GrenScrin

83 | 5 hours ago

The Forward spot was crazy in the 2000s: Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki all in their prime.

If All-NBA teams were positionless like it is today, in 2007, LeBron (5th in MVP voting) would probably have made 1st team over Amare (only 14th in MVP voting but voted in as 1st-team center).

Variation99a

27 | 5 hours ago

Interesting they didn’t even have lineup flexibility to allow Duncan to be listed as both a PF/C when Amare was a center on the teams.

EnriquezGuerrilla | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

Grew up watching them forwards. Fucking miss those days.

legend023 | Pelicans

68 | 6 hours ago

None of them really won anything their first 7 seasons either

Karstaagly | Grizzlies

88 | 5 hours ago

I really dislike the kind of NBA discourse that describes multiple deep playoff runs and historic regular season success as “not really winning anything.”

OwnYourChildren

8 | 5 hours ago

Yeah, I’ve become much more sensitive to that argument.

HereIGoAgain_1x10 | Cavaliers

1 | 5 hours ago

When talking about stats that include Jordan and LeBron you can’t really throw in accolades that include dozens of other players…. Every team that makes a deep playoff run has 10-15 players on it and there’s 4 or 8 teams per year that do it depending on what you consider a deep playoff run.

Karstaagly | Grizzlies

10 | 5 hours ago

There’s a pretty significant difference between leading a team on a drop playoff run and simply being on a team that makes a deep playoff run.

golden_glorious_ass

5 | 3 hours ago

For example.

Magic was drafted by the lakers. They had kareem and a pretty solid team. Them winning a championship was expected. I’m not saying Magic was bad, but he was drafted by a top tier organization

MJ, Lebron, Steph… They were drafted by bullshit teams and were not even in the minds of people. Their team was shit when they were drafted and they have a lot of work to do to make their teams relevant.

worldisamirror

30 | 6 hours ago

I’ve heard it takes 10,000 hours to get good.

ericaepic | Pistons

5 | 5 hours ago

Even longer to get gud

donniedarko4141 | Knicks

20 | 6 hours ago

Jordan got his first chip year 7 and had two MVPs. Bron also had two MVPs by year 7

Showmu88 | Hawks

14 | 6 hours ago

Jordan had two titles 8 years in.

Old_Supermarket_7575 | Thunder

-8 | 6 hours ago

Lakers don’t have a chance this year or as long as Reaves and Luka are together on the books tbh

legend023 | Pelicans

12 | 6 hours ago

Luka and Reaves were really good last year as a duo together when they played.

The question is the defense with the rest of the roster but I think people are strongly underestimating Kessler because of Utah’s shenanigans.

SimilarOnion1655 | Lakers

5 | 6 hours ago

Crazier things have happened and we have a good team

ManonFire1224

6 | 5 hours ago

Let’s wait and see. We have no starting caliber wing/PF and we don’t have a playable backup center.

OrganicHunt952 [OP]

4 | 6 hours ago

I’ve watched Luka since he came into the league nearly every game and with a lot of rosters. I haven’t been confident in any roster as I am with this one. This roster is actually a really good fit for Luka. It doesn’t have glitzy names but it’s the best built roster luka has ever had.

ManonFire1224

7 | 5 hours ago

Mind you, he went to the finals in Dallas…..

Huckleberry_Sin

1 | 5 hours ago

Yeah he’s had his struggles with health but the dude has never lacked for skill and heart

ManonFire1224

2 | 5 hours ago

My point is calling a roster that hasn’t even played one game and is highly questionable better than a roster that made it to the finals is crazy

xBootstrap | Lakers

4 | 5 hours ago

Hard disagree. Dallas Finals team were a lot better and deeper. They then improved the roster after but we didn’t even have the chance to see it compete. Grimes was a bench piece in that team wherein he’s going to be the starter for this Lakers team.

