Top NBA players under 25 years old.

[nickagneta]

Is it really going out on a limb to say that Jaylen Brown is and has been, better than Jayson Tatum?

I'm a big fan of both of them but Tatum is not as good. He is incredibly skilled but his mind and entitlement holds him back. Like, earn it dude. Let other people care who is a top 10 player.

It is never a good sign when someones aspires to be 'top 10,' the best don't care. Jayson comes across as immature and out of touch.

JB, to me, is doing saying and being all the right things. I kind of feel bad for him.

Yes.  Tatum is better and impacts winning a lot more than Brown and it isn't all that close.

You can say this over and over again but that doesn't make it true. I do not care about your +/- stats and team win loss when one of them are out.

Fact is their greatest achievements and greatest disappointments have come together. Tatum has always been given the easiest defensive assignment while Brown and Smart the hardest. Tatum can be successful because of Brown and vice versa.

The difference each makes towards winning is, in my opinion, extremely close. Much, much closer than your constant definitive statements make it out to be.

Sure and Boston is still 1-0 again this year when Brown doesn't play continually the multi-year trend that the team wins at the same or better pace when Brown doesn't play at all. 

At some point you guys are just going to have to come to terms with that fact.

Or you can accept the fact there is a lot more context behind those bogus stats. Like for instance the game the team beat without Brown was one of the 2 worst in the league. Context matters.

[Moranis]

Is it really going out on a limb to say that Jaylen Brown is and has been, better than Jayson Tatum?

I'm a big fan of both of them but Tatum is not as good. He is incredibly skilled but his mind and entitlement holds him back. Like, earn it dude. Let other people care who is a top 10 player.

It is never a good sign when someones aspires to be 'top 10,' the best don't care. Jayson comes across as immature and out of touch.

JB, to me, is doing saying and being all the right things. I kind of feel bad for him.

Yes.  Tatum is better and impacts winning a lot more than Brown and it isn't all that close.

You can say this over and over again but that doesn't make it true. I do not care about your +/- stats and team win loss when one of them are out.

Fact is their greatest achievements and greatest disappointments have come together. Tatum has always been given the easiest defensive assignment while Brown and Smart the hardest. Tatum can be successful because of Brown and vice versa.

The difference each makes towards winning is, in my opinion, extremely close. Much, much closer than your constant definitive statements make it out to be.

Sure and Boston is still 1-0 again this year when Brown doesn't play continually the multi-year trend that the team wins at the same or better pace when Brown doesn't play at all. 

At some point you guys are just going to have to come to terms with that fact.

Or you can accept the fact there is a lot more context behind those bogus stats. Like for instance the game the team beat without Brown was one of the 2 worst in the league. Context matters.

Sure, this year, but how do you explain the nearly half of season of missed games where that is also true.  Or that the team is often better with Brown on the bench in games he plays.  When you are talking about 3+ years of data, it isn't bogus.  It is reality.

[footey]

Why doesn't anyone have Ja Morant on the list?   I like him better than Zion long term; I think Zion is going to break down.

Morant is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. Just needs to improve that shot.

Yahoo has him at 15.  And looking at the list I don't know that I would quibble much with that position for him.

I pointed out the stupidity  as to why Ja Morant was not on the top 10 list of best players in NBA under 25 last year.  No one else seemed to quibble with it on this board.

He has obviously taken it to another level this year, but no excuse for ESPN or anyone else not recognizing this guy's talent and projection less than a year ago.

[Goldstar88]

Why doesn't anyone have Ja Morant on the list?   I like him better than Zion long term; I think Zion is going to break down.

Morant is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. Just needs to improve that shot.

Yahoo has him at 15.  And looking at the list I don't know that I would quibble much with that position for him.

I pointed out the stupidity  as to why Ja Morant was not on the top 10 list of best players in NBA under 25 last year.  No one else seemed to quibble with it on this board.

He has obviously taken it to another level this year, but no excuse for ESPN or anyone else not recognizing this guy's talent and projection less than a year ago.

To be fair, last year Morant was averaging less than 20 pts a game and his shooting percentages were not good. His defense was bad. He’s having a break through season. I think Ja Morant is the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now.

[Moranis]

Why doesn't anyone have Ja Morant on the list?   I like him better than Zion long term; I think Zion is going to break down.

Morant is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. Just needs to improve that shot.

