Draycon11 | Raptors

1411 | a day ago

”…the ‘84 class when Hakeem and MJ won it in 8 consecutive years”

I forgot how insane this was lol.

Committee2000 | United States

843 | a day ago

Hakeem so great no one gives the Rockets shit for not drafting Jordan

Buf4nk

177 | a day ago

[Sam Bowie has left the chat]

JoshuaCastleBooks

215 | a day ago

If Houston had drafted Jordan #1, Portland would have won at least 6 titles and Chicago would still not have a championship.

JustinTimberlakeFTW | CHI

85 | a day ago

Ty Portland 🙌

andersonb47 | Bucks

53 | a day ago

It’s a genuinely very different timeline. I wonder if Portland as a city would look different today.

Akkepake | Trail Blazers

4 | 7 hours ago

I was just discussing it with my friends how Chigago wouldnt be the same without MJ

CohoDolls | Jazz

33 | a day ago

If Houston had accepted the Drexler & #2 pick for Sampson trade they might’ve outdone the Bill Russell Celtics

inefekt | Australia

15 | 14 hours ago

Yep, with Clyde Drexler secured as a Rocket, along with the first two picks, we would have heard…..
“With the first pick of the 1984 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets select Hakeem Olajuwon.”
“With the second pick of the 1984 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets select Michael Jordan.”
And the NBA would have watched the Rockets perhaps eclipse the Celtics run of championships with that absolutely insane core lol
Don’t forget, MJ & Hakeem were still winning championships on their respective teams 14 years later.

SuperVaderMinion | MIN

28 | 21 hours ago

I’m not overly familiar with the 80s Blazers, who else did they have besides Drexler? Does that team still go to the finals in the 90s but with Hakeem this time?

givemecoffeenowhurry

16 | 18 hours ago

Jerome Kersey, Kiki Vanderweghe, Mychal Thompson, Jim Paxson, that’s a good ass team with Clyde and Hakeem (Akeem at the time).

samurairocketshark | Suns

5 | 18 hours ago

The Lakers definitely wouldn’t have 5 championships either, the 1980’s West would be a bloodbath like the 80’s East was

lurkingtonbear

4 | 21 hours ago

You don’t know me, I’ll find any reason to take a jab at Houston

Boring-Woodpecker-43

2 | 19 hours ago

the fact they got multiple finals mvps in one draft is wild

Omega-Toad-7017 | Bulls

408 | a day ago

The only draft classes with one fmvp that can get a second are 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2016.

The most likely player for each is imo Mike Conley, Harden, Jimmy, Gobert, Embiid, and Sabonis.

So probably none of those are ever happening

Aidanj927 | Spurs

324 | a day ago

You don’t see the Mike Conley vision?

Omega-Toad-7017 | Bulls

137 | a day ago

I don’t really think that his supporting cast is good enough, so unless he changes teams, he probably doesn’t get one

Resident_Chip_5598 | NBA

50 | a day ago

conley can’t win with those cats

samurairocketshark | Suns

2 | 18 hours ago

Wolves. KAT plays for the Knicks

AfrikanCorpse | Canada

6 | 20 hours ago

Really gotta build a core around Conley smh my head

samurairocketshark | Suns

16 | 18 hours ago

For 2016, I could see a world where Indiana wins it and Pascal Siakam is Finals MVP

faithfuljohn | Raptors

2 | 15 hours ago

so Embiid is the only one of these can legit be the #1 on a winning team. He has a shot (a small one, sure, but a shot)

DragoniteGang | Timberwolves

2 | 7 hours ago

Siakam has a shot. If Pacers won last year, he gets it instead of Hali.

LordHussyPants | Celtics

1 | 4 hours ago

2017 has none but could still happen - tatum and OG could feasibly take FMVP honours if either of them get to the finals again

g-4-ces | NBA

270 | a day ago

NBA gms really do fall in love with big men every year. Ayton and Bagley at top of 2018 draft even with Steph and Klay in the middle of their run as a guide post to nba success

olivi4rodrigo

173 | a day ago

Ayton had the physical and athletic profile to justify being the #1 pick, even now. The problem is nobody knew his maturity/motor issues were anywhere near this bad. Bagley was definitely a bad pick though.

fatkamp | Warriors

75 | a day ago

Have to disagree. Luke was dominating the second best basketball league with pace and poise.

A lot of analysts were saying Luka should have easily went 1, including those on the Lowe post podcast in 2018 when I was listening

Ayton was perfect profile, but didn’t dominate the college level on the same level as Oden, Okafor, Boozer etc. The concerns were already there

HeGotTheShotOff | Knicks

45 | a day ago

Ayton was absolutely dominating college. This is coming from a Luka truther.

