It has been reported that Amen Thompson was the best athlete anyone had ever seen when he came for the Houston workout with his brother. What are the odds that this is true? How valuable is being the best athlete on the court? What players would you consider to be the current best athlete? I think in combination with certain other traits, being the best athlete guarantees an ability to create mismatches. There is an excellent chance of a great player in the future if they are coachable, high basketball IQ, works hard, loves basketball, and has good positional size and strength, and is the best athlete ever. Some of the guys I would consider the best athletes currently in the NBA would be Lebron, Blake Griffin, Paolo Banchero, Westbrook, and Giannis.
There are 3 main factors that matter. 1. Skill 2. Athleticism 3. IQ You can be a great player with 2 of the 3, but to be an all timer, you need Skill as one of the two, and when you have all 3 like Hakeem, or MJ or Lebron you get SUPERSTAR all time great. Think of the better players in the league they arent' all great athletes..... Luka, Jokic, Harden etc, DD
Some of the greatest athletes have only reached playground legends levels. Herman "The Helicopter" Knowings being one of them Earl "The Goat" Manigault being another
This is just a should we draft Amen thread. So, should we? Probably, since the cost to trade up is clearly too high. Still terrified of Amen, but we kinda have to gamble.
Disagree. Who are we getting that Charlotte or Portland can't for similar cost? Don't get me wrong, if we can get an All-Star who's 27 or younger, we should do it. But Portland for sure snags that before us.
Never seen the most athletic win a chip. It’s about the perfect blend of athleticism, iq & skill. Every year. Amen has the athleticism and the iq but his lack of shooting really diminishes him as a prospect
NBA basketball is going a more global direction. Both Doncic and Jokic are far from being uber athletic. Sneaky athlete Jerry Lin won a title.
To actually be a superstar: 1) Mindset first (instinct, winning attitude) 2) BB IQ (understand the game, adjust your game to opponent, etc) 3) athleticism or shooting depending on your style.
I'm glad to see so many clutchfanians are aware that athleticism doesn't win games. Just look at Westbrook. He can't shoot. He's more athletic than 95% of the NBA but since he can't shoot the defense makes it that he's the guy who's got to Jack up the shot. He loses every time. They do the same thing to Simmons. Amen may get a triple double but he ain't gonna put the winning shot in the basket. Period. It will always be 5 on 4 for the defense. That's a problem. Athleticism is seductive but it's gools gold.
Im thinking the combination of his extreme athleticism and not being able to shoot are confusing the reality that he is a good skilled basketball player. He cant shoot but he is certainly blessed outside of that.
I think athleticism matters up to a point like guys like Jimmer Fredette or Luke Garza Def needed athleticism. But once you need that minimal requirement it helps only up to a point and in the end may hurt you instead. Guys like WB, Melo, Simmons never expanded their game cuz they were already too blessed. Guys like Zion, Blake Griffin, Wall and DRose they got too much athleticism and it lead or will lead to a short career. Sometimes though it all works out like Shaq, Lebron, Giannis, Hakeem etc The good thing about Amen is he isn't injury prone despite being extremely athletic so I think it bodes well for his future.
We aren’t dealing from a position of strength. We lack a superstar and draft 4th in what many view as a three player draft.
