Prokorov wrote:NyCeEvO wrote:Prokorov wrote:
makes no sense for KD to stay... no matter how many titles he wins there curry will always have 1 more ring and it will always be currys team he joined
if he goes to the knicks, and wins there, he is a basketball God and there will be GOAT talk. its a lock.
If KD’s rings with the Warriors are “hollow”, how can he realistically enter GOAT discussions? He’d have to win at least 3 championships as the clear cut alpha for the thought to even have some merit.
And considering that the most popular GOAT contenders (i.e. MJ, KAJ, LBJ, Russell) were excellent defenders for a considerable number of years, I don’t think there’s anything he can do to enter that tier.
exactly why he needs to go to the knicks... winning their would be overhyped and his only chance to be in the GOAT conversaitons without winning 7+ titles. he will be immortalized with a title with the knicks. no where else would he have that luxury
Knicks fans are like other fanbases, just largerThe Knicks may have one of the two, if not the, largest fanbase but they’re not stupid. Because of the size of their fan base, there’s a greater chance that the average person will come across more hot takes and ill-informed perspectives from some Knick fans, but that doesn’t mean all Knicks fans will overhype him, especially not to the degree of GOAT talk.
If you visited the Knicks board when they had STAT, Melo, then KP, there were always several camps that can be lumped together for the sake of argument as “haters”, neutrals, and “homers”, just like every other fanbase.
The 2013 54 win Knick team had a lot of potential. I even thought that if they were healthy and clicked well enough, they could’ve given the Heat a good run for their money. And yet there detractors even amongst Knick fans who always doubted and were ready to declare “I told you so” once the playoffs came and Melo couldn’t deliver against the Pacers due to his bum shoulder.
When KP was drafted there was much scrutiny over whether he could actually play in the NBA. There was tons of infighting and debating how well his performances in the Spanish league would translate to the world’s best league.
It didn’t take long before Porzingis showed that his talent was not only NBA ready, but that he had MVP level potential. And yet despite people fawning over KP, there were always critics in the Knicks fanbase who doubted his conditioning, didn’t think his body could hold up, believed that other teams would eventually study his game and severely hamper his effectiveness, and/or hated his brother. People were talking about him being Durant-like on offense and Hakeem-like on defense. He was their own draft pick and there was always varying degrees of hate even from their own fanbase!
GOAT status is awarded by the NBA community, not a single fanbase No single fanbase has control over the narrative of the GOAT. Players become legitimate GOAT contenders when they are recognized as such by players, organizations, and media that are not represented by or affiliated with said player.
KD GOAT arguments would more or less be treated like Kobe GOAT arguments in that if people actually believed KD was the GOAT, a minority contingent of a larger team fanbase would ascribe to such a view. Most of those even within their own fanbase wouldn’t even agree with them.
Additionally, KD (like Kobe) will always have his first collection of rings questioned because they played with a player or players that were recognized as more dominant (either individually or as a collective) than KD himself. If the Warriors won without KD this year, it would completely destroy any credibility given to the argument that what he’s done over the last few years has proven that he’s the best player in the NBA. And you can’t be the GOAT, if you were never universally considered the best player in the league for several years. (Even Kawhi’s performance with the Raptors has people wondering if KD could what Kawhi has done without the gravity of the Splash brothers.) There’s no way that the majority of the league is going to regard KD as the best player over several seasons, and definitely not the GOAT.
This assumes that whatever team KD is on would winKD gets criticized because he plays on a team that many (most?) believe they don’t need him to win.
In order for him to be validated as the best player, he has to go to a team where he’s the unquestioned best player and still beat other teams.
Before KD went to GSW, he played on OKC teams that were constructed well but simply didn’t have enough talent to win it all.
Knocking off the Warriors in 2016 would have been a huge boost for his legacy, since he would’ve led the team that beat a healthy 73 win team and there would be no excuse of Draymond being suspended to undermine the legitimacy of his title. Instead, it became a huge stain on his career because he choked away 3 consecutive games and couldn’t close them out.
So now, we’re going to ask a 31 year old KD to become the clear cut alpha on his next team and become so dominant that he knocks off all contenders over the next 5+ years to win more titles than MJ? I don’t see it happening.
I think we’re seeing peak KD right now. I don’t think there’s another level to go to. And if that’s true, it means that the best version of KD isn’t better than the best versions of the other GOAT contenders.
He doesn’t have a shot at GOAT no matter where goes.