Theelementofsurprise | Suns

16 | a day ago

UofA got bounced in the first round as a 4 seed with Ayton

HeGotTheShotOff | Knicks

35 | a day ago

They were only 4 seed because of him. Lots of shit happens in the tourney, that’s why it’s fun.

Listen I’m not arguing Ayton should have gone first, but he was absolutely a dominant college player and arguing different is crazy.

Asking77 | Knicks

1 | 17 hours ago

Can’t say I watched a lot of him in college but I remember Chris Vernon yelling at KOC that Ayton clearly didn’t give a shit. So some people saw it in him coming out

ariasimmortal | Jazz

-9 | a day ago

Watched him live and he wasn’t dominant.

samurairocketshark | Suns

1 | 18 hours ago

It’s a best of 1 tournament

[deleted]

2 | a day ago

[deleted]

HeGotTheShotOff | Knicks

7 | a day ago

Did I argue he should have been be taken over Luka?

Drewby99 | Lakers

5 | a day ago

that has nothing to do with what he said

Alternative-Farmer98

1 | 13 hours ago

Maybe some seasons but not that year

afterworld2772 | 76ers

90 | a day ago

The Warriors fell for it themselves too drafting Wiseman when they could’ve had Ball or Haliburton who they were interested in

schooli00 | TOR

52 | a day ago

Prett crazy how FOs are still trying to draft for fit in the lottery instead of best player available

Ruma-park

32 | a day ago

I mean, drafting for fit makes sense to some degree, if you can’t trade your lottery pick for other assets at the time.

If you have Steph Curry, you don’t need another #1 Point Guard / Shooting Guard.

sentientbasketball11 | Knicks

7 | 20 hours ago

Could move Curry to the 2… if he’s cool with it I guess. Curry would open up mad driving room for Haliburton

PrimeShaq | Australia

3 | 18 hours ago

That’ll be such a weak defensive backcourt though, Draymond would have his work cut out for him.

TylerDurdensAlterEgo

11 | a day ago

That draft was loaded with 3 and D guys. Light-years Warriors decided to go back to the Stone Age right there. The only saving grace is that I heard nobody wanted to trade up for that pick.

Banneduser1112 | West

6 | 17 hours ago

Kerr wanted Hali, owner wanted Wiseman.

olivi4rodrigo

9 | 19 hours ago

Everyone in 2020 kinda gets a pass imo. The pandemic really screwed up scouting for that draft. I think if that draft happened without the pandemic, a lot of guys don’t fall as far like Haliburton/Maxey/Bane.

The_Infinite_Cool | Knicks

14 | a day ago

can’t teach height

illforgetsoonenough | Bucks

11 | a day ago

or the drive to be the best

iiShield21 | Raptors

2 | 19 hours ago

I think it’s not even just about drive, but like the sample of competition you got to make it out over to look the best. If you have a class of 100 students take a test and then compare the top 5 to a class of 10k, the odds aren’t looking great for them.

Obviously bigs are limited and good ones even more so, lots of teams will take a chance because of this, but I do think they are simply more likely to be a fraud of a top pick.

samhit_n | Lakers

9 | a day ago

I think it’s because big men prospects look much rawer during pre-draft workouts. Teams often get greedy and draft based on potential rather than proven skill.

In Luka’s case, I think the Suns and Kings were skeptical about whether a EuroLeague player could make a seamless transition to the NBA. Portland took Oden over KD in 2007 because they were concerned KD’s frame and skillset wouldn’t translate to the NBA.

Alternative-Farmer98

1 | 13 hours ago

Right I mean I think anyone over the age of like 35 or 40 probably remembers when getting a big guy was the only thing that mattered like during shaqs prime. That’s why people like Michael olawakandi and kwame Brown were drafted so high .Shawn Bradley

nj_legion_ice_tea | Slovenia

0 | a day ago

Wiseman..

TheZacef | Timberwolves

110 | a day ago

Ant and Hali next please

BrightGreenLED | 76ers

15 | a day ago

Maxey too

SaulPepper | Hornets

10 | 21 hours ago

Kinda sad that Luka went to the Finals before all of them and theres a realistic chance he might not come back again. Roster construction is his #1 enemy as of right now

meowcat93 | Pacers

1 | 20 hours ago

Wolves and pacers finals next year 🙏🙏🙏

dragoniteftw33 | Wizards

113 | a day ago

Wizards got Troy Brown that year. I’m sick man

elbosston | Celtics

37 | a day ago

Troy Brown won 3 Super Bowls with the Patriots

Sijols | Knicks

38 | a day ago

Knicks took kevin knox

Mental_Bicep | Knicks

8 | 20 hours ago

I saw the PG comps and was okay with that pick. Until, that is, I saw MPJ was still available.

droppedout4rp | Knicks

8 | 20 hours ago

I didn’t want MPJ at the time because of the back issues, if we drafted him he would’ve broken down on us

Mental_Bicep | Knicks

5 | 20 hours ago

I was thinking, just let him heal up for 2 years, we’re not going anywhere. He was a #1 talent. Hindsight says he’s a good role player, but at the time…

BosnianBeastMVP | Nuggets

1 | 15 hours ago

And have more rings than the Mavs since 2018… so weird how that works.

rayrayiscray | Bucks

63 | a day ago

I’m assuming this topic has probably been brought up in a post, but I remember after 2023 all of the discussion about Joker being a second round pick and that he’s obviously the best second rounder of all time.