Yahoo has him at 15.  And looking at the list I don't know that I would quibble much with that position for him.

I pointed out the stupidity  as to why Ja Morant was not on the top 10 list of best players in NBA under 25 last year.  No one else seemed to quibble with it on this board.

He has obviously taken it to another level this year, but no excuse for ESPN or anyone else not recognizing this guy's talent and projection less than a year ago.

To be fair, last year Morant was averaging less than 20 pts a game and his shooting percentages were not good. His defense was bad. He’s having a break through season. I think Ja Morant is the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now.

Yep.  I thought 15th seemed about right, which is where yahoo had him in March.  That made sense to me.  He really kicked up in the stretch run last year and has carried that over into this year.  It doesn't mean the projections were wrong last year though.

[sgrogan]

Why doesn't anyone have Ja Morant on the list?   I like him better than Zion long term; I think Zion is going to break down.

Morant is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. Just needs to improve that shot.

Yahoo has him at 15.  And looking at the list I don't know that I would quibble much with that position for him.

I pointed out the stupidity  as to why Ja Morant was not on the top 10 list of best players in NBA under 25 last year.  No one else seemed to quibble with it on this board.

He has obviously taken it to another level this year, but no excuse for ESPN or anyone else not recognizing this guy's talent and projection less than a year ago.

To be fair, last year Morant was averaging less than 20 pts a game and his shooting percentages were not good. His defense was bad. He’s having a break through season. I think Ja Morant is the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now.

Yep.  I thought 15th seemed about right, which is where yahoo had him in March.  That made sense to me.  He really kicked up in the stretch run last year and has carried that over into this year.  It doesn't mean the projections were wrong last year though.

Maybe not unreasonable, but I think they have been proven wrong.

[footey]

Why doesn't anyone have Ja Morant on the list?   I like him better than Zion long term; I think Zion is going to break down.

Morant is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. Just needs to improve that shot.

Yahoo has him at 15.  And looking at the list I don't know that I would quibble much with that position for him.

I pointed out the stupidity  as to why Ja Morant was not on the top 10 list of best players in NBA under 25 last year.  No one else seemed to quibble with it on this board.

He has obviously taken it to another level this year, but no excuse for ESPN or anyone else not recognizing this guy's talent and projection less than a year ago.

To be fair, last year Morant was averaging less than 20 pts a game and his shooting percentages were not good. His defense was bad. He’s having a break through season. I think Ja Morant is the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now.

Yep.  I thought 15th seemed about right, which is where yahoo had him in March.  That made sense to me.  He really kicked up in the stretch run last year and has carried that over into this year.  It doesn't mean the projections were wrong last year though.

Maybe not unreasonable, but I think they have been proven wrong.

They were so wrong. 

[JBcat]

Anthony Edwards is someone I’d consider taking over at least Jaylen Brown, and I love Brown. As a 20 year old Edwards is averaging 22.2 PPG, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists and he is so much fun to watch.

[Moranis]

Why doesn't anyone have Ja Morant on the list?   I like him better than Zion long term; I think Zion is going to break down.

Morant is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. Just needs to improve that shot.

Yahoo has him at 15.  And looking at the list I don't know that I would quibble much with that position for him.

I pointed out the stupidity  as to why Ja Morant was not on the top 10 list of best players in NBA under 25 last year.  No one else seemed to quibble with it on this board.

He has obviously taken it to another level this year, but no excuse for ESPN or anyone else not recognizing this guy's talent and projection less than a year ago.

To be fair, last year Morant was averaging less than 20 pts a game and his shooting percentages were not good. His defense was bad. He’s having a break through season. I think Ja Morant is the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now.

Yep.  I thought 15th seemed about right, which is where yahoo had him in March.  That made sense to me.  He really kicked up in the stretch run last year and has carried that over into this year.  It doesn't mean the projections were wrong last year though.

Maybe not unreasonable, but I think they have been proven wrong.

The projections are based on what is known at the time.  I don't believe they were wrong.  Morant elevated his game past the level he was performing at.  On March 17th last year, Memphis was 18-19 and Morant was averaging 19/8/3 and shooting 23.5% from 3 with a GMSC of just 14.9.  That was coming off a rookie season where in many respects he was better at 18/7/4 and he shot 33.5% from 3 with a GMSC of 13.9. 

