The (Completely Fictional) 2017–2018 NBA Regular Season Awards
With around 20 or so games remaining for each team in the 2017–2018 NBA regular season, it’s only fitting that we hand out some awards to recognise the good, the bad and the ugly (sorry, Zaza).
These awards are completely fictional and a little more fun than the run-of-the-mill hardware that’s usually handed out.
Best League Pass Team
Somewhere — presumably on a beach — Sam Hinkie is smiling. The former General Manager and President of Basketball Operations of the Philadelphia 76ers set out with a vision to tank and acquire as many assets as humanly possible until the team was good again, and what was affectionately dubbed “The Process” is now rapidly approaching completion.
The 76ers last made the Playoffs in the 2011–2012 Season, upsetting a 1st-seed Chicago Bulls following Derrick Rose’s heartbreaking ACL tear. Since then, they haven’t had a winning record and failed to crack 30 wins in four of the five seasons past — they even had the audacity to go full tank and amass a 10–72 record in the 2015–2016 season. Patience was key for Philly fans and the message simple: “Trust The Process”.
Philly are currently sporting a 32–27 record, which is good for 6th place in the Eastern Conference. Thanks to some handy lottery picks, the 76ers finally found their cornerstone pieces in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid — sure, they whiffed on a few picks (Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams), but who cares when you have a potential GOAT one-two punch on board.
The Best League Pass Team is a team that draws me in no matter who they’re playing against. Everything from their roster, to their uniforms, all the way to their court design has to be great.
Philadelphia’s stars are the main drawcard here — Simmons fits the mold of LeBron James, averaging 16.6PPG, 7.7RPG and 7.4APG after missing his first season with a foot injury. The Australian sees the floor like few others in the league and has the size to give opposing point guards real problems. Embiid, even nicknaming himself “The Process” is a true unicorn — he’s a giant, at 7ft tall and weighing 250lbs, yet moves like a gazelle and has the footwork of a ballerina. Averaging 24PPG and 11RPG, with post moves like Hakeem and a silky jumpshot, Embiid has the tools to be a future MVP in the league.
Philly have the perfect complimentary players for their two stars in their starting five — sharpshooter JJ Redick, un-drafted stud “Sir” Robert Covington and the European version of Ben Simmons, Dario Saric. Veterans Jerryd Bayless, Amir Johnson, Marco Bellinelli and Ersan Ilyasova bring shooting and the presence that this young roster needs, while other young players like Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, T.J. McConnell and Justin Anderson have high ceilings that are nowhere near reached just yet.
Oh yeah, they’ve also got the 1st overall pick from this year’s draft in Markelle Fultz still to return from injury — it’s fair to say that the Sixers are going to be a fun team for years to come. Between Embiid’s strong troll-game or his post-game social media, to the possibility of T.J. “GOAT” McConnell hitting a game-winner, the team is full of intrigue and the most fun to watch on a nightly basis purely for the fact that the youth are developing right before our eyes.
Honourable Mention:
The Houston Rockets — they’re 34–1 when Chris Paul, James Harden and Clint Capela play and they shoot a lot of threes. Also, James Harden banished Wesley Johnson into the shadow realm via crossover recently (and had time to stare at him for like 10 minutes — goddamn!):
The “Fuck The Haters” Award
As was mentioned in our Markelle Fultz piece, the 2017 Draft Class was stacked with talent. The entire pre-draft period was, as always, dominated by the debate of who would be picked where, and who would end up playing for which team. The Los Angeles Lakers, a once powerhouse turned shitshow of the NBA, led by their loyal tank commander Byron Scott, held the 2nd overall pick in the draft — a powerful commodity for a young, rebuilding team to help them get back on the path to their previous glory.
