What's your criteria for classifying a player as a superstar?

[Nilocon165]

Just saw a post that said Kyrie was a superstar his rookie year, despite only averaging 18.5 ppg and not even getting close to the playoffs.

I think the only superstars in this league are Lebron, Curry, Durant, and Westbrook.

[FatComputerNerd]

Kyrie > Curry

[Annyong!]

Superstar >= Kyrie Irving

He is the bar.

[Bankaii]

The complete package of skills, stats, and impact and most of all the ability to carry an average, and many even subpar, team to the playoffs.

Lebron and KD have proven they can.
Curry/Kawhi haven't proven they can do it yet, but most likely can.
CP3, Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and maybe Paul George can.

That's it. People saying Kyrie is a superstar must think there's 25+ superstars in the league:facepalm

[swagga]

you add him to a 30 win team and you get a contender. forget the stats they might be deceiving (harden), forget the glamour (kyrie), forget the inconsistencies and cold feet (curry in the finals, immature young kobe) ... you need an exceptionally productive two way/versatile player, who is also a leader and who will take it to the next level in the playoffs and ruthlessly dominate games. only one player in this league that is/was at this level in the last 5 years and that is lebron, love him or hate him.

Curry is a great allstar but he isn't a superstar, he is manufactured and he has huge holes in his game which are hidden by a HOF team. He got exposed badly in the finals. Call me a hater idgaf juniors.

Kwahi is an exceptional defender but his inability to create offense keeps him easily far away from superstar tier.

Superstars:
jordan
shaq
lebron
duncan
peak kobe
magic
bird

durant is a borderline superstar because he is too beta, inconsistent, deferring to an inferior player in westbrook, losing 3-1s and the like. He has superstar talent and is a two way player, so he could reach superstar level, he just need to man the fck up.

[Poetry]

Just saw a post that said Kyrie was a superstar his rookie year, despite only averaging 18.5 ppg and not even getting close to the playoffs.

"Irving, Grant Hill, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson are the only players in NBA history to average at least 18 points and five assists per game while shooting at least 45 percent from the field in each of their first two NBA seasons."
- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)

That's just one of the reasons ESPN ranked him at #8 as early as 2013.

[BigKAT]

"Irving, Grant Hill, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson are the only players in NBA history to average at least 18 points and five assists per game while shooting at least 45 percent from the field in each of their first two NBA seasons."
- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)

That's just one of the reasons ESPN ranked him at #8 as early as 2013.


I'ma just put this here,

Shaq and Michael Carter Williams are the first to be named players of the week in their first week in the NBA.

That aside, Kyrie's a beast.
But he's not top 5 in the league.

That's what I consider superstar.

[Young X]

Legitimate MVP candidate.

[34-24 Footwork]

Lebron, Kyrie, Curry, KD, Westbrook, K Leonard, Damian Lillard and Harden are all superstars.

They get PAID max contracts

Expected to produce on a nightly basis by fans and teammates

(Most people listed above are)Capable of going for 50 any night

Endorsements that are rather lucrative and broad outreach outside ofoutside of mainstream NBA


I didn't list Anthony Davis because no one gives a fvck outside of New Orleans.

Hate it or love it, Kyrie is a superstar and his bar has risen for productivity. If he had the ball in his hands more and allowed to play more of a PG role throughout the season, is numbers would be even crazier.

[SamuraiSWISH]

CP3 has carried a team lol ... 2008, 2009, 2011. Curry hasn't proven he can do it yet. His game really needs facilitating by quality teammates. And even then sometimes he struggles.

[Dray n Klay]

The first criteria is that you have to shoot at least 47%+ in the regular season




Only once you hit that mark, then you can start discussing whether that player was a 'superstar' that season.

[TommyGriffin]

How can anyone say Kyrie isn't a superstar after the Finals and Olympics?

[Smoke117]

Lebron, Kyrie, Curry, KD, Westbrook, K Leonard, Damian Lillard and Harden are all superstars.

They get PAID max contracts

Expected to produce on a nightly basis by fans and teammates

(Most people listed above are)Capable of going for 50 any night

Endorsements that are rather lucrative and broad outreach outside ofoutside of mainstream NBA


I didn't list Anthony Davis because no one gives a fvck outside of New Orleans.

Hate it or love it, Kyrie is a superstar and his bar has risen for productivity. If he had the ball in his hands more and allowed to play more of a PG role throughout the season, is numbers would be even crazier.

