Who would you take: 21 year old Luka, Larry, Lebron or Jordan for next decade?

[Marchesk]

You get a 10 year guaranteed max contract to start a new franchise with one of those players as they were/are at 21 through 2030.

[Roundball_Rock]

Jordan.

[Marchesk]

Jordan.

There's no Pippen this time around.

[Roundball_Rock]

Kareem is the only player I would draft over Jordan.

[r0drig0lac]

Luka? lmao

[KingMambaFan]

MJ

LeBron

[Marchesk]

Kareem is the only player I would draft over Jordan.

Even for the 2020s, assuming no major rule changes to curtail scoring?

[SouBeachTalents]

This is the kind of thread that brings a player haters

[tontoz]

I bet Luka's dad would still vote for MJ or Lebron.

[3ball]

guys like Bird, KD, MJ, Curry, Kawhi, Kobe have many more rings than Magic, Lebron, CP3, Nash, Harden or Westbrook

Ball-dominators almost never win as the best player - the Lakers won with Kareem, and Lebron needed to alter how players change teams to win (he made collusion okay)

Also,

22-year olds vs championship team and #1 defense:

Jordan vs 86' Celtics... 44 on 50%
Lebron vs 07' Spurs..... 22 on 35%

[SouBeachTalents]

guys like Bird, KD, MJ, Curry, Kawhi, Kobe have many more rings than Magic, Lebron, CP3, Nash, Harden or Westbrook

Ball-dominators almost never win as the best player - the Lakers won with Kareem, and Lebron needed to alter how players change teams to win (he made collusion okay)

Also,

22-year olds vs championship team and #1 defense:

Jordan vs 86' Celtics... 44 on 50%
Lebron vs 07' Spurs..... 22 on 35%
LeBron has led more teams to titles than every player you listed besides Jordan. And if you're going to bring up changing teams to win Durant's got to go from that comparison

[Gudo]

Jordan. He would stay with the team. As for luka, too early to know how his career is going to be.

[NugzFan]

You get a 10 year guaranteed max contract to start a new franchise with one of those players as they were/are at 21 through 2030.

jordan, at age 21, for a decade?

wtf? easy choice.

[tpols]

I'm taking Larry Bird.

[Marchesk]

jordan, at age 21, for a decade?

wtf? easy choice.

I am too, but we are talking about today's ball dominant three point shooting era that greatly benefits guys like Luka and Harden.

[Marchesk]

Kareem is the only player I would draft over Jordan.

Will Kareem be allowed to post up in the 2020s, or is he going to be standing in the corner? Manute Bol did shoot skyhook threes on occasion.

[3ball]

I am too, but we are talking about today's ball dominant three point shooting era that greatly benefits guys like Luka and Harden.

Today's game benefits athletic ball- handlers, aka Jordan


Can you show me Jordan's stats when he played PG on 1989?.. surely there was a dip because Jordan isn't a PG

Oh look - Jordan averaged 30/10/10 like westbrook, except he shot 10 percentage points better and was smart (half the turnovers)

And MJ is the only player that averaged 10+ apg without playing PG (91' Finals)..

And what was MJ's three-point percentage from 85-93' when he took 4+ attempts? It was 41%... the goat scorer never shot poorly on ANY shot that he took volume of...

[Sulico]

I would pick Luka.

He would be the best player out of 4.

It's doubtful he will achieve better results though, because he will be playing aginst better competition.

But thats just the nature of life, every generation humans are better and better, and NBA is no exception to that.

[Real14]

Besides me, I will take MJ.

[Shogon]

Bill Russell.

[NugzFan]

I am too, but we are talking about today's ball dominant three point shooting era that greatly benefits guys like Luka and Harden.

just so we are clear, I am starting an nba team and I can have a 21 year old michael jordan for 10 years?

[StrongLurk]

Luka clearly would be picked last because we don't actually know how his career is going to go (he may end up injury-prone).

Everyone's picks, in order, should be MJ, Lebron, Bird, Luka.

[Bronbron23]

You get a 10 year guaranteed max contract to start a new franchise with one of those players as they were/are at 21 through 2030.

Jordan all day. Then lebron, then luka. As far as ticket sales and making money you cant go wrong with either one.

[Axe]

You get a 10 year guaranteed max contract to start a new franchise with one of those players as they were/are at 21 through 2030.
Kobe stans must be wondering why you did not bother to include black mamba in this list

[Marchesk]

Kobe stans must be wondering why you did not bother to include black mamba in this list

Jordan, Kobe, Lebron in one poll?

If I included Kobe, might as well add Curry, Durant, Magic, etc.

[Marchesk]

just so we are clear, I am starting an nba team and I can have a 21 year old michael jordan for 10 years?

Yes. Jordan 2021-2030.

[Axe]

Jordan, Kobe, Lebron in one poll?

If I included Kobe, might as well add Curry, Durant, Magic, etc.
Heh fair enough i guess

[kawhileonard2]

Jordan for sure we talking all time great and production and all time great marketing for your franchise and the league. Why the hell wouldn't you take him?

