The 20 Best Players From 2020 – Predicted In 2015 (BR)
On April 24th, 2015, Josh Martin of Bleacher Report tried to take down a very hard task. He was going to try and predict the 20 best players in 2020, 5 years earlier. This was obviously going to be hard, because 5 years in anything is a long time. Especially in the NBA, when promising careers can be turned off in one single season and a new one emerges.
It’s hard to predict anything 5 years down the line, but Josh Martin tried to predict the 20 best players in 2020, 5 years earlier. Here’s how he did.
#20 – Jaylen Brown (Wheeler High School, GA)
This is a incredibly impressive prediction. When Jaylen Brown was in high school, he had enough talent/potential to be on this list. Brown was projected to be one of the headliners of the 2016 draft, with some people having the athletic guard as the #1 overall pick. Brown’s one knock coming out of HS was that he couldn’t shoot, which is illustrated here;
Scout’s Take: “He’s a big kid who takes the ball to the rack and can dribble. He’s got a good handle. I don’t think his outside shot is that great. But at the same time, he’s not sitting out there shooting it because he can just go to the hole. He’s definitely someone who, at this age, he’s possible [to be elite in 2020].”
That scout turned out to be right. With en elite outside game, Brown was an All-Star in 2021 and is going to be one of the faces of the Celtics for a long time. Brown is a very good two-way wing, which the BR article kind of predicted when they compared him to Paul George.
It’s pretty hard to predict these things, but when Jaylen Brown was in high school? His star talent was already writing on the wall and this prediction is pretty spot-on.
#19 – Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel)
Safe to say this one didn’t work out considering Bender is not even in the NBA anymore and he hasn’t played since early 2020. Bender was only 17 at the time this article was made, the youngest player at the time featured on this list. This is precisely why prediction lists like these are hard to make.
He was marketed as a 6’11” forward who could shoot, handle, pass, as well as play in the post with his great footwork. In the NBA though, he never panned out. His 3-PT shooting was pretty awful (32%) and the defense certainly wasn’t good to warrant such a limited offensive player.
Bender was the 4th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Suns, right after the aforementioned Jaylen Brown. Bender is still young and I’m sure at one point he’ll be back in the NBA, but I find it hard to believe he’ll ever make a name for himself in the NBA.
#18 – Jahlil Okafor (Duke)
Safe to say this one hasn’t worked out either. Okafor was still in college during the time of this article and he looked like a great low-post center who could dominate the NBA, as noted by this scout at the time;
Scout’s Take: “His ability to play around the basket and be a beast down low, and his ability to be such a wide body [make him special]. He’s going to be tough to defend. Right now, we’ve got a lot of thin 5s, and I just see that making a change.”
Okafor was being hyped up as the next big thing down low. But Okafor’s career was a flash bang, essentially over after one season. He was the 3rd overall pick in 2015, going to a 76ers team that had already drafted Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, both centers, in the previous two drafts.
So while Okafor was good in his rookie season, Embiid and Ben Simmons quickly overtook him and became the faces of the franchise. Okafor has bounced around and is currently a backup big for the Pistons. His lack of an outside shot also really hurt him, as the NBA quickly made his low post playstyle obsolete.
Okafor never panned out, but unlike Dragan Bender, he’s still in the NBA. That’s a low bar, but it’s still worth something. Another “Trust The Process” big guy that just never panned out.
#17 – DeAndre Jordan (LA Clippers)
At least Jordan was still good during the making of this article, not just some prediction reaching on some draft pick. But obviously Jordan hasn’t been the same player he was in the mid-2010s with the Lob City Clippers.
In this article, the writer compared him to Wilt Chamberlain, which is already a incredibly hard bar to pass or even meet because Wilt Chamberlain literally wasn’t human for the majority of his career. He mentioned things like elite physical tools, rebounding, and FG% as to why Jordan would continue to be great into the later stages of his career.
Scout’s Take: “He’s not going to be an offensive guy. I think the game has swung already. Compared to 10 or 15 years ago, you’re really looking for rim protection and a defensive-minded center. You’re not looking for scoring out of your center other than dunks.”
The thought process was that Jordan’s athleticism would keep him great and since he was mainly a dunks/defensive big guy, he wouldn’t change much as he got older.
