Putting the NBA's Young 2015 All-Stars in Historic Company
Ever have one of those moments when you realize both the NBA's present and future are in good hands?
If you haven't, you're about to.
Superstars are everywhere in today's Association. So much so, the term "superstar" loses luster in certain situations. There's so much talent out there, it's easy to dole out superstar feel goodz like you're handing out free samples of bacon wrapped bacon at Costco.
But while cavalier superstar designations can be viewed as bad things, they're also good things. They mean the NBA has an excess of dominant players, many of whom are young, making history and in the 2015 All-Star Game.
How convenient. This season's All-Star tilt is just days away, so it's the perfect time to see which of today's ladder-climbers are pinning themselves to—and sometimes exceeding—active or retired legends. These relationships are purely statistical and come in the form of season averages or career milestones.
In referencing these young stars, we're specifically talking about those who are 25 or younger. Players are too established beyond these constraints. There's no need for us to classify guys like Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry as young anymore.
To be honest, we're pushing the bill with some of these players. A few of them have been good for so long (Dewayne Dedmon), their superstar status is an afterthought. But hey, I don't make the rules—actually I do, and I say the provided criteria works.
With that in mind, let us now enter the data mines. Decorative hardhats are strongly recommended, though not required.
Honorable Mention: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
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We here at Bleacher Report are equal-opportunity dap-distributors. You're welcome.
Blake Griffin could technically be left off this list since he turns 26 soon. He's also not participating in the All-Star festivities after having surgery on his right elbow, per ESPN.com's Arash Markazi. Excluding him would be totally justifiable.
To hell with that, though. Injury bugs aren't God. Griffin was voted into the All-Star exhibition and is 25 (for now), so here he sits, historical and such.
Once Griffin returns from injury, he'll need just eights assists to amass 1,400 for his career. That achievement will be in addition to him already transcending 7,500 points, 3,500 rebounds and 350 steals. One other player has reached those checkpoints through his first five seasons.
Larry Bird.
Yours truly shall say no more.
Honorable Mention: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
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Here we go again. In a statement released by the New Orleans Pelicans, Davis said that "after careful thought and consideration," he will not be partaking in the All-Star festivities. The news comes after he suffered a shoulder sprain against the Indiana Pacers and forces him into honorable mention territory.
Putting Davis in historical company is difficult. It implies he has company, which he often doesn't. His skill set is unrivaled, his stat lines beyond compare, his ceiling immeasurable.
What little company he keeps only enhances his legend. For instance, Davis will likely become the fourth player to average at least 24 points, 10 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.5 blocks for an entire season. The other three are Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. All of them are Hall of Famers; none of them were younger than 24 when they joined this club.
Davis is 21.
Additionally, Davis' player efficiency rating would go down as the second-highest ever if the season ended now. The three players who have matched or exceeded his present PER (31.7) are Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. All of them are epic talents; none of them were younger than 24 at the time.
Davis is 21.
Tracy McGrady was previously the youngest player to crack 30 on the PER scale. He was a spry 23 that season.
Davis is 21.
Say this over and over again until it sinks in. Davis is 21 and not only joining elite ranks, but in most cases standing alone.
James Harden, Houston Rockets
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Months away from turning 26, James Harden just makes the cut. Phew.
Really, he would have belonged here either way. His ability to go supernova once a day (twice on Tuesdays and Thursdays) is only now being fully realized. He's somewhat new to the superstar clique after sacrificing minutes and status for three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's intriguing to wonder what his career numbers would look like had he been drafted into a different situation. He's already set to become just the 14th player to average at least 19 points, four assists, four rebounds and one steal through his first six seasons. Imagine what he could have done if his usage rate in Oklahoma City (20.4) compared to his mark with the Houston Rockets thus far (29.2).
Still, Harden is doing all right for himself now. He has his Rockets contending for a top-three playoff seed in the vicious Western Conference, leads the league in scoring and has emerged as a midseason MVP front-runner.
