EP70 | IS JOKER AN ALL-TIME GREAT CENTER?, DPOY RACE, MAKING IT LOOK STEPHORTLESS

hello everyone welcome to

the latest episode of the

uncommon commentators I'm

antoine willis this is my

co-host garrett brown we

appreciate y'all for

joining us like we always

do on these thursday

evenings um but of course

you can't do it without my

main man as always um how

you doing garrett you good

brother I'm all good bro

like I always say it's

almost the end of the week

so very excited for the weekend and uh

We definitely have a lot of

things to talk about,

but it's definitely going

to be a good one tonight.

Of course, most definitely.

Always love to give my

shout-outs for sure.

It's the return of the boy

Wiley on the ones and twos.

He was out of town when we

had the man Jay Holloway

step in for him as our

producer on short notice.

I just want to give another

shout-out to Jay for having

the time to do so.

Thank you again for even giving...

Most definitely.

You know,

Wiley's always here and always on time,

as you can see.

And I want to give a special

shout out to Jay again for

even having the time to

step in like that.

Thank you again for the

opportunity to do this show, of course.

Always love talking to you, boy.

And yeah, again, like I said,

shout out to the boy, Wiley.

Glad he made it home safe

from his road trip.

He's always driving everywhere, it seems,

most definitely.

You save a lot of money that way.

I can see why he would want to.

Most definitely.

But thank you again for

joining us for the latest

episode of the Uncommon Commentators.

And we have a great, great,

great show that we're going

to get to tonight for you.

The first topic we're going

to start off with one of the best players,

if not the best player in the world.

So it's always newsworthy to

talk about him.

We were going to talk about this.

Nicole, you'll get a top twenty center.

in the history of the

National Basketball Association.

So right now,

he is currently averaging thirty points.

If you round up,

it's twenty nine point seven.

To be specific,

twelve point eight rebounds

and ten point two assists

on fifty seven point five

percent field goal percentage.

The field goal percentage,

probably my favorite stat.

From Nicola Statline,

we know what he can do

given his triple doubles

and things of that nature,

but his efficiency is

always something to behold,

in my opinion.

He's currently eighth in the league.

He's one of the few players to be top ten.

In all three facets, like in all scoring,

rebounding, and assists, he's top five.

And in field goal percentage,

he's ranked eighth.

So that lets you know the

quality season he's having all around.

Of course,

he can always improve as a defender,

but I think at thirty years old,

he's starting to do that,

putting more muscle on his frame.

Most definitely being six

foot eleven to two hundred

and eighty four pounds.

I think he's really starting

to learn how to move his weight around.

He's always been good at that,

especially being the main man,

the franchise player in

Denver with his scoring

opportunities that he

mainly gets because of his

touches and his high usage rate,

of course.

But I think lately he's even

turned more of a corner.

Just last game,

he had a sixty point triple

double and a loss.

Unfortunately,

it was a one point loss in a

classic versus the

Minnesota Timberwolves.

I watched that game last night.

That kept me up.

It's pretty hard to go to sleep after that,

to be quite honest with you.

Yeah, it's sixty one points.

Ten rebounds and ten assists.

And just seeing that on paper,

if he had sixty points with

five assists and five boards,

that'd be what it is.

That'd still be a great game.

That'd be like if SGA went

off for sixty points.

But to still bring home

double-digit rebounds and

double-digit assists,

that's truly remarkable.

And at thirty years old, of course,

he was born on February nineteenth,

nineteen ninety five.

So just turned thirty this year.

He's a young man, to be quite honest,

looking in the grand scheme of it,

especially with his skill set.

I think he'll be able to

really be play at this high

level until at least thirty five.

And then I think thirty six, thirty seven.

That's when you'll see him start.

Like I said,

he's averaging like thirty ten

and ten right now.

So I think he'll start to

average around like thirty six,

thirty seven years old, probably like.

like, sixteen, eight, and nine.

The assist won't go anywhere,

and I think he'll always

know how to rebound.

I think his scoring will take a dip,

but he relies on his jump shot a lot.

more than his athleticism

and things of that nature

like other centers do,

trying to bang down low and

get offensive putbacks and

things of that nature with

their rebounds.

So truly is a special, special player,

as we do know.

Drafted in the second round

of the two thousand fourteen NBA draft,

used the forty first pick

of that draft really shows

you that as long as you're drafted,

It doesn't matter.

And honestly, even being drafted,

it just gets you on to a team.

We've seen undrafted players like,

you know, Malcolm Brockton,

who won rookie of the year.

And I believe six men of the

year as well have a good season,

like a good career for himself.

And most notably lately, Austin Reeves,

who's been playing on like

all-star level for the Los

Angeles Lakers right now.

He was undrafted being

picked up by the Lakers,

and we see what he's doing right now,

of course.

And even coming in the

second round like Jokic did,

obviously he succeeded all expectations.

He started to really show –

the skill level um in my

opinion because of course

he was drafted in two

thousand fifteen um so in

my opinion it was around

like the eighteen nineteen

season was when he really

really started to um turn a

corner that was his first

all-star selection that

year and he was averaging

twenty points with ten

rebounds and seven assists

even the year before that

in seventeen eighteen he

was averaging eighteen

points and ten rebounds

In six assists at that point.

And he was only twenty two years old.

So he's been a good player

to be quite honest.

Denver,

it's kind of crazy to see them get

their franchise player in

in the two thousand

fourteen draft out of the

second round like that.

And of course, before I pass it to you,

Gary, to get your opinion on his legacy,

just just assessing where

he's in his career right now.

Like I said, he's thirty years old.

And as of right now, if he were to retire,

he would be in a Hall of Famer.

He has he's one time NBA champion.

a finalist MVP,

a three-time NBA MVP regular season,

of course.

He could have been a four-time, but,

of course,

Joel Embiid took it the year

that a lot of people

thought Nikola could have

took it as well.

And he's a seven-time All-Star.

He's a four-time first-team All-NBA,

two-time second-team All-NBA,

so six-time All-NBA overall.

And he was a part of the

all-rookie first team out

of the second round.

So, like I said, yeah,

been a good player really from day one.

He has showed the potential.

So and he was a four time

Serbian player of the year.

So obviously an international superstar.

Grace in the floor every

night that we are blessed to watch.

And like I mentioned, his stats,

what he's averaging right now.

So it's just the Joker.

It's Jokic.

Obviously,

he's one of the best centers

definitely in the league right now,

if not the best, to be quite honest.

And like how I said at the

beginning of this breakdown,

we are assessing where he

ranks among all time centers.

Now, of course,

I want to get your opinion first.

So I would definitely love

to hear your opinion on the

great Nikola Jokic before

we rank him amongst all the

great big men that played the game.

Well, geez,

you just took everything I was

about to say, man.

I'm just joking.

But no, I think.

There's no doubt that Jokic

was the best player to be

drafted out of the second

round in the NBA draft.

I think there's just no

question about that because,

to your point,

he's currently averaging

twenty-nine points,

which is ranked third in

the league currently,

averaging twelve rebounds,

that's ranked third as well,

and ten assists, that's ranked second.

The fact of the matter is

that you're in the top

three in those three

particular categories and

you're doing it as a center.

That's something that you rarely see.

I mean, don't get me wrong.

It's not surprising to see

players in the NBA today

where you're seeing big men

learning how to playmake with their

ball handling skills and

being able to make plays

for others and even shot creations.

Of course,

we've seen it back in the day

with Magic Johnson and other players,

but the fact of the matter is this, again,

you're seeing this at the

center position because

normally we talk about

centers that are just guys

that protect the rim as far

as getting rebounds, block shots, and

Scoring inside the paint,

and you still see that today,

but now is where they're

adding more versatility to their game.

And I don't think nobody

really saw Jokic was going

to play at this level at all.

I think it almost caught a

lot of people off guard,

so I really didn't see it coming.

But no,

I think there's no question that

he's a top-twenty player of all time now.

I can understand that some

people may not quite have

them just yet because he's

still playing at an

all-time high because to your point,

he's thirty years old.

And if he's continuing to

play at this level,

it's very possible he could

get at least one more MVP

award before he retires.

So that gives him four MVP awards.

And to your mention,

he's a seven-time All-Star.

a six-time all nba so I

think those accolades are

still going to rise so with

him being thirty and safety

retires in the next I don't

know four or five years he

could still get more

accolades so I think it's

understandable that some

people may not have him in

top twenty right now but

for me I mean if he if he

like retires today he's

already in my top twenty so

I don't know what order I

would have it but I would

definitely have him in my

top twenty for sure and

And really, this all started today,

earlier on ESPN First Take,

when Stephen A. Smith had

Marcus Morris come on the

show and talk with him and

Kendra Perkins about if he

felt like that Jokic was a

top-twenty player,

and he highly disagreed.

