramifications. Look for him to resume his place as one of the league’s top players as soon as he’s fully healthy. — Pelton
6
Kyrie Irving
AGE: 20
DOB: 3/23/92
HT: 6-3
WT: 191
POS: PG
PPG: 23.1
APG: 5.7
RPG: 3.6
3-YR WARP: 35.1
Current: Already one of the league’s top players. Irving combines offensive skill better than any player on this list, and far better than anyone at this age in recent memory. He has proven he can carry his team with impressive offensive explosions that range from the 3-point line to the paint. Irving plays with a high IQ and is disciplined at shot selection, and would be even more effective on a good team. Irving is a future MVP candidate. — Thorpe
Future: In a couple of seasons, Irving might lead this list. Among this group, he ranks behind just Durant and Griffin in terms of projected WARP during the 2015-16 season. Irving came into the league so advanced he won’t have to spend much time perfecting his jumper. Instead, Irving’s bigger area of improvement will be at the defensive end, where he must get stronger. — Pelton
7
Serge Ibaka
AGE: 23
DOB: 9/18/89
HT: 6-10
WT: 235
POS: PF
PPG: 13.9
BPG: 2.8
RPG: 8.4
3-YR WARP: 17.9
Current: Ibaka is one of the few players in this league who can dominate the paint defensively, make numerous plays above the rim on both sides of the court, and be a consistent threat with his jump shot. That outside shooting is a key, as it helps his team’s offense enormously with great spacing — and none of the premier shot blockers in the league can shoot as well as Ibaka can, save Duncan. Ibaka now plays like an experienced veteran, not the raw talent of previous seasons. — Thorpe
Future: Per Basketball-Reference.com, only three players in NBA history (Andrei Kirilenko, Raef LaFrentz and Josh Smith) have made even 25 3-pointers during a season in which they averaged 2.0 blocks per game. If he continues to expand his range, Ibaka could create a new stereotype. He’s 7-of-23 from beyond the arc this season after taking six triples in his first three seasons combined. — Pelton
8
Kevin Love
AGE: 24
DOB: 9/7/88
HT: 6-10
WT: 260
POS: PF
PPG: 18.3
BPG: 0.5
RPG: 14.0
3-YR WARP: 40.5
Current: This is awfully high for a player who has broken his hand twice this season and played well, not great, when he did appear in 18 games. But few players have done what he has done in his young career. He’s not just the best rebounder/perimeter shooter in the league, he’s the best that has ever played. Love is also a tough guy to slow down in the post, and is an underrated defender because of his strength and his talent at getting great defensive position. — Thorpe
Future: Only Durant has a better WARP projection than Love’s, who should suffer no long-term issues from a season marred by injuries. Love boasts two MVPs with very different styles as his best comparables. No. 1 on his list is Dirk Nowitzki; No. 2 is former Minnesota star Kevin Garnett. It’s worth watching whether Love continues to drift to the perimeter like Nowitzki or refocuses down low like Garnett. — Pelton
9
Brook Lopez
AGE: 24
DOB: 4/1/88
HT: 7-0
WT: 265
POS: C
PPG: 18.6
BPG: 2.1
RPG: 7.3
3-YR WARP: 20.1
Current: Injuries and bad coaching have always tarnished Lopez, as has his own seeming disinterest for rebounding. But with better players around him he has overcome that bad coaching and become a dominant center in a league that has few. He’s one of the NBA’s best finishers in shots up to 15 feet and, as dominating centers should, he pounds the defense with a strong paint presence rather than just float outside. He’s a solid defender and the best player, by far, on a playoff team. — Thorpe
Future: Lopez’s ability as a low-post scorer has never been in question. His improvement at the other end in 2012-13 will help his chances of living up to a max contract. Lopez is blocking shots at the best rate of his career and has also stepped up his subpar defensive rebounding. That’s important because such skills rarely develop in the NBA. — Pelton
10
Stephen Curry
AGE: 24
DOB: 3/14/88
HT: 6-3
WT: 185
POS: PG
PPG: 20.6
APG: 6.6
RPG: 4.1
3-YR WARP: 23.5
Current: Curry entered the NBA with one of the purest and quickest shooting strokes coming from college. Outside of injuries, he has not disappointed. With an excellent coach who inspires team defense, Curry is captaining a team with a true shot at the playoffs this season. It’s his shooting, though, that earns him a top-10 spot on this list, as he ranks one of the elite few shooters on Earth — perhaps the best ever. That is a weapon of extreme value, even more so come playoff time when interior buckets are tougher to get. — Thorpe
Future: Just stay healthy. Whenever Curry has been on the court, he has produced, but fans will continue to cringe every time he lands hard on his right ankle after a pair of surgeries. Curry’s ability to play either guard position — he has been effective finishing games off the ball next to Jarrett Jack — gives Golden State plenty of strategic flexibility going forward. — Pelton
11
Kenneth Faried
AGE: 23
DOB: 11/19/89
HT: 6-8
WT: 228
POS: SF
PPG: 12.2
APG: 0.9
RPG: 9.9
3-YR WARP: 21.0
