Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0

Tripod · Post #281 » by **Tripod** » Thu May 29, 2025 3:01 am

And OKC gets to add 2 1sts and Topic...so 3 1sts to their depth next year if they choose to.

Airmiess · Post #282 » by **Airmiess** » Thu May 29, 2025 3:04 am

FTA is the goat Canadian pro basketball player now. From Missisauga (like RJ), not even Toronto.

Nash had some African nationality.

PushDaRock · Post #283 » by **PushDaRock** » Thu May 29, 2025 3:08 am

Scizzup wrote:
PushDaRock wrote:
Scizzup wrote:Wolves defense been disappointing to me last 2 games. They are not trying to get the ball out of SGA hands enough. I get OKC depth is better but I would take a chance on their "others" beating me on offense.

Letting Shai get 30 shots and now 24 shots through 3Q in 2 win now games is crazy. Literally you can just trap him once he crosses half court and see if Jalen can make you pay.

Yeah I thought it was insane the way they chose to guard him this series. McDaniels is a great defender but nobody can guard SGA 1 on 1 and he's going to figure it out in a 7 game series. Denver did the smart thing not even chancing it.

yea, Shai is in his prime and a elite ball handler (Daniels weakness as a defender). But its just crazy comparing the defensive attention Ant got vs Shai this series. Now SGA would have still probably figured it out but you can't allow him shoot this many shots giving up switches he wants.

But also have to respect OKC defensive personell. They can play that away on defense because almost everyone they play gets into it and on a string on defense. Wolves just were not in tune as much even in zone they made mistakes.

It's a lot of mental pressure being swarmed like that, you saw even Jokic get flustered by it at times.

DelAbbot · Post #284 » by **DelAbbot** » Thu May 29, 2025 3:37 am

AbC? wrote:Youngest team in the NBA btw.

You could label this a "development year" for them and not be wrong lmao

But does Presti have a ring?

Pointgod · Post #285 » by **Pointgod** » Thu May 29, 2025 3:50 am

DelAbbot wrote:
AbC? wrote:Youngest team in the NBA btw.

You could label this a "development year" for them and not be wrong lmao

But does Presti have a ring?

4 wins away from a championship. Presti has proven that his model works. Far as I’m concerned, he’s a success.

HumbleRen · Post #286 » by **HumbleRen** » Thu May 29, 2025 4:11 am

Tha Cynic wrote:
HumbleRen wrote:
Tha Cynic wrote:I guess the US media will now big up Halliburton as the next US superstar?

It’s actually quite hilarious how their last true superstars are all from the previous era.

The whole face of the league thing is dead anyways. There’s too much parity.

No player will be able to dominate and pull off 3 peats like before.

It’s less about face of the league and more about a player with an aura that you can see as a legend one day. There’s no player you turn on the TV to watch play from another team, at least not from this era. Something is off with this era of basketball. Maybe it’s the parity and a different team winning every season.

Jokic is the closest there is and the NBA tries hard to never talk about him.

I think you’re just getting old lol. Jokic is definitely not the closest thing too.

WaltFrazier · Post #287 » by **WaltFrazier** » Thu May 29, 2025 4:15 am

SGA and Williams just finished postgame interviews. Super articulate guys, both of them.

Los_29 · Post #288 » by **Los_29** » Thu May 29, 2025 4:17 am

OKC has shown a lot of resilience in these playoffs. SGA has shown he’s the deserving MVP.

Can’t wait for the finals. Hoping the Pacers close it out and we get an offense vs defense showdown.

bballsparkin · Post #289 » by **bballsparkin** » Thu May 29, 2025 5:00 am

That was a disappointing series. Wolves better hope some of these picks turn out because ANT needs help.

AkelaLoneWolf · Post #290 » by **AkelaLoneWolf** » Thu May 29, 2025 5:16 am

tdotrep2 wrote:hopefully we can somehow grab Naz Reid, no idea how or if its even possible but I would love him on this team.

I would look at DD. Would be a solid veteran for us

Tha Cynic · Post #291 » by **Tha Cynic** » Thu May 29, 2025 9:32 am

Westside Gunn wrote:
Tha Cynic wrote:
HumbleRen wrote:
The whole face of the league thing is dead anyways. There’s too much parity.

No player will be able to dominate and pull off 3 peats like before.

It’s less about face of the league and more about a player with an aura that you can see as a legend one day. There’s no player you turn on the TV to watch play from another team, at least not from this era. Something is off with this era of basketball. Maybe it’s the parity and a different team winning every season.

Jokic is the closest there is and the NBA tries hard to never talk about him.

Its because Jokic treats the game as a mundane 9-5 and disconnects himself from it lol

The NBA is all about money, promotion, attention whores and stars like Jokic are not good for the game

Jokic likes to give that impression, but there’s no way this guy keeps improving by treating this as a 9-5. He easily has the personality to be hyped and that’s the same with Giannis and SGA. Each of those guys have shown personality, but the NBA isn’t interested. Part of the problem with Jokic and Giannis is that the teams they play for don’t always make the best decisions for long term success, and the other part is that the NBA media has a huge bias for specific teams.

Tha Cynic · Post #292 » by **Tha Cynic** » Thu May 29, 2025 9:35 am

HumbleRen wrote:
Tha Cynic wrote:
HumbleRen wrote:
The whole face of the league thing is dead anyways. There’s too much parity.

No player will be able to dominate and pull off 3 peats like before.

It’s less about face of the league and more about a player with an aura that you can see as a legend one day. There’s no player you turn on the TV to watch play from another team, at least not from this era. Something is off with this era of basketball. Maybe it’s the parity and a different team winning every season.