Now,

I can't remember exactly all that he said,

but the fact of the matter is just, like,

I mean,

you're saying this at the center position,

and...

when you're doing this at a high level,

the way he performs on a day-to-day basis,

like you mentioned,

he just had a sixty-point triple-double.

I mean,

that's just something you just

never hear on a day-to-day basis.

You normally hear that a

player like SGA or James

Harden or Russell Redsburg

or something like that, you know,

Mr. Triple-doubles, stuff like that.

But, I mean, it's just,

Jokic is a rare breed at his position.

So, there's just no question about it.

And so he's definitely one

of the top centers of all time.

Honestly,

I would put him into the top five

at the very least now.

Like I said,

it would still take me a

minute as far as other

centers that I would have.

I mean,

I would say guys like Will Chamberlain or,

you know, Shaq, definitely.

But, you know, let's just name a couple.

But, yeah,

he's definitely a top five

center at the very least.

There's no question about it.

Woo, okay.

Okay.

All right.

Okay, okay.

Yeah, man,

I can see why you would say that.

Again, like, it's hard, man.

Okay, so obviously number one, all-time,

without a doubt for me,

is the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

He's a six-time NBA champion.

He has six rings.

He's like a six-time MVP.

I think maybe five MVPs.

Um,

he had already won a ring with the

bucks as well.

Another guy who was a phenom, um, you know,

that came out similar to victim,

victim of Minyama.

Now, um,

it went to become an absolute

legend of the game.

Like I said, he has six rings, six MVPs.

He's a nine team time.

I'll start.

Um, um,

He's a fifteen time all NBA.

It's taking me time to make

sure I got these eleven

time all defensive.

Yeah, all defensive team.

And of course, rookie of the year,

a scoring champion to

Jersey retirements three.

If you count UCLA and UCLA

also won three straight

national championships.

Of course,

March Madness is going on right now.

And Kareem checked that off

the list a long time ago.

And yeah, I mean, so that would be Kareem.

I think he's definitely

solidified as number one.

Number two all time is where like, OK,

I'd probably put Hakeem

Olajuwon for my number two

center of all time.

You know, yeah,

he got two rings in the

Michael Jordan era.

Of course, Michael was retired.

But two of the losses that

the Bulls took on that

seventy two win ten loss team was

Or to the Houston Rockets.

And each team only plays the

West team two times.

So they beat them that year.

And who knows?

They could have beat them in

the playoffs that year.

You never know.

So I'll put Hakeem number two.

Number three all-time in terms of centers.

I'll probably put Shaq.

Shaq does have an MVP.

Shaq has four rings.

Two, one with the Lakers,

and he also won one with Miami,

won three with Los Angeles.

Another person who also has

three jersey retirements.

And this is where it kind of

gets kind of hard.

You got fourth and fifth

greatest centers of all time.

Some would say David Robinson, of course,

for maybe the fourth

greatest center of all time.

I do think that David

Robinson doesn't get enough

credit for the things he did achieve.

And you have other people, you know, like,

you know, people in the seventies,

eighties, like Jack Sigma, you know,

stuff like that.

People,

some people that others might not

even think of when it comes

to the greatest centers of all time.

It's a lot, man.

If you do say he's top five

out of all those guys I mentioned, like,

you know, saying Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq,

David Robinson, again,

the fifth greatest center of all time.

Like I'm trying to really like think, um,

Hmm.

Because it's really subjective,

no matter what list.

Of course,

there's some people that are

probably pulling their hair

out that we have not said

Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain.

Matter of fact,

I'll probably put Wilt Chamberlain.

I'll probably put Wilt at three,

and I'll move David

Robinson down to four.

I mean five.

I'll put Shaq at four.

I'll put Wilt at three,

and I'll put Hakeem at two,

and I'll put Kareem

Abdul-Jabbar at number one.

Who at five?

Five?

I said Bill Russell.

I think I just put Bill

Russell at number five for my grade.

Because for me, it's kind of hard.

I mean, he does have eleven rings,

and I get it.

People are going to tell you

playing plumbers and

firefighters and stuff like that.

I get it.

They try to discredit the

sixties and the seventies, of course.

And now having that top five list,

if I did have to switch out

Nikola with any of those, looking up,

I think you could replace

Nikola with David Robinson.

Because Dave Robinson has a scoring title.

Yeah, he has a ring, of course.

I mean, Nikola has four MVPs.

You feel me?

Not four.

I'm not.

He has three MVPs.

In my mind, he has four.

But he has three MVPs, of course.

That cannot be ignored.

I think that's extremely substantial.

People really try to

downplay that achievement.

I mean, he's done it three times.

That's really pretty absurd.

And he really could have

done it a fourth time.

Yeah.

It's pretty remarkable to say that.

He could easily walk away

with about five MEPs before he retires,

given that the Denver

Nuggets are still a contender,

even at this very moment as

we record this podcast.

And he's only thirty years old, of course,

as we mentioned,

and he's not going to slow

down for a real long time.

And they'll do whatever it

takes to build a team around him.

I don't think he'll ever leave Denver,

to be quite honest.

He'll do whatever it takes to keep him.

He seems like a real humble dude.

They've won a championship already,

so they can do it again.

Um, and I do think he will stay in Denver,

but of course just assessing his legacy.

Um,

as we've been talking about this for a

minute now, of course, um,

to say top five, like,

cause of course we were

assessing if he's top,

he's definitely top.

Top-fifteen, for sure.

The three MVPs,

and he has a championship

that already puts him in rarefied air,

in my opinion.

Now, a top-ten center, he, in my opinion,

for sure is, for sure,

whether he's number, like, seven, six.

You can't put him in, like,

a nine or a ten, because he definitely,

again,

he's a three-time MVP with a

championship already,

and a finals MVP as well.

So, yeah.

I mean, yeah, you know,

like I don't know if Wiley

would like to give us two cents.

But me personally,

if I had to give him a ranking,

I would probably give him

like because it's hard, man.

Like it's hard if he were to

like if he wins like two more rings,

if he's a three time NBA

champion with like three.

Like, can I put him over Shaquille O'Neal?

Like.

I don't know if Nikola is

better than Shaq.

Like, I don't know if like,

because of course Shaq was

a pretty solid defender.

You could put him,

you could put that over Nikola,

but Nikola made others

better and he could still

bring- Are you referring to

accolades or are you

referring to skillset?

I guess both.

I guess you could really do it in layers.

I guess let me ask you then,

if you had to choose one

off the skill set, who would you prefer,

Nikola or Shaq?

Keep in mind, I said Shaq.

I ranked Shaq as the fourth

greatest center of all time.

Again, I might have concocted so many.

I put Shaq, Wilt, Hakeem,

and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

You got Shaq at three.

Three.

Okay.

Thank you.

Someone kept countering me.

Thank you.

Who would I put at four again?

I'm sorry about that.

Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq, David Robinson,

and Bill Russell.

Bill Russell.

Okay.

Now some people are going to

think I have Bill Russell way too low.

You could put Bill Russell

over David Robinson.

I just thought David Robinson, like,

because, of course,

when it came to being

matched up with certain, like,

there's an infamous matchup,

but when he won the MVP award,

they handed it to him in

front of Hakeem Olajuwon,

and Hakeem Olajuwon dropped

him off that game.

So there's a lot of

notorious performances of

David going against other

all-time greats and coming up short.

And, of course, you know,

he didn't get over the hill, of course,

until he got that legendary

power forward out of Wake Forest.

yeah man like so I said

shack was number three do

you like okay yeah back to

my question to you garrett

in terms of skill set

obviously we know that

shack was an extremely

dangerous post-core he

broke the rim on numerous

occasions showing how the

strength of him there

wasn't anyone like that

that was going to stop him

in a one-on-one matchup

backing somebody down and

getting what he wanted

whether in a fourth quarter

situation of course he

can't shoot threes and

stuff like that and even if

he got an n-one he isn't

going to really catch the

free throw like that but of

course like giving his

dominant play rebounding

and getting blocks of

course you know being a lob

threat extremely athletic

and like I said it's really

rare someone's gonna stop

him in the clutch if you

need a one point you know a

dunk anything like that so

but of course and we see

nicola you damn near watch

him every night so don't

really got to say much he's

a great passer a great

shooter um I would say shaq

was maybe a better defender than nicola

more athletic.

But of course,

Nicola can spread the floor

like Shaq couldn't,

and he can make his free

throws and pass like Shaq couldn't.

But I do think, because I mean,

saying he's more dominant than Nicola,

because Nicola just had sixty,

but Nicola wasn't playing

with a Kobe who's also

getting twenty-eight points

per game as well.

I think in Orlando,

we obviously saw what Shaq could do.

Even then he had Penny Hardaway,

but we saw what he could do.

when he was still like the guy on a team.

