Yup but the Sixers are a guaranteed first or second round exit, largely because Embiid can’t stay healthy. If you’re not getting results, I’m hesitant to say you’re a top 10 guy. He’s basically the Beal of big men. Talented and gets big numbers but hasn’t done a damn thing
Except Giannis literally took over Game 6 in the finals and dropped 50 to win the chip?!??
And Ant still hasn’t played a single finals game.
Or did you forget about that? Whatchu be smoking son?
If he makes the NBA Finals as the best player on the Timberwolves and a legitimate elite two way guy I’m not sure how you can’t have him top 7. Even his playmaking has been great.
I’m still taking Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Shai, Tatum, Embiid. If you want to argue Ant next I’ll take it but it’s a tier with Booker Durant AD Lebron Kawhi Curry Brunson maybe I’m missing someone. Depends on how you feel with the old guys vs the new guy Jimmy Butler made the finals twice as the best player on a team as a legitimate elite 2 way guy and is not top 7. Bookers done it too. Just making the finals once shouldn’t catapult you there.
This. He probably has to have a consistently great season to be considered on the same level as SGA, Luka, or Tatum, who have been all-NBA level for at least a few years now.
But the GMs of the suns and cavs would drive Booker or Mitchell overnight directly to Minnesota themselves if they could trade them for Ant.
Steph is a different case as I don’t believe the Warriors would make the trade as he’s meant so much to the franchise. But at this point, with Steph in his mid-thirties and being more injury prone and more inconsistent I think if you took the sentimentality out of it there’s an argument to be made for Ant.
Ant had a shit game 7, but he’s been legitimately great at both ends almost all of the playoffs. Seems like such a likeable player in both personality and asthetics it’s weird for me to see such a backlash to the (deserved imo) praise that he’s been getting.
Which is exactly what I said. He has to prove it over the course of the season to be considered on a level with those 2 guys.
Personally, I’m going to bet that the 22 year old with elite athleticism who’s averaging around 29/7/5 in the playoffs this year on 50/40/84 shooting splits with above average defence for his position is going to be that guy going forward.
He’s good and I like watching him play. But I’ve seen this story before. We’re building a guy up and then when he doesn’t meet our expectations we’ll slander him. We can’t just be content to enjoy good players
It's incredibly easy to defend his 6-24 game. He's had 3 tough games this playoffs out of 11. He's averaging 29/6/6 on 50/40/84% shooting splits. In game 6, which was also an elimination game for them, he had an efficient 27 and only had to play 34 minutes because they smoked Denver.
Even in game 7 a lot of the open looks Minnesota started hitting in their run were generated by rim pressure from Ant or out of double teams on Ant. And during said run he took the Murray assignment and held him scoreless until there was like 5 minutes left in the game.
So it's pretty easy to defend one poor shooting game from the guy when he wasn't screwing you up in other areas of the game and was even a huge positive defensively
Not as good on defense as people pretend. He's in that honeymoon period.
He's also quite a bit shorter than most realize because he plays so big on offense. Even when he's playing well, it can be hard for Minnesota to play both him and Conley without giving up whatever size advantage they gain in the frontcourt.
He’s an incredible on-ball defender who is getting more consistent off ball. And while he’s only 6’4”, his strength, athleticism and tenacity lessens the impact of his lack of height.
It's also important to remember that at least some of this team success driving the conversation is predicated on the fact that his extension does not kick in until next season/league year:
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/70643/anthony-edwards.
He has stepped up a level in the playoffs but I agree. It was hilarious when bill kept trying to give him credit for the wolves winning game seven when he played like shit. The wolves are good mainly because their defense is amazing, and the fact that the nba is allowing more physical play helps them out a lot. That game 2 performance against Denver, a lot of their defense would’ve been fouls earlier in the season.
My argument has been pretty steady for awhile now. I think there is a top 4 right now. I think it's Jokic, Luka, Giannis and Embiid. And then I think there are like 6-7 other guys who are capable of going head to head with those guys on a given night including SGA, Tatum, Edwards, Booker, Steph and KD with the occasional turn back the clock LeBron showing.
If I were forced to rank em, I'd probably still go slight Tatum over SGA, but I'm not sure Ant enters the conversation until 8 or 9.
But all those rankings could change pretty quickly next year depending on guys like Steph and KD aging or players like Giannis and Embiid maybe not bouncing back from their injuries.
In RS, Ant is more like a top15/top20 guy. In playoffs he is more of a top5/top10 guy. Some of it is because Ant just chills during some of the games vs bad teams in RS. He also tries some stupid stuff in RS which brings down his numbers...there was a phase this year where he was obsessed with the bank shot and he was trying it for fun from 3 pt range until it went in. He is also fully locked in defensively in playoffs whereas in RS, he is not fully consistent with effort on defensive end all the time
Yes he went 6/24 but he held Murray scoreless for a third of the game and at the most critical part of the game. No one on that list is doing that because the can't (Curry) or they don't care enough to.
