Rookie Rankings

I don't like Brandon Jennings. The guy is very big-headed and quite frankly, isn't good enough to be.
 
I don't dislike Tyreke and that was a joke. It'd be beautiful to see "competing" Omri and Tyreke for #1, anyway.

I won't talk for other europeans here, but although I like NBA a lot, I don't buy the NBA starsystem and my devotion to the franchise player isn't almost religious as many fans. I'll never understand it at Tyreke's team, I'll understand it as the Kings. In FIBA basketball there are no starsystem and I personally don't like it very much in the NBA. I like it more seing Brockman giving it all than seeing Kobe making 30 points by throwing every ball in every possesion.

I really like Tyreke Evans and it's one of the reasons I follow the Kings, appart from Sergio and Omri and since the Bulls match, the Brockman Monster. He is the best player in this team and I hope he can turn into a perenial all-star, it seems very possible right now. I really love Sergio ended up here because I'll see Evans become something great since the begining. But if Kings are wining is also of Westphall, Thompson, Beno, Omri, Greene...Even Noc and Sergio who are being more irregular had at least one night leading the team to the victory.
 
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est.1999 said:
Btw, what's up with so many of the kings foreigner fans having a dislike for tyreke?
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I personally like Tyreke, although probably not as googly-eyed about him as some people on here. I think there is just a difference in basketball mentality between Europeans and Americans. European basketball is much more team-oriented than American basketball. No European team with Euroleague championship aspirations will allow itself to have just one go-to-guy. In fact, being a Maccabi fan, I still have goosebumps watching youtube clips from the 2003-04 season, where we won countless games with buzzer beaters, and it was always a different guy making those shots, and always in a different way. The most amazing of those buzzer beaters, known to European fans as the "Zalgiris Miracle", was hit by a reserve role-player named Derrick Sharp, who is arguably Maccabi's most valuable player of all time despite him coming off the bench his entire career, being responsible for numerous titles that Maccabi has won in his 13 years of playing for the team.

Anyway, I won't go on about Maccabi, but the point is that there is no tolerance in Europe for Superstar mentality while here it's all about the superstar. I think the break was in the early nineties, when Michael Jordan was the new face of the NBA, while European basketball was influenced by then-Yugoslavian tradition of uber-sophisticated team play.

Of course, even in European basketball not all players are equal, but even the top players are not considered "franchise players". They are what they are - top players who make a great contribution to their team - not superstars surrounded by players who are supposed to "help" them.

Don't get me wrong, although I personally clearly prefer the team-play philosophy, I'm not saying it's better. If a superstar can win you championships and you are happy with it, then all is great. This is just my personal preference, which I'm sure a lot of the Europeans share, and that's why I am enjoying the Kings so much, because they are not playing the stereotypical NBA "give the ball to the superstar and move out of the way" game for the most part. They are playing really energetic and fun-to-watch team basketball. At this point Tyreke is the only guy who gets the ball in clutch plays, but I'm hoping that as PW continues to develop this team, we will have more options for these moments as well.
 
I'm glad to have non-Americans posting here. Its always interesting to get differing viewpoints.

Pretty much any champion in the NBA has at least one and usually at least two "stars." That doesn't diminish the value of their teammates at all, and I think most stars know that. If they really want to win, they need their teammates.

I too, dislike the slathering media attention given to the "stars,"which is pretty much the way the NBA markets it's league. And more emphasis is given to "stars" in the bigger media markets, too. I also dislike the over-emphasis on dunks in game "highlights." Were not likely to see that change, I'm afraid.
 
Well, Asaf explained it much better.

Tetsujin said:
Fans of players rather than teams
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This is funny, because although it's true that many europeans are following the Kings because we have guys from our countries in the roster, we appear as Tyreke-haters because we as europeans don't buy the franchise player adoration.

Clash of Basketball Cultures, LOL.
 
kennadog said:
I'm glad to have non-Americans posting here. Its always interesting to get differing viewpoints.

Pretty much any champion in the NBA has at least one and usually at least two "stars." That doesn't diminish the value of their teammates at all, and I think most stars know that. If they really want to win, they need their teammates.

I too, dislike the slathering media attention given to the "stars,"which is pretty much the way the NBA markets it's league. And more emphasis is given to "stars" in the bigger media markets, too. I also dislike the over-emphasis on dunks in game "highlights." Were not likely to see that change, I'm afraid.
Click to expand...

Speaking of which, you should check out last night's highlights on nba.com. Ginobilli's two SICK passes were supposed to be #1 and 2. Lebron's dunk was impressive, but those passes were out of this world.

By the way, Manu was just one rebound shy of achieving a triple double off the bench, in only 27 minutes of playing time, and when the coach asked him if he wants back in to get that one rebound, his response was that it wasn't important. THAT's the type of team player that I admire.
 
drboiffard said:
Well, Asaf explained it much better.



This is funny, because although it's true that many europeans are following the Kings because we have guys from our countries in the roster, we appear as Tyreke-haters because we as europeans don't buy the franchise player adoration.

Clash of Basketball Cultures, LOL.
Click to expand...
I love having Reke on our roster, because of what I think he can become for the Kings. But if he were to leave, I wouldn't be the fan of a team he went to instead of the Kings. I've always been about the name on the front of the shirt, not the name on the back. And I expect any player in Sacramento to feel the same way as long as they are here.
 
drboiffard said:
Well, Asaf explained it much better.



This is funny, because although it's true that many europeans are following the Kings because we have guys from our countries in the roster, we appear as Tyreke-haters because we as europeans don't buy the franchise player adoration.

Clash of Basketball Cultures, LOL.
Click to expand...