So my question to you is, of course,

based on the skill set more so, you know,

the dominant athleticism

versus the shooting and the passing,

who would you have

preferred over with Nikola

and Shaquille O'Neal?

Well, I mean, it's kind of,

I wouldn't say difficult,

but it's kind of

challenging to decide which

one is better because

there's no question that

both players play in different eras.

So

And they're dominant in a different way.

To your point,

Shaq was dominant because he

was an interior force inside the paint.

He was just a very,

very big body and very strong athletic.

So, you know,

he was unstoppable inside the paint.

But with Jokic, you know,

I want to say he is that

same interior force in the middle,

but he's still dominant

because of his versatility.

So it's kind of different.

But so I guess it kind of

depends on what era that

you're referring to, because I mean,

if I if I say, OK, how would.

how effective was Shaq be in this era?

I think he would be very effective.

But we know that Shaq,

he wasn't a really good, you know,

free throw shooter at all.

I don't think he was even an

average free throw shooter.

You know,

in terms of being able to guard

the perimeter, things of that nature.

So yeah, take all that into consideration.

But

I mean for me is just for

the fact they were just

talking about pure skill

set I I have to go with

yokich because of the fact

that with his numbers they

they speak on themselves so

that may be surprising to

some people I can see look

on your face but no you're

good man you're fine

continue please but um yeah

but the fact that matters

is that he's a guy that can

you know dominate any game

We just saw him scoring

sixty one points and triple double.

But the fact of the matter

is that not only can he do

that just for himself,

he can also rebound and

separate for other guys.

And like I said, there's a lot of

you know,

there are more variables to determine,

okay, which player you would pick.

Because for me, it's like, okay,

I would pick Jokic over

Shaq in terms of skill set,

but then I would pick Shaq

because of the skill sets that he has now,

or not even that, but before then,

during his prime,

but also the accolades that he's had.

And

I'm not sure if Jokic will

have him beat by that time

when he retires.

So it's still like an opinion status.

But I'm just saying pure skill set.

I just think that what he's able to do,

meaning Jokic right now,

is very hard to just overlook that.

But don't get me wrong.

Shaq is most definitely a top five center,

of course.

And some people may have him

in the top three.

But I'm just saying just pure skill set.

What do you do on the court

to make your team better?

like I said, being able to dominate and,

and like I said,

make your teammates better.

I think that's something

that you just can't ignore.

And to your point earlier,

he's very efficient of doing so.

So to be able to do that on a high level.

And like I said,

he has maybe a good another

five or six years before he

decides to hang it up.

So we may be talking maybe

one or two more MVPs possibly.

And of course, you know,

he's never going to stop

making it to the,

all NBAs and the all-star, you know, um,

accolades.

So, you know,

that's still going to be there.

So, um,

so we'll see what happens by the

end of his career, but yeah,

in terms of skillset,

I gotta give it to Jokic.

Okay.

Yeah, man,

I just put him up to Shaq in

particular because if you

beat the number three

ranked guy that I gave the

list I gave you,

I don't got to ask you

about four and five about

Bill Russell and David Robinson.

I mean, yeah, you know,

like I could ask you,

do you think he's better than Hakeem?

um yeah man and like hey

like we always like to say

um it's a blessing having

seen as much basketball

that of course Wiley has

and um it's a lot of

legendary centers that I

would have loved to have

watched of course you know

like I always say I would

have liked to have seen Yao

Ming the former number one

overall pick of the

You know,

it's always one of my favorite players.

Like he was a first overall

pick and he went on to

actually be a Hall of Famer

and a star player.

You know,

I actually love the story of Yao

Ming and other legendary centers,

of course,

in the nineties and the early

two thousands.

Like Shaquille O'Neal,

I never got to see Shaq in

his prime like that.

I didn't even get to really

see him in Miami.

I'm twenty five,

but I didn't really get to

start paying attention.

I really know what was going

on until I was like nine years old,

eight years old.

And by that time,

Shaq definitely wasn't the

man that he used to be, of course.

But definitely wanted to hear from Wiley.

Like how we mentioned with

this list that we just did.

So he did put Nikola over Shaq.

Therefore,

he put him over Bill Russell and

David Robinson.

So the other two remaining

legends are Shaq.

Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

So, yeah, Wiley, I guess, like, you know,

where do you rank Nikola in

your top-fifteen, top-twenty?

Or you can also go with the list as well.

Do you think he's better than Shaq?

Or do you think he can

compete with Hakeem

Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

I was lightweight cussing

and fussing at your list over here.

No, you're okay, you're okay.

It's really subjective.

Like I said, it's extremely... I mean,

I thought I caught most of the legendary.

Like I said,

there are some people thinking

Bill Russell is definitely too low.

Of course, of course.

But of course, please continue.

So, of course, like... Of course,

I didn't get to see Bill Russell,

Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone.

Moses Malone was right around...

He was probably on the back

end of his career after I was born.

Who else?

Yeah.

So I have a list.

So I'm just going down a

list of centers that have

played that would be

considered top top twenty.

And Joker is on this list.

And if I tell you where Joker is listed.

Probably like seventeen,

something like that.

Actually, he's not.

He's a lot.

He's a lot higher than

really things a lot higher

than I thought he would be.

But like looking,

looking at some of the

names that are in front of

him and some names that are.

Actually, the names that are behind them,

there's only a few that I've seen.

So you mentioned Yao Ming.

I got to see Yao play.

Unfortunately for him,

injuries is what kept him

from having a longer career.

Dikembe Mutombo, rest in peace to him,

got to see him play pretty

much majority of his career as I grew up.

Alonzo Mourning, got to see him play.

You have Bill Walton on this list.

I didn't get to see Bill Walton play.

But looking, you know, of course,

looking him up, Bill Walton was that guy.

You got Wes Unsell, Willis Reed,

George Mikan.

Again, players I didn't get to see.

But then you also have Patrick Ewing,

David Robinson.

Hakeem, Shaq,

those players I did get to see.

They have on this list,

Jokers ranked number nine.

Top ten, baby.

If he was to retire right now,

I would have him in my top ten.

For Marcus or Markeith?

Which one was it today?

For Marcus to say that he's not twenty,

Real quick.

Stop the cap.

Please stop the cap.

Because you couldn't name me

twenty motherfuckers.

You couldn't name me twenty

motherfuckers sinners right

now that's better than Joker.

You couldn't name me twenty.

Hell,

I couldn't even name you twenty

sinners that are better.

I couldn't name you twenty sinners,

period.

Let alone twenty sinners

that are better than Joker.

So...

And, again, to be respectful to history,

again, like I said,

a lot of these players I

did not get to see.

But, of course,

that doesn't take away from

how great they were.

Like you said,

Kareem definitely number one.

Bill Russell,

they have Bill Russell number two.

I don't – I'm not

disagreeing with that because, again,

I never got to see him play.

Wilt Chamberlain number three.

They have Shaq at four.

And they have Hakeem at five.

Okay.

It's too low for me.

Nat five?

It's the all-time leading block leader.

Like, you know, he has two rings.

Like, he did it all, you know.

I think Hakeem doesn't really get, like,

the credit.

He didn't get scored, too.

He can make his free throws, like, all,

everything.

No,

I don't think he gets the respect that

he deserves.

when it comes to,

when it comes to the NBA period,

because of a lot of times it's the,

it's the,

is it LeBron or Jordan type deal?

It's never,

it's never bringing into the

fold of all the other

players that have played

this game that have brought

this game to where it is today.

Um, especially the way,

the way the game has

changed because now you,

In today's game,

you don't have a power

forward or a center.

You have guards and you have forward or,

you know, smalls and bigs.

It's like they try to take

away – they're trying to

make the so-called

positionless basketball

such a thing that it's like, no,

you still have these

positions for a reason.

That's why it's kind of hard to, like,

determine, like,

who would you pick because

it's completely two different eras.

Right.

So that's why it's like, you know,

you could say, because I mean,

because I mean,

that's why I say like for Shaq, I mean,

okay, what will he,

like what kind of center

would he be like in this era right here?

I mean, you could say like, yeah,

he would still be dominant, but I mean,

he's not coming out and guarding guys,

you know, out on a perimeter,

things of that nature.

Young Shaq would have been able to.

Young Shaq would have been able to,

because of course, a lot smaller,

not a lot more agile than

he was once he got to LA.

When he got to LA,

he put on all that fucking weight.

And, you know, he was able to, of course,

he's able to move that weight.

But again,

you're able to get away with

that the way the positions are set up.

He would have some problems now.

I mean, he would have some difficult times,

but he would still be dominant.

And again, of course,

with certain rules that have changed,

especially with the hand

checking and stuff like that,

like for a big man like

Shaq in today's league,

I don't think he wouldn't

have no problems whatsoever.

But when it comes to Joker, yeah,

I have Joker in my top ten

if he was to retire right now.