Kyrie and Lillard are superstars...but CP3 isn't? Do you ever think up something stupid and NOT post it? Feel free to try it out.

CP3 has carried a team lol ... 2008, 2009, 2011. Curry hasn't proven he can do it yet. His game really needs facilitating by quality teammates. And even then sometimes he struggles.

Carried the Clippers in the latter half of this season too and basically eliminated the championship Spurs himself on one leg in 15.

[tpols]

*superstar impact is defined as having a top 3 playoff run for the year in question. Making 1st team all nba (top 5 player) may also be acceptable, but restrictions apply. All star impact, is simply had you made the all star team or 2nd/3rd all nba team and played at that level whilst winning in the playoffs, and role player impact is robert horry level.

link (http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=415715)


no matter how hard you guys try to dismiss it, kyrie had a superstar run .. he was at the worst a top 3 player spanning the entirety of the 2016 playoffs with durant, westbrook, and curry choking their asses off.

[TheWinningFam]

*superstar impact is defined as having a top 3 playoff run for the year in question. Making 1st team all nba (top 5 player) may also be acceptable, but restrictions apply. All star impact, is simply had you made the all star team or 2nd/3rd all nba team and played at that level whilst winning in the playoffs, and role player impact is robert horry level.

link (http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=415715)


no matter how hard you guys try to dismiss it, kyrie had a superstar run .. he was at the worst a top 3 player spanning the entirety of the 2016 playoffs with durant, westbrook, and curry choking their asses off.kyrie having a superstar run does not make him a superstar is what they are saying, if he keeps up this level of play but stop trying to make it out like he is to fit your agenda

[aj1987]

*superstar impact is defined as having a top 3 playoff run for the year in question. Making 1st team all nba (top 5 player) may also be acceptable, but restrictions apply. All star impact, is simply had you made the all star team or 2nd/3rd all nba team and played at that level whilst winning in the playoffs, and role player impact is robert horry level.

link (http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=415715)


no matter how hard you guys try to dismiss it, kyrie had a superstar run .. he was at the worst a top 3 player spanning the entirety of the 2016 playoffs with durant, westbrook, and curry choking their asses off.
He had an elite run, but he's not consistently that good. That's what makes a superstar. However, if he can put up similar production in the RS next season, I'll be the first one to call him a superstar.

[bigkingsfan]

Tony Parker wasn't a superstar after his playoffs/FMVP run.

[!@#$%Vectors!@#]

lol at Steph isnt a Superstar. SamuraiSwish stop buying the cheap stuff.:facepalm

[tpols]

He had an elite run, but he's not consistently that good. That's what makes a superstar. However, if he can put up similar production in the RS next season, I'll be the first one to call him a superstar.

kyrie has shown flashes of what he did in the playoffs multiple times before .. 2014 internationals and that one spurs game two years ago.. that mightve been the most dominant, clutch scoring / shooting exhibition i've seen in a long time.

[RRR3]

Tony Parker wasn't a superstar after his playoffs/FMVP run.
Of course not. He wasn't playing with LeBron.

[aj1987]

kyrie has shown flashes of what he did in the playoffs multiple times before .. 2014 internationals and that one spurs game two years ago.. that mightve been the most dominant, clutch scoring / shooting exhibition i've seen in a long time.
If we're defining superstar as someone who shows flashes of brilliance, Wade is still a superstar and there are a couple of dozen superstars in the league right now.

Only players who can sustain that excellence over an entire season can be called superstars, IMO.

[rmt]

Lebron, Kyrie, Curry, KD, Westbrook, K Leonard, Damian Lillard and Harden are all superstars.

They get PAID max contracts

Expected to produce on a nightly basis by fans and teammates

(Most people listed above are)Capable of going for 50 any night

Endorsements that are rather lucrative and broad outreach outside ofoutside of mainstream NBA


I didn't list Anthony Davis because no one gives a fvck outside of New Orleans.

Hate it or love it, Kyrie is a superstar and his bar has risen for productivity. If he had the ball in his hands more and allowed to play more of a PG role throughout the season, is numbers would be even crazier.

Conley got paid a HUGE contract this year - he's not a superstar.

[RRR3]

If a player's argument for being a superstar rests solely on what he accomplished over one playoff run, they aren't a superstar (yet).

