Would Lebron, Durant, and Kawhi...

[StepBackCrack]

Some of the takes here are ridiculous. KD/Kawhi/LBJ would mop the floor playing against these kids.

[Tommygriffin]

Could you imagine Lebron, Durant, and Kawhi being coached by Brad Stevens? Lebron alone is a system. Put him in Brad Stevens system and that is a system in a system. Powerful

[nikster]

Okay? I said the NBA players would do well offensively. The college team would rip them apart on the offensive end, though.

I'm sorry but if you leave two wide open D1 players on a well coached team with a game plan, they are going to hit almost every shot. There is no way Durant is hitting a higher clip from 3 with two players on him at all times than a wide open by 20 feet D1 player.

We do know a decent amount of D1 players on the best college teams end up in the NBA fairly soon after their college season ends, right? The big thing that holds back college players from performing well their rookie years on the defensive end is pace, physicality, and just general BBIQ development. Playing against a team of 3 takes those road blocks away.

Well if you have 2 players on Durant at all time that means you have only 1 defender on Kawhii or Lebron...which is an easy 2 point field goal at 90% clip. Even from elite college teams you have maybe 3 players that will make any sort of impact on the NBA level as a rookie. And most college teams only have 1 or 2 truly elite shooters, which the stars can focus on

Still not better than wide open D1 players taking essentially practice 3s with all the time in the world. Top D1 players don’t miss in practice that often.

I know they hit ton of 3s. They're still playing a full court game and you still have to have get your shot off relatively quickly with Durant or Kawhii closing out on you. Teams would probably have a couple players that can shoot 50% + against them but again, they could just play towards those players a little more. and I dont think it would be enough to match the insane efficiency the stars can get at the rim.

[taikibansei]

Still not better than wide open D1 players taking essentially practice 3s with all the time in the world. Top D1 players don’t miss in practice that often.

College players miss wide open shots all the time during games--and the bigger the game, the more they miss. The few exceptions are the players that go 1-15 in the draft...and even many of those end up being busts in the NBA.

Moreover, none of these college players would have played against the caliber of a Kawli, Durant and Lebron. These three are quicker, better leapers and far stronger than just about anybody in college. Even wide open shots become not open quick when, say, 7-foot Durant comes charging out at you!

Three average NBA players vs. a five-man Division I college team? The college kids take it easy. Three probable Hall of Famers though...?

[DarkAzcura]

Still not better than wide open D1 players taking essentially practice 3s with all the time in the world. Top D1 players don’t miss in practice that often.

College players miss wide open shots all the time during games--and the bigger the game, the more they miss. The few exceptions are the players that go 1-15 in the draft...and even many of those end up being busts in the NBA.

Moreover, none of these college players would have played against the caliber of a Kawli, Durant and Lebron. These three are quicker, better leapers and far stronger than just about anybody in college. Even wide open shots become not open quick when, say, 7-foot Durant comes charging out at you!

Three average NBA players vs. a five-man Division I college team? The college kids take it easy. Three probable Hall of Famers though...?

There is a difference between a wide open shot where someone is going to rotate over to you within 2 seconds if you don't get the wide open shot off and a wide open shot where no one is within 25 feet of you.

You can't compare wide open shots from a 5 on 5 to the wide open shots you would get playing with a 2 player advantage. A smart coach would be able to get his players in their hot spots taking essentially warm up shots. Different than worrying about a guy rotating over to you to close out.

[taikibansei]

Still not better than wide open D1 players taking essentially practice 3s with all the time in the world. Top D1 players don’t miss in practice that often.

College players miss wide open shots all the time during games--and the bigger the game, the more they miss. The few exceptions are the players that go 1-15 in the draft...and even many of those end up being busts in the NBA.

Moreover, none of these college players would have played against the caliber of a Kawli, Durant and Lebron. These three are quicker, better leapers and far stronger than just about anybody in college. Even wide open shots become not open quick when, say, 7-foot Durant comes charging out at you!

Three average NBA players vs. a five-man Division I college team? The college kids take it easy. Three probable Hall of Famers though...?

There is a difference between a wide open shot where someone is going to rotate over to you within 2 seconds if you don't get the wide open shot off and a wide open shot where no one is within 25 feet of you.

You can't compare wide open shots from a 5 on 5 to the wide open shots you would get playing with a 2 player advantage.

