Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and 15 NBA Players Whose Stars Are Dwindling
How do you define someone's "star" as dwindling? Does it simply mean they're on the precipice of retirement and we're about to see the last of our beloved star or can it mean something entirely different?
Well, I say it means both. There is both an abstract and a literal way of thinking when it comes to a player's "star" is dwindling.
Under the abstract meaning, it could mean that a player who was once thought to be a future star is going to be a bust (i.e. any draft bust ever), it could mean a player who we thought was on the edge of superstardom simply doesn't have the chops or it could mean something else entirely.
The abstract meaning of the saying is all about perception. What did we believe to be so and how have we been disappointed?
On the other hand, there's simply the literal meaning of a player who gave us a long career but whose time as a star is on life support.
Well, for me, examining both are important and that's why I've decided to list 15 players whose stars are dwindling (divided into the abstract and the "end")...
Abstract
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The following are players whose stars are dwindling in the 'abstract' sense...
That photo is an abstract painting titled "Violin and Guitar," by Pablo Picasso.
Chris Bosh, PF, Miami Heat
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Perhaps no player this season has had a worse proverbial fall from grace so far this season than Chris Bosh.
If you had asked anyone prior to the season to rank their top 10 players in the league, Bosh would have nearly always fallen somewhere between seventh and tenth.
Now, 23 games into his tenure as the one-legged stripper on a team with two supermodels, does anyone have Bosh in their top 15? Top 20?
And the worst part about this scenario for Bosh? His skill really hasn't depreciated at all. If you compare Bosh's splits to his time in Toronto and account for the decline in touches, Bosh is performing at or above his Toronto level on most nights.
The problem is he's completely inept on the defensive end of the floor and one of the worst rebounders in NBA history for someone of his size and skill set.
Basically, Bosh is who he always was and we're just figuring it out now, myself included.
Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami Heat
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I realize this basically seems like I'm piling on the Heat here. And that I also just spent a sentence calling Wade a "supermodel" about five seconds ago.
So am I a just another Miami Heat hater and also a hypocrite?
No. Well, maybe the second part if you ask any female that's ever decided to spend more than 10 minutes with me.
But I digress. For continuity's sake, let's just continue the supermodel theory because I'm sure most men reading this still have fantasies of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show dancing around in their minds.
These fashion shows (and all fashion shows for that matter) run on a very strict set of rules. One model walks down the catwalk and, at a point where deemed appropriate by the stagehand, another files out when the first model is on her way back.
Why do they do this (Other than for safety reasons)?
Because they don't want to take the spotlight off the models in their moment.
Now let's imagine that they decide to switch it up and send two models down the catwalk at the same time. From a distance, both look like perfect 10s that any man would be lucky enough to "spend a night" with.
But as the models draw closer to the screen, it becomes apparently obviously that one is appreciably better looking than the other. Which one is the audience going to be drawn to? Exactly.
So, what the less attractive model should do is slow down, cede her time to the more attractive model and then take her time in the spotlight when it's appropriate.
So... yeah. Hopefully that makes sense.
Evan Turner, SG/SF, Philadelphia 76ers
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Anyone remember the guy who wrote "Turner is only player in this draft who I feel 100 percent certain about being a future All-Star"?
Yeah, that guy could use a mulligan on this one, because even his potential bust status as a "better version of Gerald Henderson" is looking risky at this point.
And, with the recent emergence of Jodie Meeks, one has to wonder how much longer Sixers coach Doug Collins is going to favor his No. 2 overall pick.
Earlier this offseason, I implored the Sixers to rid themselves of Andre Iguodala so that Turner could grow in his proper role. After seeing Turner play at the NBA level, my advice is to get rid of them both while you still can.
James Harden, SG, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Harden is another former top-three pick who is seemingly punching his one-way ticket to Bustsville.
Harden, who was supposedly going to be the third cog in OKC's homegrown "Big Three," has been nothing but a disappointment in his second season, shooting less than 36 percent from the field while filling up no other helpful statistical category of note.
For another player who was supposed to be the "safe" pick, it seems as if Thunder GM Sam Presti totally whiffed on this pick and Harden's lack of emergence is one of the main reasons why OKC has not faulted into the Western Conference elite as expected.