Morant has obviously exploded this year, but the evidence wasn't there to support this kind of growth.  It is unexpected based on typical trajectories.

[footey]

Why doesn't anyone have Ja Morant on the list?   I like him better than Zion long term; I think Zion is going to break down.

Morant is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. Just needs to improve that shot.

Yahoo has him at 15.  And looking at the list I don't know that I would quibble much with that position for him.

I pointed out the stupidity  as to why Ja Morant was not on the top 10 list of best players in NBA under 25 last year.  No one else seemed to quibble with it on this board.

He has obviously taken it to another level this year, but no excuse for ESPN or anyone else not recognizing this guy's talent and projection less than a year ago.

To be fair, last year Morant was averaging less than 20 pts a game and his shooting percentages were not good. His defense was bad. He’s having a break through season. I think Ja Morant is the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now.

Yep.  I thought 15th seemed about right, which is where yahoo had him in March.  That made sense to me.  He really kicked up in the stretch run last year and has carried that over into this year.  It doesn't mean the projections were wrong last year though.

Maybe not unreasonable, but I think they have been proven wrong.

The projections are based on what is known at the time.  I don't believe they were wrong.  Morant elevated his game past the level he was performing at.  On March 17th last year, Memphis was 18-19 and Morant was averaging 19/8/3 and shooting 23.5% from 3 with a GMSC of just 14.9.  That was coming off a rookie season where in many respects he was better at 18/7/4 and he shot 33.5% from 3 with a GMSC of 13.9. 

Morant has obviously exploded this year, but the evidence wasn't there to support this kind of growth.  It is unexpected based on typical trajectories.

You don't believe the projections were wrong about Morant?  Of course they were wrong!!  He is going to make first or second team all NBA this season. If you mean to say that they were reasonable, based on data, fine, you can die on that sword.   

[Moranis]

Why doesn't anyone have Ja Morant on the list?   I like him better than Zion long term; I think Zion is going to break down.

Morant is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. Just needs to improve that shot.

Yahoo has him at 15.  And looking at the list I don't know that I would quibble much with that position for him.

I pointed out the stupidity  as to why Ja Morant was not on the top 10 list of best players in NBA under 25 last year.  No one else seemed to quibble with it on this board.

He has obviously taken it to another level this year, but no excuse for ESPN or anyone else not recognizing this guy's talent and projection less than a year ago.

To be fair, last year Morant was averaging less than 20 pts a game and his shooting percentages were not good. His defense was bad. He’s having a break through season. I think Ja Morant is the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now.

Yep.  I thought 15th seemed about right, which is where yahoo had him in March.  That made sense to me.  He really kicked up in the stretch run last year and has carried that over into this year.  It doesn't mean the projections were wrong last year though.

Maybe not unreasonable, but I think they have been proven wrong.

The projections are based on what is known at the time.  I don't believe they were wrong.  Morant elevated his game past the level he was performing at.  On March 17th last year, Memphis was 18-19 and Morant was averaging 19/8/3 and shooting 23.5% from 3 with a GMSC of just 14.9.  That was coming off a rookie season where in many respects he was better at 18/7/4 and he shot 33.5% from 3 with a GMSC of 13.9. 

Morant has obviously exploded this year, but the evidence wasn't there to support this kind of growth.  It is unexpected based on typical trajectories.

You don't believe the projections were wrong about Morant?  Of course they were wrong!!  He is going to make first or second team all NBA this season. If you mean to say that they were reasonable, based on data, fine, you can die on that sword.

It may be semantics, but the projections are based on data and not exceptions to the data.  I don't think anyone looked at the data that was available and made the wrong projection, it is Morant changed the data in a very atypical way.  He took a leap that was abnormal.  Similar to guys like Kawhi and Butler, who looked like 3 and D type role players their first couple of seasons before taking an abnormal or atypical leap into the All NBA level of player.  Morant was obviously better than Leonard and Butler his first 2 years, but his leap in year 3 has been tremendous and players don't typically do that.  Even someone like Giannis consistently was improving.  You could see the raw talent in him and could see his game just keep getting better.  Now obviously Giannis' talent jumps every year were bigger than most players, but he didn't have an atypical jump all of a sudden.

[gouki88]

Ja making me eat crow! Firmly on the same tier as Trae Young now, or thereabouts. Not quite on the level of a Curry/Doncic/Harden, but bloody good.