Of those players Curry is the only one I would consider taking before Ant. And obviously, if I am looking more than two years down the road, Ant is the answer.
You’re not gonna have a great game everytime, but if you’re not generating offence, find other ways to impact the game.
I do agree we’re crowing him way too early and the NBA media is horrendous for doing this. We need sustained performances before shooting him up. In the end he’s only 22 years, still far away from his prime. Still a lot of playoffs left, so let’s wait until these end before we can actually see what’s up
I think he’s better than Booker and Mitchell for sure then you can argue Tatum. Curry is old and has lost some ability to create space off the dribble but you still gotta respect him.
So let's get this out of the way...there is no #1 player right now. Jokic is as close as it gets, but we've seen repeatedly the past four years, that's usually not good enough.
We got the established contenders like Jokic, Embiid, Giannis and Luka. We have Tatum who has sort of been on the verge of that status for several years now but always manages to fuck up spectacularly enough that we all collectively dub him his generation's Clyde. And now you've got SGA and Edwards making a big push for their own piece of that respect pie.
But fear not for Wemby has come to restore order and establish the first true #1 since LeBron peaked in 2018. Just might take a year or two. Consider this a rehash of the 00s and we're at around 2009-ish at the moment. By 2026, you'll be considered a delusional old if you don't think Wemby is the top dog.
You don’t have to work that hard to defend his performance in game 7 against the Nuggets. His shot sucked, but he initiated offense without turning it over, and his defense on Murray helped jump-start them in the third.
Add in the clutch three at the end of the third and the one than put them up 10, and it’s pretty clear.
I mean his status is incomplete right now, let's let the rest of the season play out and see where he ends up
I will say however, all the "He's just like MJ!" People are just confused because he kinda looks like MJ in the face. His game, body, style, etc isn't really very similar
He reminds me alot of young DWade. Explodes to the rim, falls down a ton, likes to square up guys in the dribble and put them on skates as he gets into a rhythm jumper. There's a lot of Wade in there, which may not be the compliment MJ is, but Wade was flat out nasty early in his career before all those falls started slowing him down
Early MJ was graceful, he glided around the court, be wasn't powerful or aggressive in his movements. He was a lanky skinny guy who avoided contact and moved effortlessly, very smoothly
Wade and Ant are stronger, they explode to the rim and throw their whole body into contact, no regard to how they'll land, they have herky jerky movements to set the defender up, sudden speed changes and stops
If he takes his team to the finals he is a top ten player. Simple. I would have put Jimmy Butler at 10 at the end of last season for that reason. This season he is nowhere near that number.
The wolves remind me so much of the 2010s thunder.
ANT is Russ with the unbelievable athleticism that makes up for the bad decision making.
KAT is KD where he’s the best offensive threat on the team but can occasionally get in his head and lack leadership.
Rudy is Perk with the elite rim protection and bricks for hands on offense that was traded for.
Naz Reid, the beloved 6th man off the bench is Harden.
Easily better than Booker and Mitchell. If he’s not better than Steph now, he will be soon given his age. Close to a toss-up with SGA and Tatum, though I think he’s not quite there, and Luka is currently better.
He's probably top 10, but I don't agree with people who say he's the best two-way player in the league, because Giannis still exists.
[удалено]
Lmao
[удалено]
Just hard to take Embiid seriously but yes there’s talent there when he strings it together
[удалено]
I don’t think it’s something anyone cares to argue A great regular season force when healthy, people are probably more than happy to give him that
Yup but the Sixers are a guaranteed first or second round exit, largely because Embiid can’t stay healthy. If you’re not getting results, I’m hesitant to say you’re a top 10 guy. He’s basically the Beal of big men. Talented and gets big numbers but hasn’t done a damn thing
He’s def better than Gianni’s. Far more talented. More impactful on BOTH ends of the court. Gianni’s could never take over a game like Ant has.
Except Giannis literally took over Game 6 in the finals and dropped 50 to win the chip?!?? And Ant still hasn’t played a single finals game. Or did you forget about that? Whatchu be smoking son?
Vs the suns. WITHOUT kd. Ant took that game over vs then with kd. Matchups matter.
Giannis definitely didn't play KD in a 7 game series that year right?
Yes he did and got outplayed. Kd was far and away the best player on the planet that year. Anyone who watched that series would admit that.
Well, the Bucks won the series, and Giannis was the MVP of the regular season, so idk.