There's also the matter of Harden's monstrous stat lines. He's averaging 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and two steals per game. Here's a list of players to maintain those benchmarks for an entire season:
- LeBron James
- Michael Jordan
- Dwyane Wade
Before passing out from sheer shock, here's a look at the players who have done the same while posting a true shooting percentage—cumulative measurement of two-pointers, three-pointers and free throws—of at least 61.1 (Harden's):
- Michael Jordan
Feel free to faint now.
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
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Rather than trade for Kevin Love over the summer, the Golden State Warriors signed Klay Thompson to a fat extension. In doing so, the Warriors proved they were smarter than just about everyone ever.
Thompson has become a two-way heavyweight, earning his first All-Star selection and establishing himself as the foremost authority on explosive third quarters. He's already obliterated the record for three-pointers made and attempted through a player's first four seasons—and he hasn't even played through four full seasons yet.
Up until 56 made three-pointers ago, Curry owned the record. But we always knew Thompson could shoot. It's everything else he's doing that has us smitten and the Warriors' front office looking like a gang of high-browed Einsteins.
To be sure, Thompson still spots up frequently. More than one-quarter of his shot attempts are catch-and-shoot threes, of which he's burying 44.7 percent. But he's the consummate complete player, creating his own offense, forcing turnovers, passing and rebounding.
Only two players in league history under 25 have reached touchstones of 22 points, three rebounds and three assists while shooting 42 percent or better from deep. Thompson, who was 24 for most of this season, is on pace to become the third. Fittingly enough, his company would be Curry and Ray Allen.
What's the source of these superpowers?
“Trying to chase Steph,” Thompson told Grantland's Jonathan Abrams. “That’s how you stay hungry. Try to do what he does. I can’t do that. I don’t think anyone on this planet can.”
Maybe not, but Thompson is enjoying an historical start to his NBA career, in his own brain-bending, sanity-stripping, Stephen Curry-ish way.
John Wall, Washington Wizards
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Remember when John Wall wasn't considered a superstar?
Of course you don't. That was eons ago. It's water under the bridge. A tale of yesteryear. The notion itself is irrelevant. The thrice-fried insects to your peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
That's how synonymous Wall has become with superstardom these days. He has distinguished himself at the NBA's deepest position and is now making his second-ever All-Star appearance (first as a starter).
Oh, yeah. He's also joined some pretty incredible company in the process of debilitating doubters everywhere. We'll let ESPN.com's Mike Wise grab the speaking stick for a moment here:
"John Wall and all his no-look majesty and spin-to-the-rack tenacity shoveled the dirt away again, pushing the machine toward a high seed in the Eastern Conference. He will start his first All-Star Game on Sunday in New York. Last month, he joined Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Chris Paul as the only players to average at least 17 points, eight assists and four rebounds through their first 300 games.
"
Boom goes the (statistical) dynamite.
Wall is indeed just the fourth player in league history to average at least 17 points, eight assists and four rebounds through his first 300 tilts. Of the three-player company he keeps, two of his brethren are already Hall of Famers (Johnson and Robertson); the other is an inevitable inductee (Paul).
Assuming exclusive club memberships portend the future, it's safe to say Wall's career is on the right trajectory.
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
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Snub this.
Damian Lillard has been a crunch-time freakazoid (not to be confused with Freakazoid). The numbers he puts up are always insane and mostly unprecedented.
Three players have wrapped up their first three seasons averaging 20 points per game while banging in 37 percent of attempted long balls. Lillard is about to become the fourth, meaning he'll join ranks that include Vince Carter, Paul Pierce and Kyrie Irving—two Hall of Fame-bound legends and one three-time All-Star.
Know how many of those players also topped six assists per game through their three initial campaigns?
Zero. Zilch. Cero. None. Zip.
