The 53 Best Franchise Players In The NBA - We have 2

[colincb]

Don't blame me, I'm just the messenger.

538 is good for political polling, but..

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-53-best-franchise-players-in-the-nba/

[Evantime34]

I'm about as high on Smart as someone reasonably can be but 13th best franchise player in the league is ridiculous.

Sully even being on the list is more ridiculous than that.

Of course, I'd love to be wrong.

The thing that turned Harden into a franchise player (imo) which I think Smart could emulate is getting to the line a lot (which is what Smart did in college).

[PhoSita]

Fun read -- like they said, NBA player rankings are like honey butter chips (which I now want to try) -- but I think the list also makes clear that their system needs some tweaking.

[TA9]

I'm about as high on Smart as someone reasonably can be but 13th best franchise player in the league is ridiculous.

Sully even being on the list is more ridiculous than that.

Of course, I'd love to be wrong.

The thing that turned Harden into a franchise player (imo) which I think Smart could emulate is getting to the line a lot (which is what Smart did in college).

To be fair, there are a lot of guys who shouldn't be on that list. D'Angelo Russell is one example. The kid hasn't played well against legit NBA players (solely based on pre season) and yet he's considered a "Franchise player"... Ridiculous

[Evantime34]

I'm about as high on Smart as someone reasonably can be but 13th best franchise player in the league is ridiculous.

Sully even being on the list is more ridiculous than that.

Of course, I'd love to be wrong.

The thing that turned Harden into a franchise player (imo) which I think Smart could emulate is getting to the line a lot (which is what Smart did in college).

To be fair, there are a lot of guys who shouldn't be on that list. D'Angelo Russell is one example. The kid hasn't played well against legit NBA players (solely based on pre season) and yet he's considered a "Franchise player"... Ridiculous

I'd say D'Angelo Russell has a ton more value on the open market than Sully. I think Russell being on the list has a lot more to do with how he did in college and where he projects than his preseason stats.

[Denis998]

I think Smart along with Bobby Portis have the potential to become the best players in the NBA someday.

[GC003332]

They have Rondo at 335 and Jeff Green at 408, Crowder at 124,Prince who in turn netted Jerebko at 238. Plus the future 1st rounders , Ainge knows what he is doing

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Smart at 13 - This completely unbiased fan completely agrees!!!

[Rondo9]

I'm about as high on Smart as someone reasonably can be but 13th best franchise player in the league is ridiculous.

Sully even being on the list is more ridiculous than that.

Of course, I'd love to be wrong.

The thing that turned Harden into a franchise player (imo) which I think Smart could emulate is getting to the line a lot (which is what Smart did in college).

Yeah Sullinger sucks right? 

[Csfan1984]

Noel's comparisons were too funny.

[hwangjini_1]

I think Smart along with Bobby Portis have the potential to become the best players in the NBA someday.

having read this, i can only assume your large signature pix is a self portrait. 

[Kuberski33]

And maybe the top 10 are actual difference makers in terms of your ability to win in the playoffs.

[Grindfather]

An important point to note for these rankings is that the are mostly about future value. Silver says in the third paragraph:

Two things we can’t stress enough: First, these ratings are purely statistical; there’s no manual tweaking involved. And second, focusing on the long term makes a lot of difference. Tim Duncan doesn’t appear in the top 53, but Jusuf Nurkic does.

I'd argue that LeBron is the most impactful player in the league, he most greatly increases a team's likelihood of winning, but he's ranked fourth here. Mainly because at nearly 31, he going to add less future value than 22 year old Anthony Davis.

Smart's rank is keyed to his age and the high likelihood that he will have many productive years ahead of him.

[Denis998]

I think Smart along with Bobby Portis have the potential to become the best players in the NBA someday.

having read this, i can only assume your large signature pix is a self portrait. 

just about

[Chris22]

We have a franchise coach and GM.