HOT TAKE: Aleksej Pokusevski will win the NBA MVP (Within the Next 10 Years)

[Capn'O]

If you've watched him, you know this is spot on.

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we all know he does special things but so does Bol who is another unicorn.
The NBA has so much talent I just dont think these guys are valuable as back in Giannis days when he was the first of a kind.

I think Bol Bol has a better jumpshot, but he seems to lack the fluidity and passing ability that Poku shows on a nightly basis. And in the NBA, being able to move well as a seven footer is an extremely important skill.

Of course Bol Bol gets garbage time minutes on a playoff team, while Poku gets force-fed minutes on a tanking team, so maybe I'd be making a "Bol Bol will win the NBA MVP" post if their situations were reversed.

Maybe you should anyway

[Leslie Forman]

Why the are people always so obsessed with how skinny a player is when they're 19 years old?

What super talented prospect that was skinny ended up failing because they were skinny?

[skones]

Why the are people always so obsessed with how skinny a player is when they're 19 years old?

What super talented prospect that was skinny ended up failing because they were skinny?

There are a lot of bigs who didn't have the frame to handle the NBA..........

Not saying that's Pokusevski, but it's not terribly difficult to find this stuff.

[yannisk]

There are some parallels with Giannis, both tall, lanky with guard skills coming to the nba from the Greek a2 division

Giannis had the work ethic and the genes. Let's see if Poku is the same. But he looks very talented from the highlights i've seen and more in control than rookie Giannis.

[Leslie Forman]

Why the are people always so obsessed with how skinny a player is when they're 19 years old?

What super talented prospect that was skinny ended up failing because they were skinny?

There are a lot of bigs who didn't have the frame to handle the NBA..........

Not saying that's Pokusevski, but it's not terribly difficult to find this stuff.

Who? Who had tons of skills and talent, and failed because they were skinny?

Name one guy. One.

[MrGrim]

Somebody needs to give him a sandwich...

Seriously though he reminds me more of a young Dirk (before you go crazy, go back and look at clips of [b]young[b] Dirk: he was much more fluid in his first few years in the league than even the 2011 championship version) or even an even more raw young Durant. Obviously that's no guarantee he'll reach the level of those players, but he's already got the most important physical tool in basketball: height.

[SNPA]

There is plenty of film to suggest this has a chance of becoming true. Poku is another one of those guys that GM's just got scared of for some reason and let slide, it's really unbelievable.

[Lamak]

his offense is polished for his size

[jake_swivel]

There are some parallels with Giannis, both tall, lanky with guard skills coming to the nba from the Greek a2 division

Giannis had the work ethic and the genes. Let's see if Poku is the same. But he looks very talented from the highlights i've seen and more in control than rookie Giannis.

Heh, watch more than highlights and get back to us on that “more in control” part. He does some outrageous, unfluid, weird stuff on the basketball court. Like stuff I’ve never seen from an nba player.

And as an okc fan, I’m going to vote no on him ever being an mvp. If he’s an above average starter at any point with the thunder, I’ll be thrilled.

[Winsome Gerbil]

I know my Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk MVP thread was greeted unkindly back at the start of the season, but if this is where we're at its time for me to go resurrect it.

Air Svi

[zimpy27]

I just want him to be nicknamed "the poker"

[Goudelock]

That is a hot take but honestly I haven't even got to watch him in the pros

You should watch OKC if you have a chance to. They're bad, but Lu Dort, Poku, SGA, and Moses Brown are all fun players.

BTW I forgot Darius Bazley and Theo Maledon as two more fun young players who you should keep an eye on. IDK if either of them are good, per se. But both make a few splashy plays a night. OKC as a whole is just a bunch of young guys who play really hard for 48 minutes.

[GSP]

This thread will be bumped in the future and age horribly...... Kids ceiling is MAYBE an allstar selection but Mvp??? Woof

[xBulletproof]

People worried about his frame, Reggie Miller and Manute Bol weren't much, if any better and survived a more strength based NBA than todays game. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Kevin Durant doesn't look much tougher either.

I'd be interested to see him more. Seeing some of these highlights (and that's all I've seen), he looks interesting. I'll be keeping an eye open for him going forward.

[Yuri Vaultin]

I'm all aboard!

[Phreak50]

Not really a hot take since people have been calling him the next Giannis on social media for weeks.

[Zan Tabacco]

Is he averaging 6 PPG on 40% TS%? Yes.

Was he unplayably bad before being sent down to the G-League? Yes.

Would Joel Embiid or Jokic actually kill him if they posted 200 pound Poku up? Yes.

Have I suffered through enough OKC games to see that Poku has the raw athleticism, wingspan, and most-importantly, the confidence to run pick and rolls and attempt stepback threes and isolation shots despite shooting 33%? To play point guard and attempt to make passes that most players would only dream of? While also flashing the defensive versatility to guard multiple positions? Yes.

So I want to be the first poster on this site to predict that within 10 years, Aleksej Pokusevski will win at least one NBA MVP award and will be a top three player in the league.

Feel free to bump this thread in two years when he's washed out of the NBA and is playing for Baskonia.

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My eyes just got third degree burns from how hot this take is. Hot take is an understatement.

[dc]

A lot of this is just going to come down to how he fill out his frame. Does he get bigger/stronger without losing coordination/athleticism....that type of thing. Definitely an intriguing prospect and a worthwhile gamble by OKC and Presti. Just way too early to call thing either way.

[niQ]

I just want him to be nicknamed "the poker"

Our board already calling him Gokusevski.

[GrindCityHustle]

I thought he was considered terrible. Looks like he is good now I had no idea lol