Lonzo Ball had been linked to the Lakers the moment LaVar released him from his Big Ball(er Brand)s. The Ball family are L.A born-and-bred, providing Lonzo with a strong tie to Lakers basketball from the moment LaVar presumably raised him up like Rafiki did Simba at birth. Unfortunately for the Clippers, they were once again completely disregarded as the “other” L.A team. Ahead of the Draft, Ball was asked to work out with the Boston Celtics, however his camp reportedly “politely said no” — something about LaVar and “polite” just doesn’t seem to align.
We have all seen and heard about the patriarch of the Ball Family, LaVar. If, by some modern-day-miracle you haven’t, we are truly envious. LaVar is the quintessential opposite of the saying “let your actions do the talking”. From a man who openly stated that his son was better than Stephen Curry, as well as arrogantly claiming he could take on the GOAT, Michael Jordan, in a game of one-on-one (LaVar averaged a monstrous 2.2PPG in his college career), not a lot of credibility can be associated with the BBB CEO.
Credibility or not, this didn’t stop the former Washington State forward from advertising his eldest son, who was subsequently drafted with the second pick by the Los Angeles Lakers — a dream come true for LaVar, who says he “spoke it into existence”. Given LaVar is basically Lonzo’s spokesman — factor in Lonzo’s astoundingly diverse emotional range — his exact sentiments on being drafted to his hometown team weren’t quite clear.
Lonzo went into his rookie season as a Laker with a giant (probably BBB-branded) target already on his back. Normally, it can take a number of seasons for a player to be singled out and targeted by his opponents — thanks to the overbearing comments from his father, Lonzo had a number of current players licking their chops at the thought of taking the 20-year old Point Guard down a few notches.
Patrick Beverley openly stated he would make his defensive assignment “suffer” when he faced Lonzo in his NBA debut — and suffer he did. Lonzo ended up with only 3 points and shot just 1-of-6 from downtown. Beverley, one of the best perimeter defenders in the League, took the onus on himself to pester, harass and berate Lonzo every second he spent on the court.
Cue the public overreaction — the NBA world immediately began a cycle of hot takes and started labelling Lonzo as a “bust” and that his shot was “broken”… after one game! It’d be great for any player to have a productive debut when you have a serial pest in Beverley literally breathing down your neck. Well, not literally — shout out to Lance Stephenson for physically blowing air in his opponents’ ears (never change, Lance).
Funnily enough, Lonzo passed Beverley’s career high of 26 points in his next game.
There is no doubting it, Lonzo’s shooting form is about as attractive as Charles Barkley in a bubble bath. However, it worked for him in college where he averaged 14.6PPG, 6.0RPG and 7.4APG whilst shooting 41% from deep — truly impressive numbers. Experts then came out and stated Lonzo needs to change his shot form. Well, we all saw how that panned out for the man taken before Ball in the draft (prayers up for Fultz).
Lonzo was straight up nasty for UCLA — a 6'6" Point Guard who could run an offense like Magic Johnson, shoot like Stephen Curry and had the hops to throw it down? Nephew, this boy is gonna be a problem.
Since been labelled a “bust” who was only drafted because of Papa Ball, Lonzo is averaging splits of 10/7/7 and has raised his 3-point percentage to 33.9% (up from 24% as of November 2017). He is currently shooting at 55% from the field in the month of March after returning from a sprained left MCL, which saw the Lakers guard miss 14 consecutive games. The Lakers offense simply looks better with Lonzo on the court.
There are few players in the league who you associate with being a ‘walking-triple-double’. LeBron James springs straight to mind. So do his “Young King”, Ben Simmons and Russell Westbrook, who amazingly averaged a triple-double in his MVP season. Lonzo Ball is knocking on the door of joining this list of triple-double royalty. On the 13th of November 2017, Lonzo became the youngest ever player in NBA history to record a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds, beating the record previously held by King James himself.
Breaking any record in the NBA is an astounding accomplishment in its own right, but when you take a record off a player of LeBron’s stature, you know you’ve found a talent. We wouldn’t put it past LeBron to build a time-machine and travel back to the year 2003 to re-take his record though. Although, it wouldn’t technically being re-taking it from Lonzo considering he was only 6-years old in 2003. Can you say, LeParadox?