Luka_Flopic77 | Spurs

1 | an hour ago

You’re setting yourself up for disappointment

Limp_Screen7405

-1 | 6 hours ago

They have 1 guy who can move his feet (Thybulle) and 1 guy who can protect the rim (Kessler). Everyone else is a bunch of cones lmao that team reeks but whatever, let everyone gas em up just to say 77 has no help at the end of the year again

OrganicHunt952 [OP]

1 | 5 hours ago

Grimes, Ziaire, Kessler, Thybulle, Laravia, Carr, Kaluma, thiero, manon. Mamu isn’t a cone he’s like average so is Luka. Still have vando who’s a positive too.

Limp_Screen7405

2 | 5 hours ago

Christ almighty, the Spurs got Wemby/Castle while the Thunder have JDub/Chet and you’re over here talkin bout some damn Ziaire Williams (bust), Kaluma (0 gp), Manon (9 gp), Carr, Thiero (6mpg), and Vando (130 gp since 2024).

Goodbye

ruggnuget | Nuggets

1 | 4 hours ago

Thats going to win a lot of regular season games if semi healthy.

Killericon | Raptors

41 | 6 hours ago

I mean, MJ had an MVP and a DPOTY in that timespan as well, but you are correct.

donniedarko4141 | Knicks

33 | 6 hours ago

Three MVPs, actually

Killericon | Raptors

13 | 5 hours ago

Well yes, and all the All Defensive Teams.

[deleted]

1 | 5 hours ago

[deleted]

Killericon | Raptors

5 | 5 hours ago

I didn’t mention steals - Are you trying to say Doncic is on MJ’s level as a defender?

sctthuynh | GSW

19 | 5 hours ago

All three had incredible first 6-7 seasons, but Lebron had the toughest competition for the award out of the three.

He was competing with prime KG, Duncan and Dirk for those TWO first All-NBA spots.

That’s 3 of the top 15ish best players ever.

Luka’s 5x straight all-nba 1st selection is incredible but he was also catching the tail end of the Steph, CP3 and Harden’s prime.

Alex_O7

2 | 5 hours ago

Kind of disagree, because if you counter from 2006 on the likes of Duncan and KG were actually on the tail end of their prime as much, if not even more, than the likes of Steph and Harden from 2020. Moreover, the guard spot in the past 6-7 years has been way more deep than the forward spot in late 2000s, when Lebron was competing against declining Duncan, KG and Dirk (his decline arrived little later).

Then it must be considered Lebron played in much easier conference that helped his case because the Cavs won more and were higher in the standings compared to some of the western conference peers.

On the other side Luka played the tougher conference, faced the tail end of Steph, Harden, CP3 and Dame primes (already 1 more player than Lebron) plus the emerging of the likes of SGA, Booker and Mitchell. Guard spot has always been full of talent.

kobmug_v2 | NBA

1 | 3 minutes ago

All NBA has been positionless for most of Luka’s career.

No-Afternoon-3986

0 | 5 hours ago

MJ was competing with larry bird and magic johnson…

sctthuynh | GSW

15 | 5 hours ago

Larry Bird was a F. Jordan was a Guard. All NBA spots were designated by positions.

No-Afternoon-3986

-3 | 5 hours ago

fair, was thinking MVP. but for guards its magic, stockton and isiah thomas

WildWhisperArdor | Lakers

8 | 5 hours ago

Stockton and Isiah are not on the same level as KG, Duncan or Dirk

No-Afternoon-3986

1 | 5 hours ago

but magic is top 5 all time. if i just go off espn rankings:

magic (#4), stockton (#24), Isiah (#27)

TD (#8), Dirk (#17), KG (#21)

WildWhisperArdor | Lakers

7 | 5 hours ago

Yeah and there’s two All NBA 1st team slots. Magic takes one but the other was open.

Meanwhile KG, Dirk and Duncan were all regularly competing for MVP during the 2000’s.

Then you also had Carmelo, McGrady and Durant (starting in 2009).