Was Michael Redd a superstar in 2006? He averaged 25.4 PPG on 57.4 TS%, leading the Bucks an admittedly mediocre 40-42 record (although they made the playoffs in the East). His supporting cast was T.J. Ford, Jamaal Magloire, Bobby Simmons, and rookie Andrew Bogut, with 23 year old Mo Williams, Charlie Bell and Joe Smith as his bench support. :oldlol:

[Smoke117]

He had an elite run, but he's not consistently that good. That's what makes a superstar. However, if he can put up similar production in the RS next season, I'll be the first one to call him a superstar.

I just don't think Kyrie has the impact to even say he's coming close to a "superstar" level. Everything looks rosier when you are playing with the best player in the world. I don't see him ever being the best player on a championship level team...just too many holes in his game.

[34-24 Footwork]

Conley got paid a HUGE contract this year - he's not a superstar.

Getting a max contract IN CONJUNCTION with the other stuff listed. Conley has one of the best contracts in NBA history.

Memphis paid him like that to send a message about loyalty and its perks....not becauee he's a superstar.

[bizil]

IT HAS to start with:

- How dominant a player is on an individual level. Numbers and solo accolades are great indicators initially.

- How much a player make his team better.

- How a player compares peak wise to the all time greats. And if player redefined a position, even better.

So going off what I laid out, the top four current players in the world are Bron, KD, Curry, and Westbrook. These guys are the Mt. Rushmore superstars as of today. They have the best combo of the elements I laid out. Three of them have won MVPs and Russ CLEARLY is MVP caliber.

Two of them have won rings while Westbrook and KD made Finals. And peak-best player wise, all four are among the top five EVER at their respective positions. And on top of it, ALL FOUR revolutionized their positions. But I think CP3, Boogie, A Davis, Blake, and Harden (even with his shortcomings) are superstar caliber. If u are top 10 player in the world, u could have a very good case to be a superstar. OR it could be a shallow era to where there aren't as many superstar caliber players.

[aj1987]

IT HAS to start with:

- How dominant a player is on an individual level. Numbers and solo accolades are great indicators initially.

- How much a player make his team better.

- How a player compares peak wise to the all time greats. And if player redefined a position, even better.

So going off what I laid out, the top four current players in the world are Bron, KD, Curry, and Westbrook. These guys are the Mt. Rushmore superstars as of today. They have the best combo of the elements I laid out. Three of them have won MVPs and Russ CLEARLY is MVP caliber.

Two of them have won rings while Westbrook and KD made Finals. And peak-best player wise, all four are among the top five EVER at their respective positions. And on top of it, ALL FOUR revolutionized their positions. But I think CP3, Boogie, A Davis, Blake, and Harden (even with his shortcomings) are superstar caliber. If u are top 10 player in the world, u could have a very good case to be a superstar. OR it could be a shallow era to where there aren't as many superstar caliber players.
Are Curry and WB both top 5 GOAT PG's? Magic, Oscar, Curry, and Isiah are definitely (although arguments could be made for others in Curry's place). Who takes the 5th spot? There's Stockton, GP, Nash, Frazier, Kidd, Tiny, and CP3, who all have arguments over WB. Not that they're top 5, but with WB's career where it's at right now, they all have an argument over him.

Tiny's career was cut short due to injuries, but he had 4 seasons during which he averaged 29/3/9.

[bizil]

Are Curry and WB both top 5 GOAT PG's? Magic, Oscar, Curry, and Isiah are definitely (although arguments could be made for others in Curry's place). Who takes the 5th spot? There's Stockton, GP, Nash, Frazier, Kidd, Tiny, and CP3, who all have arguments over WB. Not that they're top 5, but with WB's career where it's at right now, they all have an argument over him.

Tiny's career was cut short due to injuries, but he had 4 seasons during which he averaged 29/3/9.

When it comes Curry and Westbrook being top five PG's of all time, I'm talking peak-best player wise. I didn't mean GOAT status. GOAT status and peak-best player status are two different things. GOAT status is your overall resume. So GOAT wise, I don't have Steph or Westbrook in the top 5 yet. But peak-best player wise, I would put them in the top five with Magic, Big O, and Zeke. Once again, its two different categories.

[Demitri98]

The complete package of all-around skill on both ends, natural feel for the game, transcendent talent, superb athletic ability, intangibles, and most of all the ability to drag the team to Ws.

So, in other words, LeBron, Westbrook, Durant. Curry lacks the "superb athletic ability", and the all-aroundness mostly because of his mediocrity on defense.

