Best Young NBA Star

When the question of best basketball player in the world arises most fans immediately think of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.  Many of today’s great NBA players jumped directly from high school to pros.  So, while best player is always an enticing debate, lets tackle a lesser argued question of who is the best young NBA star to attend college? 

For some time, Dwyane Wade from Marquette was the hands down answer to this question.  However, recently Chris Paul and Kevin Durant have developed into household names and are both making convincing cases to be included in the debate.

After a dominating career at Wake Forest, where he was perceived to be a small point guard playing for a small school, Paul was out to prove critics wrong upon arriving to the NBA.  His underdog psyche and perception of himself was further strengthened when he was passed up on by the Milwaukee Bucks (Andrew Bogut), Atlanta Hawks (Marvin Williams), and Utah Jazz (Deron Williams) in the draft.  Finally, the undersized guard who had just led Wake Forest to a successful season, was selected fourth overall by the New Orleans Hornets.

Chris Paul on Draft Day

Since his selection, the talented point guard has impressed fans, players, coaches, and executives.  In his rookie campaign, Paul averaged 16.1 ppg, 7.8 apg, and 2.24 spg leading all rookies. Those numbers earned him the NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) award and a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie First Team.  Additionally, he received Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors six times, becoming only the fifth player in history to accomplish that feat along with Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, Tim Duncan, and David Robinson.

In his second season he scored and assisted at higher and higher rates.  His development led to his naming on the sophomore squad for the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge.  During the game, Paul recorded 16 points, 17 assists (a game record), and 9 rebounds.  A December contest against the Dallas Mavericks highlighted Paul’s sophomore campaign when he tallied 25 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high 18 assists (his third career triple-double).

Paul driving past Dirk

During his third season, Paul kept establishing himself as a rising star in the league.  He showed his Western Conference foes why the Hornets, under his leadership, would be a contender for years to come.  Statistically, Paul’s third season was his breakout year, setting career highs in every category.  His outstanding season averages read like this 21.1 ppg, 11.6 apg, and 2.7 spg.  His phenomenal play was rewarded with a mid-season selection to the All-Star Game; there he recorded 16 points and 14 assists, becoming only the fourth player in All-Star Game history to reach 14+ points and assists.  Moreover, Paul ended the season ranked first in the league in assists and steals, becoming the first person since John Stockton to do so.

Chris Paul and John Stockton: Two Future Hall of Famers?

During his next season, Paul provided nightly highlights for hometown fans to awe at.  His development as a dazzling ball handler and precise passer was amazing.  He was not only gaining hometown recognition, but he was beginning to be appreciated on a national stage.  Again, he led the league in assists and steals, becoming the only player to do so in consecutive seasons; while also becoming the second fastest player to reach 2,500 career assists, only trailing the great, Oscar Robertson.  After slipping slightly in his fifth professional season, due primarily to injury, Paul looks to continue his tear this season as one of the best point guards and young talents in the game.

Similarly to Chris Paul, Oklahoma City Thunder’s lanky swingman has continued to impress since joining the league. After being snubbed by the Trail Blazers, who selected Greg Oden 1^st overall, the Seattle Supersonics quickly grabbed the Texas star with the 2^nd overall selection.

Peace Oden! I think we all know who was the better pick.

Durant obviously did not appreciate being passed over because he came out on his rookie campaign on a mission. Evidently, his mission was to make sure the Trail Blazers understood they had made a mistake.  Seattle welcomed Durant’s efforts and he quickly established himself as a fan favorite and the face of the franchise.  After posting 20.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 2.2 apg, his rookie campaign ended with ROY honors.

Is that Durant lurking in Kobe's shadow?  How long till he takes over?  I'm sure Seattle fans are kicking themselves!

In his sophomore season, Durant continued to assert himself as a force to be reckoned with.  His status has a top young gun was strengthened at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game during the Rookie-Sophomore Game.  He carried his sophomore team to victory while breaking the games scoring record with 46 points. This performance all came while the Seattle Supersonics were relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

Good Bye Seattle, hello Oklahoma City!

After two years of steady improvements, nobody knew just how much to expect from the talented Durant as he began his third NBA season.  After two successful seasons, he didn't disappoint in his third.  He earned the privilege in playing for the West in his first NBA All-Star Game.  While playing in the All-Star Game is impressive, he became the youngest player (21 years-old) to win the scoring title with 30.1 ppg. 

In addition to his individual accolades, more impressively Durant led his young Thunder team to an unexpected playoff berth after finishing with 50 wins.  After only winning 23 games the previous year, the Thunders 27 game improvement was the league’s sixth biggest turnaround.  In the playoffs, Durant’s team made their series against the Los Angeles Lakers exciting.  After extending the series to 6 games, the Thunder lost on a buzzer-beating tip in by Pau Gasol.  At season’s end, Durant finished second in the MVP voting behind LeBron James and received a spot on the 2010 All-NBA First Team, which included LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade.

Yes, D-Wade has more experience but do either Chris Paul or Kevin Durant have a shot at stealing his title as the best young NBA star to attend college?

What do you think?


Here is a list of accomplishments for each player to help you make up your own mind.