Guys like Kawhi can and do rotate quick enough to contest shots that even most pro players would not reach. (I've watched the guy single handedly wreak havoc on GSW....) One blocked shot, with the added pressure of having to score every time down, and I guarantee you that rim will start looking mighty small...regardless of how "open" the college player is.

[DarkAzcura]

College players miss wide open shots all the time during games--and the bigger the game, the more they miss. The few exceptions are the players that go 1-15 in the draft...and even many of those end up being busts in the NBA.

Moreover, none of these college players would have played against the caliber of a Kawli, Durant and Lebron. These three are quicker, better leapers and far stronger than just about anybody in college. Even wide open shots become not open quick when, say, 7-foot Durant comes charging out at you!

Three average NBA players vs. a five-man Division I college team? The college kids take it easy. Three probable Hall of Famers though...?

There is a difference between a wide open shot where someone is going to rotate over to you within 2 seconds if you don't get the wide open shot off and a wide open shot where no one is within 25 feet of you.

You can't compare wide open shots from a 5 on 5 to the wide open shots you would get playing with a 2 player advantage.

Guys like Kawhi can and do rotate quick enough to contest shots that even most pro players would not reach. (I've watched the guy single handedly wreak havoc on GSW....) One blocked shot, with the added pressure of having to score every time down, and I guarantee you that rim will start looking mighty small...regardless of how "open" the college player is.

A lot of people in this thread aren't understanding how big an advantage being that open is. Kawhi, Lebron, and Durant are amazing, but they aren't super human defensively. They can't teleport.

You get a big man prospect like Ayton pounding it in inside against Lebron and then kicking it out, no matter how fast Kawhi and Durant are, good luck rotating when the other 4 players are literally 20-25 feet apart each around the perimeter.

[MarcusBrody]

There is a difference between a wide open shot where someone is going to rotate over to you within 2 seconds if you don't get the wide open shot off and a wide open shot where no one is within 25 feet of you.

You can't compare wide open shots from a 5 on 5 to the wide open shots you would get playing with a 2 player advantage.

Guys like Kawhi can and do rotate quick enough to contest shots that even most pro players would not reach. (I've watched the guy single handedly wreak havoc on GSW....) One blocked shot, with the added pressure of having to score every time down, and I guarantee you that rim will start looking mighty small...regardless of how "open" the college player is.

A lot of people in this thread aren't understanding how big an advantage being that open is. Kawhi, Lebron, and Durant are amazing, but they aren't super human defensively. They can't teleport.

You get a big man prospect like Ayton pounding it in inside against Lebron and then kicking it out, no matter how fast Kawhi and Durant are, good luck rotating when the other 4 players are literally 20-25 feet apart each around the perimeter.

Yep, people really aren't understanding the level of advantage. If you have two shooters outside at the top of the key and in the corner, they can't be guarded by one guy no matter how fast, if you force two out then you have a 3 on 1 if they send the ball inside. If the first defender immediately retreats then the ball can come back to the top. If he doesn't, the loan interior defender is BBQ. And that's not even considering having three guys out to swing the ball and bringing cutters through.

[Yoshun]

Guys like Kawhi can and do rotate quick enough to contest shots that even most pro players would not reach. (I've watched the guy single handedly wreak havoc on GSW....) One blocked shot, with the added pressure of having to score every time down, and I guarantee you that rim will start looking mighty small...regardless of how "open" the college player is.

A lot of people in this thread aren't understanding how big an advantage being that open is. Kawhi, Lebron, and Durant are amazing, but they aren't super human defensively. They can't teleport.

You get a big man prospect like Ayton pounding it in inside against Lebron and then kicking it out, no matter how fast Kawhi and Durant are, good luck rotating when the other 4 players are literally 20-25 feet apart each around the perimeter.

Yep, people really aren't understanding the level of advantage. If you have two shooters outside at the top of the key and in the corner, they can't be guarded by one guy no matter how fast, if you force two out then you have a 3 on 1 if they send the ball inside. If the first defender immediately retreats then the ball can come back to the top. If he doesn't, the loan interior defender is BBQ. And that's not even considering having three guys out to swing the ball and bringing cutters through.

I think people understand. It's just that the college team would basically never get a defensive stop.