But Jordan’s elite athleticism has all but disappeared. He was still good for a few more seasons, but he’s played on 4 teams since the 2017-18 season and he was hardly used this past season for the Brooklyn Nets because he was such a defensive liability.
DeAndre Jordan was very good for a long time, but as soon as his athleticism took a hit, his whole game got worse and he’s no longer a viable starting option in the NBA. I don’t even know if Jordan was ever a top-20 player, but to assume that his elite physical tools would remain with age didn’t seem wise, even during his prime when he was killing Brandon Knight on a daily basis. At least Jordan was good at point in his career to warrant this prediction.
#16 – John Wall (Washington Wizards)
This one could have very well been true if not for injuries. When this article was made, Wall had made back-to-back All-Star appearances and was heading into the playoffs with the Wizards. Wall’s elite athleticism, speed, and playmaking made him seem like a perennial All-Star and one of the best point guards in the NBA for years to come.
Wall was a very durable player for most of his career, but that all changed after the 2016-17 season. He dealt with knee injuries during the 2017-18 season that left him playing just 41 games that season.
In the 2018-19 season, Wall played just 32 games before undergoing season ending surgery on his left heel in late December.
Then in February of 2019, he tore his achilles, which meant he missed the entirety of the 2019-20 season. He was then traded to the Rockets, but injuries had slowed him down so much that he was no longer a rising star, instead a overpaid 30-year old guard on a rebuilding team.
From December 26th 2018 to December 31st, 2021, Wall didn’t play one NBA game. Wall didn’t play for 1,102 games, which is an insanely long time to not do anything, much less a professional sport. Wall was ok in Houston, but he’s clearly not the same John Wall that he once was.
Wall went from a promising star and a franchise player to an afterthought nowadays. If not for injuries, Wall could still be a great player with the Wizards and still be a franchise cornerstone. Wall was a beast before his injuries took him down and it’s interesting to think about just how good he would have been if not for all of those injuries.
#15 – Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)
Well, at least this list featured the one good guard that’s still in Washington. I will give credit where it is due, because predicting Beal wasn’t a sure bet. During the 2014-15 season, Beal was a pretty good 21-year old averaging 15 points per game. But it wasn’t like we knew that Beal would turn into a 30-ppg scorer in 5-6 seasons, so this was a pretty good prediction.
Beal was primarily a shooter who didn’t do much off the dribble and didn’t lead the offense, those duties given to the then All-Star John Wall. But in the best-case scenario section of the article, it kind of nailed on the head what Beal would become;
Best-Case Prediction: Beal stays healthy long enough to grow into an All-Star. His shooting stroke—one of the prettiest and most lethal in the league—earns him all manner of accolades, but it’s his surprisingly effective all-around game that thrusts him into the discussion of the game’s best 2-guards, right alongside Klay Thompson, James Harden and Andrew Wiggins.
While he didn’t do those things with Wall, Beal is a 3x All-Star, All-NBA member, and one of the best scorers in the league. Beal has averaged 30+ ppg in back-to-back seasons and is a very efficient player, who unfortunately plays for the lowly Wizards. Although, comparing him to Andrew Wiggins seems like a slight at this point.
This one was hit right on the head. Beal turned into that lethal scorer to where currently, he’s the best player on the Wizards. Sure they aren’t good, but Beal should be an All-Star caliber player for a few more seasons. Pretty good prediction.
#14 – Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons)
Sorry, just had to get that out of the way before we started this one. At the time, Drummond was considered one of the better centers in the league with his ability to score down low and be one of the best rebounders in the league. Things have changed, clearly.
Drummond was pretty good for a period of time, but he struggles to shoot at the rim and he’s a defensive liability. There’s a reason he didn’t play much in the playoffs for the Lakers this past season. He was decent in Detroit for a few years, but he’s not a franchise player and you could argue that he never was. He’s with the 76ers now as a backup, but it’s safe to say he wasn’t as good as this ranking would suggest he could have been.