Like, to me,

he would be a top ten center of all time.

And that's no disrespect to

any of the centers that came before him.

Like,

this dude has shown us time and time

again that he's a walking triple-double.

I continue to say this.

He's a walking triple-double.

Every time he steps on the court.

Doesn't matter if it's damn

ten points or sixty points

like he just had.

He's a walking triple-double.

And like you said,

he does make his team better.

He does it in his sleep.

I mean,

it's not – that's literally like a

casual.

I mean,

that's what I'm saying because I

can't name a center that

can just walk into any game

and give me a triple-double

at center and just like do

it like it's nothing.

I would say one center on the list,

one center that I believe

that could possibly do it.

If, if he put the effort,

I wouldn't even say, well,

I'm talking about the ones

that I've seen.

I'm going to say, well,

let the league in the system.

I'm fine.

I'm talking about the ones that I've, that,

that I've seen with my own two eyes.

Uh,

would be David Robinson.

David Robinson was able –

because he's slender.

He can put the ball on the floor.

He could pass.

He could pass.

And so he's one of the few.

He's one of the few that I

think that could –

I just don't know anybody

that can do it like consistently, though.

No, I'm saying so.

And also,

this is if he's in today's league.

Right.

Rules are completely different.

But even during his time, like, hell,

David Robinson recorded

like a quadruple double at

one point in his life.

So it's like the shit is possible.

I feel like this shit is

possible if he really set his mind to it.

I won't say average a triple-double,

but he could possibly be on

the verge of getting a

triple-double in any game

that he walks on the floor on.

Yeah,

he scored like seventy one on the

last game of the season to

win the scoring title that year.

So like he's definitely like

he was really ferocious, most definitely,

especially coming out of the Navy.

We're like, obviously,

he wasn't like an eighteen,

nineteen year old.

He was a solidified twenty three.

He's like David was like twenty four.

I think when he came over, you know,

he had to serve his time.

Of course.

Of course.

Always.

Thank you for your service.

It was really cool to see that.

Not like I did,

but it was really cool to

see him like have a whole

military career and come

over to literally this

transition to being an NBA superstar.

We're like twenty four and

twelve a game like his

first year or something

like that was pretty absurd.

So to help, you know, close out the topic.

It's a difficult thing.

Like you said, Garrett,

it's difficult to kind of

put Joker in a slot unless

you're going to keep it at a point guard,

shooting guard, small forward,

power forward, center position.

Then yes, Joker, top ten most definitely.

Now,

it just depends on how people want to

control their narrative of

what they think about Joker

or any other player in the

league and how they rank them.

But, yeah, Joker's a bad dude.

And, again,

do not care what Marcus Morris says.

You fucking lying through

your teeth if you don't

think Joker is not a –

a top-twenty all-time center.

Point blank.

And that's the thing, too, because I think,

not just with me,

but I'm pretty sure other

people may feel the same way, too,

especially for Nuggets fans,

because they're seeing this, you know,

with their own eyes.

But it's like, you know, to Twan's point,

that he's thirty years old.

And like I said before,

he has a good... Because a lot of

NBA players, when they retire,

you're looking at them

being in their mid-thirties

or their late-thirties,

so who knows when he'll actually retire,

but I'm just saying,

if he retires at

thirty-five or thirty-six, I mean,

that's why I say he could

legitimately get

two more mvps and of course

you know obviously between

now and he retires he's

always gonna get um you

know being made all nba

first team or second team

and um or even third

whatever the case may be

and of course he's gonna be

um continuing to be an

all-star throughout the

year so it's just like okay

what kind of player or like

what kind of accolades

would he receive once he retires

So it's kind of like a gamble,

but you just anticipate him

because of how well he plays right now.

You're kind of getting an

estimate of what kind of

player he would be by the

end of his career.

But we'll see what happens.

But like I said, he's one of a kind.

Of course, and yeah, man,

I need to close out the

topic and give my last two seconds.

I just always love talking about him.

I love seeing the all-time

greats in action in person like that.

For me, of course,

I was blessed to have seen LeBron James.

My kids are going to, of course,

ask me about him and things

of that nature.

I want to give a shout-out

to Wiley for giving us two cents.

I always love to appreciate his wisdom.

I always love talking to him,

most definitely.

And please join us for our third topic,

Wiley, because I think you're really,

really going to enjoy it.

Giving your two cents on that one,

of course, as well.

And yeah, like I said, though,

to end on your kids, he's thirty.

So I said right now the

Nuggets are looking good, you know,

in terms of the standings.

Of course,

there's still a contender right now,

but like the West is really,

really close at the moment.

They're currently fourth

with a forty seven and thirty record.

Like I said,

they lost the Timberwolves

last night in a razor thin loss.

So they play the Warriors

tomorrow at ten p.m.

So.

They're just getting ready

for the playoffs.

We're going to see what

Yelich has in them to see

if he can take the Nuggets

to another championship or

if it'll be somewhat of an early exit.

One of these all-time greats

are going to get hit out

early in the playoffs, whether it's LeBron,

Kevin Durant.

I mean,

I don't think Katie's going to make

the playoffs, but Nikola Jelkic,

Stephen Curry,

all these legends that we're witnessing,

one of them might go home

early in the playoffs.

But of course,

keeping it with the regular season,

as it is almost set to come to a close.

in the coming week,

we were going to discuss one of the most,

not controversial is the word,

but most competitive awards,

really this season,

especially amongst the

betting odds and things of that nature.

So,

We were going to discuss who

we believe will be the two

thousand twenty four two

thousand twenty five

defensive player of the year.

Now, it is a really, really,

really tight race.

I'm not going to lie.

As of right now,

Vandal has Draymond Green

as the favorite to take home the award.

He's still Draymond.

You know,

he's averaging nine point six

rebounds with six assist a game.

Obviously,

the four time NBA champion is a

is a future Hall of Famer.

He won the defensive player

of the year already in his career.

So it's not a surprise to

see him back up at the top of the list,

even at the latter half of his career.

I said the latter half of

Draymond still pretty,

pretty young in the grand scheme.

But it's just how he looks on the floor.

He looks like he's older

than what he actually is, of course.

And yeah, man.

So with the defensive player of the year,

like I said, a lot of people.

I do think that Draymond is

going to walk away with it.

Evan Mobley is right behind

him at a

plus-one-forty-five for the

Cleveland Cavaliers.

Luke Gensdort is third place

with a plus-seven-fifty.

Jaron Jackson Jr.

is sitting in fourth place

with a plus-five-thousand.

And Dyson Daniels is in

fifth place with a plus-five-thousand.

I also want to give a shout-out to SGA,

who's also a mini-defensive

player of the year candidate himself.

According to FanDuel, of course,

sitting at the fifth rank

with also plus fifteen hundred.

So SGA is having a good defensive year.

Don't let all the thirty

point games fool you.

I'm the six foot six guard, of course.

And and yeah, man.

So obviously.

Like I said, it's really subjective.

These are betting odds.

This isn't what the league

really thinks unless they

got some unforeseen

information that nobody else knows,

of course.

I think that personally

Draymond has played good.

I do think that the

standings have had an impact.

on the defensive player of the year race.

We know that Evan Mobley is

currently in second place

and the Cavaliers are the

first place in the Eastern

Conference with a sixty one

and fifteen record,

having a historic season in Cleveland.

If I do say so myself,

we know that the Warriors

are currently the fifth

seed with forty four and thirty one.

And they're at seven and

three in their last ten games.

So both these teams are playoff teams.

And, of course, against Dort,

like I mentioned,

OKC is also having a great

year at sixty four and twelve.

So all of the records have

put these players in the spotlight,

if I do say so myself.

It's really putting a

highlight on the defensive play in like.

it's really just showing

that obviously like the, you know,

their play style can equate to wins,

but I don't think that

tells the full story in

terms of individual talent all the time,

you know?

And, um, in my opinion,

even just given what I mentioned,

like I said, look in sports,

having a really good season

himself over and over in Oklahoma.

Um, and I do think that his, his, um,

Him being a candidate is warranted,

especially given how he's

improved from last season.

But if I had to really cut

to my pick for defensive

player of the year, of course,

given the numbers as well,

I would give it to Tyson

Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks,

in my opinion.

Just given the historic

season he's had this year,

he's had two hundred and

seventeen steals.

And, you know, it really comes down to.

What do people like more in

terms of defense than like

blocks or steals more?

I thought the only person,

because Dyson's been doing

this all season,

I thought the only person

who really could have took

it from him like that was

Victor Mbanyama.

And we know he's out for the

rest of the season with a blood clot,

unfortunately.

Still wishing him well in

his recovery for next season, of course.

And I thought Victor was

having a great year.

He was really the only dude

that was really running, you know,

not running away with it,

but really shining with the

blocks like that.