Bonus factoid: Lillard is on pace to log just under 9,100 career minutes (9,097) by season's end. Only 24 players have cracked the 9,000-minute plateau after just three go-rounds, and just one has done so over the last 16 years. His name is LeBron James. Lillard is LeBron James durable.
And to think, he almost wasn't an All-Star.
Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
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Jimmy Butler is out there playing like he wants a max contract.
Related: The restricted-free-agent-to-be is going to get a max contract.
There are coming-out parties, there are breakout campaigns, there are unfathomable evolutions and then there's whatever the heck Butler is doing this season. He is now equal parts defensive lifeline and offensive savior, and if his numbers hold, he'll make obscure yet mesmerizing history.
Plenty of people have matched Butler's 20-point, 5.5-rebound, three-assist, 1.5-steal yardsticks. Looking at just guards and forwards, 24 other players age 25 or younger have notched those marks over an entire season.
How many of those other non-centers also attempted fewer than 15 shots per game, you ask? Just two: Adrian Dantley and Charles Barkley, both of whom are Hall of Famers, neither of whom played in the backcourt.
Which makes Butler's present lines that much more impressive. He's the first-ever guard under the age of 26 to go for at least 20 points, 5.5 rebounds, three assists and 1.5 steals without jacking up 15 shots every night.
Worry not, sound-sensitive friends. That noise you hear is not the world coming to an end.
It's the Chicago Bulls smashing open their vault-protected piggy bank in preparation of Butler's foray into free agency.
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
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Criticism of Irving is not scarce. He entered the NBA prematurely crowned the second-coming of Chris Paul and has only just started escaping the lofty standards that came with replacing James.
The truth is, Irving will probably never be a complete player. His defense has improved this year, but he's still terrible at guarding pick-and-rolls and prone to fixating on the ball, even when he's off it. But his defensive shortcomings cannot dwarf the work he does on the offensive end—not just individually, but on a collective scale.
As Fear The Sword's Justin Rowan previously explained:
"Everybody knows that Kyrie Irving was put on this planet to get buckets. He is one of the most electrifying below the rim players in the game, with the ability to demolish a defenders ankles before knocking down any jumper. But the offensive impact he is having on the team in comparison to past seasons is staggering.
"
When Irving is on the floor, the Cleveland Cavaliers offense improves by four points per 100 possessions. That he ranks 12th in passes and is once again eclipsing 20 points per game, despite registering a career-low usage rate, is just absurd. He has adapted to playing off the ball, beside James, incredibly well.
And in the spirit of that adaptation, it's time to throw confetti in Irving's honor. Below is a list of every NBA player who has averaged at least 20 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists with a true shooting percentage of 55 through his first four seasons:
- Kyrie Irving (in progress)
- Damian Lillard (in progress)
- Oscar Robertson (no three-point line)
- Dwyane Wade
Any time you're mentioned in the same breath as Oscar Robertson, you're doing something right.
Despite the frequency with which he's derided, the 22-year-old Irving has done and continues doing a lot of things right.
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
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DeMarcus Cousins is scary good.
Though the Sacramento Kings are traveling in the complete opposite direction, Cousins is on the up and up (occasional defensive slumbers notwithstanding). His 24.7 PER ranks seventh in the league, and Sacramento has a better net rating (plus-2.2) than the Phoenix Suns (plus-1.8) when he's on the floor.
Cousins is also torching opponents for 23.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. The list of players under 25 to rival these single-season benchmarks is short. It includes O'Neal, Barkley, Tim Duncan, Bob McAdoo and that's it. Roughly two months from now, it should include Cousins.
Wait, it gets better.
Provided Cousins remains healthy, he'll have surpassed 6,000 points, 3,500 rebounds, 850 assists, 450 steals and 350 blocks for his career. Only Barkley and Robinson have done the same through their first five seasons.
Now that's what we call a half-decade of Boogie-ing.
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate as of games played Feb. 11, 2015 unless otherwise cited.
