Defining "Superstar"

[Sothron]

My definition of superstar is can you be the first or second option on a championship team.

[Jersey Generals]

Agreed with it being about branding. Penny and Grant Hill were on their way to being superstars in the 90s until they were injured and the advertisements dried up. Tim Duncan was a top 10 player of all time, but I would not define him as superstar. Grandmama might have been close, but never as close as the other two. Today, I'd say Lebron and Curry are the only two definitive ones.

Outside of that, I'd go with Wilt, Kareem, Dr. J, Magic, Bird, Jordan, Barkley, Shaq, Kobe, Lebron and Curry.

[dhsilv2]

The definition of Superstar is that most grandmothers know who you are.

Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem, Dr. J, Magic, Bird, Jordan, Shaq, Kobe, and Lebron are superstars.

I’m not sure there have been any other superstars in NBA history.

Yep, I call it the "wife rule." I don't invest in any vintage basketball cards unless my wife has heard of the player. It's a celebrity status, not necessarily connected to on-court value or performance.

If you want to leave stardom out of it, then you can go with "perennial MVP candidate" or some such, otherwise the stardom part is pretty important. Kawhi is not a superstar in any universe despite that one commercial I saw him in, and certainly not AD, not Jokic by a mile, not even Giannis although he is starting to show up on some products. I don't even think I could legitimately add to that list of nine there. Most people wouldn't recognize these modern guys in an airport.

By that definition there aren't any superstars on the planet who are nearing or at least 40...and there may never be another superstar again in any field/industry outside of perhaps politics.

[dhsilv2]

The definition of Superstar is that most grandmothers know who you are.

Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem, Dr. J, Magic, Bird, Jordan, Shaq, Kobe, and Lebron are superstars.

I’m not sure there have been any other superstars in NBA history.

Yep, I call it the "wife rule." I don't invest in any vintage basketball cards unless my wife has heard of the player. It's a celebrity status, not necessarily connected to on-court value or performance.

If you want to leave stardom out of it, then you can go with "perennial MVP candidate" or some such, otherwise the stardom part is pretty important. Kawhi is not a superstar in any universe despite that one commercial I saw him in, and certainly not AD, not Jokic by a mile, not even Giannis although he is starting to show up on some products. I don't even think I could legitimately add to that list of nine there. Most people wouldn't recognize these modern guys in an airport.

Your grandma knows who steph curry is.

I actually asked my mom not long ago, grandmothers are dead, she knows a lot of nba players who played for Kentucky. She had no clue who Curry was. It's 2022 man, we don't have mutual things in media we all know and follow like did 20 years ago. I like sports and I couldn't name you 3 MLB players who I am sure are active in 2022. After Mike Trout (hope that's right), I'd be naming a local guy from a few years ago, and I've been to 3 baseball games in person in the last 5 years. If you don't follow a sport today, you very well might never be exposed to it because we have unlimited on demand media that we can tailor to our interests and skip everything else.

[dhsilv2]

Ja Morant is getting national attention for commercials and endorsement deals, is on a top 2 team, in the MVP conversation, and is an elite athlete that is always on Sportscenter.

For me, he is more of a "Superstar" in the league than a guy like AD for sure. Possibly more than Leonard, who although has two finals MVPs, has mostly kept to himself and isn't in the spotlight. Leonard maybe could have reached superstar status if he wasn't injured the past few years but right now Morant is for sure ahead of him.

AD won a title at kentucky, and the NCAA tourney is a MUCH bigger deal than sadly the NBA in general. And commercials? Do people on average even see those things? I know I've never seen Ja in a commercial or at least I never noticed it. But if I'm not watching the nba, I don't see commercials. I mean literally the only time most people see a commercial is while watching sports, otherwise where else are they anymore?

[Perseus1966]

Giannis (ok i am a homer)
Is a superstar with or without basketball.

[NZB2323]

The definition of Superstar is that most grandmothers know who you are.

Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem, Dr. J, Magic, Bird, Jordan, Shaq, Kobe, and Lebron are superstars.

I’m not sure there have been any other superstars in NBA history.

Yep, I call it the "wife rule." I don't invest in any vintage basketball cards unless my wife has heard of the player. It's a celebrity status, not necessarily connected to on-court value or performance.

If you want to leave stardom out of it, then you can go with "perennial MVP candidate" or some such, otherwise the stardom part is pretty important. Kawhi is not a superstar in any universe despite that one commercial I saw him in, and certainly not AD, not Jokic by a mile, not even Giannis although he is starting to show up on some products. I don't even think I could legitimately add to that list of nine there. Most people wouldn't recognize these modern guys in an airport.

By that definition there aren't any superstars on the planet who are nearing or at least 40...and there may never be another superstar again in any field/industry outside of perhaps politics.

Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift aren’t nearing 40 and they’re superstars. But the definition of superstar is supposed to be super restrictive. There are a lot of stars, but only 1 or 2 superstars at any moment. If there are 10 superstars at one point, then none of them are superstars.

Elvis Presley was a superstar. I love Tom Petty, but he was never a superstar.

Babe Ruth, Ali, Tiger, Jordan, Tom Brady, that’s the level of a superstar.

Giannis, Kawhi, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Rory Mcllroy, Ed Sheeran, A-Rod, and Tyson Furry are stars, but not superstars.

[DoItALL9]

Agreed with it being about branding. Penny and Grant Hill were on their way to being superstars in the 90s until they were injured and the advertisements dried up. Tim Duncan was a top 10 player of all time, but I would not define him as superstar. Grandmama might have been close, but never as close as the other two. Today, I'd say Lebron and Curry are the only two definitive ones.

Outside of that, I'd go with Wilt, Kareem, Dr. J, Magic, Bird, Jordan, Barkley, Shaq, Kobe, Lebron and Curry.

I feel like this list is guys who were bigger than basketball. Non NBA watches know them. They're superstars toobut
To me those are "Transcendent" Stars

Sent from my LM-G710 using RealGM mobile app

[bstein14]

Ja Morant is getting national attention for commercials and endorsement deals, is on a top 2 team, in the MVP conversation, and is an elite athlete that is always on Sportscenter.

For me, he is more of a "Superstar" in the league than a guy like AD for sure. Possibly more than Leonard, who although has two finals MVPs, has mostly kept to himself and isn't in the spotlight. Leonard maybe could have reached superstar status if he wasn't injured the past few years but right now Morant is for sure ahead of him.

AD won a title at kentucky, and the NCAA tourney is a MUCH bigger deal than sadly the NBA in general. And commercials? Do people on average even see those things? I know I've never seen Ja in a commercial or at least I never noticed it. But if I'm not watching the nba, I don't see commercials. I mean literally the only time most people see a commercial is while watching sports, otherwise where else are they anymore?

AD was very hyped coming into the league but he couldn't get New Orleans anywhere and now he's the 2nd best player on a lottery team so he is far from a superstar currently.

[MrBigShot]

Ja Morant is getting national attention for commercials and endorsement deals, is on a top 2 team, in the MVP conversation, and is an elite athlete that is always on Sportscenter.

For me, he is more of a "Superstar" in the league than a guy like AD for sure. Possibly more than Leonard, who although has two finals MVPs, has mostly kept to himself and isn't in the spotlight. Leonard maybe could have reached superstar status if he wasn't injured the past few years but right now Morant is for sure ahead of him.

AD won a title at kentucky, and the NCAA tourney is a MUCH bigger deal than sadly the NBA in general. And commercials? Do people on average even see those things? I know I've never seen Ja in a commercial or at least I never noticed it. But if I'm not watching the nba, I don't see commercials. I mean literally the only time most people see a commercial is while watching sports, otherwise where else are they anymore?

Healthy AD is a better player but he can't stay on the court at all, and when he is on the court he flat out doesn't play up to his level of talent during the season. Ja is the face and leader of the grizzlies, and he always busts his ass on the court.