The Present met The Future when the Lakers hosted the Cavaliers on December 15th, ultimately losing the matchup 121–112. After the final buzzer, LeBron made his way over to Lonzo, where the pair exchanged words, shielded by their jerseys (surprised their breath didn’t rip the robust Nike fabric). With what looked like some harmless motivating words of wisdom from the King, the media instantly began the LeBron-to-L.A hyperbole. Audio of the conversation found its way onto social media within hours, and the discreet one-on-one interaction could be heard through our own phones and laptops.
LeBron told the young Big Baller to simply “find your zone and just stay fucking locked in”. He continued to tell Ball that “the media is going to ask you what I told you right now but so what. Just be aggressive every single day…it’s white noise. That’s all it is. Alright?”
If having The King himself single you out and hit you with some LeBron wisdom after finishing with 13 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds isn’t the most “fuck the haters” thing so far this year, then get that bubble bath running Chuck, we’re hopping in.
Throughout the Draft, the early slump, the haircut and then the injury, Lonzo has stayed quiet, focused and maintained his professionalism. Quietly proving that he belongs in the league despite all the noise surrounding him is the loudest statement the Big Baller could make. Just watching the young Point Guard play, you can see his awareness and composure on the court — he has the tools to be a great player in the NBA and we’re all pulling for him. You do you, Lonzo — fuck the haters.
Dunk of the Year
Jarrett Allen was the 22nd pick of the 2017 Draft, taken by the Brooklyn Nets (the Nets finally have their own picks again?!). Flying relatively under the radar earlier in the season, he’s a 6'10" big man with impressive footwork, athletic ability and a spectacular head of hair.
He’s also a serial killer. On February 27th, 2018, Allen committed Dunkicide on Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls — after setting a high screen for D’Angelo Russell then receiving the bounce pass, Allen took one dribble then was cleared for takeoff, flooring the 7-footer after possibly impregnating him with a one-handed dunk.
Honourable Mention:
Larry Nance YAMMING on Kevin Durant.
Best Hair
It takes a combination of characteristics to become a star in the NBA — skill, determination and above all else, style. Despite majority of the new Nike jerseys looking fresh to death (ignoring the banana yellow Lakers’ jerseys) players are unable to fully showcase their ‘swagger’ on the court. Players, therefore, are forced to shift their attention towards the upmost extremities of their anatomy — their hair.
Even though we may never be graced with the presence of flamboyant and unique hairstyles — like Dennis Rodman’s rainbow palette, Ben Wallace’s afro (and trademark headband) or Birdman’s intimidating mohawk — ever again, the 2017–18 season has showcased some of the rudest, crudest and shrewdest styles of its own.
So here are the best and worst hairstyles of 2017–18 NBA season.
Jimmy Butler
This was an easy inclusion for one the best hairstyles in the NBA. Jimmy ‘G’ Buckets — the ‘G’ stands for groomed. Okay, that was a stretch, but don’t let that low-quality joke distract you from the sleek up-do that Butler is running. Jimmy, as with most other players, came into the league looking like a nervous shaved turtle only to later flourish into the more reputable and fashionable figure we see before us today.
Not only is Butler among the league leaders in Minutes Per Game and one of the best two-way players in the league, but he can also rock a crisp fade.
Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard’s hairstyle doesn’t really match his personality.
If the former Finals MVP weren’t the athletic, defensively dominant NBA Superstar he is right now, he’d probably be a stamp-collecting tax accountant. Despite the fact he often wears the expression of a lifeless robot, Gregg Popovich quite clearly programmed him to have the swagger turned all the way up. Leonard has paid homage to the Allen Iverson cornrows and is one of the few to maintain this hairstyle in today’s league — you do you, Kawhi.