[SATAN]

1-9.

[Marchesk]

Anyone change their mind?

https://i.postimg.cc/vHnzM7Yq/Lebron-Tweet-Luka.png

[Nashty]

If we play in a non racist league.

Luka
Larry
Bargnani
Adam Morrison

[Round Mound]

Jordan is th best player out of all of them in terms of individual: offense and defense. Now which player i would take that makes others better? Bird without hesitation.

Luka is just starting. He already is in the top 6 players in the nba at age 21 though (Leonard, Durant, Harden, Giannis, Lebron and Luka etc)

[Bawkish]

LOL at choosing Lebron

dude has the loyalty of a prostitute

[AlternativeAcc.]

LeBron
Luka
Bird




Jordan



Jordan just couldn't shoot and his playmaking was laughable compared to the 3 above. The 3 above have GOAT tier bball IQ and instincts with the ball. Jordan was a midrange chucker, no thanks

[Bawkish]

LeBron
Luka
Bird




Jordan



Jordan just couldn't shoot and his playmaking was laughable compared to the 3 above. The 3 above have GOAT tier bball IQ and instincts with the ball. Jordan was a midrange chucker, no thanks

Lebron couldn't even shoot a FT to save his life

his balls were shrinking when he's at the line, especially in the clutch

[Sulico]

I see my Luka vote is not alone any more after last game.

[Manny98]

LeBron
Luka
Bird




Jordan



Jordan just couldn't shoot and his playmaking was laughable compared to the 3 above. The 3 above have GOAT tier bball IQ and instincts with the ball. Jordan was a midrange chucker, no thanks
This

[AussieSteve]

22-year olds vs championship team and #1 defense:

Jordan vs 86' Celtics... 44 on 50%
Lebron vs 07' Spurs..... 22 on 35%

Jordan in 86 was a full year older than lebron in 07. Full of sh!t as always

Lebron led a team to the finals at the same age Jordan was in his rookie season. With Larry Hughes and Drew Godden as his 2nd and 3rd options no less.

In fact, LeBron had won 36 playoff games in his career, before MJ had even won his 2nd.

[AussieSteve]

I think that MJ is the best player ever. But I pick LeBron for this poll.

It would be a no brainer in today's league to surround LBJ with 3 point shooters. He will find them better than any of the others while also being able to score himself at will given the amount of space on the floor these days. Put mid-late 20s lebron on the floor with today's space and it would be basically a dunking exhibition. Imaging Luka with actual athleticism.

Mid-late 20s LeBron is also the most impactful and versatile defender.

[Marchesk]

I think that MJ is the best player ever. But I pick LeBron for this poll.

It would be a no brainer in today's league to surround LBJ with 3 point shooters. He will find them better than any of the others while also being able to score himself at will given the amount of space on the floor these days. Put mid-late 20s lebron on the floor with today's space and it would be basically a dunking exhibition. Imaging Luka with actual athleticism.

Mid-late 20s LeBron is also the most impactful and versatile defender.


That's a reasonable take. I shudder to think what physical peak Lebron would do to today's spacing. Same with Jordan, but if you want to argue Lebron's game is better suited for today's league, I'm okay with that.

There's a bunch of kids on Reddit who are surprised that Mitchell is joining a very exclusive club of multiple 50 point playoff games. Without seeming to realize that the game today is heavily weighted in the offenses favor, and some of the superstars (or younger version of older active stars) from the past would just feast today.

Replace Luka with peak Magic on this Mavs team and he'd carve up defenses today, even without taking many threes. Not to take away from what Luka's doing. He's as good a 21 year old as the league has ever seen.

[AussieSteve]

That's a reasonable take. I shudder to think what physical peak Lebron would do to today's spacing. Same with Jordan, but if you want to argue Lebron's game is better suited for today's league, I'm okay with that.

There's a bunch of kids on Reddit who are surprised that Mitchell is joining a very exclusive club of multiple 50 point playoff games. Without seeming to realize that the game today is heavily weighted in the offenses favor, and some of the superstars (or younger version of older active stars) from the past would just feast today.

Replace Luka with peak Magic on this Mavs team and he'd carve up defenses today, even without taking many threes. Not to take away from what Luka's doing. He's as good a 21 year old as the league has ever seen.

It's pretty much at a point where we can't use stats at all to assess players.

Realistically, peak Bird was a far superior player to Luka. (Not saying Luka might not one day be better). But you can guarantee Bird never gave a 2nd thought to his stats. Same with Magic. If they wanted to score more they could have. If they played in a catch and shoot 3 point era they would have more assists.

There was no player in history who was more capable of serving up 30 point triple doubles at will than Larry Bird. ATG scoring repertoire, ATG passing skills and was probably the best rebounding SF in history. But he only had one 30 point TD in his entire playoff career. Luka will probably average 2 or 3 per playoff series over his career.