He was truly incredible this year,

if I do say so myself.

And I think that he will

only continue to get better.

Victor Mbanyama, of course,

averaging twenty four and

eleven this year before his season ended.

And he was averaging almost

four blocks a game with

three point eight per game.

So he was looking awesome on

the defensive side of the ball.

And I thought the person who

was doing that,

in the steals version, in my opinion, uh,

was Dyson Daniels.

I thought he was looking good.

Of course, as you wear that hat, Garrett,

um, but yeah, we can talk about, um,

my opinion on it a little bit later,

but I would love to hear

who you were going to pick

for defensive player of the

year after listing out the candidates and,

um, and why, uh, Garrett.

Of course,

I'm going to go with my boy Dyson.

You know, I'm in the same boat with you.

So, you know, there's no doubt about that.

So, um, but yeah,

So right now, Polymark Sports,

they have Draymond Green

winning the defensive

player of the year with a

fifty six point five percent chance.

And then followed by Evan

Mobley with a with a thirty

point three percent chance.

And then with Dyson, five point eight,

eight percent.

Now, I mean, to your point,

these are just betting odds.

So this is not what the league is.

uh you know views each

player as far as who could

potentially win the award

but to your exact point

with Dyson is different

because of the fact that

what he's being able to do

as far as averaging steals

in and I'm not and I will

say this I've had this

conversation with multiple

Hawks fans about whether or

not if he's an elite

defender but that's settled

for another conversation

But the fact of the matter is,

it's not just about him

getting steals in that category,

but I feel like you have to

add context to that too.

Because when you're getting steals,

you're also creating extra

possessions to score on the

other side of the ball.

Getting a steal equates to getting stops.

And getting steals does

equate to playing tremendous defense,

whether it's on-ball

defense or off-ball defense.

So you have to take all that into account.

Like I said,

him being an elite defensive player,

that's a different conversation,

but I'm just saying it's

not just him getting steals,

but like I said, when you take that

context into consideration,

then you're getting, you know,

a broader view of the kind

of defense player that he is.

Now, just a day or two ago,

he became the first player

since Scottie Pippen in

nineteen ninety four ninety five.

Neither of us was even born

to have two hundred plus

steals and fifty plus blocks in a season.

He's now one of the only

seven players to ever done that.

So he's

He's made other accolades like that,

you know,

throughout the course of the season.

I'm just naming a recent one just now.

But I'm just saying that and

be honest with you in terms

of politics and how, you know,

things work nowadays.

you know, with the Hawks, yes,

they're made to play in woohoo, but there,

it looks like they're going

to make it as the ninth or Tennessee.

I don't know.

They,

they may be able to shoot for the

eight spot again, but right now it's,

you know, at least, at least they'll,

you know, make the plan.

So at least they're locked in for that.

But yeah,

You know,

the league may not give Dyson

Daniels the award just for

that exact reason.

But that's why I say

Draymond and Evan Mobley

could get it because those

are top five teams in both

of their conferences.

But I'm just saying, regardless of that,

I think just Dyson's

historic season as a defensive player,

I think that's just hard to ignore.

Now,

I would say my prediction is that I

think that he will be a finalist.

I think that he'll be a

finalist into the top three.

And like I said,

I'm hoping that he does win it.

I think he has all the

evidence to say that he

should deserve it.

But even to his point,

he had an interview with Mike Scotto,

who is a reporter for, or insider rather,

for Hoops Hype.

And he said like,

The Defensive Player of the

Year award is a big man's award.

So the league could keep it

traditional this year.

where they, hey,

they could give it to a guy

like Draymond or Evan

Mobley or Draymond Jackson Jr.

But they could also go

towards being more on the

unique rare side where they

could give it to a guard

like Dyson because the last

guard to win it was Marcus Smart, right,

in Boston.

So they could go that route.

But like I said, regardless,

I think it should be Dyson.

It's just the fact of the

matter is that he's just

been extraordinary, you know,

defensively and a lot of

people have given him props

and I remember when he

first got traded to atlanta

people were already on the

go saying hey this is a guy

that could turn out to be a

very special player on the

defensive end of the ball

and and he's starting to

pick things up offensively

with this jump shot is

starting to become more

consistent he's shooting

three four percent from three

Right now,

I think he's averaging a little

over three attempts per game,

somewhere in there.

But, yeah,

I think just the fact of the

matter is he's just been

excellent throughout the entire season,

and it's just something you

just can't ignore.

And he's really – and to be

honest with you,

we can go back now and look at –

of clutch defensive stops

that he's gotten this year

two of them that I can

remember was when we got

the win on the road against

sacramento when he came up

with the big steal against

darren fox and if you want

to go more recent I believe

it was last month when we

beat memphis on the road

When he got that clutch

steal against Devin Bain

and threw a thing was like

a full court pass to Karis

LeVert for the easy for a

layup for the game winner.

So it's just stuff like that.

He's just been able to do so.

But yeah, I hope that he wins it.

But like I said,

my prediction that he will

be a finalist and that he

will at least make NBA all

defensive first team.

Oh yeah, for sure.

That's definitely a lock in my opinion.

It's really,

it's really remarkable because

if you go back to the media

day press conferences at

the beginning of the season,

he did say that was his

number one goal for him this year.

He did want to be the, he like,

he wanted to be the

shooting guard of the all

defensive first team.

And to see him actually

accomplish that all these months later,

like that really shows you,

you can really, of course him being,

he was already a stellar

talent coming out of

Australia and G League

Ignite being the eighth pick up the

NBA draft.

So the scouts already liked

what he could accomplish or

what he was capable of more so.

But to...

See him really take this

next step like that.

It's honestly crazy to see, like,

the improvement this rapidly.

I thought he was showing the

three-point improvement

during the Olympics when he

was representing Team

Australia alongside Josh Giddey,

of course, his countryman.

And I thought he was looking

good back then.

As soon as we knew he was

coming to Atlanta,

I started watching all the film.

And that was our first real

inkling of him was in the Olympics,

just seeing what he could

do on the floor.

And I thought he was looking

good even over in Paris

during the summertime.

So, yeah.

Yeah, man.

And even then,

he is getting the recognition at least.

According to FanDuel,

he's the actual minus.

Two-thirty favorite to walk

home with the most improved

player this year.

And to me, that gives the award justice.

Not sounding biased or anything,

but I feel like Cade Cunningham...

was destined, because, of course,

Cade is the second favorite

to win it as a plus-one-fifty underdog.

So he's right behind Dyson.

But Dyson's an actual minus-favorite,

minus-two-thirty, like I said.

And everyone knew Cade was

destined to become a superstar,

an all-NBA-caliber point guard.

And I think he's just

developing as he should this year,

you know?

He's got his team for the playoffs.

That's the thing.

They're the most improved team this year,

for sure,

that we also discussed on one of

our prior episodes.

But

I think the most improved player this year,

in my opinion, is Dyson Daniels.

He's increasing his scoring

from like five point eight

points per game to fourteen this year.

His rebounds are up,

his steals like he's

leading the league right now.

This showed all he ever

needed was the opportunity.

I know that the New Orleans Pelicans,

they to me,

that trait now was literally

just a John C. Murray.

For Dyson Daniels,

and it was beneficial for both teams.

I still think that DeJounte

is going to be good for the

Pelicans as their point

guard for the future.

I do have breaking news.

I know that the Sixers,

they are a very bad team

all year because their big

three is out for the rest

of the season with PG and

Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, but Giannis

They put up crazy numbers.

So they beat Philly tonight,

one twenty six to one thirteen.

But Giannis ended tonight

with thirty five points,

seventeen rebounds and twenty six.

I mean, like I said, I mean, Philly,

they are a very bad team.

But I mean, still,

those numbers are just just crazy.

But you continue.

I just wanted to say that.

Oh, no, man, that was astronomical.

That's pretty ridiculous, you know.

Not even trying to toot our

own horns or anything.

It kind of reminds me of the

game when the Hawks played

the Lakers and Trey had

thirty one points in twenty

assists to himself, you know.

So, yeah, man, superstar numbers,

most definitely.

If he if he if he could have

got like the twenty rebounds,

that'd have been crazy.

I think crazy to see a

thirty twenty twenty.

I remember when Kevin Love

had a thirty thirty game

during the two thousand ten season.

I was in the fifth grade when he did that.

It was pretty crazy to see.

So that's the K love of the

future Hall of Famer, in my opinion,

since we're talking about big men tonight,

of course.

And yeah, man, like I said,

I do think that Dyson.

will walk away with the most

improved player this year.

I think he's really

announced himself as a star

candidate as an Atlanta Hawks fan, but,

of course,

also as an unbiased journalist always.

I do think that the Hawks,

the main priority for them is to, what,

one hundred percent get

that contract extension as

fast as they can.