[aj1987]

When it comes Curry and Westbrook being top five PG's of all time, I'm talking peak-best player wise. I didn't mean GOAT status. GOAT status and peak-best player status are two different things. GOAT status is your overall resume. So GOAT wise, I don't have Steph or Westbrook in the top 5 yet. But peak-best player wise, I would put them in the top five with Magic, Big O, and Zeke. Once again, its two different categories.
My bad. I thought you were talking about GOAT rankings.

Even if we're doing peaks, I'd rank GP over WB for now.

[iamgine]

NBA Superstar - A franchise level player that you believe a team can seriously contend with him as the clear cut best player.

[bizil]

My bad. I thought you were talking about GOAT rankings.

Even if we're doing peaks, I'd rank GP over WB for now.

When u combine scoring, passing, and defense as a package, I think GP is the best PG of all time. But I think Westbrook over the couple of years has eclipsed GP peak wise. To be honest, I think GP could have a better case over Isiah peak-best player wise than Westbrook.

[Pointguard]

IT HAS to start with:

- How dominant a player is on an individual level. Numbers and solo accolades are great indicators initially.

- How much a player make his team better.

- How a player compares peak wise to the all time greats. And if player redefined a position, even better.

So going off what I laid out, the top four current players in the world are Bron, KD, Curry, and Westbrook. These guys are the Mt. Rushmore superstars as of today. They have the best combo of the elements I laid out. Three of them have won MVPs and Russ CLEARLY is MVP caliber.

Two of them have won rings while Westbrook and KD made Finals. And peak-best player wise, all four are among the top five EVER at their respective positions. And on top of it, ALL FOUR revolutionized their positions. But I think CP3, Boogie, A Davis, Blake, and Harden (even with his shortcomings) are superstar caliber. If u are top 10 player in the world, u could have a very good case to be a superstar. OR it could be a shallow era to where there aren't as many superstar caliber players.
Good post.

My criteria,

A star shines first and foremost. A super star shines brighter than the others. So first and foremost the player stands out. If you need stats, you aren't really a fan. Nobody looks at Pele, Ali, Jordan, Jim Brown and wonders about their light. If you have to go to a stat, you aren't looking at a superstar.

The second criteria is how the universe spins around the star player. Meaning he affects all people around him, the opposing players as well as the gate. People look up at the stars and make time to see them.

The third criteria is their unmistakable identity among other great players. They have some flair, charisma or some crazy expectation which is part of their recognition.

[bizil]

Good post.

My criteria,

A star shines first and foremost. A super star shines brighter than the others. So first and foremost the player stands out. If you need stats, you aren't really a fan. Nobody looks at Pele, Ali, Jordan, Jim Brown and wonders about their light. If you have to go to a stat, you aren't looking at a superstar.

The second criteria is how the universe spins around the star player. Meaning he affects all people around him, the opposing players as well as the gate. People look up at the stars and make time to see them.

The third criteria is their unmistakable identity among other great players. They have some flair, charisma or some crazy expectation which is part of their recognition.

Awesome post! The face of the league kind of superstars have a certain magic and flair to go with their other attributes. The league MARKETS itself around these guys. Endorsers are looking for these guys to market their products. The ratings go up and the soldout arenas follow. That's why the Doc-Magic-Bird and the MJ-Bird-Magic trios were so epic in terms of marketing the game.

After these guys, I think Shaq, Bron, Kobe, and AI were the kind of guys who seemed to have that extra magic. But in terms of star power Doc-Magic-Bird and later MJ-Bird-Magic was as strong as any league once the new age marketing started in the 80's.

[Da Real Lambo]

Some one who can single handedly turn the tide of a 1-3 series, aka Kyrie irving.

[BigKAT]

Some one who can single handedly turn the tide of a 1-3 series, aka Kyrie irving.

Did you watch the series?
Like, actually watch the games?

Lebron had two 41 point games and a triple double.
Love had 14 rebounds in game 7, some of which he clawed for dear life to get.
JR smith scored two consecutive 3s that clearly changed the momentum of that game.

Richard Jerfferson energized the team just by being on the floor,
Kyrie made some damn silly shots, that +1 layup in game 7 was :wtf:
Not to mention his franchise slaying 3 on top of curry.


I'ma say this once,
This is a Team Sport.
No one single handidly carried any team. Get that **** out of here.

P.S: People are frustrated with dissing players, so now they are starting to elevate their support to make them look less impressive. (Pau, Kyrie, Pippen worshipping.) And it's just hilarious.

[I<3NBA]

can drag a shitty team to the playoffs.