Lebron 1
Durant 2
Giannis 15
Steph 7
Harden 3
Kawhi 15
Jokic 41
Embid 3
Lillard 6
Doncic 3
Davis 1

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And yet you still are unable to actually state it.

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I don't really consider the Knicks to be competent. They overachieved in a year that most people wrote off and I expect them to come back to earth this season. If Juliius Randle were on the Bulls he'd be there 4th best player. They are hardly "interesting". There is much more national buzz surrounding the Bulls this season.

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All Pro First Team: 2000 - present

Webber 1
Shaq 1
TD 1
KG 5
Iverson 1
Kobe 13
Dirk 9
T-Mac 9
Nash 15
LBJ 1
Amare 9
CP3 4
Wade 5
Durant 2
Rose 1
Harden 3
Noah 9
Curry 7
AD 1
M Gasol 48
Russ 4
Kawhi 15
DeAndre Jordan 35
Lillard 6
Jokic 41
Giannis 15
George 10
Luka 3


I was going to say "lottery" instead of top 3, but it looks like top 5 is something you should aim for. Mean is 5 and the average is also 5 once you remove second round outliers.

EDIT: KD is 2, not 1. Thanks to conns for his post. Interestingly, no number 2 picks here except for Durant. Also no 8s either

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

I started to go top 5 but that would have been too easy. Some of the names that I see here were never considered "franchise" guys. Noah. Deandre Jordan and Marc Gasol for instance.

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I know that, but when you add guys that were franchise back in thier day it just reinforces how you can have luck in the top 5 or even top 7

Carter - 5
Pierce - 9
Marbury - 4

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Guys that are or have been "franchise" guys drafted top 3 or better that are still currently in the league.
1.Lebron
2.Durant
3.Harden
4.AD
5.Chris Paul (think 4th)
6.Dwight Howard
7.Blake Griffith
8.Derrick Rose
9.Kyrie Irving
10.Jayson Tatum
11.Carmelo Anthony
12. Luka Doncic
13. Joel Embiid
14. Karl Anthony Towns
15. Zion Williamson
16. Ja Morant.

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No I agree you can. I'd much rather draft in the top 5 if I am rebuilding. You can have luck outside of the top 5 (and that is where the savvier GMs come in) but I'd rather try for the can't miss guy as opposed to finding that hidden gem guy down the line.

I actually think GMs around the league are devaluing first round picks more and more for that very reason these days. They are being flipped for absolutely nothing in some cases.

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I guess if there's no clear-cut no 1 pick (Shaq, TD, AD, LBJ) then maybe there's less value attached to lottery picks. I find the European connection between second round high-impact guys to be interesting (Jokic and Gasol). We're obviously seeing more Euros picked early in the draft since I'd say the early 2000s but I guess every now and then you miss something big. I think we largely agree that if you've got mad game then there's no way you slip past the top 5-7, which makes picks like Leonard, Giannis, etc., all the more remarkable. I'm more confused than anything else, grabbing a MVP outside the lottery just isn't supposed to happen in the NBA.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

No one ever said that. Its just that your better players tend to be found in the top 3-5 of the draft most of the time. And if you look at the list of NBA champions over the past 30 years or so you will find that in the overwhelming number of cases they have been led by players drafted in the top 3-5 picks. That isn't an accident.

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