O.J. Mayo

Mayo went from overrated to underrated over the course of this last year. He showed that he doesn't dominate games consistently and basically from watching him all season I've concluded that he won't be a superstar. Hes really not that explosive; athletic, yes, fluid, yes, skilled, yes, but he doesn't have that Dwyane Wade/Monta Ellis explosiveness, quickness, leaping, etc. Hes not 6'5, much closer to 6'3 maybe 6'4 in shoes. He shoots a ton of shots from the outside and while he does have a good perimeter shot hes far from Ray Allen right now. Hes quite turnover prone as well but thats to be expected for a freshman combo guard who dominates the ball and plays 36 mpg.

I will say though I was extremely impressed with Mayo's passing, defense, and attitude. Dudes got legit PG skills and hes not a ball-hog chucker. Hes actually too passive if anything and too willing to be a "team player" when he should be forcing the issue and taking over. His vision is fantastic for a guy who I thought was basically just a undersized SG. Like I said its legit PG vision, he makes great passes when penetrating and he sgot big potential on pick and roll and drive and dish plays. Hes not Steve Nash or Chris Paul but as far as passing I'd put him up with a Baron Davis, Tony Parker, TJ Ford, etc. His defense was also a big shocker. Dude plays real strong, aggressive, smart on-ball defense. He doesn't gamble for a ton of steals and hes got the "I'm gonna lock you the fuck up" mentality. Also despite some of his antics and statements off the court he seems to be a great team player on the court. He runs the system even though it wastes his talents. He gets team mates involved and leads his team. Doesn't have issues with coaches or other players, he just wants to win.

Overall, Mayo won't be the star hes been projected as since he was in 8th grade. He can be a good complimentary player, maybe a sidekick type of player but unfortunately I don't think he has the other-worldy explosiveness or aggressiveness that IMO you need to have to be a star combo guard in today's game. He actually reminds me a lot of Baron Davis in recent years; a very good athlete but not the freak Baron was as a young player, can penetrate when he wants to which isn't all that often, shoots a ton of 3's even though they don't go in that much, defense is very underrated, rebounds well for a guard because they're both strong, passing is well above average but not spectacular either. Mayo can't take over a game at will like Baron can though. When Baron wants to be the best player on the court, he can do it at any time (i.e. the playoffs), I don't think Mayo can do that at will.