GOAT and a top 5 player? Also, of those HOFers you mentioned Vince had Jordon's hops/athleticism IMO but not his drive. STOMP
Absolutely true. I wonder how many of those guys started practicing like that at 18 though. My older son right now is 17, and it astonishes me how quickly he's advanced in his sport (badminton--hey, we live in England!) I mean it's just crazy how much better he gets month to month, while I play just as much as he does and there's almost no progress at all. Everything just clicks so quickly at that age, and muscle memory you develop then just never goes away. Shaq (and a lot of kids who are just athletic freaks) spent a lot of their teens dominating competition with that athletic advantage. There's really little incentive not to--it's the quickest way to help their team win, and it's just fun (I imagine--I'd never know!). So often it's only in later years that the work starts on shooting form--but picking up that skill probably comes a lot harder by then. Anyway, as you say, he didn't take a "full year off", like the media seemed to convey (and was my understanding.) For whatever reason, whether it's just natural talent or a focus on shooting, he's got an insanely good shot for somebody with his athleticism.
Wouldn't every 20 and under rookie remind people of Kawhi Personality wise? Young teenagers don't know how to articulate their thoughts well, are reserved, and need to learn how to speak to the public. Ant was the same as a rookie but now is much more talkative, I'd expect as these guys age they will open up even more. Kawhi is so unusual and not all in a good way, I wouldn't compare others to him. Dame, CJ and even BRoy were all exceptions to normally reserved rookies as they were 4 year college guys and extremely articulate well spoken.
Yes the GOAT would be a top5 player. Nobody else (VC, TMac, Kobe, Wade) being discussed is a top5 player. Vince was extremely athletic but he did not have Jordan's hops, he was probably the closest though.
A couple of Sharpe's hang time plays were amazing to watch, he just seems to hang in the air. After watching the basketball science episode on Jordan's hang time I know its a myth, he seemed to hang in the air the way his head would move up and down, plus his vertical was so damn high, he didn't actually hang if you watched his core body position. Jordan's jump was a fluid up and down the same as any object going up and down. So I have to think its really just Sharpe's vertical in a similar manner that makes him appear to hang. But he also has both the strength as well as the shot control to get shots up as he is landing at the very end of his jump. Thats got to be extremely hard to master to the point of doing during an actual NBA game. He's doing it a year after high school against the best basketball players on the planet. The sky is the limit for this kid.
Tough to top Rim Shaedy after there was an entire rap song written about him -- but Shakedown also has a nice ring to it!! Is this the first ever auto-correct that one could be happy about??
Sharpe may not be our second best player, quite yet, but I think it is entirely possible that he's already our second best in BBIQ.
I've been teaching high school students for a while and you just can't generalize like that. Some of them are astonishingly articulate and forthright. In fact, I don't think you change that much over your life. Chatty later implies chatty in high school.
What about T.A.G. for Talented and Gifted? Could tie that into the "Tag! You're it" phrase as he has got next after Dame D.O.L.L.A.
being the GOAT makes you a top 5 player so, no big deal but it's odd that you'd add that Multiple posters disagree with you STOMP
Didn't they change how verticals were measured after Jordan's days, resulting in lower numbers for everyone?