I love Kirk and his graphs and I know it's nitpicking but I hate his use of "Hero ball" to describe Harden. Hero ball has always had a negative connotation and it's not as if James is doing all this scoring out of wanting to be a hero--he's doing it out of sheer necessity. Jordan averaging 36+ a game = "GOAT" Harden averaging 36+ a game = Hero ball
if they are going to crown doncic the goat they need to adjust their narrative a bit regarding harden's playstyle
An unwritten element of this story is the assumption that Harden is better than Kobe and it's not even worth mentioning that any more. We've officially arrived at the consensus that above all others are the holy trinity of NBA offense - Wilt, MJ and the Beard. I think before long the argument will begin to emerge that Harden is actually better than Jordan. The stats bear that out, we simply need Harden to put up these numbers for 3 or 4 more seasons to offset the longevity argument.
In the 40s - 60s they didnt have a 3 point line, in the 70s they did. Jerry West wishes he had 3 point line in his playing days, he wouldnt have lost those 10 NBA Finals 2nd Place finishes. Rick Barry, Larry Bird made it famous
I agree. But the narrative doesn't currently know that. The 6 stages of Offensive GOATness: 1. Harden's a great offensive player, but not the best today (level cleared last year) 2. Harden's one of the best today along with Durant, Curry, Lebron and Giannis (level cleared last year) 3. Harden's is the best offensive player today, but doesn't compare to all time greats like Kobe or MJ (level cleared this year) 4. Harden's as good as Chamberlain and Jordan (clearing this level now) 5. Harden is better than MJ (he needs to end this season ahead of MJs 37.1 season, win a ring and get 3 - 4 more years at this level of play) 6. Harden is better than Wilt (he probably needs to drop 82 on someone, average over 40 ppg for a season and win a ring)
I said the same on twitter. Heroball is a pejorative. Kirk's article is great, but using that term to describe Harden's play is terrible. Kirk has thrown these backhanded compliments at Harden many times.