No-Afternoon-3986

-1 | 5 hours ago

i can name accolades for the two others too. stockton is #1 in assists of all time. neither dirk or KG is on any all time list that i’m aware of. isiah has as many rings as dirk and kg combined

WildWhisperArdor | Lakers

1 | 4 hours ago

Stockton and Isiah were never competing for MVP. They were great #2 options, but they were never the Steph Curry of their team. They were more like the Klay.

No-Afternoon-3986

6 | 4 hours ago

isiah was the #1 on his team…

GreedyPride4565

3 | 4 hours ago

Lmfao what. Who was the Steph curry of the 1980s Detroit pistons, enlighten me.

Commercial_Show_6997

-3 | 5 hours ago

This. Context matters

1twhe

6 | 5 hours ago

Luka was also going to be the youngest ever All-NBA 1st Team selection in 2020 if not for the pandemic (so that the selections were officially announced only in September instead of May as usual). So, he got it at about 21y 7m (instead of about 21y 3m if there hadn’t been a pandemic).

LeBron remains the youngest All-NBA 1st Team selection (at about 21y 5m in 2006).

OwnYourChildren

-2 | 5 hours ago

Luka is amazing, but I also think he peaked as a player among the earliest in league history. Maybe he has new levels he can get to in his game, but someone like wemby I think has way more headroom.

1twhe

7 | 5 hours ago

I think you meant “plateaued” instead of “peaked”. “Peaked” suggests he’s gotten worse since.

A player who “peaked” early was Derrick Rose (MVP 3rd year then injuries thereafter).

WildWhisperArdor | Lakers

6 | 5 hours ago

How has he “peaked”? He’s still averaging like 30/10/10

Sairony | Mavericks

2 | 41 minutes ago

He’s actually far from peaked, there’s a lot of really low hanging fruit for him and has always been. He’s never gotten close to peak physical shape, but perhaps the largest problem with his game is mental. He does have killer instinct and does rise to the occasion, but more often than not he beats himself by shifting focus to refs instead of getting in the game. I say that while still having him as my favorite player, he truly could take a giant step forward if he ever locked in on those issues. Maybe the conditioning will get there, but the ref focus probably never will. Sometimes I wonder what he’d be like if he had pop as a coach for a couple of years there in the start.

OwnYourChildren

1 | 22 minutes ago

Yeah, I should’ve said plateaued like the other poster mentioned. I would love for you to be right that he has a few more levels he can get to. I have a hard time visualizing what it would look like, but you’re right that it’s about focus.

People took it as a kind of insult, but I meant it more as a compliment.

FizzyLightEx

4 | 6 hours ago

Does it make it easier since it’s position less or has he been the best point guard in the West

OrganicHunt952 [OP]

19 | 5 hours ago

It turned positionless in 23-24 he already had 4 first teams by then.

preddevils6 | Grizzlies

2 | an hour ago

Yes, but he was eligible for two positions, so folks could vote him as a guard or forward.

xBootstrap | Lakers

6 | 5 hours ago

It’s no question. He’s been like a top 5 player since like his 2nd or 3rd year. He had like one of the biggest 2nd year leap among superstars.

crustydemonburgers | Thunder

6 | 6 hours ago

Yeah Luka is pretty good at basketball. I mean I shit on him cause he’s not on my team but if you swapped him and Shai I would be arguing he is best in the world (He’s not, Shai is)

skunkbot | Cavaliers

2 | 5 hours ago

Yeah he’s pretty solid player.

HiImWallaceShawn | Timberwolves

1 | 5 hours ago

In their first 8 seasons LeBron did make more total all NBA teams than Luka though, 7 compared to 6

Additional_Gene3694

2 | 5 hours ago

Insane résumé for 8 years in. If he stacks even two rings on top of this, discourse gets nasty.

Kapedcrusader69

1 | 5 hours ago

Didn’t KD do this too?

Variation99a

1 | 2 hours ago

It looks like he made first team 5 times from 2010-2014 so that’s 5 in his first 7 years. Not sure if my math is correct someone should check that.