Jokic is the closest there is and the NBA tries hard to never talk about him.

I think you’re just getting old lol. Jokic is definitely not the closest thing too.

Disagree. Jokic has refined humour, and so does SGA. Giannis is kind of awkward with his humour but he’s just likeable. A guy like Ant just sounds like a teenager and acts like one off the court too. The way he plays is also very passive so he never actually fit that mold.

If you compare these guys to previous superstars, they’re more like superstars who were in their prime and a bit more mature with the way they spoke. They kind of came into the league like that and stayed like that. You can hear the humble in the way they speak. A lot of American players develop that more as they grow older.

Clutch0z24 · Post #293 » by **Clutch0z24** » Thu May 29, 2025 9:46 am

Winning is what makes you the face of the league or puts you in that discussion....The OKC deff have back to back title run in them if they win it all this year....I don't see a team in either conference being as good as them next year as well....You don't look at Shai as "Marketable" or "Face of the league" because he has not won the title yet....When he starts winning titles thats when you become undeniable...Which i believe this OKC team has a chance at doing...

They have a guy in Topic coming in while also getting young players in with draft picks....At 15th pick they can find another key role player for their rotation....They are in a very good position to continue to win and get even better ... Remember their top guys are not even close to their primes yet either....still babies in the league...

WuTang_CMB · Post #294 » by **WuTang_CMB** » Thu May 29, 2025 11:50 am

Read on Twitter

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HumbleRen · Post #295 » by **HumbleRen** » Thu May 29, 2025 12:44 pm

Tha Cynic wrote:
HumbleRen wrote:
Tha Cynic wrote:
It’s less about face of the league and more about a player with an aura that you can see as a legend one day. There’s no player you turn on the TV to watch play from another team, at least not from this era. Something is off with this era of basketball. Maybe it’s the parity and a different team winning every season.

Jokic is the closest there is and the NBA tries hard to never talk about him.

I think you’re just getting old lol. Jokic is definitely not the closest thing too.

Disagree. Jokic has refined humour, and so does SGA. Giannis is kind of awkward with his humour but he’s just likeable. A guy like Ant just sounds like a teenager and acts like one off the court too. The way he plays is also very passive so he never actually fit that mold.

If you compare these guys to previous superstars, they’re more like superstars who were in their prime and a bit more mature with the way they spoke. They kind of came into the league like that and stayed like that. You can hear the humble in the way they speak. A lot of American players develop that more as they grow older.

Nah, I think you’re legit just getting older lol.

Jokic’s whole gimmick was showing that he didn’t care about anything to do with the nba outside of just playing the game. Clearly that facade fell apart after losing to the wolves and OKC in back to back years, he clearly does care.

Guys like that can never be the face of the league.

You gotta win atleast a 2 peat or consistently be in the finals. SGA might have a chance at that.

OakleyDokely · Post #296 » by **OakleyDokely** » Thu May 29, 2025 3:41 pm

Top 3 minute earners on the final 4 teams and how they were acquired:

NYK: Bridges (Trade), Anunoby (Trade), Brunson (FA)
IND: Haliburton (Trade), Nembhard (1st Rd-31st), Siakam (Trade)
MIN: Edwards (1st Rnd-1st), Randle (Trade), McDaniels (1st Rnd-28th)
OKC: SGA (Trade), Williams (1st Rnd-12th), Holmgren (1st Rnd-2nd)

Prestige · Post #297 » by **Prestige** » Thu May 29, 2025 4:05 pm

SGA was the 11th pick. And OKC didn’t even draft him, they traded for him. Without him, none of their tanking would have worked.

Jalen Williams was selected by thrm with the 12 pick.

Chet Holmgren, the only guy they drafted high in a tanking season at #2, isn’t the main piece nor even the second best player most days.

So it goes to show you can build a contender with smart drafting and trades, and you don’t need top 3 picks year after year. Gives some hope to the Raptors.

TheRealDeal · Post #298 » by **TheRealDeal** » Thu May 29, 2025 4:06 pm

The only thing that isn’t ideal about OKC becoming a dynasty is that playing deep into the summer could impact SGA’s availability for team Canada in the future. Still happy for him regardless.

Agimat · Post #299 » by **Agimat** » Thu May 29, 2025 4:15 pm

OakleyDokely wrote:Top 3 minute earners on the final 4 teams and how they were acquired:

NYK: Bridges (Trade), Anunoby (Trade), Brunson (FA)
IND: Haliburton (Trade), Nembhard (1st Rd-31st), Siakam (Trade)
MIN: Edwards (1st Rnd-1st), Randle (Trade), McDaniels (1st Rnd-28th)
OKC: SGA (Trade), Williams (1st Rnd-12th), Holmgren (1st Rnd-2nd)

The fact that Pacers got this guy without giving up much, and he's playing a key role in their successful playoff run so far.

HumbleRen · Post #300 » by **HumbleRen** » Thu May 29, 2025 4:21 pm

Prestige wrote:SGA was the 11th pick. And OKC didn’t even draft him, they traded for him. Without him, none of their tanking would have worked.

Jalen Williams was selected by thrm with the 12 pick.

Chet Holmgren, the only guy they drafted high in a tanking season at #2, isn’t the main piece nor even the second best player most days.

So it goes to show you can build a contender with smart drafting and trades, and you don’t need top 3 picks year after year. Gives some hope to the Raptors.

So trade a mvp caliber player to get 5 picks and a blue chip prospect that eventually turns into top 5 SG of all time.

Get the 2nd pick in a draft. Get the 7th pick and flip it for a DPOY caliber player.

Seems easy enough.