Best-Case Prediction: Drummond becomes a passable free-throw shooter and an effective low-post operator to complement his prodigious abilities as a rebounder and pick-and-roll finisher. His near-20-10 production and penchant for spectacular plays earn him All-Star and All-NBA status. His work as the leader of a basketball renaissance in Detroit, though, is what gets people whispering about Drummond for MVP.
lol
#13 – Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky)
Now this is a center who turned out to be good. KAT was still in college when this article was made, but the writing was on the wall that he would become an elite scoring center in the NBA. He went #1 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft to the Minnesota T-Wolves and the rest is history.
Towns won rookie of the year in 2016 and then has been dominant since his age-21 season;
Karl-Anthony Towns Since 2016-17 Season;
326 games – 24.1 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg – 52% FG, 40% 3-PT, 84% FT
Towns has been prolific. Since he’s legally been allowed to drink, he’s a double-double machine who is a borderline 50-40-90 player. Oh by the way, he’s a center who weighs 250 pounds.
Towns was incredibly durable to start his career, but over the last two seasons he’s only played 85/136 games for the Timberwolves. But when healthy, he’s an elite talent who can score from all 3 levels up there with guys like Embiid and Jokic. Too bad he gets to waste his prime like Garnett and Love did in Minnesota.
Scout’s Take: “He’s going to be pretty special in our league. He’s pretty mobile, he can catch, he can do a lot of good things. He’s a big, strong body who can play in the post.”
That sums up things pretty well.
#12 – Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors)
This one has also aged well, although it does unfortunately remind me how long it’s been since we’ve seen Klay Thompson play basketball. This was made right around the 2015 NBA Playoffs, when the Warriors were obviously on the path to their first of three titles in five years. Here’s what Thompson’s done since the 2014-15 season in both the playoffs and regular season;
Klay Thompson Since 2014-15 In The Regular Season;
386/410 games – 21.6 ppg on 47% FG, 42% 3-PT, 86% FT
He back 5 straight All-Star appearances, a defensive team, a couple of All-NBA teams. Not to mention the durability, as he played in 94% of all possible regular season games, which is just crazy. Then there’s the playoffs, where Thompson was a major reason the Warriors won 3 titles in 5 years;
Klay Thompson Since 2014-15 In The Playoffs;
104/105 GS- 20 ppg on 44% FG, 42% 3-PT, 85% FT
Again, incredibly durable and consistent. Not to mention the fact that he’s incredibly clutch, especially in Game 6 of a series. There’s a reason he’s called Game 6 Klay.
It sucks that we haven’t seen Thompson play basketball since June of 2019, but hopefully he can return this season and help the Warriors contend. He’s still an elite floor spacer and shooter and the NBA just needs him back. He’s such a great player, the ever underrated sidekick to the superstars like Curry or KD, who just did what needed to be done to win. Not too many of those players around anymore, so enjoy Thompson while he can still be elite.
#11 – Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Ok, we’re on a roll here. This one was pretty hard to predict during the 2014-15 season, when Giannis was still a thin, international player that you didn’t know how to pronounce his name (most people still don’t). He averaged about 13 points and 7 rebounds that season. Decent, but nothing that would tell you that he would be a Hall of Famer just 6 years later.
In this article, this is what was put under the best case scenario for Giannis;
Best-Case Prediction: Antetokounmpo becomes the bedrock of a Bucks squad that competes for the Eastern Conference crown year in and year out. Likewise, his two-way excellence and physical prowess put him in position to be a perennial selection to All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive teams.
That was a huge take but Giannis has exceeded those high expectations. Here’s what he’s done since the making of this article;
-Back-to-back MVP’s (2019-2020)
-DPOY (2020)
-5x All-Star & 2021 All-Star MVP
-2x All-NBA 2nd Team & 3x All-NBA First Team (5x All-NBA Member)
-2021 NBA Champ & Finals MVP
-3x All-Defensive First Team and 1x All-Defensive 2nd Team (4x All-Defensive Member)
-2016-17 Most Improved Player
That is already a Hall of Fame Resume. Multiple All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams, a Finals MVP, a couple of regular season MVP’s, All-Star selections, the whole package. What I forgot to mention is that Giannis is only 25 years old. He still has a decade to add to this already incredible resume.
Giannis is a 6’11” demigod. He can handle, he can go from the 3-PT line to the rim in two dribbles, and he can defend better than almost anybody. There’s a reason they call him the Greek Freak. He is not your normal superstar, but he had another decade or so to add to this already incredibly impressive resume.