Definitely feels under-mentioned the fact that Brunson was himself a second round pick and is hands down the second greatest of them ever.

Also pretty wild that of all FMVP’S this decade ⁴⁄₇ of them were picked outside the top 10 with two of those 4 being second rounders.

mylanguage | Knicks

30 | 21 hours ago

I know Brunson has been getting a ton of praise but his story is really improbable. Most small guards that are good are basically top top talents. To be a small guard drafted in the 2nd round to finals MVP is such a huge leap.

Then you add him being a college grad and to the nba all after 3 after years. It’s really rare.

dbzmah | Mavericks

8 | 19 hours ago

He should have never fallen below 20, and Dallas knew it, even giving him a first round type deal, with one missing caveat. 1st round bird rights

Geroniimo

3 | 17 hours ago

Shoutout fvv too. 5’11 undrafted guard to all star

jerryterhorst

4 | 21 hours ago

Manu Ginóbili?

elev57 | Knicks

3 | 19 hours ago

Brunson has better stats and more all NBAs than Ginobili, not even to mention that Brunson is the bonafide number one on his team, while Manu was, at best, the third option on those Spurs teams. Longevity goes to Manu at the moment, but Brunson’s peak is clearly higher and, if he’s able to sustain for a normal career length, there will be no metric by which Ginobili has an argument over him.

jerryterhorst

6 | 18 hours ago

If Brunson only wins one chip, I don’t think people will rank him over Ginobili. Yes, he played a smaller role, but the general consensus is that Ginobili was a starter playing bench minutes and sacrificing a bigger role for team success. I doubt Brunson would have started over Tony Parker. Brunson could retire now and go down as one of the greatest 2nd round picks of all time, but I don’t think he jumps Ginobili unless he has continued success for longer.

bostonbro5 | Nets

3 | 15 hours ago

Ginobili had the highest impact +/- rating on the spurs in his peak iirc but its a bit disingenuous because he was coming off the bench cooking the opponents second units. I’m a big time Ginobili truther but its hard to argue double the playoff PPG and the fact that brunson is an engine whereas ginobili might have been the most impactful off ball bench player of all time.

YUME_Emuy21

1 | 18 hours ago

I mean Ginobili’s team was stacked Brunson would also have been at best a third option on those Spurs teams. A player having better stats because they’re playing a bigger role on a worse team is common. Ginobili could’ve been a good first option on a majority of the teams in the league in his time.
Ginobili was a key piece on a team that won 4 championships, I think Brunson definitely could have a better career and probably will, but I think it’s recency bias to act like he clearly will or already does.

DragoniteGang | Timberwolves

1 | 7 hours ago

Ginobili’s advanced stats are historic. I remember there is a stat that the Spurs were actually losing their minutes with Duncan on and Ginobili off from 2005 to 2007 in the playoffs. But when Ginobili is on and Duncan is out, they were demolishing teams at a historic rate.

kzo_shadow | Warriors

3 | 8 hours ago

This comment led me to this oldish post about the best second round pick for every Draft and while it’s fairly accurate, you will not believe who they put down over Jalen Brunson.

TLDR; It rhymes with Ritchell Mobinson.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/deNU3ByRqa

neonbresson | West

2 | 14 hours ago

is he hands down the 2nd second best? Draymond and Manu have to be part of the conversation right?

inefekt | Australia

1 | 14 hours ago

Outside of LeBron James, the last #1 pick to win a Finals MVP was Tim Duncan in 2005.

HelpOpening4996

62 | a day ago

With more parity this is going to be happening more often

Flashy_Leave7069 | Spurs

41 | a day ago

Not necessarily but let’s see

Ophelia_Of_The_Abyss | Knicks

24 | a day ago

You never know. The 70s was also a “parity era” and only the 1969 draft ended up on that list.

RainbowKarp

6 | a day ago

Why? Just because there will be more unique winners?

