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Our friends over at AthletiQA.com are having discussions around Who’s got next with the departure of some of the greatest NBA Athletes. AthletiQA.com is an intelligent and social sports Q&A website where athletes, experts, and fans, are having discussions on the hottest and most relevant sports topics. Check them out at www.athletiqa.com.
Here is what Darius Joseph (Student. Sports Fan. Writer. Athlete.), one of the fans has to say:
This offseason, we’ve said goodbye to three of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen. Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett all lead magnificent careers marked by 11 NBA Championships, 4 MVP’s, and 48 All-Star appearances between the three of them. Sadly, there now remain only a few stars from the late 1990s.
Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, and Vince Carter are the only perennial all-stars remaining from that decade. As the next chapter of the NBA begins to write itself, there are many young players in the league banging on the door of superstardom. The NBA has not had this much young talent in quite some time, and is now more equipped than ever to say goodbye to three of its biggest names of the last 20 years.
NBA stars, then and now
Undoubtedly, the game is a lot different than it was in the 1990s. People will point to the fact that more three pointers are now shot than ever before. Or that more stringent refereeing has made the game less physical and thus easier for perimeter players. Surely, over the course of a few decades, the game is going to evolve. Whether for better or for worse, the style of play of today is much different than that of the days of Kobe, Shaq, AI, and T-Mac, and even moreso than the classic days of Jordan, Bird, and Magic.
But one thing that has remained constant in the NBA is the influx of talent and the capabilities of its stars to drive a worldwide audience. Nobody will argue that the game’s three best players remain LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry, with the second-tier of superstars being comprised of Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Chris Paul, and Paul George, to name a few.
The marketability of its stars has enabled the NBA to grow into a truly global brand. As a result, players from all over the world are now entering the league. Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece, Andrew Wiggins of Canada, and Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia are three prime examples of budding foreign talent in the NBA today. Karl-Anthony Towns, born in America but of Dominican descent, is another such example.
While it may be fairly obvious who the current top 10 or 15 players in the league are, there are a number of very young players hoping to throw their names into that discussion this season. There are two players in particular that I would like to focus on, both already mentioned, who will make the leap into the NBA’s upper pantheon this upcoming season. Not only that, but their revolutionary styles of play will signal a new era in the modern NBA.
Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the next generation of stars
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be entering his fourth season in the NBA, and is still just 21 years old. Last year, post All-Star break he posted averages of 18.8 points, 8.6 boards, 7.2 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.4 steals after being named the team’s full-time starting point guard, a designation he will carry into this season. The third-to-fourth year jump is generally when NBA stars really start to come into their own, as evidenced by Kawhi Leonard’s emergence last season.
What makes Giannis’ potential so intriguing is that the NBA has truly never seen a player like him before. He stands at 6’11’ with a 7’3’ wingspan and can go from end to end in three strides. He truly embodies the ‘new NBA’, where big men are expected to handle the ball and play on the perimeter. Check out evidence of his freakish abilities below.
The Bucks failed to live up to expectations last season, but they are now a year older and wiser. Unfortunately, Khris Middleton will likely miss the entire 2016-17 season, but that will mean more opportunities for Giannis and fellow teammate Jabari Parker. Expect Giannis to use this added responsibility to his benefit, post averages along the lines of 20/10/8, and make his first All-Star team.
Karl-Anthony Towns is right there with Giannis
Another difference between the NBA of today and that of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s is the glaring lack of offensive centers in the league. Luckily for the NBA, a young man by the name of Karl-Anthony Towns is here to save the day.
Upon being drafted first overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, Towns was expected to be brought along slowly in his rookie year due to his youth and the presence of veterans Kevin Garnett, Gorgui Dieng and Nikola Pekovic. He went on to surprise many, but not myself, by posting averages of 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game en route to the 2015-16 NBA Rookie of the Year award.
Ironically, Kevin Garnett’s retirement does signal a true passing of the torch in Minnesota. Even though the Wolves have not been Garnett’s team for quite some time now, he has been grooming Towns for this moment and he is now the face of the franchise.
Towns, like Antetokounmpo, has shown precocious talent that is also fairly unprecedented in today’s NBA. Watch the clip below to see evidence of this- he routinely makes plays that are supposed to be anything but routine for centers.
Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwUgd8iX0E
Towns has shown touch from the outside (and has reportedly improved his three-point shooting remarkably this offseason), the ability to make plays for his teammates, and most of all a propensity to play defense at a high level. There is no doubt that having Garnett in his corner from day one has helped him understand the importance of playing both ends relentlessly.
The T-Wolves look primed to make some noise in the Western Conference this year with a strong core of Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, and rookie Kris Dunn. Expectations will be higher than they’ve been in quite some time in Minnesota, but expect Towns and company to live up to the hype this year. A low-seeded playoff berth should be the bear minimum for this young squad.
There simply aren’t any two-way centers left in the NBA. There also has never been a 6’11’ point guard in the NBA before. This season, NBA fans will have the treat of watching these two players come into their own on a national and worldwide stage. Enjoy every bit of it, but also be cognizant of the way in which these two young stars are revolutionizing the game.