#10 – James Harden (Houston Rockets)
4th correct prediction in a row. Harden was of course the 3rd option behind Durant & Westbrook in OKC, but since his 2012 trade to Houston, he had blossomed. In his first 3 seasons with the Rockets, he averaged 26-5-6 on 44% shooting. He had become a 3x All-Star, a MVP candidate, and one of the best scorers in the league after becoming the #1 guy in H-Town.
In this article, they kind of predicted what Harden would do, kind of;
Best-Case Prediction: Harden takes home 2015 MVP honors, kicking off a stretch in which he’s a top contender for the league’s most prestigious individual award nearly every year. At least one of those runs results in a championship for Harden, Howard and the Rockets, who haven’t lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy in 20 years.
For starters, Curry won the 2015 MVP and the duo of Harden + Dwight Howard wasn’t nearly enough to win a title. But Harden would become an MVP, but do even more than that. He would be breaking everybody’s limitations of scoring.
After the 2014-15 season, Harden took things up a notch, with special help from offensive mastermind Mike D’Antoni;
James Harden From 2015-16 to 2019-20;
31.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 8.5 apg, and 1.5 spg – 44% FG, 36% 3-PT, 86% FT
Harden was incredible. He had 3 straight seasons from 2017-2020 where he lead the league in scoring. From 2018-2020, he averaged 35.3 points per game. He was scoring at such a high volume, stuff rivaling that of Wilt Chamberlain. The free throws, the step backs, the craftiness, it was all on display with D’Antoni pulling the strings.
He became an MVP in 2018 and is a perennial All-Star and All-NBA member. While he left Houston, Harden’s tenure with the Rockets was incredibly historic. While some people might not like his playing style, he was simply on another level scoring wise. Now he’s the orchestrator for the Big 3 Nets, their most important piece to the puzzle. Safe to say Harden has lived up to this prediction.
#9 – Paul George (Indiana Pacers)
Paul George was on a path to superstardom with the Pacers. Indiana were one of the best teams equipped to try and upset the Big 3 Miami Heat and George was at the helm for them, their rising two-way superstar who would hopefully lead them to a title.
George was an All-Star, an All-NBA and All-Defensive Team member in 2014. But then of course, his horrific leg injury suffered with Team USA, which set his career on a rocky path. George played just 6 games in the 2014-15 season but after that, it’s been smooth sailing.
He’s not the same player entirely, but he’s still incredibly talented on both ends. Here’s what George had done since the 2015-16 season with the Pacers, Thunder, and Clippers;
Paul George Since The 2015-16 Season;
23.8 ppg and 6.7 rpg with 1.8 spg – 44% FG, 39% 3-PT, 86% FT
George has remained elite and he even was an MVP candidate in 2018 with the Thunder, where he averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals for the Thunder. While George has had his share of shortcomings and criticism over the past few seasons, he has remained an elite player in the NBA, one of the most underrated players in the league.
With Kawhi Leonard out, George will carry the bulk of the load for the Clippers this season and maybe we’ll see MVPG again.
Best-Case Prediction: George returns from his horrific injury to lead the Pacers back to the playoffs this season, looks more like his old self in 2015-16 and re-emerges as one of the league’s elite players thereafter, with a jump shot and a handle further refined during his time away from the game. Furthermore, a healthy George puts Indy into the East’s upper echelon once again.
Yeah, something like that. Just not with the Pacers.
#8 – Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Another Warriors guard who turned out to be pretty alright. Around this time, the little scrawny kid from North Carolina was revolutionizing the game like no other player before him. The NBA went into a 3-PT craze thanks to him and him alone. His off-ball movement and crazy shots led to teams abandoning the mid-range jumpshot and playing with smaller, quicker lineups that could shoot. All thanks to that one little guard with paper ankles.
He is easily the greatest shooter the game has ever seen and even this best-case prediction really couldn’t predict what Curry would do next.
Best-Case Prediction: Curry’s ankles stand the test of time, allowing him to lead the league in scoring, three-point shooting and assists. Curry carries the Warriors to a title and earns MVP honors in the process.
