A message to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Admit you want MVP!
If you haven't dunked your face in at least three bowls of bottled ice water by the time you read this, I'm not sure you're ready to crush it today, bro.
It's OK to want individual awards. I promise.
Back in 2015, Chris Bosh was delighted to find out Hassan Whiteside (yes, that same one) told the media he wanted to be the Defensive Player of the Year that coming season. Bosh wanted to use this super-ambitious goal as a reminder every time Whiteside messed up on defense, which would be often. Lately, though, it seems like NBA stars feel like they have to deny wanting prestigious awards.
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Sam Amick dropped a great piece on Giannis Antetokounmpo this week. The Greek Freak is having a phenomenal, historic season. But he's not in the MVP discussion, outside of the race for finishing third on the ballot, because Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are having better seasons in more meaningful ways.
Antetokounmpo has taken the typical stance of shifting from the fact he is not truly in the MVP conversation to focusing on winning. This is what he told Sam:
'Listen, the MVP discussion is great. I've been in the MVP discussion, what, like the last seven years? Yeah, probably the last seven years — top three, top four, top three, top four. It's good. It's a great compliment. But at the end of the day, winning is a different feeling. I was able to live it once (with the 2021 title). Then, I don't know if people feel like it counts or it doesn't count, or whatever it is, but winning is winning, so is the NBA Cup. It was like, wow, this feeling, man, it's like — it's better than intimacy (laughs).'
That quote from Antetokounmpo keeps with two traditions. 1) No player brings up 'intimacy' more than him. Seriously, look it up on your own. 2) Star players deciding the humble or professionally safe thing to do is to say they're focused on team success. Antetokounmpo and other stars do truly care about winning, so I don't want to outright dismiss that. But when it comes to things like DPOY and MVP, here's the deal …
It's a good thing to want those awards. It's fine to aim for them because, when you go for those accolades, it requires a level of play that elevates your team. Simple. It feels almost corny and forced to convey a faux humility about these awards. Antetokounmpo isn't alone in this, and it's driven by PR training in today's sports world.
Some may find Draymond Green's brashness and attitude grating, but his approach to openly wanting DPOY awards is correct to me. We celebrate players wanting to be the best player or defender in the league, but they can't say they want the award for it? How does that make sense? What part of that desire means they aren't focused on winning?
I say, 'Free the ego!' Embrace wanting awards! Publicly state you want to win them! Stars should be more like Hassan Whiteside! You know … within reason.
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How today's prospect score with new metric
The NCAA men's tournament will resume today when the Sweet 16 fires up. We're very excited because we've got some serious NBA prospects to watch the rest of this tournament. That means we need more than just a guide of whom to watch. We need a sophisticated system for measuring out their draft stock in real time. It's why we've been tirelessly creating this new system for tracking the stock.
It's called the Grading Prospect Assessment – or the GPA. It's a grading system measured from zero to four, manufactured by one of the most complicated supercomputers in the universe, and we can update it based on tournament performance from round to round. Let's bust it out and update you on the prospects you'll see tonight. As always, read more in Sam Vecenie's Big Board.
Egor Demin | BYU | G/W | 6-8 | 21st on big board
He wasn't bad in the second game, but he shot really well in the first round. That's what scouts want to see from him. If he had a reliable jumper, he'd easily be a top-eight guy. GPA: 3.7 to 3.0 ↘️
Derik Queen | Maryland | F/C | 6-10 | 8th on big board
Maybe it's just riding the high of the game winner, but I loved seeing him step up to take the game. He needs to be an active bully on the court while flashing those skills. GPA: 3.1 to 3.6 ↗️
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Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida | G | 6-2 | 47th on big board
It would be better if he was 6-foot-4, but he's been really good in the first two games. He scored 23 points in each, provided efficient scoring and hit the big shot to bury UConn. GPA: 2.8 to 2.9 ↪️
Carter Bryant | Arizona | W | 6-8 | 19th on big board
He was solid in the win over Akron, but I was shocked to find out he played 26 minutes in the win over Oregon. I couldn't spot him once. GPA: 2.7 to 1.9 ⤵️
Cooper Flagg | Duke | F | 6-8 | 1st on big board
He's been playing on an injured/sore ankle and has still been as good as advertised. He picked Baylor apart with his passing and made great plays all game. GPA: 3.4 to 4.0 🔝
Khaman Maluach | Duke | C | 7-2 | 12th on big board
He's my second-favorite prospect in the class, and, while his numbers are subtle, I think his impact has been huge. He's a massive human who has loomed large on every possession. GPA: 3.1 to 3.4 ↗️
Kon Knueppel | Duke | W | 6-6 | 6th on big board
He can really shoot the ball, but he's a 6-foot-6 wing who plays like he's 6-foot-2. I think teams are hoping he's Austin Reaves, but I'm not sure he's Luke Kennard. GPA: 2.9 to 2.4 ↩️
Tyrese Proctor | Duke | G | 6-5 | 37th on big board
Nobody was hotter than him in the second round. Don't forget he went 0 of 9 when they were eliminated last year. His shot is smooth, and he'll get lots of chances to continue this. GPA: 3.0 to 3.8 ⬆️
Darrion Williams | Texas Tech | W | 6-6 | 60th on big board
He struggled to score the ball against UNC-Wilmington, which isn't ideal. However, he had a great bounceback game against Drake. If he plays like that and they make a run, that'll be good momentum into pre-draft workouts. GPA: 1.8 to 3.1 ⬆️
This nugget is unbelievable
An incredible SGA stat was thrown out during the Thunder's win over the Kings on Tuesday night. Tyler Parker posted it on Bluesky, and I've looked at it many times over the last day. I know it's a real stat because I've fact-checked it, which seems unnecessary to do. But that's how mind-blowing it is. As many of you know, SGA is leading the league in scoring, both in average (32.8) and total points (2,264). He has a commanding lead in both categories.
But this next statistic about his scoring is unreal. If you only count his scoring through the first three quarters of games, he's still nearly leading the league in total points:
What? This was shown during the third quarter, and it's actually a closer number than the graphic. He's up to 1,909 total points through three quarters, putting him three points behind Anthony Edwards' total. In fact, if you eliminate the fourth-quarter points, his scoring average would be 27.6, which would still rank fourth. Nobody can stop SGA.
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Nuggets 127 (46-28), Bucks 117 (40-32): Jokić is back, and he's still quite good. He had 39-10-10 after missing five straight games. No Antetokounmpo or Damian Lillard for Milwaukee in this one.
Clippers 126 (41-31), Knicks 113 (45-27): James Harden had 29 points as the Clippers moved into the No. 6 seed in the West. The Knicks are 5-5 since Jalen Brunson hurt his ankle.
Lakers 120 (44-28), Pacers 119 (42-30): This was a wild game with a lot of runs. Luka Dončić had 34-7-7, and Tyrese Haliburton had 16 points and 18 assists. But it was LeBron's tip-in at the buzzer that took home the win.
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