Allen Iverson’s nickname was A.I and Kawhi may just about represent the closest thing to Artificial Intelligence we have in today’s world, so perhaps there is something to this similarity…
Gordon Hayward
It deeply saddens us to include Gordon Hayward in a piece about the 2017–18 season. However, given he technically did play two minutes of the season, he still makes the list for Best Hair.
Hayward is the perfect example of a rookie displaying minimal stylistic awareness, then progressively transforming into the gorgeous specimen he is nowadays. He pretty much went from “I’ll have your daughter home by 9pm, sir” to “She calls me Daddy now”.
His inclusion is mostly due to his perfect slicked-back parted hairstyle that somehow does not move an inch throughout the course of a game. I’m talking not even one singular hair out of place — seriously, what product does this man use? Fellow sweaty men would know the eternal struggle of attempting to keep your hair not looking like you’ve just come out of the shower after a local pick-up game.
Steven Adams
Steven Adams, the Kiwi big-man from the Oklahoma City Thunder is another prime example of a player undergoing an extreme transformation from pubescent squirt to masculine Adonis.
Adams came into the league resembling a hairless, timid boy scout — almost unrecognisable to his current form. At just 24-years of age, Adams has transformed himself into what resembles the son of Khal Drogo and Aquaman, growing out his hair into the most manly of man-buns imaginable. The 7-foot Center accompanies his lush locks with a Miami Vice-styled moustache and ruggedly beautiful beard combo.
Honestly, can one get any cooler?
Kelly Oubre Jr.
Kelly Oubre Jr. is a straight-up Rock Star. We’ve had a man crush on this specimen ever since he was drafted by the Wizards in 2015. It’s the combination of those dreamy eyes, the sleeve tattoos, the smooth jump shot and (perhaps more fittingly), his hair. Whether it’s the skin fade on the sides, the curly up-do afro, or the frosted tips on the back, Oubre has one of the sharpest styles in the league.
Worst Hair
We’ve applauded the upper-echelon of style in the NBA, so now we’ve got to call out some of the players that need to have a serious think about their choices — and probably hire a stylist.
Evan Fournier
You have to feel for Evan Fournier. Not only is the 25-year old Frenchman stuck playing basketball (quietly averaging 18PPG) for the perennial 8th-seed Orlando Magic, he is also is losing his hair quicker than the Magic are throwing away talent for 2nd-round Draft Picks — more on Elfrid Payton later.
Fournier is living every male’s nightmare of going bald in their 20s. In previous seasons, the Orlando Point Guard would have found himself in contention for one the best hairstyles in the league. Nowadays, he’s more likely to be in contention for the Register of Sex Offenders. Thanks to an experiment with dying his hair blonde in 2016, the chemicals in the dye chewed through his follicles quicker than LeBron James chews through teammates who can no longer help him.
JaVale McGee
It’s impossible to have a worst hairstyle list and not feature JaVale McGee. With almost more capital letters in his name than NBA highlights, this Shaqtin’ a Fool Hall of Famer’s hair could quite possibly make the list of worst hairstyles in any category on earth.
Shaq’s long-time punching bag gets a lot of hate from the NBA public for his lower-than-average Basketball IQ (he isn’t called Tragic Bronson for nothing). However, he isn’t helping his cause by running up and down the court with not one, not two, but three rat-tails joining into one concoction of straight-up, flaming trash.
Let’s give it to our man though — JaVale has been playing some solid minutes of late. Although he would have to finish his career with Wilt Chamberlain-like numbers for us to even contemplate respecting that hair.
Aron Baynes
It kills us to diss a fellow Aussie, but with Aron Baynes’ current skin-fade into top-knot hairstyle, let’s go ahead and sign his deportation papers.
The top-knot train steamrolled the world in 2016, yet Baynes clearly purchased a non-stop ticket on the top-knot train — still repping this disaster deep into the 2017–2018 NBA season.