Curry’s ankles were a problem to start his career, but not anymore. He did lead the Warriors to a title and won MVP in 2015. But he certainly wasn’t done there. No, he was just getting started. Here’s how his follow up 2016 season went;
Steph Curry in 2015-16 (aka actually cheating);
30.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 6.7 apg, and 2.1 spg – 50% FG, 45% 3-PT, 91% FT
Curry led the league in scoring and steals per game that season. He accomplished the rare 50-40-90 season efficiency wise. Then, get ready for this. NBA record 402 3-pointers made in one season, shot 45% from 3 while attempting over 11 3’s per game. What the ****. He also became the first ever unanimous MVP in league history.
A few more great seasons, a title here and there, and Curry cemented himself as one of the greatest players of this generation. But his 2020-21 revenge tour after missing almost all of 2020? A 32 year old Steph Curry torched the league and absolutely carried the Warriors this past season, showing flashes of his unanimous MVP season.
Steph Curry in 2020-21 (aka the Revenge Tour);
32 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.8 apg – 48% FG, 42% 3-PT, 92% FT
Curry led the league in scoring again, became the Warriors all-time leading scorer, and had 11 games of 40+ points, including a 62-bomb on my Blazers. Curry is still writing his legacy, but he is easily the greatest shooter ever and still has a few more elite years where he can just make plays that blow your mind. Another spot-on prediction.
#7 – Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers)
Like DeAndre Jordan, betting that Griffin would remain elite thanks to his athleticism wasn’t the best bet. In this article, it suggested Griffin becoming more of a shooter, which did happen for a year in Detroit. Blake shot 46% from 3 and returned to being an All-Star in 2019 with the Pistons.
But his injuries just piled up. He of course missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. He played just 35 games in the 2015-16 season. He played just 18 games during the 2019-20 season with the Pistons. He’s become a above average role player simply because he has lost that hyper-athletic body.
Best-Case Prediction: Griffin continues to sharpen his skills and establishes himself as a top-tier point forward, capable of running an offense and reliably nailing jumpers out to three-point territory. He leads the Clippers to their first championship and becomes the first MVP in the team’s sordid history.
This is a reach, but it could have happened had Griffin continued to stay healthy and the Lob City Clippers weren’t so disappointing. Injuries really hampered Griffin from continuing to be a star level player. But Griffin has a chance to revitalize his career as a role player.
He’s currently the starting small ball center for the Nets, a role he played to perfectly last season. Griffin in this type of role is much better for his body and I can imagine him playing a big role for a Nets team destined for a championship.
#6 – Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Another pretty good prediction, although a lot has changed for Kyrie since 2015 with the Cavs. Irving is one of the most hated stars in the game, but it’s not for the product on the court, more so with his politics off the court. This leads to people like Stephen A. Smith saying that Irving should retire, when Irving is still in his prime.
But just because the media hates him, doesn’t mean he’s not good. He’s still an elite scorer with a beautiful handle and feel for the game. Here’s what he’s done since the 2015-16 season;
Uncle Drew Since The 2015-16 Season;
24.3 ppg and 5.8 apg – 48% FG, 39% 3-PT, 90% FT
Irving has been incredible efficient and effective with the Cavs, Celtics, and now Nets over the past 6 seasons. He of course hit the biggest shot in Cavaliers history, the game winner in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals that capped off a historic 3-1 comeback.
Irving also had a 50-40-90 season in 2021 with the Nets, something that I feel like doesn’t get talked about enough. Irving is a magician with the ball in his hands and he makes the Nets Big 3 that much more lethal. You may not like his politics, but there is no denying that Uncle Drew can hoop.
Scout’s Take: “I think he’s unstoppable. You saw what he did on the USA team this summer. As long as he’s healthy, I don’t think he can be stopped. I think Kyrie’s going to be just a special player down the road.
Spot on.
#5 – Russell Westbrook (OKC Thunder)
Russell Westbrook is incredibly polarizing. Some people love him to a fault and others hate him to a fault. I used to be with the latter camp, but when you consider what a statistical marvel he has become, it’s kind of hard to hate him.
In this article, it talked about Westbrook becoming more of a jump shooter later into his career when his athleticism eventually declined, like Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade. While Westbrook is still not much of a jump shooter, his athleticism hasn’t really fallen off and he’s become a statistical marvel because of it.