[3ball]

.
09' Cavs'.... #1 SRS..... #3 defense... 18 on 38% from Mo... lost to #4 SRS Magic (2 all-stars)
89' Bulls... #10 SRS.. #11 defense... 15 on 40% from Pip... defeat #1 SRS Cavs' (3 all-stars plus 20/5/5 Ron Harper)


^^^ 09' Lebron lost as a massive favorite with the #3 defense and 18 on 38% from Mo - Jordan always won with that, even as a massive underdog:

Btw, 89' MJ nearly beat the Pistons even though Pippen averaged 10 on 40% (14/6/3 in regular season) - he obviously would've won if Pippen was replaced by a better 2nd option, which proves that MJ didn't need Pippen to win in 89', or Phil (Phil wasn't there in 89').. So MJ didn't need Pippen or Phil - case closed - the 89' carry-job proves it.

[RRR3]

LeBron in his 20s in the modern era is putting up 35/10/10.

[3ball]

LeBron in his 20s in the modern era is putting up 35/10/10.

No doubt

But Jordan would be at 42/7/6... Maybe 42/7/8 given the ball-domination format.. maybe higher scoring too.. something like 45+ is possible

[Marchesk]

LeBron in his 20s in the modern era is putting up 35/10/10.

That's all? That's just a slightly better 2017 Westbrook. I guess I'm becoming jaded by all the crazy numbers these days.

[Gimmedarock]

In modern game Luka. Killer from every spot on the court and makes teammates better. Lebron close 2nd. Jordan doesn’t work in the modern game. Bird I don’t get why he’s in this list. I’d take KD over Bird.

[G0ATbe]

Bron or Luka. The primitive midrange spamming of yesteryear ain’t cutting it in today’s league.

[Marchesk]

Bird I don’t get why he’s in this list. I’d take KD over Bird.

Because he could shoot threes, pass, rebound, go inside and score, get physical as needed. He and Lebron are the two best passing forwards ever. KD doesn't have the same mentality as Larry Legend. Larry was a bad, bad man and did not back down from any confrontation, and he was cocky AF.

Luka is similar to Larry, adapted to modern game with a more ball dominant, three spamming style. Larry was a better shooter, could score from midrange, and post up inside.

[3ball]

Bron or Luka. The primitive midrange spamming of yesteryear ain’t cutting it in today’s league.

But those guys aren't good 3-point shooters either.. they aren't elite shooters from anywhere

At least Kawhi's elite mid-range won him the last championship anyone won (2019).. a poor man's MJ won it.. a souped-up Wizards Jordan

[RRR3]

That's all? That's just a slightly better 2017 Westbrook. I guess I'm becoming jaded by all the crazy numbers these days.
I mean per 36 it might be higher considering stars are playing fewer and fewer minutes. That was just a baseline.

[tpols]

That's all? That's just a slightly better 2017 Westbrook. I guess I'm becoming jaded by all the crazy numbers these days.

Yea and westbrook lost in the first round.

Individual numbers dont mean shit when you have to sacrifice ball movement and teamwork to get them.

[3ball]

I mean per 36 it might be higher considering stars are playing fewer and fewer minutes. That was just a baseline.

No, Marchesk made a great point.. it reveals how good you think lebron is..

You could never say lebron would average 37 or 40 because you know he lacks the jumpshooting skill for that

You said peak lebron would only get Westbrook stats in today's game.. it's true and proves he's overrated.. thanks for that gem

[AussieSteve]

In modern game Luka. Killer from every spot on the court and makes teammates better. Lebron close 2nd. Jordan doesn’t work in the modern game. Bird I don’t get why he’s in this list. I’d take KD over Bird.

Bird was the first king of the 3 point shot. He won the first three 3-pt contests and led the league in 3 pointers made a couple of times as well. He was also brilliant in the post. He's the perfect off ball player for today's game.

BUT... he's also perfect as your primary ball handler, because as an orchestrater of offense he is right there next to lebron as best all time at SF.

Not to mention him being a vastly superior rebounder to KD.

Bird >> KD in any era.

[ImKobe]

Easily MJ...

[LeCola]

If you choose Lebron, he would probably leave your team for a big 3.

Bird and MJ would stay until retirement.

[baudkarma]

If I'm judging each player at the age of 21 without knowing how their career would devlop, then LeBron is the easy choice. He was much more of a sure thing than the other three at that age. Jordan is the GOAT, but he was considered a risk by a lot of people, which is why he went third.

[goozeman]

MJ, Lebron, Bird and then Luka. Basically, I feel like Luka is still being evaluated on potential. Sure, he is generational talent and is flashing greatness, but all those other guys hit the ground running just like Luka and struggled to build championship teams. There is no proof at all yet that team can build a championship culture around Luka. Health is a hug wild card as well. If I'm just selecting on pure talent it gets a little tougher, but I'm still taking MJ because he was just the perfect competitor.

[Marchesk]

Jordan is the GOAT, but he was considered a risk by a lot of people, which is why he went third.

Unlike Sam Bowie.