Let’s be honest, the top-knot can rarely be pulled off. What, in the name of all things sacred, gave Baynes — a 7-foot pale, red-headed mountain of a man — the self-assurance to be certain that this was the right look for him? We pray for that level of confidence to be spread throughout the rest of humanity.
Elfrid Payton
This was a no-brainer. If a player’s hair literally caused them to air-ball a floater during a professional game of basketball, their hair is making this list.
How do you even describe the style of recently-acquired Phoenix Suns Point Guard, Elfrid Payton? A high-rising birds-nest of curly, dreadlocks that looks like a peaked hat made of hair from side-on. Granted, there is a little history behind Payton’s current style — his high school team vowed not to cut their hair until they were state champions. Unfortunately, that championship never found its way into their trophy cabinet and nobody reminded Payton that he can stop growing it out.
Maybe he’s growing it out until he wins an NBA Championship? That’s possible, right? He may end up completely blinded on the court and eventually be crushed by his own hair, if that’s the case — especially after being traded to the lowly Suns. Sorry, Phoenix fans.
Best Trade Deadline Move
Just when it appeared to be a quiet Trade Deadline this season, the LeGM of the Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in and pulled the rug out from underneath us all.
Following a disappointing start to the season, the Cavaliers (as they always do) decided it was time to make some moves to breathe new life into a team that was seemingly running in place. In a five-team deal that included a lot of moving parts and some picks (although, shockingly, not the coveted Brooklyn pick), the Cavaliers pulled the trigger and went all-in on a move that may be a last-ditch attempt to get LeBron James to stay beyond this year.
The Deal
Cavaliers get: Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr, Rodney Hood, George Hill, future second-round pick (from Miami)
Lakers get: Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, 2018 first-round pick (Cavs’ own)
Jazz get: Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose (who has since been waived)
Kings get: Joe Johnson who has since been bought out), Iman Shumpert, 2020 second-round pick
Miami get: Dwyane Wade
Cleveland sent six players to other teams in this trade — very rarely do you see an entire roster overhauled mid-season. The big win for Cleveland here is that they get rid of their biggest defensive liability (and one of the main causes of apparent locker room issues) in Isaiah Thomas — Thomas’ contract is expiring and given his slow progression coming back from injury and inability to fit in Cleveland’s system, they clearly didn’t want to pay him.
In return, they got back a solid defensive Point Guard who doesn’t need the ball in his hands at all times in George Hill, and an injection of youth in the form of a couple of solid guards to come off the bench in Hood and Clarkson, and an extremely athletic big-man in Nance.
The Lakers also won out on this trade — they can now avoid paying Clarkson when his contract is up for renewal and get back a couple of expiring contracts as well as a first-round pick. Essentially, the Lakers now have enough cap space for not one, but two max contracts next season. Magic Johnson was quoted saying “[he] came here to create flexibility for our organisation so one day we can have a superstar come here with our young core”. Did the Cavaliers inadvertently help the Lakers possibly lure LeBron (and Paul George) next season? We’ll have to wait and find out.
Honourable Mention:
The LA Clippers trading their franchise player Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons (and arguably getting better):
Clippers get: Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, Avery Bradley, 2018 protected first-round pick, 2019 second-round pick
Pistons get: Blake Griffin, Brice Johnson, Willie Reed
Best New Jersey
With Nike taking over the design and production of NBA jerseys this season, we were treated to a series of new designs, which included the all-new ‘City’ editions.
Each team had totally new jerseys designed to represent the city that the team is based in. Most of the new collection were great, with one in particular standing out above the rest — the Miami Heat ‘Vice’ jerseys.
Seriously, look at those things — they’re straight FIRE. Everything from the electric pink and blue combination to the script text just screams the 80s — moustaches, cocktails on the beach and white suits with the sleeves rolled-up.
Now that Dwyane Wade has also been traded back to the Heat, casual NBA fans have the perfect reason to cop one — Miami Heat’s store sales increased by 8,000% following Wade’s return.