They can't offer it until the next summer,

twenty twenty six.

And he's going to have a lot of suitors.

You know, he's making, I think,

around eleven million.

Per per year on his next two

years on his contract.

So I do think that given his

talents for sure,

he's definitely going to

command upwards to like we

just saw Jalen Johnson get

one hundred fifty million from Atlanta.

So I think Dyson can at

least get a hundred to one

hundred and twenty five million,

in my opinion,

just based on what he can achieve.

And I do want to make a slight correction.

He's making six million this

year and seven million next year.

He'll be a restricted free

agent going into the twenty six,

twenty seven season.

So they have to do whatever

they can to make sure they sign him.

and just being quite honest,

I think he'll stay, to be real.

I think that seeing the

opportunity he got here, of course,

knowing what he's capable of now,

he could take anyone's

starting spot across the

league if he wanted to,

but I think his spot is

super solidified down here in Atlanta,

and I think he enjoys

playing with his teammates as well.

I think he enjoys playing

with Jalen Johnson and Zachary Resache,

with the

I can't say what they've built,

but what they are building at the moment,

I think they all see each

other as being on the same

development timeline.

And I think that they can

all create something special.

They'll truly be one of the best rosters,

the Atlanta Hawks in

history I've ever had.

Given that the point guards

already leading the league in assists,

the shooting guards leading

the league in steals, the power forward,

Jalen Johnson was almost

the most improved player

candidate himself before he got hurt.

Onyeka Okungu was averaging

fifteen points and eleven

rebounds throughout the month of March.

So,

I think that Dyson was the

missing piece that they've been missing.

Even Bogdan Bogdanovich,

when he was still here,

mentioned that he was the

catalyst for improving

their defense as a team this year.

So at twenty two years old,

he's only going to continue

to get better.

Um,

and he's definitely worth a five-year

max and the Hawks have to

do whatever it takes to

make sure he stays because money talks.

Absolutely.

But I think Tyson might stay, man.

Cause you know,

he's already making a lot

of money off the court.

We just signed him, get that new, um,

a deal with Adidas.

Absolutely.

He just got a new shoe contract.

Um,

and we know he's successful off the

court with his brand Vucetti as well.

So, um,

I think that he's making a lot of

money right now.

Of course, most definitely.

And I think that he's making

a lot of money off the floor.

So all they got to do is

come with a decent number,

maybe eighty million, ninety million,

something like that that shows his worth.

And given the chemistry they built,

I'd be pretty,

pretty shocked if I'm sitting somewhere.

and I see the dyson daniels

sign with the phoenix suns

or something like I'd be

pretty taken aback if he

left given how he became a

star over here and this is

really his spot no one's

taking the starting

shooting guard spot it's

all his um yeah I think yo

I think he'll stay I think

now with the contract

negotiations that's kind of

the the barrier there but

I mean,

it may be where it may go down to

the wire,

where they may take it to

restricted free agency, where it's like,

okay,

if somebody gives them an offer sheet,

then we'll match it up.

But I don't really,

but I think they're going

to try to avoid that.

I think they're going to

meet somewhere down in the

middle same with jaylen

johnson where they didn't

take it to restricted free

agency now I don't know if

he's going to get thirty

million now I guess it all

depends if he actually wins

most improved player which

I think he he will and then

of course making it to all

nba defensive first team so

when you take all those

accolades into consideration of course

those are one of the talking

points that his agent is going to,

you know, make during those negotiations.

So, but, but yeah, I think,

I don't think he'll get thirty million,

but I think that he'll honestly get

I think he'll be making

somewhere around in the

twenties now whether it's a

four or five year deal I

think he'll be somewhere

around in the twenties you

know between twenty twenty

five million a year or so

but yeah I think he'll be

back so I'm not worried

about that of course hey

man I'm extremely hopeful I

agree with you um of course

he has two agents daniel

moldovan and alex saratsis

so um they're gonna do

whatever they can to make

sure their client gets that

payday that he's definitely

going to be worth

entering the middle point of

when he'll turn into that prime star.

And I think he definitely

has two-way star potential,

given that his scoring is

getting better and he's

already a defensive player.

And the last thing I will say, of course,

move on to our last topic.

This is in the Hawks podcast, of course.

I think that the players are

going to tug on the heartstrings.

I think Trey's going to pull

him to the side.

Talk to him about, hey, man,

Trey hasn't had a better

backcourt mate since he's been down here.

Yeah, there's no question.

To fit him alongside him like that,

he finally has that six, seven.

The lineup goes from a

six-one point guard to a

six-seven shooting guard.

You finally have that guy,

and they know each other.

They really linked up really fast.

We saw them doing OTAs last

offseason pretty quick,

so they've been building

this chemistry for a pretty

long time now.

And I do think that they're

going to talk on the

heartstrings after we reschedule.

They came in the same offseason.

They came in the same first

practices together, all that.

I think they're going to

talk to each other.

They're both international prospects,

so they do have that to relate.

And just that alone, I think, you know,

Jalen Johnson,

they also have good

chemistry as well when you

see them talk to each other on the floor.

So I think the players are

going to talk on the heartstrings.

They, the Hawks themselves,

all the ones that are

staying here for the long term, know that,

like, Dyson, please stay.

Like, they want him to stay.

Like,

they're going to have a meeting about it.

Onyeka's here for the long term.

Jalen's here for the long term.

I think Zachary will sign

that rookie extension.

Trey has...

including this year,

he has three years left.

So he has one and then two

more after this.

So negotiations are coming.

And if they can bag Dyson,

they would have built the fortress that,

okay, Trey,

Because it would have took

his whole contract,

his whole contract from the

rookie scale extension, all of that,

to finally build the team needed for him.

And now,

do you want to sign the Macs or do

you not?

Of course,

that's a whole discussion for

another day to have on this podcast,

most definitely.

But moving to...

Our last topic, absolutely.

Like I said, Wiley,

you can feel free to chime in on this one,

one hundred percent.

Speaking of point guards,

we wanted to discuss is

Stephen Curry the not one of.

Of course, we already know that.

Is he the greatest point

guard to ever pick up a

basketball in the history of the sport?

Yeah.

You can go first, Garrett.

I would love to hear what

you have to say first about

Stephen Curry and his legacy.

The four time NBA champion

and the two time MVP.

Yeah,

so we all know Steph was drafted in

the two thousand nine draft

pick seven overall.

Currently, he's a four time champion,

a finals MVP when they won

in twenty twenty two.

Not too long ago.

He's a two time MVP and an

eleven time All-Star.

now it's kind of now I'm not

it's not kind of the same

uh aspect or situation when

we talked about yokesh as a

top twenty player in terms

of players that we have not

seen or may have seen so

now behind stuff I I do

have magic johnson

Now, here's where I'm going with this.

Now,

he was picked first overall back in

nineteen seventy nine.

Seventy nine.

Six nine.

Five time champion,

three time NBA Finals MVP,

three time MVP and a twelve

time All-Star.

Now,

I feel like that is interchangeable

because people can say

Magic is the best point guard of all time,

but then people can say Steph.

But to me, I think that for me,

I would have to go with

Steph only because I feel like,

and I'm not just talking accolades,

but it's more so how he changed the game.

Because during that year when he won,

or even before then,

but certainly the first

year when they won their

first championship in

that's when the league

really changed to where

they start with a whole league and,

you know, follow steps,

footsteps because of his

three point three point shot.

We all know he's the best

three point shooter of all time.

And I don't think that

there's going to be a

player that's going to break his record.

I mean, it's kind of like the whole,

you know, LeBron situation.

I mean,

he's the all time leading scorer

and that,

record was held for what

forty years somewhere in

there or even more I don't

know yeah so it's like okay

if if somebody's gonna do

the same for steph then

that's how long it's going

to be before someone breaks

that record so it's just

for me I just think steph

is the best point guard of

all time because of how he

literally changed the game

and I think now he may not

he may not change the game

completely to where it is now,

but you can say that he has

changed the game in terms of teams now

changing their philosophies

and their play style to

where it's dealing with

more versatility and being

able to shoot because

that's how the game is played.

Players being able to shoot, pass,

and dribble.

And shooting is a premium in this league.

Now, I would say for Magic Johnson,

and I don't know,

maybe you could chime in on

this one and Wiley can do the same,

but I think that

I think for Magic,

I think that he cleared a

pathway of some sort to a degree,

or at least one of the few

that players may have

thought of having this,

I wouldn't call it a dream,

but idea of where you're

opening the door for big

men to basically be able to

bring the versatility that

he did during his days.

I mean,

One of the seasons that he had,

he averaged twenty four

points and twelve assists

and six rebounds.

Right.

And you're doing it as six, nine, six,

ten.

So, like I said, with Joker,

you don't really see many

big men put up those kinds of, you know,

that kind of production on

a day to day basis.

