Luka Doncic.

3 years ago when this thread took place Doncic was a 17 year old scoring 3 ppg in Europe, so if anyone is thinking that OP overlooked him, that's not really fair.

Head Ninja In Charge said:

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This has already been an entertaining season as expected, but I can't help but notice that there are some veeeery good young players with NBA2K Create-A-Player-esque skill sets. Who do y'all think has the highest ceiling out of these guys?

Giannis Antetokounmpo
Karl-Anthony Towns
Andrew Wiggins
Kristaps Porzingis
Joel Embiid

All but Embiid are just 21 which is crazy to me.

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In looking at this list only, I'd be curious as to how most people have these 5 ranked now (2021) almost 5 years after the thread was created.

Would the general consensus be...

1. Giannis
2. Embiid
3. KAT
4. KP
5. Wiggins


I'm not sure, but this exercise may need to be repeated for the current under 21 crowd.

Ayy. Blast from the past. In re-reading this thread, the only confirmation is that being a scout for professional sports must be impossibly hard. Iowaggie's list is 100% correct five years later, but it's interesting to see how wide the spectrum is.

Giannis and Embiid are 1 and 2 and both are perennial MVP front-runners for probably the next 5-7 years barring any health issues.

KAT is an All-Star caliber player and until he gets out of Minnesota, that's his ceiling. All numbers, no W's.

Porzingis went from unicorn to a whole city's fanbase wanting him out a la Ben Simmons.

Wiggins is a serviceable 3rd scorer which qualifies him as a bust for a number one overall pick.


I guess the next group up would be: Zion, Trae, Luka, Tatum, Booker.

Head Ninja In Charge said:

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Harden just turned 27 and likely has about 5 more prime years. Nobody is scared of Devin Booker.

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LMAO.

Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, and Jamal Murray all seem like the same player.

What separates them from each other?

I'm guessing the Phoenix Suns' being one win away from the Finals will make Devin a "superstar" with a ring but otherwise you could probably put the other two on the Suns and still come out as champs.

Slight nudge to Booker for having the best chance at a Championship?

Head Ninja In Charge said:

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Ayy. Blast from the past. In re-reading this thread, the only confirmation is that being a scout for professional sports must be impossibly hard. Iowaggie's list is 100% correct five years later, but it's interesting to see how wide the spectrum is.

Giannis and Embiid are 1 and 2 and both are perennial MVP front-runners for probably the next 5-7 years barring any health issues.

KAT is an All-Star caliber player and until he gets out of Minnesota, that's his ceiling. All numbers, no W's.

Porzingis went from unicorn to a whole city's fanbase wanting him out a la Ben Simmons.

Wiggins is a serviceable 3rd scorer which qualifies him as a bust for a number one overall pick.


I guess the next group up would be: Zion, Trae, Luka, Tatum, Booker.

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I think if one is doing a new thread on this (and I think it is pretty good topic), the young players are 22 and under, or at least guys still in first contract. Tatum and Booker already are in 2nd contract and we have a good idea who they are. Is there anyone to add to this list (The 3 ROY are on there, plus the #1 picks and Trae) before a new thread is started?


Luka
Trae
Zion
Ja
LaMelo
Ant Edwards

Good point, that's a better list.

Head Ninja In Charge said:

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Adding Ben Simmons to this list.

17, 9, and 8 through 12 games. Throw in 1 steal and 2 blocks. He has an argument for top 5 player in the Eastern Conference.

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Iowaggie said:

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Head Ninja In Charge said:

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Ayy. Blast from the past. In re-reading this thread, the only confirmation is that being a scout for professional sports must be impossibly hard. Iowaggie's list is 100% correct five years later, but it's interesting to see how wide the spectrum is.

Giannis and Embiid are 1 and 2 and both are perennial MVP front-runners for probably the next 5-7 years barring any health issues.

KAT is an All-Star caliber player and until he gets out of Minnesota, that's his ceiling. All numbers, no W's.

Porzingis went from unicorn to a whole city's fanbase wanting him out a la Ben Simmons.

Wiggins is a serviceable 3rd scorer which qualifies him as a bust for a number one overall pick.


I guess the next group up would be: Zion, Trae, Luka, Tatum, Booker.

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I think if one is doing a new thread on this (and I think it is pretty good topic), the young players are 22 and under, or at least guys still in first contract. Tatum and Booker already are in 2nd contract and we have a good idea who they are. Is there anyone to add to this list (The 3 ROY are on there, plus the #1 picks and Trae) before a new thread is started?


Luka
Trae
Zion
Ja
LaMelo
Ant Edwards

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Here are my opinions on the under 22s these days...

Luka is REALLY good but could fall into the Westbrook trap. His usage is just so high and there is a chance he downgrades into a stat chaser. He really needs a few competent players around him, right now he has zero talent around him.

Zion is also really good and he produces huge numbers on low usage rates. His team has some good talent around him as well. He won't get Luka's stats but look here for Phoenix's biggest challenger over the next 6-8 years.

Trae scores 30 but the guy he covers always scores 35. The NBA does not like his foul pulling technique and I see his efficiency falling over time as they make his game more and more illegal.

Ja is a insane athlete but has zero idea how to play the game. He is Steve Francis all over again. Tries to jump over 3 defenders while 2 teammates are wide open for the corner 3. Painful to watch.

La Melo might be really good, hard to say yet. He is the anti Ja. Not much of an athlete but an incredible basketball IQ. I fear he may become Simmons with that horrible jumper thing he throws in the general direction of the rim.

Anthony Edwards - just hard to say. He looks the part, he acts the part, but he is still a timberwolf and not a whole lot of good comes from him. Its just hard to look at him play and not see Andrew Wiggins.


Last time we did this I went outside the box and supported Booker, this time I will say Luka and Zion are the talent of the group. Luka for the stats, Zion for the wins.

I will add 2 more to the list.

Cade Cunningham will be a star. He is a big time player and makes everyone better around him. Seems REALLY competitive as well, doesn't want to lose.

Evan Mobley will be really good. I think, at worst, he is Chris Bosh and at best he is Garnett. I REALLY like his game.

The other 3 in this draft are crapshoots.

ESPN ranked young PGs (on first contract) on who they would want going forward.

It's not really all that surprising how top 3 went: Luka, Ja, Trae.

The top 3 there is exactly what I would do. Luka is generational. Ja is an MVP-level talent and Trae is playoff-proven already. I have a hard time choosing between SGA and LaMelo. LaMelo is legit, but love SGA. His shooting is down this year after coming back, but his game is soooooo smooth.