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NBA

The Top Two Picks in the NBA Draft Rarely Become the Two Best Players

Victor Wenbanyama and Scoot Henderson are projected to be the top two picks in the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft is shaping up to be one of the rare instances in which there are multiple prizes.

In fact, experts are saying that this draft class may even have four or five players that could help transform a franchise. However, there is an absolute consensus that Victor Wenbanyama and Scoot Henderson should go first and second in the draft, respectively.

While Wenbanyama appears to be a generational talent and is the most hyped prospect since LeBron James, Henderson would be the top pick in almost any other year, so whatever team ends up in the second spot will have a hell of a consolation prize.

Still, that team should be wary. Rarely do the top two picks end up being the two best players in that class.

In fact, it has not happened more than five times since 1960. Five times in sixty years.

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Books NBA Reviews

The Science of the NBA — “The Midrange Theory” Reviewed

To sports columnists and talking heads of a certain age, the word “analytics” has become a pejorative, a shorthand for nerds that are so engrossed in their algorithms that they can’t see the actual game being played on the court.

The truth, as always, is far more complex.

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Books NBA Reviews

Lottery Picks, Politics & Process – “Built to Lose” Reviewed

Here’s a riddle: When is losing the best way to win?

The answer, for a long time, was the NBA Draft, as teams that lost – sometimes purposely – were rewarded with a chance to choose the best players coming into the league.

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Greatness NBA

LeBron Has Spoiled Us with His Greatness

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“You say ‘LeBron’s playing well,’ and then you look at the stat sheet and say, ‘Oh my goodness’…LeBron James is at a level that’s just impossible to achieve. Only a few guys have gotten there or will ever get there. We should stop taking him for granted.”

— Kevin McHale

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NBA

Imaging the 1980s Houston Rockets Superteam

michael-jordan-hakeem-olajuwon

When the topic of the greatest “What If” dynasties in sports comes up, the one franchise that intrigues me the most is the mid-1980s Houston Rockets.

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In Appreciation of NBA Philadelphia

In Appreciation of: Sam Hinkie and “The Process”

bballbreakdown_samhinkielotsofominoussignage

37 wins and 45 losses.

That was the average record of the Philadelphia 76ers for the ten years before Sam Hinkie was hired in 2013 and implemented his so-called “Process.”

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Week in Review

Week in Review (November 13, 2015)

SONY DSC

It’s felt like a weird week.

Categories
NBA What If

What If: NBA Draft Edition

How different would the Association had looked if different decisions had been made? 

2007 NBA Draft Portraits