[whitehops]

i'm not going to factor fatigue/fouls into it but i think the trio would win. defensively they would probably play a 1-2 zone and then you have three of the best defenders in the NBA with length, IQ and athleticism you simply don't see in college. i can see them picking off a ton of passes simply with their length and anticipation.

offensively i think they can overcome whatever defense the college team throws at them. double both strong-side players, zone, zone and 2, etc. the trio are all seasoned vets, insanely skilled, physically superior and have seen every kind of defense thrown at them. KD was the player of the year as a freshman in college and he's infinitely better now.


to be honest i think the most trouble they would have is inbounding the ball. the college team could double both players and have someone guarding the inbounder.

[BloodNinja]

40 minute games, shorter 3 point line, and 3 elite NBA players. Yeah the NBA guys would wipe the floor with the college guys.

[DarkAzcura]

A lot of people in this thread aren't understanding how big an advantage being that open is. Kawhi, Lebron, and Durant are amazing, but they aren't super human defensively. They can't teleport.

You get a big man prospect like Ayton pounding it in inside against Lebron and then kicking it out, no matter how fast Kawhi and Durant are, good luck rotating when the other 4 players are literally 20-25 feet apart each around the perimeter.

Yep, people really aren't understanding the level of advantage. If you have two shooters outside at the top of the key and in the corner, they can't be guarded by one guy no matter how fast, if you force two out then you have a 3 on 1 if they send the ball inside. If the first defender immediately retreats then the ball can come back to the top. If he doesn't, the loan interior defender is BBQ. And that's not even considering having three guys out to swing the ball and bringing cutters through.

I think people understand. It's just that the college team would basically never get a defensive stop.

The NBA players would be the ones who would have issues getting stops.

Again, you have a big pounding it down low against Lebron and kicking it out, Kawhi and Durant won't be able to keep up with the ball swinging back out to the other 4 guys. They won't come close to intercepting any passes as long as the college guys are passing it to the guys who don't have any player within 25 feet of them, and if by some miracle, they can actually contest a majority of the shots, they won't have legs for the offensive end. These guys are still human.

[Yoshun]

Yep, people really aren't understanding the level of advantage. If you have two shooters outside at the top of the key and in the corner, they can't be guarded by one guy no matter how fast, if you force two out then you have a 3 on 1 if they send the ball inside. If the first defender immediately retreats then the ball can come back to the top. If he doesn't, the loan interior defender is BBQ. And that's not even considering having three guys out to swing the ball and bringing cutters through.

I think people understand. It's just that the college team would basically never get a defensive stop.

The NBA players would be the ones who would have issues getting stops.

Again, you have a big pounding it down low against Lebron and kicking it out, Kawhi and Durant won't be able to keep up with the ball swinging back out to the other 4 guys. They won't come close to intercepting any passes as long as the college guys are passing it to the guys who don't have any player within 25 feet of them, and if by some miracle, they can actually contest a majority of the shots, they won't have legs for the offensive end.

I don't think they'd be running all that much to be honest. I think they'd just stack the paint in some kind of zone and let the college guys shoot. I'm not sure how much "pounding down low" could be done on LeBron. There aren't many college players effectively going to to toe with LeBron in the post. The college team would probably never get a rebound, it honestly wouldn't be worth chasing them on the perimeter.

The outcome obviously depends on the talent of the college team and the stamina of LeBron and co. The talent difference is insane though. 3 of the best players in the world against 5 guys who may not even make it on an NBA team. I'm not going to say it's a sure thing, but the LeBron team has a good shot.

[mowcrowbar]

obviously people who would say yes are the ones without RL basketball exp. extra man is huge. 2 extra men is not a brainer.

And obviously that experience wouldn't apply here because we aren't talking junior varsity or pickup basketball, but giants who posses unbelievable skill and athleticism.

[Upperclass]

No exaggeration.. LeBron by himself would win the NCAA championship.

[bwgood77]

Easily. I don't think people realize the difference in level of talent if they say otherwise. Even people who dominate the NCAA often barely make a dent as a rookie.

The college schedule is easy too with only two games a week. There are also longer possessions and shorter games so far fewer possessions.

[DarkAzcura]

I think people understand. It's just that the college team would basically never get a defensive stop.

The NBA players would be the ones who would have issues getting stops.

Again, you have a big pounding it down low against Lebron and kicking it out, Kawhi and Durant won't be able to keep up with the ball swinging back out to the other 4 guys. They won't come close to intercepting any passes as long as the college guys are passing it to the guys who don't have any player within 25 feet of them, and if by some miracle, they can actually contest a majority of the shots, they won't have legs for the offensive end.

