But, but, James Harden is an all time great scorer (let's ignore Korver and Redick though, right?) and Jokic is a beast (Gobert's the goat scorer though, right?) COME ON NOW, nobody believes this garbage when you shine a real light on it.
Obviously TS% on it's own is meaningless. But so is PPG not terribly useful on it's own. Sure, the latter is more indicative of talent, which is why your scoring list is more reasonable on paper than your TS% list, but both are pretty trash rankings of the top 5 of all time. I haven't been following this whole thread, but I assume the point is that TS% is one major indicator of why one player might be better than another player in the same ballpark of offensive productivity. For example, it's one reason (among many) why James Harden is head and shoulders above Allen Iverson, even though Iverson might have averaged a couple more points. I would also say it makes sense that the center rankings look even more accurate on paper, because high scoring centers tend to be efficient scorers by default.
Does having a high TS guarantee you’re a great offensive player? No, if you ignore volume and all other context it doesn’t. If your TS is terrible though, it does guarantee you’re not a great offensive player
I disagree entirely. Show me one "metric" or anything that's more accurate than PPG in showing who is the biggest alpha scorer in a game? If they don't have MJ and Wilt in the top 2-3 I'm probably going to call you an idiot FYI. PPG shows it pretty accurately, without any need to spin the stats to fit your narrative. I've yet to find a "metric" that doesn't look ridiculous under the slightest scrutiny...
Also "James Harden is better than Iverson" according to who exactly? Daryl Morey and Houston Rockets fans? Beard is my second favourite player ever after Dream, but let's not ****ing kid ourselves here. Nobody outside of Rockets fans is taking Harden over Iverson. Do you think Iverson is getting picked last in an all-star game draft whilst the captains (pro players) and pundits (former all time great pro players) laugh and joke about it? Nah, that's Harden. If Harden's so much better why is he treated like a joke whilst Iverson's treated like one of the greatest ever? Hint: Outside of your echo chamber you're not as right as you think you are.
Imagine legitimately seeing someone argue in 2024 that raw points per game is the best indicator of player talent..... I hope this kid is something like 16 years old, that's the ONLY way he gets a pass on this.
Eh... I think most neutral NBA analysts would rank Harden above AI. Far more efficient. Far more impact to winning. Those Sixers teams made their deep run to the finals because of elite defense and AI wasn't a large part of that. The Rockets made continuous deep runs on the back of an elite offense managed through a heliocentric offense around Harden. Also there is the major discrepancy in competition. When AI made his finals appearance it was one of the weakest eras of the Eastern Conference ever where guy alike Jasson Kidd and AI were the highest end talents in the conference. AI would never make the finals in the Western conference that Harden was in. Wouldn't be even close. Harden would be making annual finals appearance in that Eastern Conference AI was in.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/k58lpbCY2T Here is a neutral place where the question was asked. Look at the most upvoted comments. The most upvotesd comments literally say stuff like "this isn't even close". Hard disagree with you on this one bud. Harden was absolutely the much better player. AI has more cultural impact to the game. More kids wanted to emulate AI than Harden and that can play a role in perception of who's better.
Yes it’s merely one indicator that measures player performance but it’s not the end all be all when ranking player value as a holistic approach is needed in terms of analyzing the game film while finding all the stats and advanced data in addition to visual observation.
Man, what Jalen can do on a basketball court is amazing and beautiful. He has the talent, that is undenyable, he just needs a few points of better efficency. Thanks for posting, watching some of these moments again reminded me of how i felt when they happened, hyped.
The divide is not as vast as "they" would lead you to believe. He may not be our most efficient player, but he is by far the most exciting one we've had since James and before that Tmac. I hope he rewards good fans like you for sticking with him.
