[ninjacookies]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Other option: These guys all just horse trade championships and the hobby's next #1 guy isn't even on this list.

Jokic has 3 MVPs and a Championship and it's never happened.

Luka has the best path, but also the most risk: Prices are sky high and if he doesn't win titles in LA quickly, the world will start to turn on him. The lights shine brighter here.

Tatum could get a 2nd title (and maybe win FMVP this time) and hype would start for a 3 peat try.

SGA is more of a wild card, but he seems to be following the Giannis path more than anything (in terms of name recognition).


And this goes back to a convo I had today with a work associate: He asked me "Doesn't losing in the Super Bowl kill Mahomes' market because he falls behind in the GOAT category". To put in succinctly, I said "Not really, because he still got to the SB and is the biggest name in the sport. It's not about being the GOAT, it's about being the household name megastar".

And the example I used is Kobe. Nobody who knows a damn thing about basketball talks about Kobe as the all time GOAT. Yet I'd bet he's one of the 5 most recognizable names in NBA history to the general public. So the question is: Can SGA, Luka, Tatum, Jokic, or Giannis match at least top 15 all time success with being the biggest name in the NBA?

That's where the basketball market is so up in the air right now. It's nowhere close to where the fb landscape is. Mahomes has built himself such a gap in terms of accomplishments and public perception (indestructible clutch gene) that it's nearly impossible for anyone from this current crop of players to give him a run. And though he got decimated by Philly...like...he's only in competition with Brady's corpse at this point. I do think Mahomes will always be the Bron to Brady's Jordan regardless how the rest of his career progresses. That's just my opinion though.


While Yoker is a generational talent...he also plays the least hobby friendly position and has a generally bland personality that isn't great for ambassador marketing.

What charisma Ant does have, it's negated by his lack of consistency, Terminator 2 pregnancy theatrics, and general off the court antics.

Feels like the NBA has a huge predicament because once Bron hangs it up, they really have nobody to push as that alpha spokesman with the hardware to back.



But the money does have to flow somewhere, and it's not all going into the near term retirees or HOFers. Your guess is as good as mine who's going to take the lions share. Because each candidate seems to have as many pros as they do cons.