In 2014-15, with KD out with injury, Westbrook carried OKC and led the league in scoring. OKC still missed the playoffs, but that was our first ever look to see how Russ would fare without KD by his side. We obviously have the 2015-16 collapse against the Warriors and KD’s departure to said Warriors. Since that point, Westbrook has been absolutely dominant;
Russell Westbrook Since 2016-17 (Solo);
26 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 10.1 apg, and 1.7 spg – 44% FG and 31% 3-PT
Over the past 5 seasons, with 3 different teams and over 350 games played, Westbrook is averaging a triple double. He of course did it for the first time in 2016-17, when he carried a depleted OKC roster and won MVP. He also led the league in scoring that year, just for kicks. He’s led the league in assists for 3 out of the last 5 seasons.
He’s averaged a triple-double for 4 out of the last 5 seasons. This past season with the Wizards, he passed Oscar Robertson for the most triple-doubles of all-time. He is just a statistical marvel no matter how you slice it. I know he’s inefficient and can be frustrating to watch, but what’s he done in the last 5 seasons is something that we (likely) won’t see for a long, long time.
Best-Case Prediction: Westbrook earns an MVP of his own. In turn, he and Durant become the first to win MVPs as contiguous teammates since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson with the Showtime Lakers. Like those two, Westbrook and Durant add at least one championship to their shared resume.
Westbrook got his MVP and Durant got his ring. Maybe with the Lakers, Westbrook can finally get his long-awaited championship.
#4 – Kevin Durant (OKC Thunder)
During the 2014-15 season, Kevin Durant suffered a foot injury that led him to miss most of his follow up MVP season. In this BR article, it suggested that this injury was worrisome for Durant, because other big guys like Yao Ming and Bill Walton had experienced similar problems with foot injuries.
But what BR didn’t know was that they were talking about Kevin Durant, one of the best scorers this game has ever seen. Durant is 7 feet tall but he can handle, score from anywhere he wants, and is one of the best two-way wings the game has ever seen.
In the best-case scenario section of this article, they said this about KD;
Best-Case Prediction: Durant shakes off his recent foot problems and returns to dominating the NBA in short order. He adds a championship and another MVP to his list of achievements and remains lethal into his 30s, thanks to his size and historic shooting ability.
Shocker. Durant did all of this and more. He of course came back from that foot injury and was still incredible. He made the unpopular decision to join the Warriors but he helped them reign terror over the rest of the league and win 2 titles and 2 Finals MVP’s. But in 2019, Durant suffered an even worse injury, an achilles tear. Durant was 30 at the time and achilles tears aren’t something that older players recover well from.
Durant signed with the Nets that offseason but missed all of 2019-20 with that injury. Entering 2020-21, we didn’t know what version of KD we were getting. What we didn’t expect was what KD was about to do;
32-Year Old Kevin Durant Coming Off Of An Achilles Tear (2020-21);
26.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 5.6 apg – 54% FG, 45% 3-PT, 88% FT
Like his teammate Kyrie, Durant was almost a 50-40-90 player this past season. He was elite and didn’t show any signs of slowing down after missing a whole year with that injury. Durant is one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen and he’s shown now signs of slowing down, major injuries well into his 30’s be damned. KD is going to be trying to win more titles over the next few seasons, so barring anything unforeseen, get ready for a lot more greatness.
#3 – DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings)
You know, this one could have been true with the trajectory of Cousins’ to that point. Cousins was drafted by the Kings in 2010 with the 5th overall pick and established himself as a dominant force down low. He was annoying, we was a jerk to an extent, but he was very, very good.
He made his first All-Star appearance in 2014-15, the year this article was made. So this wasn’t some far fetched idea, this could have been a reality had Cousins been able to just not fall apart later on in his career. In this BR article, they compared him to Shaquille O’Neal. Not even joking;
We may never see another Shaquille O’Neal, but if we do, he’ll probably look a lot like Cousins. Boogie’s not as big as O’Neal, but in today’s spread-out NBA, he’s nearly as effective and sports the sort of skill to fit into that overarching style.
