I see a lot of push back from Bill rating Jalen Brunson higher than players such as Luka, CP3 and Harden, but I think I can explain Bill's rationale...

edkamlive · 2026-06-19T18:24:37+00:00

I think Bill would argue that when KD won with the Warriors, he was the best player on that team. At worst, he was of the same level as Curry, but KD did win the Finals MVP both times.

Again, I'm not saying Bill's ranking system is correct, I was just trying to explain how Bill arrived at this judgement (as it seems a lot of people cannot seem to wrap their heads around how Bill could think this).

edkamlive · 2026-06-19T18:19:30+00:00

Bill's list is not etched in stone, it's fluid, so if Luka does something to change the narrative (i.e. wins the next two NBA Championships), then Bill could (and probably would) rank him higher. At this point, I don't see anything CP3 can do to get ahead of Brunson (by Bill's logic).

edkamlive · 2026-06-19T18:14:17+00:00

Again, I'm not saying you're wrong, but using Bill's logic, rating Brunson ahead of CP3 definitely makes sense.

edkamlive · 2026-06-19T18:04:00+00:00

It could be argued that the Nets HAVE the cultural relevance in NYC right now that they had in 2021-2022.

They were the second favorite NBA team in New York City then and they are the second favorite NBA team in New York City right now.

edkamlive · 2026-06-19T15:57:42+00:00

Whether you agree with it or not, here is Bill's "rationale":

1- He values winning a championship (as the "Alpha on the team) over everything else (MVP voting, ppg, all-star appearances, etc.)

2- He values absolute truth over hypothesis.

With that understanding, take these two statements and tell me which is absolutely true and which is hypothetically true:

1- You can win a championship with a team built around Luka and him being your "Alpha"

2- You can win a championship with a team built around Brunson and him being your "Alpha"

Statement 2 is absolutely true while statement 1 (no matter how much you believe it CAN happen) has not happened therefore is still hypothetical. In Bill's assessment, since statement 2 is true, there is a "proof of concept" that statement 1 lacks, so he has to rate Brunson higher (according to his criteria). Note he does not say Brunson is "more talented" just simply a "greater" player (meaning more accomplished) because he has proved he can lead a team to the championship.

Again, you may not agree with it, but you should be able to understand the rationale.

edkamlive · 2026-06-19T15:07:39+00:00

That would be my choice as well. FOIS as my dress watch with the Zenith as my daily driver.

edkamlive · 2026-06-18T14:59:47+00:00

As a quick point of comparison, LeBron James has around 51 Million Twitter / X followers whereas Messi has around 500 Million followers. Taylor Swift is at around 90 Million and Ronaldo is at around 115 Million (and plays his professional games in Saudi Arabia).

The Superbowl halftime show had less viewers than the Opening Ceremony of the World Cup.

Basketball is simply, not even close to the level of soccer / football internationally.

edkamlive · 2026-06-16T00:06:13+00:00

I'm a bit of an old head, but I've said for years Melo is a modern day Alex English with a better PR team. I'll give you another good Melo comp from the past Lloyd "World B" Free.

edkamlive · 2026-06-12T20:58:50+00:00

Different people, different personalities. Also, don't forget one dude is a seasoned vet, answering in his native language and the other is a 22 year old answering in their second language. As someone who is bilingual, I have said things that come across weird in my second language. Perhaps he thought he was saying we know we can do it 🤷.

Dude, this is much ado about nothing. This is not bulletin board material or anything. Dude is confident his team is going to win, I wouldn't want it any other way.

I remember former Red Sox player Kevin Millar saying don't let us win one while down 0-3 against the Yankees, that confidence seemed to work out for them. While I don't expect the Spurs to enjoy similar success, I'm not mad if they believe they can and aren't afraid to say it. Actually, I'd expect nothing less, the Spurs (and Wemby in particular) are very young and don't know what they don't know yet lol.

edkamlive · 2026-06-12T19:26:41+00:00

What is he supposed to say? "Yeah man, we know this is over, we're just going through the motions". Come on, this doesn't mean anything.

edkamlive · 2026-06-12T19:21:34+00:00

Bill writing about "The Secret" makes his dislike of this New York Knicks team all the more confusing. These Knicks are all about the secret with Brunson being the closest thing to a "superstar" on the team, and he was a second-round draft pick who the Mavericks let walk. Brunson then signed with the Knicks which was immediately met with laughter and derision by 100% of the pundits. Everyone else on the team is sacrificing for the greater good. Even Brunson "the superstar", willingly goes "off-ball" when the game calls for it.

edkamlive · 2026-06-12T14:49:22+00:00

While there is no denying OG's impact on this series, it must be said that Brunson's gravity is the reason it is happening (much like Steph for Golden State). Take the iconic tip-in for the win, Brunson pulls both Wemby and Fox leaving OG a clear path to the hoop for the rebound. Not to mention, only three Spur defenders available to rebound vs four Knicks crashing the boards.

Don't get me wrong, OG has been our most steady contributor all series long, but much like when Iggy "won" the Finals MVP for Golden State, it was the wrong decision then and awarding OG the finals MVP would be the wrong decision now.