I don't think they'd be running all that much to be honest. I think they'd just stack the paint in some kind of zone and let the college guys shoot. I'm not sure how much "pounding down low" could be done on LeBron. There aren't many college players effectively going to to toe with LeBron in the post. The college team would probably never get a rebound, it honestly wouldn't be worth chasing them on the perimeter.

The outcome obviously depends on the talent of the college team and the stamina of LeBron and co. The talent difference is insane though. 3 of the best players in the world against 5 guys who may not even make it on an NBA team. I'm not going to say it's a sure thing, but the LeBron team has a good shot.

And that's kinda the issue. If you stack the paint, you won't be contesting any 3s and the college team will know it. They will be shooting warm up shots pretty much and even the better D1 players can hit 80% of their warm up shots if not more. There's a difference between a 5 man team packing the paint and contesting late on weaker shooters and a 3 man team packing the paint literally letting you shoot any shot. A D1 guy who could play professionally whether it's Europe, the G League, or the NBA is going to hit all those shots.

Also the premise was winning the NCAA (title I assume) so assume you are playing a Coach K Duke team. Look at how good Kyrie was in his rookie year after playing like only 10 games in college. I doubt he was much different. Imagine leaving a wide open Kyrie all game long..even as a 18 year old, he's hitting everything.

Top prospects on the top college teams would do really well against any 3 man combination no matter how talented those 3 are, imo, if they get to throw a normal 5 man team out there.

[MarcusBrody]

I actually think the most interesting question would be what defense would it be best for the college kids to play.

[RCM88x]

I actually think the most interesting question would be what defense would it be best for the college kids to play.

Depends on the offense the NBA guys run. More post oriented? More PnR oriented? Really changes things, because there is little chance the college guys can defend them one on one in isolation off of cuts or screens.

Probably double Lebron and KD then force Kawhi to make outside shots, one on one or dive into a crowd. Really not any good strategy I can think off of the top of my head.

[taikibansei]

There is a difference between a wide open shot where someone is going to rotate over to you within 2 seconds if you don't get the wide open shot off and a wide open shot where no one is within 25 feet of you.

You can't compare wide open shots from a 5 on 5 to the wide open shots you would get playing with a 2 player advantage.

Guys like Kawhi can and do rotate quick enough to contest shots that even most pro players would not reach. (I've watched the guy single handedly wreak havoc on GSW....) One blocked shot, with the added pressure of having to score every time down, and I guarantee you that rim will start looking mighty small...regardless of how "open" the college player is.

A lot of people in this thread aren't understanding how big an advantage being that open is. Kawhi, Lebron, and Durant are amazing, but they aren't super human defensively. They can't teleport.

You get a big man prospect like Ayton pounding it in inside against Lebron and then kicking it out, no matter how fast Kawhi and Durant are, good luck rotating when the other 4 players are literally 20-25 feet apart each around the perimeter.

Look, I love Ayton as a prospect. Ayton is one of the strongest kids in college basketball--he "recently hit 19 reps on the 185-pound Bench Press test (the NBA Combine record is 27 reps)." I think, barring serious injury, Ayton is a guaranteed NBA all-star in three years and a potential superstar in five. I'd LOVE to have him play for the Knicks.

That said, Ayton is not "pounding it" inside against Lebron. Lebron is one of the strongest men in the NBA--he regularly "presses 225 pounds for up to 15 reps." Lebron weighs more than Ayton and squats more weight, yet is quicker and has a higher max vertical. In other words, the 19-year-old Ayton is not "pounding" anything. At best, Ayton becomes a jump shooter against Lebron...which is not an insult at all.

As for the rest of that Arizona roster...I don't see a huge amount of NBA level talent. Trier can shoot and is 6'5'' but weighs just 205...good luck guarding anyone. Their other shooter, Jackson-Cartwright, is just 5'11 and weighs 170. Regardless of spacing, there's no way that guy gets his shot off if Durant, Kawhi and/or Lebron is even on the same side of the court. And as for the rest of that team...I just see scrubs...which is part of the reason why the Wildcats are just 3-3.

Remember, unless I've misunderstood the OP, this is not an NCAA all-star team vs. three NBA players. It is a Division I team vs. three NBA Hall of Famers in their primes. Good luck with that.