Honourable Mentions:
The Los Angeles Lakers’ black jerseys designed by Kobe Bryant and the Chicago Bulls’ script jerseys.
“Keep Gettin’ Dem Cheques” Player of the Year
This award is for those players whose contracts far outweigh their contributions on the court — to someone who is getting paid to travel, train and sit on the bench (or sometimes the locker room) with a professional basketball team, all we can offer is an incredulous “keep gettin’ dem cheques, young fella”.
Two-time All Star Luol Deng has had an interesting career. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls (via a draft-day trade with Phoenix), he became a focal point of their offense and a great defensive player at the wing position. In fact, Deng was so good that he was involved in trade offers for Kobe Bryant in both 2004 and 2007 — ironically, Deng is now a Laker after minor stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
Following Bryant’s retirement, Deng signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Lakers — this, along with Timofey Mozgov’s four-year, $64 million contract quickly became among the worst contracts in the league.
This season, Deng isn’t even seeing the floor for the young Lakers squad, having played a total of just 13 minutes this season. I make about $9 in 13 minutes at the full-time job I currently work at — Deng has made $18 million for 13 minutes of play. Granted, he travels, trains and works out with the team, but damn. The combination of Deng’s contract size and the need to develop youth as part of their long-term plans, the Lakers are paying Deng to not play. They don’t even want him on the bench — as per the Los Angeles Times:
When the Lakers run out for the game, Deng retires to a training room to pretend. Deng watches the game on television and imitates its flow. When there’s action, he runs on a treadmill. When there’s a timeout, he stops. When the whistle blows, he runs again. When the Lakers are playing defense, he slides his feet as if playing imaginary defense.
Despite being in a Basketball Purgatory, Deng is still on the books for $18 million per season over the next two years — he doesn’t fit with their plans so they can’t play him, yet they can’t trade him due to his contract. I guess he’ll have to go on living in luxury in LA and making a measley $18m a season… poor guy.
Luol Deng, keep gettin’ dem cheques.
Honourable Mention:
Joakim Noah, who is getting paid $17.7 million this year, $18.5 million next year, and $19.2 million the year after that by the New York Knicks. He is currently not with the team, dismissed due to differences with Head Coach Jeff Hornacek.
Best Rivalry
Long gone are the days where players genuinely hated each other on the court. In a world where players are all best friends, we rarely see matchups like those between Michael Jordan and the entire Bad Boy Pistons roster, or physical playoffs series which saw Larry Bird and Dr. J literally choke each other, or even the unusual petty back and forth moments between LeBron James and serial pest, Lance Stephenson (never change, Lance).
Thankfully, Philadelphia 76ers’ resident Unicorn Joel Embiid and the reigning MVP Russell Westbrook emerged as clear leaders for the Best Rivalry of the 2017-18 season.
The feud started when OKC and Philadelphia met on December 16, 2017. Westbrook and Embiid both led their teams to a triple-overtime finish — the Thunder squeaking past with a 119–117 victory.
Things got heated when Embiid gave his Kiwi opponent Steven Adams a heartfelt send-off when Adams was fouled out late in the game.
Russell Westbrook is a dying breed of superstar. If you’re not on his team, he’s going through you to win. Given Westbrook’s intensity and loyalty, he obviously took Embiid’s gesture to heart (Embiid may as well have reversed his car over Westbrook’s pet dog Brodie).
Westbrook finished the game with 27pts, 17reb & 15ast (and more importantly, the win) and had some choice last words for his outspoken rival.
The feud (thankfully) continued on January 28th, 2018, when Embiid bulldozed Westbrook into last week with a monster jam — and then proceeding to stare down the flattened corpse of Westbrook.
Staring down a player after posterising them is basically the visual cue for “it’s on”. And when that player is Russell Westbrook (who has been known to take exception to his own teammates for not high-fiving him) — getting yammed on and stared down is the beginning of the end for the opponent.