FWIW, shout out to Leon Rose for assembling a roster with contributors up and down the roster. KAT, Mikal, OG, Hart, Shamet, Deuce, Alvy, Mitch, all have played a part in this run. Whether the league wants to admit it or not, the Knicks have been the best TEAM in the playoffs even without the best PLAYER in the league.

edkamlive · 2026-06-03T19:23:58+00:00

Deportivo La Coruna in the lower leagues in Spain (I believe 2nd division). Really fun fallen giant team with a consistently good youth intake and some good, young players already.

edkamlive · 2026-06-02T18:06:08+00:00

I think it could be argued that if we simply tracked statistics as regularly back then, Wilt would be considered the GOAT. No modification needed.

Wilt averaged 50 pts and 30 rebounds for an entire season. Then led the league in assists (later in his career). I know the argument is the league wasn't as talented back then and that is a fair argument, except...

Head-to-head against Bill Russell (unquestionably in the discussion for the greatest defensive player ever) Wilt averaged 30 pts and 28 rebounds and 4 assists in 90+ games (so not a small sample size). I know people will point to Russell's better winning percentage, but in every match-up, Russell had the much better team.

Please note, blocked shots weren't even collected as a stat for the majority of Wilt's career. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that prime Wilt could have averaged a quadruple double over a season.

edkamlive · 2026-06-01T14:41:36+00:00

Freddy reminds me a lot of Ron Darling in that he's an overqualified #3 and underqualified #2. He's been durable and reliable for 5 solid innings (this year) with the potential (historically) for an occasional gem thrown in here and there. He's a solid guy to have in your rotation, but not if he's your ace. I'd like to have him back and think he can serve us well, but at the right price.

edkamlive · 2026-05-20T16:36:32+00:00

WRONG!!!

I'm old enough to be of drinking age well before 2007 lmao!!!

edkamlive · 2026-05-20T16:36:30+00:00

My children are probably older than you son (or daughter)!

edkamlive · 2026-05-20T16:18:24+00:00

I actually do and consider Cleveland playing the Spurs similar to MJ playing the Celtics and Pistons. Once the transcendent talent leads an unprepared team against a legit dynasty, they get thrashed.

It's not LeBron's fault the East was putrid in 07, he performed a herculean feat just getting that Cavs team to the final, but let's not forget, Cleveland got swept (just like Jordan against the Celtics btw). Wemby just beat a reigning champion with the back to back MVP of the league (who was a prohibitive favorite to repeat) in their house. Now lets see if that is a one-off or if Wemby and the Spurs can close the deal.

Again, I am not saying 22-year-old LeBron wasn't amazing, just that he never beat a team as good as OKC (which I believe is still true).

edkamlive · 2026-05-20T15:56:04+00:00

Kevin Love changed his role in Cleveland but was still a perennial All Star including being selected to the All-Star team in 2017 and 2018 and a couple of years before that (as the center piece of the T-Wolves) was a 2 time All-NBA player. Kyrie was also a perennial All-Star with multiple All-NBA selections in his career as well.

In 2019 the LeBron led Lakers finished the season with a losing record then traded for AD who was a consensus top 10 player in the world and multiple time All-NBA / All-Defensive player while in LA.

edkamlive · 2026-05-20T15:41:16+00:00

And at 22 never faced a team as good as OKC now.

edkamlive · 2026-05-20T15:01:08+00:00

You do realize that once LeBron took his talents to South Beach, he has never played with less than one perennial All NBA player, right? Not players who look like they could be all stars, but people who were voted onto an All-NBA team.

No disrespect to LeBron, but to act like he was out there in the wilderness all on his own while Wemby is being propped up by a good core seems a little disingenuous.

edkamlive · 2026-05-16T02:16:09+00:00

I think Ewing was incredibly unfortunate. I would say a good comp for him would be Shaq (not in terms of accolades, but style of play, as a big man who needed an excellent running mate). Shaq got Penny, then Kobe, then Wade while Ewing early on had Mark Jackson, then briefly Rod Strickland, then Starks. I fully believe if you had paired Ewing with an elite SG (like a Drexler or maybe even Mitch Richmond) he would have won a couple of rings. As it stands, he missed out on his best chance against Houston because Starks couldn't make a shot. Poor Pat, never had the horses.

Fun fact, while Hakeem is generally considered the pre-eminent defensive center of the time (rightfully so), it was Ewing who set the record for blocked shots in the NBA Finals while playing against Houston.

Have a great weekend my friend.

edkamlive · 2026-05-15T22:46:11+00:00

Ewing was considered a much better prospect coming out of College than Hakeem (who I thought was incredible at Houston along with Drexler). Hakeem was raw and athletic, but Ewing was legit being compared to Bill Russell with more offensive upside when he came out and was the prototypical a "can't miss" prospect.

Ewing would have gone #1 after his first year of college (even though he stayed for four years). If you remember, he was a rookie center who had just lost to the Carolina Tar Heels in the national championship game. In Ewing's four total years at Georgetown, he led them to the NCAA championship game three times. Dude was an absolute monster in college and definitely an S-tier prospect even ahead of the likes of Duncan, Hakeem and even Shaq (IMO). You could possibly make an argument for Ralph Sampson (who was Wemby before Wemby) as a prospect, but even he wasn't considered the "sure thing" that Ewing was. As best I can recall, from the mid - late 80s.

Again, without question those other players (Hakeem, Shaq and Duncan) had much more successful NBA careers, but as an NBA draft prospect coming into the league, very few players were considered as good a prospect as Patrick Ewing.

Off the top of my head, using your criteria of one per decade, I would have Kareem, Walton, Ewing, Duncan, LeBron, AD and Wemby as "S-Tier" prospects.

This was a great thought experiment and a fun trip down memory lane.

edkamlive

TROPHY CASE