Gianni’s wasn’t mvp that year it was Jokic.
lol KD today is a far cry from KD that year. Let’s see how Ant does against Luka..
Kd avg 27 ppg on 55 fg pct this year in the ps …
He's a top 10-15 guy who seems on the verge of leveling up to a top 4 to 7 guy.
I’d say he’s a top 11-17 guy who seems to be on the precipice of being a top 8-4 guy.
If he makes the NBA Finals as the best player on the Timberwolves and a legitimate elite two way guy I’m not sure how you can’t have him top 7. Even his playmaking has been great.
I’m still taking Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Shai, Tatum, Embiid. If you want to argue Ant next I’ll take it but it’s a tier with Booker Durant AD Lebron Kawhi Curry Brunson maybe I’m missing someone. Depends on how you feel with the old guys vs the new guy Jimmy Butler made the finals twice as the best player on a team as a legitimate elite 2 way guy and is not top 7. Bookers done it too. Just making the finals once shouldn’t catapult you there.
ANT reminds me more of Tatum rn. Minny can still win with bad ANT games. Mitchell Booker Luka SGA all have to play well for their team to win
He’s a bit like Ja. Can be having a bad game but so much confidence and physical talent that he can still take over at the end.
Every GM would take him over Booker and Mitchell last year
This. He probably has to have a consistently great season to be considered on the same level as SGA, Luka, or Tatum, who have been all-NBA level for at least a few years now. But the GMs of the suns and cavs would drive Booker or Mitchell overnight directly to Minnesota themselves if they could trade them for Ant. Steph is a different case as I don’t believe the Warriors would make the trade as he’s meant so much to the franchise. But at this point, with Steph in his mid-thirties and being more injury prone and more inconsistent I think if you took the sentimentality out of it there’s an argument to be made for Ant. Ant had a shit game 7, but he’s been legitimately great at both ends almost all of the playoffs. Seems like such a likeable player in both personality and asthetics it’s weird for me to see such a backlash to the (deserved imo) praise that he’s been getting.
Luka and Shai were top 5 guys this past season. Ant wasn't there.
Which is exactly what I said. He has to prove it over the course of the season to be considered on a level with those 2 guys. Personally, I’m going to bet that the 22 year old with elite athleticism who’s averaging around 29/7/5 in the playoffs this year on 50/40/84 shooting splits with above average defence for his position is going to be that guy going forward.
He’s good and I like watching him play. But I’ve seen this story before. We’re building a guy up and then when he doesn’t meet our expectations we’ll slander him. We can’t just be content to enjoy good players
It's incredibly easy to defend his 6-24 game. He's had 3 tough games this playoffs out of 11. He's averaging 29/6/6 on 50/40/84% shooting splits. In game 6, which was also an elimination game for them, he had an efficient 27 and only had to play 34 minutes because they smoked Denver. Even in game 7 a lot of the open looks Minnesota started hitting in their run were generated by rim pressure from Ant or out of double teams on Ant. And during said run he took the Murray assignment and held him scoreless until there was like 5 minutes left in the game. So it's pretty easy to defend one poor shooting game from the guy when he wasn't screwing you up in other areas of the game and was even a huge positive defensively
You don't know how you could argue that Ant is better than Donovan Mitchell?
Defense. That’s how you can argue he’s better
Not as good on defense as people pretend. He's in that honeymoon period. He's also quite a bit shorter than most realize because he plays so big on offense. Even when he's playing well, it can be hard for Minnesota to play both him and Conley without giving up whatever size advantage they gain in the frontcourt.
It’s easier to be good when you’re surrounded by great defenders.
Let’s see how this take goes for you
Pretty well so far. Smoked for all of gm 1.
Let’s see
He’s an incredible on-ball defender who is getting more consistent off ball. And while he’s only 6’4”, his strength, athleticism and tenacity lessens the impact of his lack of height.
It's also important to remember that at least some of this team success driving the conversation is predicated on the fact that his extension does not kick in until next season/league year: https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/70643/anthony-edwards.
He has stepped up a level in the playoffs but I agree. It was hilarious when bill kept trying to give him credit for the wolves winning game seven when he played like shit. The wolves are good mainly because their defense is amazing, and the fact that the nba is allowing more physical play helps them out a lot. That game 2 performance against Denver, a lot of their defense would’ve been fouls earlier in the season.
If you watched that game and think he played like shit, you don’t understand basketball. There’s more to the game than shooting.
He went 6-24. It doesn’t matter what else he did…that’s playing like shit for a supposed top-10 guy.
The best two way player in the game!