Westbrook answered back by leading his team to victory and returned the favour to Embiid by, in the final seconds of the game, staring at on the bench while dribbling out the clock.
Seriously, don’t ever piss off Russell Westbrook.
Honourable Mentions:
- Joel Embiid vs. Andre Drummond
- The LA Clippers vs. the Houston Rockets
- Andre Drummond vs. his shoulder hair clippers
- Isaiah Thomas vs. Universal Studios Height Restrictions
Most Disappointing Lottery Pick
The 2017 NBA Draft was heralded as having the biggest talent pool since the 2003 Draft (LeBron, Melo, Wade, Bosh and… Darko). At this point in the season, that looks to be true — from lottery picks to late first-rounders, this draft class is impressive to say the least.
Having a Lottery Pick in this Draft was seen as a “can’t miss” opportunity, however, not all players lived up to expectations. The “Most Disappointing Lottery Pick” award largely considers expectation vs. reality — how good were these guys meant to be coming into the draft and how have they performed this season in comparison?
Players who have missed significant time due to injury (Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac) aren’t considered here because we simply don’t know enough about them on the court yet.
Going down the list of Lottery Picks, there are some potentially great players and contributors in there — Jayson Tatum is already really polished for a 19-year old, Josh Jackson has quietly been putting up solid numbers in Phoenix of late, Lauri Markkanen is basically Dirk 2.0 and Donovan Mitchell has made 12 other teams look really dumb for not taking him (he’s also a great wingman — what can’t he do?!).
The one name on that list that sticks out to me the most is Malik Monk. The 20-year old guard from Kentucky was taken with the 11th pick by Charlotte — many had him going a lot earlier and even Malik thought that the Knicks were going to take him with the 8th pick.
In his lone season at Kentucky, Monk averaged 19.8PPG while shooting 40% from 3pt territory and even had a 47pt outburst (with 8 triples) against North Carolina — he can flat out shoot. Coming into this season, I had really high hopes for the 6'3" sharpshooter and was looking forward to watching him catch fire on the court as one of the premiere irrational confidence guys in the league. Fast forward to now and Monk isn’t catching anything but fire on the court, averaging 4.5PPG in a paltry 11 minutes per game due largely to his defence.
Head Coach Steve Clifford says that Monk has to “learn the league” — granted, Monk is only 20 years old, but what better environment to develop a young player than in a 10th-seeded Eastern Conference team who are starting Jeremy Lamb instead of their lottery pick?
Honourable Mention:
Dennis Smith Jr. mainly because I had money on him winning Rookie of the Year and expected him to be Derrick Rose/Russell Westbrook 2.0.
Most Bizarre Storyline
The Curious Case of Markelle Fultz
In what was widely speculated as a loaded draft class in 2017, Fultz was highly touted to be the first overall pick — ahead of a strong line-up of potential future stars. Jayson Tatum, Lonzo Ball, Donovan Mitchell, Josh Jackson, De’Aaron Fox, Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr, John Collins, Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Bell and our absolute favourite Finnish Finnisher — Lauri Marrkkanen. By the beard of Harden, that is one hell of a draft class.
Now, what do these young stars have in common? They were all chosen by their respective teams behind the 6’4” guard from Maryland who was selected with the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, shipped off and processed by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 76ers of this century (it’s not often you can measure a team’s recent history in centuries) have been straight up trash — having not advanced past the Conference Semis since Iverson led them to the NBA Finals in the 2000–2001 season, where they ultimately lost to the Kobe/Shaq Lakers 4–1.
Philly, however, are looking the most likely to be the next big dynasty in the NBA (the Boston Celtics — shoutout to Bill Simmons — also come to mind here) — assuming that LeBron eventually retires and passes up his role of Lord of the East. As long as Joel Embiid stays healthy and Ben Simmons continues to be a walking triple-double, the 76ers have a bright future ahead.