Current: On this list, which includes some of the best NBA players overall, Faried tops it in two important categories. He’s the quickest “big man” within five feet of space, which is why he’s one of the top offensive rebounders in basketball. He also plays with more energy, more often, than any of these 24 guys and 99 percent of the league. That is why he makes so many plays — he has the motor to make the effort and the quickness to get to the ball first. — Thorpe
Future: It’s hard for an offense to succeed with a power forward who cannot step away from the basket, and Faried is working to develop his shooting. Hoopdata.com shows him attempting more than twice as many shots from 16-23 feet, albeit at a lower percentage his rookie season. Faried must also improve his defensive positioning, since he can be a liability one-on-one. — Pelton
12
Jrue Holiday
AGE: 22
DOB: 6/12/90
HT: 6-4
WT: 205
POS: PG
PPG: 19.4
APG: 9.0
RPG: 4.2
3-YR WARP: 25.1
Current: As a big-bodied guard with excellent shooting skills in his rookie season, Holiday has morphed into a complete lead guard who can double as a pure scorer when needed. Still younger than many college seniors, he plays like a grizzled veteran in his decision-making and overall control of the game. A borderline All-Star already, Holiday’s game truly will explode when he’s surrounded by better talent, as he has the hoops IQ to make everyone better. He’s learning how to take over games. — Thorpe
Future: Based on this season’s leap forward, Holiday’s upside is immense. As Coach Thorpe stated above, Holiday is young — younger than everyone but Irving ranked ahead of him. So Holiday has at least another couple of seasons of development ahead of him. Already, Holiday has improved his ability to draw contact, an issue in the past. He has already taken more free throws than he did in all of 2011-12. — Pelton
13
Anthony Davis
AGE: 19
DOB: 3/11/93
HT: 6-10
WT: 220
POS: PF
PPG: 13.2
BPG: 1.9
RPG: 8.0
3-YR WARP: 25.7
Current: No player had a better freshman season in college than Davis, when considering how he did as an individual and how his team did. Davis has a huge impact on the game on both ends of the court, though his offense should be considered a pleasant surprise. He knows how to use his extreme level of athleticism and length but does so under control. His pace of play is impressive, balancing that energy with discipline and a good feel for when and how to make plays. — Thorpe
Future: As a rookie, Davis has only begun to fulfill the immense potential he showed during his one season at Kentucky. Indeed, Davis is ahead of schedule offensively, but he must bulk up to deal with bigger opponents in the post and become an elite paint defender. That should happen. As he adds strength, Davis will be able to play center, which will open up the Hornets’ offense. — Pelton
14
Greg Monroe
AGE: 22
DOB: 6/4/90
HT: 6-11
WT: 250
POS: PF/C
PPG: 15.4
BPG: 0.6
RPG: 9.2
3-YR WARP: 35.9
Current: Monroe has a very good all-around game; he is a difference-maker on offense with his passing and on defense with his space eating and rebounding. If he finished shots better he would be a top-10 guy here. Monroe has improved greatly since college in playing with more energy and in banging around inside for buckets or to draw fouls. He is a franchise big man waiting for talented teammates to grow up and join him as elite players and playoff contenders. — Thorpe
Future: Monroe’s versatility confuses SCHOENE, which tabs Garnett among his comparables, but also perimeter players such as Grant Hill and Shawn Marion. His skilled offensive game should age well. To become an All-Star, Monroe must improve his defense. He’s not a great fit at either frontcourt position because he’s slow-footed on the perimeter and a weak shot blocker. Improved positioning can help compensate for those weaknesses. — Pelton
15
Ryan Anderson
AGE: 24
DOB: 5/6/88
HT: 6-11
WT: 240
POS: PF
PPG: 16.7
BPG: 0.3
RPG: 6.8
3-YR WARP: 31.5
Current: There are few big men in the NBA who can shoot jumpers and 3-pointers as well as Anderson. Fewer even who can also rebound with passion, play with toughness, and make plays with their minds like Anderson. He has an elite-level feel for the game, which is why he frequently outplays men with far better size or athleticism, and he finds openings for his shot like an expert while being selective for where his shots come from. He is solid on defense, as well. — Thorpe
Future: Gradually, Anderson is showing less dependence on his teammates to set up for high-percentage shots beyond the arc. He has proven that his success wasn’t a function of playing with Dwight Howard, and both his usage rate and his percentage of unassisted baskets are up in New Orleans to levels he only reached previously as a second-year reserve in Orlando. — Pelton
16
Nicolas Batum
AGE: 24
DOB: 12/14/88
HT: 6-8
WT: 200
POS: SF
PPG: 16.8
APG: 4.4
RPG: 5.9
3-YR WARP: 21.2
Current: Batum has transformed from solid starter on a bad team to one of the best two players on a strong playoff contender. He has improved as a shooter and is one of the best few wings in the league at defending ball screens and handoffs — likely the two most difficult actions for wings to guard. His length and added strength allow him to make plays most can’t make, and he’s both a legitimate wing scorer and someone who values “Gretzky’s”
(Source: ESPN)
(via fyeahbballplayers)