[dhsilv2]

Ja Morant is getting national attention for commercials and endorsement deals, is on a top 2 team, in the MVP conversation, and is an elite athlete that is always on Sportscenter.

For me, he is more of a "Superstar" in the league than a guy like AD for sure. Possibly more than Leonard, who although has two finals MVPs, has mostly kept to himself and isn't in the spotlight. Leonard maybe could have reached superstar status if he wasn't injured the past few years but right now Morant is for sure ahead of him.

AD won a title at kentucky, and the NCAA tourney is a MUCH bigger deal than sadly the NBA in general. And commercials? Do people on average even see those things? I know I've never seen Ja in a commercial or at least I never noticed it. But if I'm not watching the nba, I don't see commercials. I mean literally the only time most people see a commercial is while watching sports, otherwise where else are they anymore?

AD was very hyped coming into the league but he couldn't get New Orleans anywhere and now he's the 2nd best player on a lottery team so he is far from a superstar currently.

He was amazing on a terrible team and he got them to the playoffs where nobody else could. He was awful this year, but stardom is more than just how good you are at sports for MANY. AT his best he played like a superstar and at his worst he's a superstar in terms of name.

[dhsilv2]

Ja Morant is getting national attention for commercials and endorsement deals, is on a top 2 team, in the MVP conversation, and is an elite athlete that is always on Sportscenter.

For me, he is more of a "Superstar" in the league than a guy like AD for sure. Possibly more than Leonard, who although has two finals MVPs, has mostly kept to himself and isn't in the spotlight. Leonard maybe could have reached superstar status if he wasn't injured the past few years but right now Morant is for sure ahead of him.

AD won a title at kentucky, and the NCAA tourney is a MUCH bigger deal than sadly the NBA in general. And commercials? Do people on average even see those things? I know I've never seen Ja in a commercial or at least I never noticed it. But if I'm not watching the nba, I don't see commercials. I mean literally the only time most people see a commercial is while watching sports, otherwise where else are they anymore?

Healthy AD is a better player but he can't stay on the court at all, and when he is on the court he flat out doesn't play up to his level of talent during the season. Ja is the face and leader of the grizzlies, and he always busts his ass on the court.

He sucked this year. He looked like he gained weight and it was bad for him. But AD has been an absolute monster at times in his career. It's real shame he wasted some EPIC EPIC seasons on a terrible team. All that said, the man deserves some balanced talk. And we seem to get so much negative crap for a guy who maybe won't be what we wanted but is still a serious all time great in so many ways.

[dautjazz]

I’m not convinced that Jokic is a superstar yet

He is, but not having a good guard that can put pressure on the rim and distribute makes it very difficult for a center to impact the game in the same way, even if he has amazing vision and IQ.

Superstars don’t go on the verge of being swept 2 years straight

Seriously? He's putting up 29/13/5 in the playoffs, too many damn injuries for them to make noise in the playoffs.

[RalphWiggum]

I'm not going to define a superstar. I'll just say there's less than 20 that have ever existed.

[iLLmatic860]

He is, but not having a good guard that can put pressure on the rim and distribute makes it very difficult for a center to impact the game in the same way, even if he has amazing vision and IQ.

Superstars don’t go on the verge of being swept 2 years straight

Seriously? He's putting up 29/13/5 in the playoffs, too many damn injuries for them to make noise in the playoffs.

I’m not saying he isnt a star. I just dont think he can win a championship as a number one option.

[ropjhk]

Superstars are made in the playoffs. You have to at least prove that you are able to carry (not just lead but carry) your team to a playoff series win. It's nearly impossible for a team to win a championship without a superstar (but it has happened a few times).

Superstar don't always carry their teams to victory but you always have the sense that it's a possibility so long as the superstar is not injured. You never count out a team with a healthy superstar in their prime.

It's not all about scoring but a superstar has to be able to score. A superstar can dominate on defense and playmaking.