So I think that magic paved

the way for some big men to

to really embrace their

skill sets and be able to,

have the idea of just

putting in the work to

where they can beat you in

any spot on the court.

But I think for Steph,

it's just the fact of the

matter is that he's the

best shooter of all time.

Of course, he has accolades to prove it.

And like I said,

just the fact of the matter

is just for me to see with

my own eyes that he was

able to change the entire league

uh, throughout his career.

And there's not really many

point guards that there's

really not any point guards

really that can really say

the same thing.

Now, don't get me wrong.

Of course,

there are other great point

guards that played in his league before,

but I mean, with Steph, I mean,

to compare still to other guys,

it's just like, it's just hard.

It's hard to tell.

So, but yeah, I have, uh,

Steph is number one.

Then I have magic number two.

Mm hmm.

OK.

Yeah, man, that's so funny.

It's kind of perfect in a way,

kind of poetic.

Mine is literally reversed.

I got Magic Johnson as the

greatest point guard to

ever pick up a basketball.

I love Magic Johnson.

First of all,

my favorite player ever is Pete Maravich.

I'm not because he's a hawk.

Of course, that's a massive,

massive bonus.

I love Pete Maravich for his

collegiate career leading

the NCAA in total scoring

with no three-point line

before Kaitlin Clark, of course,

just broke his record not too long ago.

And that's my favorite player, of course,

mentioning another point guard, of course,

Pete Maravich.

um but for me um I do think

matchy johnson is the

greatest point guard of all

time only because like for

him to be the first overall

pick like and some doubted

him you know he was doubted

a lot by some you know some

people thought he his game

might have transcended

given he was too tall to

dribble um some thought it

would have led to a lot of

turnovers when he first

graced the floor um I

thought he was good coming

out the gate of course I

didn't get to see him uh he

was drafted twenty years

before I was born you feel me so

But he did great in college, you know,

when he won the NCAA

National Championship with

the Michigan State Spartans, of course.

And he beat Larry Bird to

win that championship.

That actually did happen.

It really was a part of their story.

It's pretty crazy to even go

back that far.

And he was phenomenal his entire career,

obviously.

Just for his career,

he does average nineteen

point seven rebounds and

eleven assists per game for his career.

We also like to tell people

to keep in mind his career was cut short,

man, like it was cut short.

I don't want to mention that.

The reasons why,

we all know why Magic

Johnson's career was cut short.

There's no reason to rehash that.

But he lost four years.

He was thirty one years old

when he had to retire back

in nineteen ninety one due to an illness,

unfortunately.

And the Lakers that season,

they were they were they

finished fifty eight and

twenty four under Mike Dunleavy.

So they were still a good

team and he was still a good player.

Like he was still averaging

nineteen points with twelve

assists and seven rebounds.

So I always thought Magic like.

um it's just his career got

cut short unfortunately

like it was really

unfortunate um to see like

you know one of the

greatest players ever you

know his vices um you know

like you know ended up

being his comeuppance

unfortunately and um but

given what he achieved on

the floor and that's

another thing he did this

by the age of the how we

just talked about yo kitsch

magic want to ring his

first year um in the league

he was a winner literally

from day one um he has five

rings three finals mvps um

I know Steph just got one

back in two thousand twenty two.

He's a three time MVP,

twelve time all star,

nine time all first team, all NBA.

He led the league in assist four times,

steals twice.

So Magic could play defense as well.

And yeah, like I said,

he was a winner in college, too.

So he's a winner at all three levels.

He's amazing in high school.

For those that don't know,

he's terrific in high school.

And yeah, so I just think for Magic,

like the reason, like,

Him doing all of that from

just nineteen seventy nine

to nineteen ninety one.

It's like I said,

he won a ring his first year.

So all the way to nineteen

eighty eight where he won

his last ring and they

could have won a ring in ninety one.

They were still a good team, like I said,

under Mike Dunleavy.

So in my opinion, I'll forever.

have Magic Johnson as the

greatest point guard of all time.

He's always been my number one.

I love Stephen Curry.

I got to see him versus just

reading up a lot on Magic Johnson,

watching all the documentaries,

of course.

I got to see Steph's legend.

I got to see when he got

eliminated by the San

Antonio Spurs in two

thousand fourteen when the

Spurs went on to win a ring

that year and he came back

the next season to win

their first championship

with a homegrown drafted

team of Clay Thompson, Draymond Green,

Andrew Belgett was on that team.

um like I saw steph's entire

legend come and now it's

about to end in a few years

of course he just had fifty

two points um the other

night so it's not like he

hasn't missed a step he has

not missed a step at all

you know but I just think

with magics um just this

accolades like everything

he did in a short period of

time um and also he was a

winner from day one

as well um he came in and

took over a team that had

kareem on it pretty quick

of course he did go on to

get james worthy uh in in

the nineteen eighty-two

draft james came in so he

didn't have his help as

well like every champion

needs but individually I'll

forever have magic johnson

only because I thought he

could score at a high level

like stephen could too of course like

With Stephan, the three-point shooting,

like Garrett said,

it did entirely shift the

entire landscape of the NBA.

You could really say Stephan

Curry had his own era, to be quite honest,

because even though he

didn't win the two rings to follow it up,

he did win two MVPs to

still be one of the most

dominant players in the

league at that time that

couldn't dunk or anything,

but he could make a shot

literally from anywhere.

Yeah.

The last thing I'll say

about Magic Johnson was

that I loved his versatility as well.

I forgot which finals it was.

It might have been the first one.

It was like a game seven.

He played all positions.

He played the center

position when he was mainly

a point guard at six foot nine.

The fact he could play

Literally guard in play,

multiple positions as well.

I just thought it made him

not only a one-of-a-kind point guard,

but also a one-of-a-kind player as well,

given his ability to score

and rebound in play, make in defense.

Um,

so I just thought like in his

leadership as well, of course,

Steph's a leader, but like I said,

Magic came in and almost

not took the team over in day one.

He had to gain respect,

but he took it over pretty

quickly when he saw what he

was capable of.

So, um, shout out to the boy Dixon.

Thank you so much for joining us, man.

Absolutely.

Always love having you.

Most definitely, for sure.

And, yeah, Wiley, of course,

saw you pop in.

I would love to hear what you have to say.

Garrett picked Stephen Wardell Curry,

and I picked Irving Magic Johnson.

So I would love to hear who

you have for your tiebreaker.

You might have another point guard.

You might have a John Stockton.

You might have a Chris Paul.

You might have one of those dudes.

I'm just saying.

I'm just saying.

So go ahead and give us your

pick for the greatest point

guard of all time.

Oh, you're muted, Wiley.

Don't make me cuss you out

on our lovely on this family show.

Chris Paul.

I mean, hey, of course, before you go,

John Stockton.

It's the all-time assistant.

Oh, absolutely.

With a fifteen thousand,

eight hundred and sixty.

That record's going to stand forever.

And the all-time steals leader as well.

So, of course, Johnson, let me know,

Chris Paul, CP three.

He has everything but an MVP in a ring,

of course.

So shout out to Chris Paul.

Of course.

Mm hmm.

He's a dirty player.

You think so?

That's right.

OK, well,

there we can get into that a

little later.

I actually want to.

But yes.

Yeah.

I mean,

that dates back to his to his Wake

Forest days.

Oh, OK.

For real?

I mean, damn.

I mean, I mean, either way, of course,

you know, it's like for his days.

Look,

don't don't get me started on Chris Paul.

Also,

that would it would like to have a

word when it comes to the

most points in college basketball.

OK, but I digress.

uh I got stuff I got stuff I

love yes got to watch magic

as a youngster uh later in

his career of course uh

being able to to see him on

the original dream team um

being able to watch him

after getting HIV and, you know,

dealing with that,

being able to come back,

still play a season and, you know,

end his career.

Although, when that did happen,

he was on that back half of his career.

I don't, you know,

you got to kind of shine a

light on that because when

you think about it during that time frame,

once you got into that into

your thirties,

you were definitely on the

downslope of your career.

And when you look at Magic's numbers,

it doesn't necessarily say that.

But again,

we know why everything ended the

way it did.

Steph still has his pen.

He's still writing his career as we speak.

And I think that's the one

thing that's the dopest

part about it is that he's

getting to continue to add

on to his legacy, just like LeBron,

just like KD,

just like a lot of the older

players in the league now that, you know,

are pretty much close to

being out the door.

And, of course, you know, people will say,

well, he's not a traditional point guard.

So...

So what?

That's fine.

Magic to me, magic wasn't your necessary.

He was, he was a traditional point guard.

He just didn't look like

your traditional point guard.

Back then, back then though,

he was ahead of his time.

He stood six,

eight and play every fucking

position on the floor.

So, and we got to see that his,

his rookie year.