The best-case scenario went with very high praise and predicted that Cousins would be a great player;
Best-Case Prediction: With Karl’s guidance, Cousins matures into a consistently dominant force who keeps his cool and carries the Kings back to respectability. He dominates the low post with skill, attitude and sheer physical fury like no one has since O’Neal. Boogie’s singular excellence within Sacramento’s renaissance makes him a perennial MVP contender.
Perennial MVP Contender? Shaq? That’s a pretty high bar for any player and for a while, Cousins looked to be pretty much all this article said he would be. He made 4 straight All-Star appearances and he was traded to the Pelicans during the 2016-17 season. He should have formed an incredible duo with Anthony Davis.
But then came the injuries. Buckle up, there are a lot of them;
On January 26th, 2018, he suffered a torn achilles. It ended his season and his tenure with the Pelicans. No team would give him a big contract, so he signed for the minimum with the Golden State Warriors.
He returned and while he wasn’t the same, he was getting a chance to play for a ring. But in the first round of the playoffs, he tore his quad. Luckily, he was able to comeback and complete the NBA Finals, which the Warriors ended up losing.
The Warriors didn’t re-sign him so he went ring chasing again, this time with the Lakers who had just acquired Anthony Davis alongside Lebron James. But Cousins never played a game with the Lakers, much less a game during the 2019-20 season. He tore his ACL during the offseason and LA released him before he ever did anything for the purple and gold.
He missed all of 2019-20 and the Lakers didn’t have use for him anymore. He played with Houston and the Clippers this offseason, but with him currently not being signed by any team, DeMarcus Cousins might be out of a job. Just a few years earlier, he was a perennial All-Star.
I find it hard to believe that Cousins will ever be the same. Maybe he gets an NBA gig, but why would any team want him with his injury history? This article even outlined his health as a potential problem;
With any luck—and with proper care of his body—Boogie should be able to dominate the NBA through his 20s and, perhaps, well into his 30s.
So even an article talking about how he would be dominating, knew that health could be a problem with Cousins. And unfortunately, they hit things right on the head. Sometimes you just have to feel bad for Cousins, who was on his way to a great career, and is now currently out of a job.
#2 – Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota Timberwolves)
People forget that Andrew Wiggins was supposed to be the next big thing. He was drafted #1 overall in 2014 and people expected him to become a amazing two-way wing. He was traded to the T-Wolves and his career started off very well.
Wiggins was still a rookie at the time of this article and was about to become Rookie of the Year. This article outlined that and much, much more;
Best-Case Prediction: Wiggins becomes the fifth unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year and the league’s third in the last five campaigns. He follows that up by beginning an extended string of All-Star appearances while spearheading the rebirth of playoff basketball in Minnesota.
Wiggins looked like he would be good for a long time. For his first 3 seasons in the league, he improved steadily. During his 3rd season, he averaged 24 points on 45% shooting. He looked like he was going to be good for a long time. Kobe Bryant was impressed by Wiggins and passed the torch to him to be the next great wing scorer.
In October of 2018, Wiggins signed a 5-year/$147.7 million dollar max extension to stay in Minnesota. After this, he just stopped improving. After averaging nearly 24 ppg in his 3rd season, he never came close to that again. He was a scorer with below average efficiencies and didn’t do much else for his remaining tenure in Minnesota.
He was traded to the Warriors in early 2020 and his hype train died down. But he’s had a career revival of sorts. With the Warriors in 2021, he did this;
18.6 ppg – 48% FG, 38% 3-PT, 71% FT
Wiggins set a career high in FG% and 3-PT%. He was more efficient than ever and his defense looked a lot better. Wiggins had 70 blocks in 71 games this past season and his defensive rating of 111 was the best of his career. Wiggins showed a lot of improvements defensively, but he’s certainly not a top-20 player in the NBA, much less top-2.
Wiggins showed that he could be one of the best scorers in Minnesota. But after getting that max contract, his production in Minnesota was never the same. While he’s playing much better with the Warriors, Wiggins is still a bust because of what he was hyped up to be. But we just never saw him expand his game in Minnesota.
Wiggins is good, but one of the more disappointing players of this generation.