The past decade has shown us that it typically requires a “Big Three” to take the mantle of NBA Champions. Most noticeably, the Garnett/Pierce/Allen Celtics of 2008, the LeBron/Wade/Bosh Heat era and more recently, the Warriors who have managed to run out a 5 All-Star lineup — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant’s burner Twitter account.
The formula is clear. So, after the Celtics traded down and sent the first pick to Philadelphia who went on to secure Mr. Bizarro himself, it appeared The Process had almost reached it’s potential.
In his lone season at Washington, Fultz average 23.2PPG and 5.9APG. He was a dominant pick-and-roll maestro who could knock down shots from just about anywhere on the court, shooting 41% from deep. He looked like the perfect fit to slot alongside Embiid and Simmons, and was an obvious choice for their first selection in the Draft.
It was an exciting time for the 76ers — and then the preseason started. In one of the more bizarre things to possibly ever happen in the NBA, Fultz came out and starting shooting with completely different form than previously seen during the college season. Now, we’ve heard of players adjusting their free-throw form (Tristan Thompson even changed preferred hands), however, we’ve never seen a player completely change their shooting mechanics before having played a single game at the NBA level. It was evident Fultz had lowered his shot release and was now almost pushing his shot up from the waist. Truly ugly — Shawn Marion would be proud.
Reports emerged from the 76ers camp that Fultz was dealing with a shoulder concern leading into the season, however Philly were being incredibly hush-hush on the matter, which ignited the media circus shining the spotlight on the young man.
It wasn’t until October 23rd, when Raymond Brothers (Fultz’ agent) came out and stated that Fultz “had a shoulder injury and fluid drained out of the back of his shoulder”, that he “literally cannot raise up his arms to shoot the basketball” and that “he decided to try and fight through the pain to help the team.” What in the actual? Let’s get this right — Fultz was unable to raise his arms above his shoulder and was in pain anytime he tried to shoot, yet was still playing? Hmmmm…
From a team known for sticking their young stars in bubble wrap — Simmons and Embiid both missed what would have been their rookie year — here we have the number one overall pick unable to raise his arms to shoot, yet he is still getting solid minutes on the court. Consider The Process untrusted.
Philadelphia General Manager Bryan Colangelo then came out and implied that Fultz decision to change his form was “actually the reason for his injured shoulder”. This storyline just kept getting more unusual by the day. Why is the number one pick in the draft changing his shot form? Clearly his shot form was working — perhaps even too well — since it contributed to nearly 24PPG in college and to him becoming the number one prospect in the sport.
The final straw was a free-throw that almost shut down the media. Take a look at the video below, where Fultz basically pushes the ball from his shoulder and bricks the attempt. And we mean BRICK — this sent the internet into a frenzy and nearly shut NBA Twitter down. It almost made Brook Lopez’ double air-ball free throws respectable…almost.
Fultz was then sent to see a specialist who diagnosed him with a ‘scapular muscle imbalance’, which basically means his two shoulder blades are disproportioned and don’t line up symmetrically. Even his injuries are weird! Fultz was then sent into quarantine and completely taken out of the limelight, having not played a single minute since October 23rd.
To make matters even more bizarre, head coach Brett Brown was heard saying Fultz’ injuries were ‘psychosomatic’. Basically, the injuries are apparently in his head. Brown later denied making these comments, however, Fultz made his opinion on the matter quite clear through social media.
The Markelle Fultz storyline has since died down with the 76ers screening Fultz from any media contact. A few videos of Fultz shooting and working on his form have surfaced over the month, however that’s about the only interaction we have had with this unusual storyline of late. His shot does seem to be coming along though and for the benefit of Fultz, the 76ers and the NBA, we really hope it’s just a combination of an injury and a mental block that he can overcome.
As fans of the 76ers, we as fans truly hope Fultz can regain his college form that made him the number one prospect.