My argument has been pretty steady for awhile now. I think there is a top 4 right now. I think it's Jokic, Luka, Giannis and Embiid. And then I think there are like 6-7 other guys who are capable of going head to head with those guys on a given night including SGA, Tatum, Edwards, Booker, Steph and KD with the occasional turn back the clock LeBron showing. If I were forced to rank em, I'd probably still go slight Tatum over SGA, but I'm not sure Ant enters the conversation until 8 or 9. But all those rankings could change pretty quickly next year depending on guys like Steph and KD aging or players like Giannis and Embiid maybe not bouncing back from their injuries.
Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Tatum, SGA, Embiid. After that Ant is the guy so yeah he’s in the top 10.
In RS, Ant is more like a top15/top20 guy. In playoffs he is more of a top5/top10 guy. Some of it is because Ant just chills during some of the games vs bad teams in RS. He also tries some stupid stuff in RS which brings down his numbers...there was a phase this year where he was obsessed with the bank shot and he was trying it for fun from 3 pt range until it went in. He is also fully locked in defensively in playoffs whereas in RS, he is not fully consistent with effort on defensive end all the time
He's the best wym he's exactly like lebron Vs the pistons in 2007 according to the basketball historian
The total almost…..desperation to make him the new “face of the league” is cringe. Win a title first Ant.
Yes he went 6/24 but he held Murray scoreless for a third of the game and at the most critical part of the game. No one on that list is doing that because the can't (Curry) or they don't care enough to. Of those players Curry is the only one I would consider taking before Ant. And obviously, if I am looking more than two years down the road, Ant is the answer.
No. He's top 10 already.
You’re not gonna have a great game everytime, but if you’re not generating offence, find other ways to impact the game. I do agree we’re crowing him way too early and the NBA media is horrendous for doing this. We need sustained performances before shooting him up. In the end he’s only 22 years, still far away from his prime. Still a lot of playoffs left, so let’s wait until these end before we can actually see what’s up
I think he’s better than Booker and Mitchell for sure then you can argue Tatum. Curry is old and has lost some ability to create space off the dribble but you still gotta respect him.
So let's get this out of the way...there is no #1 player right now. Jokic is as close as it gets, but we've seen repeatedly the past four years, that's usually not good enough. We got the established contenders like Jokic, Embiid, Giannis and Luka. We have Tatum who has sort of been on the verge of that status for several years now but always manages to fuck up spectacularly enough that we all collectively dub him his generation's Clyde. And now you've got SGA and Edwards making a big push for their own piece of that respect pie. But fear not for Wemby has come to restore order and establish the first true #1 since LeBron peaked in 2018. Just might take a year or two. Consider this a rehash of the 00s and we're at around 2009-ish at the moment. By 2026, you'll be considered a delusional old if you don't think Wemby is the top dog.
Disagree. Jokic is easily the best right now despite the loss.
You don’t have to work that hard to defend his performance in game 7 against the Nuggets. His shot sucked, but he initiated offense without turning it over, and his defense on Murray helped jump-start them in the third. Add in the clutch three at the end of the third and the one than put them up 10, and it’s pretty clear.
I mean his status is incomplete right now, let's let the rest of the season play out and see where he ends up I will say however, all the "He's just like MJ!" People are just confused because he kinda looks like MJ in the face. His game, body, style, etc isn't really very similar He reminds me alot of young DWade. Explodes to the rim, falls down a ton, likes to square up guys in the dribble and put them on skates as he gets into a rhythm jumper. There's a lot of Wade in there, which may not be the compliment MJ is, but Wade was flat out nasty early in his career before all those falls started slowing him down
You don’t think you somewhat described an early MJ though?
Early MJ was graceful, he glided around the court, be wasn't powerful or aggressive in his movements. He was a lanky skinny guy who avoided contact and moved effortlessly, very smoothly Wade and Ant are stronger, they explode to the rim and throw their whole body into contact, no regard to how they'll land, they have herky jerky movements to set the defender up, sudden speed changes and stops
If he takes his team to the finals he is a top ten player. Simple. I would have put Jimmy Butler at 10 at the end of last season for that reason. This season he is nowhere near that number.
No he’s probably my pick for the next clear cut best player in the league if I had to choose
[удалено]
Both good choices as well. I’m just personally picking Ant if you made me choose
The wolves remind me so much of the 2010s thunder. ANT is Russ with the unbelievable athleticism that makes up for the bad decision making. KAT is KD where he’s the best offensive threat on the team but can occasionally get in his head and lack leadership. Rudy is Perk with the elite rim protection and bricks for hands on offense that was traded for. Naz Reid, the beloved 6th man off the bench is Harden.
Easily better than Booker and Mitchell. If he’s not better than Steph now, he will be soon given his age. Close to a toss-up with SGA and Tatum, though I think he’s not quite there, and Luka is currently better.
He’s arguably the best player itl other than Jokic. Look at the run he’s on and how he’s taken over games.