DSHUDSHU | Hawks

29 | a day ago

Yes

rawspeghetti | Celtics

-15 | a day ago

Maybe you didn’t see the part where OP pointed out Jordan and Hakeem accounted for 8 straight

If anything parity makes this less likely

Haunting_Test_5523

25 | a day ago

2 people winning 8 FMVPs straight means there were fewer players getting finals MVPs. More players winning FMVPs = higher likelihood for something like this to happen

richardsharpe | Bullets

6 | a day ago

You’re completely misinterpreting that. Let’s say the spurs win the next 10 finals (complete lack of parity). Obviously Wemby will win the lion’s share, if not all finals MVP’s. So of course then no one else from his draft class can win one. But if we have 10 more unique teams winning, it means most likely 10 new Finals MVPs, since FMVP level players rarely change teams In their prime

Dymatizeee | Knicks

29 | a day ago

2018 is stacked

Luka, Sga, Brunson

And I didn’t realize how much folks in there contributed to our title : bridges, shamet, Mitch rob

brnccnt7

14 | 21 hours ago

Don’t forget the #1 pick

DominAyton

Dymatizeee | Knicks

6 | 21 hours ago

Yeah there’s a bunch of good role players there including dominayton

inefekt | Australia

1 | 14 hours ago

probably go on to become the first with three Finals MVPs….you wouldn’t want to bet against it

GioVasari121 | Warriors

25 | a day ago

It’s Kareem Abdul Jabbar u bum.

CeeDoggyy [OP]

2 | a day ago

It was Lew Alcindor when he was drafted u bum

Dyyylan

4 | 19 hours ago

You wouldn’t say that to Kareem’s face. And no way you’d dead name muhammad ali

CeeDoggyy [OP]

1 | 16 hours ago

Idk why you’re making a big deal of this

This is a post about draft classes, that was his name when he was drafted

neonbresson | West

1 | 14 hours ago

why are you doubling down? You are essentially dead naming him.

Dyyylan

1 | 19 hours ago

[ Removed by Reddit ]

MrPapaya22 | Celtics

21 | a day ago

This also makes Brunson and SGA the 2nd draft class to produce finals MVPs that won it in back to back years

Isn’t 2018 the third draft class to have 2 back-to-back finals mvps? OP mentioned MJ and Hakeem (1984) but Chauncey Billups and Tim Duncan (1997) also did it in the 2004 and 2005 finals respectively.

bjihguimmll

12 | a day ago

2018 so deep

IntelligentAd5460 | Grizzlies

8 | a day ago

not that is the same but everytime someone starts talking about boozers athleticism in this draft i get flash backs to how people talked about luka pre draft

krustomer | Knicks

6 | a day ago

who’s the lowest draft pick to win FMVP?

CeeDoggyy [OP]

30 | a day ago

Jokic I think

krustomer | Knicks

8 | a day ago

ooh yeah he was 41 vs brunsons 33

DragoniteGang | Timberwolves

1 | 7 hours ago

Should have been Manu in 05 at 57th.

dhslax88 | Suns

4 | 19 hours ago

Crazy that no draft class has ever produced 3 FMVP’s.

inefekt | Australia

-1 | 14 hours ago

Luka is in the same class as these two guys….so pretty high probability of that happening once the Lakers get rid of that ball and chain around their ankles in the form of Lebron James’ massive contract.

Alternative-Farmer98

2 | 13 hours ago

I mean they’re pretty huge assumption. He’s still in a league of competing against wemby and SGA.

inkyblinkypinkysue | Knicks

2 | a day ago

Dwyane Wade retired before Covid and Lebron is still effing the league. Unbelievable.

TylerDurdensAlterEgo

2 | a day ago

The second round of that draft may be one of the best second rounds of all time. Lots of good rotation players there:

https://tankathon.com/past-drafts/2018

Lakers_23_77 | Lakers

1 | a day ago

Already spoken into existence. Luka FMVP incoming with the Lakers.

Alternative-Farmer98

1 | 13 hours ago

I don’t know when they’re going to have the firepower to compete with the Spurs or OKC. No time soon.

DiamondsInHerButt | West

1 | 21 hours ago

Pretty good chance it’ll be three when all is said in done.

Skxawng_3600

1 | 16 hours ago

The 2018 draft is also the first draft class we’ve had with multiple Finals MVP’s drafted outside of the top ten.

Super-Coyote

1 | 13 hours ago

And if the lakers get some reinforcements this year DeAndre Ayton could become the 3rd from that draft class

armandocalvinisius | Mavericks

1 | 7 hours ago

Marvin Bagley next

PoonaniEnthusiast

-1 | 16 hours ago

Luka is not winning a ring ever unfortunately

InnerKookaburra

0 | 6 hours ago

Fortunately

Soemnn | BKN

-3 | 18 hours ago

KD the GOAT won 2 in a row over bum Curry. Should add him to the list under 2007 draft class. GOAT!

rumblegod | Thunder

-17 | a day ago

Luka will never win a ring

PepsiCo_USA | Knicks

4 | a day ago

Never say never.

The 2018 draft is the 6th draft class in history to produce multiple Finals MVPs