#1 – Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
When healthy, Davis can certainly be one of the best, if not the best player in the league. In 2014-15, AD was just 21 years old but he was already elite. To that point, he was a 2x All-Star and 2x blocks leader. He had turned into a double-double machine but that was him just getting started.
After another All-Star season in 2016, Davis turned things up a notch with the Pelicans. Here’s what he did in his final 3 seasons with the Pelicans;
AD From 2016-17 to 2018-19;
27.5 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 2.4 bpg – 52% FG, 32% 3-PT, 81% FT
AD was dominant in those years with New Orleans. He was a lob threat and an elite scorer down low. His jumpshot was much more consistent from the mid-range and that made him so much more lethal. In that 3 year time frame, he was an elite shot-blocker whose defensive rating was just 103.
AD was third in MVP Voting in 2018, but his time in New Orleans was done after 2019. He was shipped off to the Lakers and in the 2020 Bubble, he showed us all what AD could do when fully healthy. Here’s what he did in the 2020 NBA Playoffs;
27.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.4 bpg, and 1.2 spg – 57% FG and 38% 3-PT
AD was absolutely dominant in the bubble. Getting that time off helped him get fully healthy and the results showed for themselves, as AD was arguably the best player for the Lakers during the postseason.
Scout’s Take: “It’s a one-man list at the top [of who’s going to be dominating the league five years from now]. He’s the equivalent of Kentucky in basketball this year, unless I’m not thinking of somebody. Just looking at it, he’s head and shoulders [above the rest].”
AD is one of the most dominant players in the NBA. But in 2021, his biggest flaw was on display. His health. In the Bubble, he was great because he got 5 months off. This past season, he had that achilles injury and in the playoffs, he had a hamstring injury. He only played 36 games in 2021 and he just looked off because he couldn’t get in rhythm.
For the rest of his career, the battle will be trying to stay healthy. If the Lakers want to win, they need AD to lead the way and stay healthy for the whole season. Lebron can’t do everything anymore, he’s not the same physically. He desperately wants and needs to AD to stay healthy and just wreak havoc on everybody else.
2022 will be AD’s chance to shut everybody up. We all know how good he can be when he’s healthy, but can he stay healthy? We’ll have to see how AD’s fragile body holds up this season.
Notable Names Left Off
Lebron James
Lebron still hasn’t hit that cliff yet. In 2016, a year after this article was made, he averaged 30-11-9 with 2 steals and 2 blocks per game in the Finals to give Cleveland it’s first major title in 50 years, coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. While he has slowed down, at age 36 he’s still good for 25-7-8 a night.
He’s still going strong entering year 19 and he’s still going to be one of the best players in the NBA. One of the greatest players to ever play the game should have certainly been on this list.
Damian Lillard
I find it surprising that Lillard wasn’t on this list. In 2014-15, he had just made his 2nd straight All-Star appearance. But in the 2015 offseason, all of his best teammates left. Since the 2015-16 season, Dame has done this;
Dame Dolla Since 2015-16;
27.2 ppg and 6.9 apg – 44% FG, 38% 3-PT, 91% FT
Dame has become one of the best shooters from range in the NBA and one of the best scorers overall. He is always near the top of the league in minutes played and hardly misses games. Portland has failed to give him any sort of help over the years, but he’s still elite. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down and I’m surprised he wasn’t on this list.
Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard was the 2014 Finals MVP and in the 2014-15 season, he averaged nearly 17 points and 7 rebounds per game while also leading the league in steals. I really don’t think it’s crazy to think he should have been on this list. Here’s what he’s done since 2015-16;
The Klaw Since 2015-16;
24.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.8 spg – 49% FG, 39% 3-PT, 87% FT
Kawhi is an elite offensive player after not being that when he was drafted in 2011. An elite mid-range bucket getter and still an amazing defender. He’s won 2 DPOY’s for a reason. He played with the Raptors in 2019 and gave us one of the best playoff runs of all time where he averaged;
30.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.7 spg – 49% FG, 38% 3-PT, 88% FT
Kawhi’s defensive rating since 2015 is a mere 103. Him not playing in 2022 sucks, but it’s not crazy to think that during the 2022-23 season, when we’re most likely to see Kawhi Leonard back, he’ll still be an elite player.
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More Dame dis-respect
You get used to it after a while