CaptainCerealCanada | Nuggets

1 | 3 hours ago

He did not deserve first team in 2020 or 2023

HikmetLeGuin

1 | 3 hours ago

Who would you have put over him?

CaptainCerealCanada | Nuggets

1 | 3 hours ago

Dame both years, though they somehow stuck him on third team in 2023. I would have taken Steph over Luka that year as well.

Whatever801 | Jazz

1 | 3 hours ago

Well that settles it

rocket_beer | Celtics

1 | 2 hours ago

Yeah but Luka’s been playing professional basketball since he was a teenager, long before he ever played in the NBA.

I feel kinda bad for him

arrrghzi

1 | an hour ago

“6 All Media Awards” -Chinese fans, allegedly

nowhathappenedwas | NBA

-1 | 5 hours ago

Huge testament to how highly media voters value points, rebounds, and assists.

It’s enough to get him on first team All NBA, but he’s not a real MVP candidate because he’s competing with other P/R/A gods with better efficiency and usually better teams.

Limp_Screen7405

-3 | 6 hours ago

Didn’t meet the games played threshold this year and they still granted him an exception whew we’ve never seen a golden boy like this

OrganicHunt952 [OP]

10 | 6 hours ago

By one game, Wemby and Cade were also granted an exception for one game.

Limp_Screen7405

4 | 6 hours ago

Wemby played the cup final game, that counts toward the games played threshold (64 + cup game = 65 gp)

Luka didn’t play enough games because he got 16 techs, causing an automatic suspension. Let that be anyone else…

OrganicHunt952 [OP]

10 | 6 hours ago

He missed games because his kid was born . Thats why the exception was granted and that is allowed by the rules.

Limp_Screen7405

-8 | 6 hours ago

No, he would’ve met the 65 game threshold if he weren’t a blubbering manchild who racked up 16 techs. He could’ve made 65 games in spite of missing time for his child’s birth if he didn’t get 16 techs.

But since it’s Luka, he’s just a passionate player instead of a crybaby

OrganicHunt952 [OP]

9 | 5 hours ago

You’re throwing a tantrum lol. He like others got a one game exception for a valid reason listed in the rules. Whatever other narrative you want to paint doesn’t matter.

Limp_Screen7405

-5 | 5 hours ago

Typed that with the straightest face actually

irundoonayee

-6 | 6 hours ago

He deserves it though. Plus it helps to be a white knight for a lot of the voting NBA media.

emcdeezy22 | Lakers

2 | 5 hours ago

Yeah, white people have historically been seen as better basketball players. Sure.

Smooth_Imagination71

1 | 4 hours ago

Luka got new stat created just for the media to shit on him more ,when he dropped 73 points nobody celebrated it the media used it to shit on modern NBA defense,when he dropped the most efficient ⁶⁰⁄₂₀ he went down in MVP voting,he had a smear campaign ran on him started by the Mavericks of not being a “winning” player, but sure bro the media loves him

DontBeBias4Emotions

-6 | 5 hours ago

and Jaylen Brown treated Luka like a bum in his 1 finals appearance. Luka’s finals defense is still saddest shit I’ve seen Effort wise in a championship series in any sport.

ThrowRa-zucchinizzc

-13 | 6 hours ago

Luka sucks, no defense, does nothing outside score. Great for tiktok era with his offensive highlight reel

MaskedBirder | 76ers

9 | 6 hours ago

Lol

HoldEm__FoldEm

9 | 6 hours ago

Awful take

MegaAltarianite

1 | 2 hours ago

I know this is dumbshit, clickbait, brainless garbage, but I thought it worth looking up that he has over 8 assists and 8 rebounds a game for his CAREER. ²⁹⁄₈.⁵⁄₈.2

Luka has 6 All-NBA First Team selections in his first 8 seasons — same as Michael Jordan and more than LeBron James (5).