(Along with no post presence, of course.)
To remedy this, ESPN.com's Bill Simmons has suggested that OKC try to swap Harden for Sixers forward Andre Iguodala (and his bad contract). His point was that OKC needed to take advantage of Harden's trade value while there was some left.
Too late.
O.J. Mayo, SG, Memphis Grizzlies
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It's obvious that the O.J. Mayo-Memphis Grizzlies marriage is coming to an end sooner than later.
After an emergence last season as a more than reliable scorer and defensive stud, Mayo has struggled mightily this season as his relationship with coach Lionel Hollins and teammates seemingly has gone down the tube.
It seems logical that a divorce will both help Mayo and the organization, but also begs the question that, considering Mayo's tendencies to "school hop" in his past, do we start the "how many NBA teams will O.J. Mayo play for pool" now or after his next departure on bad terms?
Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder
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I told you this was the abstract portion of the program... but hear me out.
After OKC's thrilling first round series against the Lakers during the playoffs last season, Durant's "I'm not LeBron" announcement of his contract extension on twitter and his utter dominance at the World Championships over the summer, Kevin Durant became the NBA's "it" guy.
He not only was favored to be the 2010-11 MVP by Las Vegas, but also was sold to the nation as the anti-LeBron—the team-first, low-key, Tim Duncan-like superstar—who could fend off the Superfriends for years to come.
Now, are we even sure he's still the best player on his team?
Perhaps I'm overreacting to Russell Westbrook's fantastic start to the 2010-11 season, but Durant's early-season struggles have gone mostly under the radar. He's shooting less than 28 percent from three-point range, shooting more times while scoring fewer points and fading down the stretch in games while Westbrook has been flourishing.
Given the chance to choose who I want shooting the last shot, I'm still choosing Durant. But it's damn close. And no one saw that coming at the beginning of the season.
The End
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The following are the players whose stars are dwindling under the traditional sense.
Yao Ming, C, Houston Rockets
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I really don't know what else I can say about Yao Ming that hasn't already been said 5,000 times.
His contract is an albatross hanging over the Houston Rockets franchise, his legs are a woodpecker destructively pecking away his previously possible Hall of Fame career and the elephant in the room is whether he will gracefully hang it up at the end of the season or toil away sadly as the Rockets fade into oblivion.
Yao Ming is done folks. And I, for one, am sad about it.
Chauncey Billups, PG, Denver Nuggets
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Speaking of done, when are we going to be done with this Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" Billups farce? Seriously, when was the last time "Mr. Big Shot" actually hit a big shot? 2007?
In fact, the nickname has seemingly infested Billups' mind to the point where he actually thinks it's a good idea for him to be taking the big shots when he has one of the seven best players in the NBA hanging out on the wing beside him.
After watching the World Championships and watching Billups play this season, I think it's safe to say that he's about a year away from hitting Derek Fisher mode, meaning that he'll still be a starter because he's well-liked by teammates and coaches but should ultimately be nothing more than an eighth or ninth man.
"Mr. Big Shot?" More like "Mr. Bad Shot," am I right?
Okay, let's pretend that didn't happen...
Brandon Roy, SG, Portland Trailblazers
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This is both the saddest portion of this article and also the portion where I attempt to avoid the "all you did for the second half of this article is list old guys, I could do that" criticism.
And it's also the part where I piss off Portland for the umpteenth time.
I think Brandon Roy is done. Not done as in he totally sucks (although he has so far this season), but done as in his knees are going to have him playing the role of Tracy McGrady within three years.
And Blazer fans, when you're paying out the end of B-Roy's awful extension as he toils in a training room in a few years, you know who to blame: The entire Portland Trailblazers organization for allowing B-Roy to play last season after his knee surgery.
Blame the training staff for not only allowing Roy to have an insane surgery, but for allowing him to come back just seven days afterward.
Blame Nate McMillan for not looking out for the best interest of his player and benching him regardless of what Roy or the training staff said.
And, especially, blame Paul Allen, whose crazy antics over the past year put just enough pressure on the staff to facilitate such an irrational and short-sighted decision.
Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns
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Steve Nash is almost 37 years old and he's still one of the five best point guards in the NBA.
What Nash's career basically comes down to is how long his body can take the wear and tear of a break neck pace 82-plus games per season. Phoenix has done a fantastic job over the years of limiting Nash's minutes (he hasn't played 35 MPG since 2006-07), but there's very little evidence of a point guard being elite at this age.
John Stockton played until he was 41, but was also a complete shell of himself the final few seasons.
With Nash's unbelievable conditioning habits, I can see him playing into his 40s, but I doubt we'll see Nash at an elite level much past this season.
The Celtics' "Big Three"
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I think we have all come to the realization that this season is the last chance for Boston's original "Big Three" to win their second NBA championship.
The combination of the Superfriends adding more depth next offseason and another 100-plus games on the aging bodies, most are resigned to the fact that the life expectancy of title contention ends after this year.
And that's not even mentioning the "99 percent" chance that there is going to be a lockout in the offseason. A lockout obviously hampers the 2011 Celtics' chances even more.
But rest assured Celtics fans, if I could do my preseason picks over again, the Boston Celtics would be my NBA champions. From what I've seen this year, there is no better or tougher team on a nightly basis. The same lack of explosion on the offensive end could still be their downfall, but the "Big Three," Rondo and Shaq all seemingly are more motivated than ever to win.
And that's a scary thought.
Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
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Kobe Bryant is still the second-best player in the NBA right now. I would say he has at least three more years of being a top-10 player.
But none of that matters to Kobe. Championships and a place in history matter to Kobe.
So the question is, how much longer can Kobe alter his place in history before it's set in stone?
As of right now, I say he's no worse than the sixth best player in NBA history. Does another ring get him set in stone as a top-five player? Possibly. Do two more rings set him in stone as a top-three player of all-time? Possibly.
Is there a point where it doesn't matter how many championships you have, but also how you get them? Definitely.
Kobe, in order to earn the place in history Lakers fans so desperately want him to achieve, needs to be the unquestioned best player on the floor. No more 6-for-24 performances in series-deciding games. Winning that way only brings more questions on his legacy as a stopper.
Had the Miami Heat been everything we thought they were and Kobe's Lakers beat them in the Finals, Kobe would be a no-brainer top-five player. But they're not. So the onus is now on Kobe to rip the heart out of the entire city of Boston for a second straight year.
We're not only watching the end of a brilliant career, we're watching history here, folks.
Tim Duncan, PF, San Antonio Spurs
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If I would have told you before the season that the San Antonio Spurs would start the season 18-3 with Tim Duncan averaging just 13.7 PPG and 9.2 RPG, you would have asked where I got my hands on the meth from "Breaking Bad."
But alas, the Spurs have the best record in basketball and their best player, well, isn't their best player anymore.
On the bright side, it seems as if Duncan is embracing his backseat role in the regular season. (As if there's any question the classiest player in the NBA wouldn't.)
Duncan's decline does beg the question of how much longer are we going to get to see the greatest power forward in NBA history.
Karl Malone played into his 40s more than effectively, but no one expects Duncan to hang on until the bitter end. Could it be in five years we're looking at an NBA without Kobe, Duncan, Shaq, Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Iverson, Kidd and Dirk?
They say all eras have to come to an end, so I guess it's time we start appreciating these stars while we still can witness their greatness.
Week 14 NFL Picks
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Last Week: 7-9
This Season: 92-96-6
This Week: 0-1 (Picked Indy)
Oakland (+4) over Jacksonville
Cincinnati (+8.5) over Pittsburgh
Cleveland (+1) over Buffalo
NY Giants (-3) over Minnesota
Green Bay (-7) over Detroit
Carolina (+7.5) over Atlanta
San Francisco (-5.5) over Seattle
NY Jets (-5.5) over Miami Dolphins
Washington (+2) over Tampa Bay
New Orleans (-9) over St. Louis
San Diego (-7) over Kansas City
New England (-3) over Chicago
Denver (-4.5) over Arizona
Philadelphia (-3.5) over Dallas
Houston (+3) over Baltimore
