I was listening to the Dan Patrick show and they were talking to Phil Jackson and they asked him the difference between Kobe and Jordan and he said that Jordan was a "Superstar" because he had the ability to make the weakest player on his team perform at his highest ability and contribute to the team. "That is what made him a superstar" is what he said. If that is a way to define a superstar...then do you believe Yao and T-Mac are going to ever be up to that level? Are they goign to make their team live up to their potential and push them to doing great things?
i think they both have the capacity to do that. both are good passers. yao, in particular, draws mismatches from double teams...will they?? yet to be seen.
yao just turned 24... T-mac is 25 Jordon didn't start really doing that until he was in his late 20's Dreem didn't until he was 31 ... can't we at least give them one regular season game before we ask the question ?
Well we have seen Yao for 3 years and T-Mac for 8 i know its different. but you can still think or wonder if they will or wont
Didn't Yao threaten his Chinese national team teammates that if they don't play harder he might never play with them again?
I agree that he did that in China becuase he is on that level there....i think he lacks in doing it here in the US right now. I think maybe when he gets more comfortable here he might put the smack down on his team mates.
Tracy McGrady took a crappy Orlando Magic franchise and, save for last year, made them perennial playoff teams. That's a superstar taking his team up another level in my book.
The Magic were never crappy before Tracy, they were an average team before him and during the time he was there. According to Phil Jackson he's not a super star, but going with what he thinks is a superstar I could only think of two guys in the NBA right now that are superstars, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. Throw Shaq in there if you want to...
I think so too.. TD / KG and Shaq are the only superstars in the NBA right now. They are in a league all their own for now but I see JKidd pretty much on that level if not for injuries and age. Kobe and Tmac on the next tier, still stars but not superstars. Then perennial All Stars (usually best players on the rest of the teams) I have to agree with PJ right now .. J
Good quesiton. This is unknown. This is the knock on TMac. He's been labeled as a selfish ISO player that's only interested in his scoring titles. Also, Orlando management has stated that if TMac ever DEDICATED himself to work on his total game he'd dominate the league. Basically, they say that his *work ethic* is weak. Yao's passive demeanor and physical limitations are in question. Sure, he's a steady player. And has solid fundamentals. But we don't know if he has the leadership qualities to inspire his team; make them better. *Great* players can lead in three ways. Vocal, by example or both. Jordan, did both. So did Bird and Magic. Isiah too. Hakeem, at first by example, then later (during the championship run) by both. Someone has to take charge. Someone has to stepup and lead. Without question. Even though Kobe didn't like it, we all knew that Shaq ran the show.
both have the ability to do it and particualrly t-mac has shown his ability is as high as anyone in the game. i think at this point in his career(i know he's only 25) he's ready to sacrifice personal stats to win it's just a matter of finding the right balance. as for yao they key to his game is finding that attitude and confidence that has with the chinese national team. i still think he's unsure whether to lead this team and demand the ball. he needs to do that.
T-Mac is definitely a superstar (as mentioned, he took that Orlando team to the playoffs!) You couldn't say Yao is - he'd have to prove that he can put the team on his shoulders and secure a win by sheer will. I wonder how much opportunity he'll have to do that with McGrady round? Surely when things get tough you go to your best option!
If the Zen master is implying the Kobe is not a superstar then he is just beeing petty and silly. No sane NBA fan will even contemplate not considering Kobe as a bonafide superstar. By Phil's weak and petty standard, there are no superstars in the NBA now. Utter rubbish. As of now, the following will make my superstar list without question: 1. Kevin Garnet 2. Shaq 3. Duncan 4. Kobe 5. TMac Dirk, Jermaine and Vince (minus the injury bug) are borderlineSuperstars. Yao has a ways to go and I am optimistic he will get there in no distant future once he discovers that niceness is not a good ttribute when it comes to being dorminant.
My main man Stack, I think we're are going to soon find out. I think T-Mac is listenting to LL Cool J's mamma said knock you out in the lockeroom and is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E and get down.
Interesting all of you seem to "dismiss" what Yao did in the Olympics. It's the classic "carry the team on his back" at it's best. The Chinese National Team was Yao and nobody else. He played hard, vocally challenged his teamates, did his part, played to the best of his ability to be a team player. And made his ratter weak teammates look a little better. Sure, he is not the superstar in the NBA yet but the qualities PJ was talking about is there in Yao. Will he "mature" into the superstar he was in the CNT/CBA? No doubt in my mind. I read his bio and I can see great things in the future for him because he has what it takes to get better and be the best he can be.
I think the point is being missed, and that is the ability is INSPIRE team mates to be great. For sure, Yao is a superstar, but he is not a leader - yet. Sure he called a group of loser’s out, but that’s the way it is – RESPECT HIM FOR IT. He’s more a leader than McGrady, IMHO, which is why TMac wanted to be here anyway – he doesn’t want the pressure. But I think that is why T-Mac is also going to flourish. Sad as it is to watch this preseason, the lack of movement and clueless ness. It’s easier to watch them figure it out, than watch Steve waste the clock, like last season, and dribble into three defenders looking for the call. So far, T-Mac is so much above what I’ve seen from Steve and Cuttino, team-wise with the vision to find the open man… It’s not even comparable. T-Mac will find his game - and he's going to flourish, and be much more aggressive than what we've seen soon far. Francis, was an entirely different personality then what I've seen so far from T-Mac, but he’s gotta bring that too. T-Mac is still looking for his place on the team, which I think is awesome. For comparison, preseason is wasteland, 20 games into the season. I’d suspect Steve and Cuttino will revert to isolation play, as usual. For us, the team play is going to kill teams. Inside and Out. But is either able to inspire… not yet.
Hold up Fegwu, I think you went one name too far with that list. Carter is a great player when he's healthy, but I agree with Phil to some extent. A superstar HAS to have leadership skills that somehow make his team better. That is a HUGE question mark that Carter still hasn't been able to answer or dismiss. Yes, he's hurt alot. But when your own teammates publicly question whether you're too hurt to play....well...ummm....that's a good indication he's not exactly inspiring them, no?
This is still a big man's game, it's just so hard for a small play to have that much a impact, of course unless you are MJ. Remember J. Kidd? He couldn't do a thing with the Mavs, late with the Suns. In my book, only Shaq & Duncan are true Superstars in this league, KG is close with some big stats, but his impact to the game is not there yet. Kobe, Tmac, Iverson, or Carter? No way. Just look at their team when each of them was the main man.