I do admit I came here for Casspi, but when it's game time it's all about the Kings. I was happy that Casspi was sitting during the big comeback against the Bulls because he was just having a horrible game and wouldn't have been able to help the team come back, which is what he's here to do. I am definitely thrilled, though, about his amazing success so far :)
 
kennadog said:
I'm glad to have non-Americans posting here. Its always interesting to get differing viewpoints.

Pretty much any champion in the NBA has at least one and usually at least two "stars." That doesn't diminish the value of their teammates at all, and I think most stars know that. If they really want to win, they need their teammates.

I too, dislike the slathering media attention given to the "stars,"which is pretty much the way the NBA markets it's league. And more emphasis is given to "stars" in the bigger media markets, too. I also dislike the over-emphasis on dunks in game "highlights." Were not likely to see that change, I'm afraid.
Click to expand...
I'm with you on each of your views. Dunking is an optional means of scoring but I get no special kick other than the two points scored. But you are right, the League and the media seem to eat it up.
 
I love having Reke on our roster, because of what I think he can become for the Kings. But if he were to leave, I wouldn't be the fan of a team he went to instead of the Kings. I've always been about the name on the front of the shirt, not the name on the back. And I expect any player in Sacramento to feel the same way as long as they are here.
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I'm not pointing you, anybody in fact. It's simply that the starsystem mentality is there, more or less, and we don't have it at all.

For example the clutch-shot debate in the Lakers thread. I think that is so obvious that there is more posibility to make a clutch shot if you're a simple open guy than being any overdefended superstar that I found completely martian that kind of debate (Kobe being "clutchy", leting Tyreke throw the last throw and fail to "learn" and become "clutchy"). I didn't get it then and I still don't get it, specially after wining Denver without the kid and yesterday seeing my team wining Real Madrid with a 3-pointer from a 21 year old forward who was playing because an injury of other guy. It's not NBA, but hell, an open guy have always more possibilites. It's about wining, not about your franchise player become MVP

Superstars have a lot of importance in the game, but marketing makes it a lot bigger, and distorsionates the reality.
 
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NME said:
The Bulls had Gordon and Deng both on the All-Rookie 1st team, but they were both picked in the top 7, so it wasn't that surprising.
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AND they are both British (the land of no basketball...). What are the odds? ;)
 
apollo916 said:
Please tell me the last team that drafted 2 top five rookies?
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Well, the Trailblazers acquired both Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge on draft night, although they didn't "technically" draft either one of them. And, the year after that, the Supersonics/Thunder drafted Kevin Durant, and then turned around and traded Ray Allen on draft night to get Jeff Green, both of whom were First Team All-Rookie.

Do either of those teams qualify?

EDIT - Also Memphis with Pau Gasol and Shane Battier.
 
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drboiffard said:
I don't dislike Tyreke and that was a joke. It'd be beautiful to see "competing" Omri and Tyreke for #1, anyway.

I won't talk for other europeans here, but although I like NBA a lot, I don't buy the NBA starsystem and my devotion to the franchise player isn't almost religious as many fans. I'll never understand it at Tyreke's team, I'll understand it as the Kings.
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First off, glad to have you posting. As some others have said, it's great to have such a diverse following. I remember the first wave of foreign fans when we drafted Peja and Hedo. Made for better discussions.

Second, I agree with you here. While I love Reke and think of him as our superstar, I am a Kings fan first and foremost. The NBA overdoes it with it's individual promotion, which I think really hurt the game for awhile. Led to a generation of "me first" superstars. If anything, the internet and the ability of fans to completely dissect why certain stars always won and lost has probably helped to reshift the balance a bit.
 
Btw, we are talking about Tyreke and Omri being top 5, but lets not forget that even though Brockman still hasn't made an appearance on those rankings, his contribution is also greater than a lot of lottery picks out there. The guy is the dictionary definition of a beast! The Kings really hit the jackpot with this draft.
 
Mr. S£im Citrus said:
Well, the Trailblazers acquired both Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge on draft night, although they didn't "technically" draft either one of them. And, the year after that, the Supersonics/Thunder drafted Kevin Durant, and then turned around and traded Ray Allen on draft night to get Jeff Green, both of whom were First Team All-Rookie.

Do either of those teams qualify?

EDIT - Also Memphis with Pau Gasol and Shane Battier.
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Good calls.

Rephrasing the question though, when is the last time a team had two of the top 5 rookies where at least 1 was drafted outside of the lottery?

Could very well be never, since the lottery has only been around for 25 years, most teams do not get a top 5 talent out of the lottery and the odds of pairing that with a second top 5 rookie are slim.
 
Sptsjunkie said:
Good calls.

Rephrasing the question though, when is the last time a team had two of the top 5 rookies where at least 1 was drafted outside of the lottery?
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Well, unless I counted wrong, there have only been fifteen players in the twenty-five year history of the lottery to make the First Rookie team that were drafted outside of the lottery. I did not check closely enough to see whether any of them were teammates of other First Team rookies.
 
drboiffard said:
Well, Asaf explained it much better.



This is funny, because although it's true that many europeans are following the Kings because we have guys from our countries in the roster, we appear as Tyreke-haters because we as europeans don't buy the franchise player adoration.

Clash of Basketball Cultures, LOL.
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Yeah I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I think it's great that international players are proving to be a gateway for international fans to the NBA.

I just want 'Reke to be a superstar so that we get the ludicrous our elbow to their chin= foul calls.
 
I just want 'Reke to be a superstar so that we get the ludicrous our elbow to their chin= foul calls.
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Yeah, and he'll be able to run the entire court bouncing the ball only once without the refs calling travelling foul, as LeBron does.
 
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