Um, so again,

like we talked about it with Joker, uh,

It's the same thing with Steph.

It depends on who's giving

their take and how they

want to shape their

narrative of what their list is.

But again, for me,

I have Steph as being the

greatest point guard there

is just on the strength of

what he's been able to do over the years.

But not only that,

we didn't think Steph was

going to be what he is today.

Especially

not only just coming out of

davidson but the way his

career started like you

know he was he was

considered injury prone

hence the reason why golden

state was able to piece

that team together that

they had because they

signed him on a cheap on a

cheap extension so that that

that gave them enough money

to start putting pieces, putting that,

that team together.

And they did it organically,

which was even,

which made it even better when they,

when they ended up being

able to draft clay in Draymond.

And then you add in your

other pieces in any work.

And it ended, it ended up working after,

you know, I,

I thought it was going to

work with Mark Jackson.

We, we saw it kind of,

And then they get rid of

they get rid of Mark and

bring in Steve and, you know,

the rest is history.

But in and also this not to

overlook any of the other

point guards that have been in the league,

like we like we mentioned.

John Stockton, the by far the best assist,

the best assist ever.

And like you said, and steals.

uh who else we got oscar

robinson um the original

triple double uh isaiah

thomas the logo jerry west

we mentioned chris paul

again I yes I call him a

dirty player but still like

when it comes to his when

it comes to his legacy like chris paul is

is a top is one uh top ten

point guard of all time

jason kidd uh steve nash

nash your time in between

oh russell what you throw

russell westbrook in there

uh gary payton uh again you

have so many you have so

many point guards that have

that have come through the league um

that have been able to make their mark,

put their stamp on the

league in one way or another.

And that's what's been the

best part about it.

That's what's been the best part about it.

when it comes to the NBA and

you start to dissect per position.

We got Dixon here.

Magic is my GOAT PG as an old head.

Shout out to us old heads.

But Steph is really close, in my opinion.

I just feel Steph is more of

a shooting PG.

yeah more than the true pg

yeah no absolutely uh magic

was the first point for to be honest yeah

Even to this day?

That's a good point.

That's a good point, Larry.

Yeah, that's a perfect point.

Because you don't get, like you said,

when it comes to a power forward,

you don't get LeBron or Scottie or,

you know, your other, hell,

Kevin Garnett at one point

was able to be what

considered a point forward

because he could dribble, you know,

because he could put the

ball on the floor.

And with

point guard-like skills.

Like,

you had those point forwards that

have come through the league.

And yes, that's all due to Magic.

That's why I mentioned earlier, like,

big man to Larry's point,

just to put it better, point forwards.

You're seeing it with guys like

know lebron and kg that you

mentioned or someone you

mentioned now like jayden

johnson on the hawks you

know he's more of a point

forward you know just to

give you know you know

fresher name but yeah so

that's why I think magic I

think he paved the way for

some big man to have that

kind of skill set at their

size so yeah that's

definitely a better way to

put it for that for sure yeah

Mm hmm.

No, I can't percent like even um, I mean,

like your course of magic

with with with with with homie right?

Yeah,

I definitely agree with Larry for sure.

Um, yeah, that's just my take on it.

You know, like, like I said,

his eleven point two

assists for his career is

still the all time record.

Even right now.

So I get it.

He didn't become the

all-time assist leader like

John Stockton.

But you can definitely make

the case he's still one of

the greatest passers.

Well,

he can make that off the rep already.

But just the stats definitely back it up,

even with his career being cut short,

averaging an eleven point

two for his career.

You know, that's over over ten assists.

That's pretty substantial.

Even John Stockton himself.

didn't average eleven point

two for his career.

John was just he was just he

had a consistent partner like that.

That you that pick and roll with Carl.

Great shooter, too, though.

Great shooter.

But I'm saying that pick and

roll with Carl Malone was

unstoppable because Carl Malone had that.

He had that that mid range jumper.

So you had to play.

You had to figure out how to

play Carl Malone.

Do you want to play it for

the jumper or do you want to play him?

to take it to the basket.

And, again,

with him being six-eight and as

big as he was, good luck.

Exactly.

Yeah, nah, for sure, man.

Like, again,

even just to get my final two cents on it,

most definitely.

Trae Young is having a Hall

of Fame pure point guard career,

and I really think Hawks

fans would appreciate it

because they get frustrated

with our losing.

And that's why I just

mentioned earlier that –

I think Dyson Daniels was

literally the last piece

because they got the bench

now with Karis DeVert, George Niang,

and Terrence Mann all on good gold.

Karis DeVert does have one

year left remaining this year,

but he did come out and say

he would like to resign to the Hawks,

and George Niang is already on a deal.

Um,

and Terrence Mann has three years on

his new contract.

So, um, as long as we resign Karis Levert,

uh,

the Hawks have their bench and they

got their starting five ready to go.

Um, for the future, it would seem,

you know,

Karis Levert's still young at thirty.

Terrence Mann is twenty-eight.

George Nguyen is, I think,

George thirty himself.

So, yeah,

like in obviously their core is

getting better and better.

Zachary Sashay is averaging

like seventeen point seven

points per game over his

last ten games playing really good.

He struggled his last two performances,

but the game before those last two.

Yeah.

Thirty six points, of course.

So he has shown flashes of success.

absolute greatness and when

he is consistent he'll be

the real maybe the number

two option for the hawks he

might surpass jalen johnson

become the number two

option or become a solid

number three option um but

of course like like larry

said I do think that um

that the hawks fans have

unappreciated him and I

think that with this new

supporting cast now

around trey young um you

need a certain particular

core around a six one point

guard if he's going to be

your your your um your your

head of the snake so to

speak and he does what he

does what is needed to

succeed as a six one point

guard prioritizing the

playmaking at least

nowadays more than his

scoring and stuff like that

sometimes it's a playmaking

I mean his scoring would

just come out with the

playmaking and stuff but um

either way like yeah you

know um but yeah I got one more thing

Please.

Steph would have done fine

in the nineties.

C, Mark Price.

C, Muggsy Bogues.

C, Michael Adams.

C, John Stockton.

Any fucking point guard that was six, one,

six, two in average, average,

at least seventy.

Steph would have been just fine.

OK.

Oh, no, for sure.

Like,

I think his his jump shot alone

definitely put him in.

a different conversation.

He still does it to this day.

Um, it's, it's good.

We just saw him in the Olympics, bring up,

bring home the United States,

a gold medal off that, um,

three point shot.

He was the guy hitting the

clutch shots in the closing,

even had LeBron doing the night night.

So, um, yeah, for sure.

Um,

But yeah, just to close it, though,

I did pick Magic Johnson as

the greatest point guard in NBA history,

basketball history, EuroLeague included.

Everything.

The best point guard to ever

pick up the ball coming

straight out of Michigan,

most definitely.

And yeah,

Garrett and Wiley both picked

Stephen Curry.

So I do lose the count two to one.

Of course, but, you know,

it's all subjective as always.

Two future Hall of Famers,

I love watching both.

You know,

I always love watching the Lakers

and stuff,

trying to watch the winning

time HBO special they got.

Watching that right now,

it's really funny.

And, yeah, of course,

I agree with Larry and Wiley.

Of course,

Steph could play in any

generation that he wanted

to and definitely succeed for sure,

just given the jump shot alone.

But, yeah, Garrett,

that's it for me on this

episode of The Uncommon Commentators,

unless you got anything

else you want to add, for sure.

Yeah, thank you all, as usual,

for chiming in and tuning

in and hanging out with us.

We really do appreciate you guys,

your love, your time and support.

And we would not be doing

this without you guys.

So thank you again so much.

Thank y'all so much for

joining us on the Uncommon Commentators.

I want to give the

shout-outs again to the boy

Wiley for always doing a

great job with the takes

and being a good producer.

It's hard to do both.

Absolutely.

Shout-out to Jay Holloway, Raina Holloway,

the lovely couple.

Shout-out to everyone on the

SXC Media Network.

Y'all already know how it is

with the family.

I always love doing this

show every Thursday night,

most definitely.

Shout out to everyone, Olivia, Nick Andre,

everyone that we know that we also,

you know,

You're in contact with all the time,

basically.

So I hope you all just stay safe.

Have a nice weekend.

Enjoy the March Madness.

Pretty sure the Final Four

is going on this weekend.

So go ahead,

sit back and relax and watch

some basketball.

And, yeah, that's all I'm going to do.

Oh, and one last thing.

The Lakers and the Warriors

are playing right now.

It's just started on the

late-night matchup.

So we know we don't have

many more matchups of

Stephen Curry and LeBron

James facing off against each other.

And they have added Luka

Doncic and Jimmy Butler into the fray.

So go ahead and catch that matchup.

I'm not going to do the same thing.

And y'all have a blessed weekend,

blessed night.

Thank you so much for

joining us as always.