Dwyane Wade:

28 Years Old

College: Marquette University

Drafted 5^th Overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat

NBA All-Rookie First Team (2004)

6-Time NBA All-Star (2005-2010)

NBA All-Star MVP (2010)

NBA Champion & NBA Finals MVP (2006)

NBA Scoring Champion (2009)

2-Time All-NBA 1^st Team (2009, 2010)

2-Time All-NBA 2^nd Team (2005, 2006)

1-Time All-NBA 3^rd Team (2007)

3-Time All-Defensive 2^nd Team (2005, 2009, 2010)

Olympic Gold Medalist with Team USA (2008 Summer Olympic Games)

ESPY Award: Best Breakthrough Athlete (2005)

Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (2006)

ESPY Award: Best NBA Player (2006)

Miami Heat All-Time Scoring and Assists Leader

Chris Paul:

25 Years Old

College: Wake Forest University

Drafted 4^th Overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets

NBA Rookie of the Year (2006)

NBA All-Rookie 1^st Team (2006)

1-Time All-NBA 1^st Team (2008)

1-Time All-NBA 2^nd Team (2009)

1-Time All-Defensive 1^st Team (2009)

1-Time All-Defensive 2^nd Team (2008)

3-Time NBA All-Star (2008, 2009, 2010)

Olympic Gold Medalist with Team USA (2008 Summer Olympic Games)

ESPY Award Winner: Best Breakthrough Athlete (2006)

NBA records:

Consecutive games with a steal: 108 consecutive games with a steal

Most games with a least one steal, season: 80 (steal in every game played)

Kevin Durant:

22 Years Old

College: University of Texas

Drafted 2^nd Overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics

NBA Rookie of the Year (2008)

NBA All-Rookie 1^st Team (2008)

NBA Rookie Challenge MVP (2009)

1-Time NBA All-Star (2010)

NBA Scoring Champion (2010)

All-NBA First Team (2010)

FIBA World Championship MVP (2010)

Is the Sun Setting in Phoenix?

By Alex Lendrum

Historically, Suns fans have been spoiled with a very successful franchise.  Some of the Suns accolades include winning three Pacific Division titles, reaching the Western Conference Finals three times since 2005, and earning playoff spots 19 of the last 22 seasons.  After a cold start this season, should the Phoenix faithful begin to worry?

After sweeping the Spurs in last year's Western Conference Semis, the fun-loving Suns team, led by two-time league MVP Steve Nash, seemed to be destined for the Finals.  After battling the Lakers for the first four games, the Suns took a major hit in Game 5 when Ron Artest tipped in a Kobe Bryant air ball to win the game.  If not for that miraculous tip by Ron-Ron, the Suns most likely would have gone on to defeat the Lakers and appear in their third NBA finals in franchise history.  Instead, the tip in led to their eventual playoff elimination and an offseason full of turmoil.

The anticipated departure of Amare Stoudemire, a 5-time NBA All Star, came to fruition when he opted out of his contracts final year and entered free agency early.  During the summer, he made headlines when he signed with Coach Mike D’Antoni and the New York Knicks.  After losing Amare, the Suns front office signed some key acquisitions of their own with Hakeem Warrick, Hedo Turkoglu, and Josh Childress.  The new team was marketed to be more energetic, quicker, and deeper providing fans with a sense of hope.

Nevertheless, the Suns find themselves with a dismal 11-12 record and some fans cannot help but panic.   

The franchise so familiar with winning has now dropped three straight to teams with a 33-36 combined record.  The Suns are trying to compete with one of the oldest and smallest line-ups; and in a league that gets younger and bigger each year, they are struggling to find new ways to compensate and win without consistent contribution from a big man.

With no help from inside, the Suns lost a heartbreaking overtime game to Memphis Grizzlies sandwiched in between a home and away (both losses) against the surging Portland Trailblazers.  Those three straight losses place the Suns as the ninth seed in the West.  While it is of course too early to be concerned about playoff positioning, is it too early to question and critique the team chemistry (or lack thereof) of a team entering a difficult stretch against Dallas, OKC, San Antonio, and Miami?

The Suns are running out of time to establish themselves. The traditional run and gun style offense may still be succeeding (statistically ranked 1^st), but the Suns continue to perform poorly on defense (statistically ranked last).  However, the bench has provided some positive support to the starters by cutting late game deficits, but until moral victories count in the win column, they will be no help to the Suns. 

It is not panic time yet at the Purple Palace. Suns fans can still hold out hope that with the guidance and leadership of Steve Nash and Grant Hill, two of the NBA’s most experienced veterans, that they will always have a fighter’s chance.  Though the road to redemption is not going to be easy, the season has only just begun.  The Suns have grown accustomed to the underdog role and seem to play well when no one outside of Phoenix believes in them.  Don’t sweat the early struggles too much Suns fans, Planet Orange is still rockin’!

Whisenhunt Names Skelton Starter

By Brett Fitzgerald

The Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt named rookie John Skelton as the starter for Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos.

With Derek Anderson out with a concussion and Max Hall on the injured reserve list, Skelton is Whisenhunt's only remaining option.

In limited action, Skelton completed 3 of 6 passes for 45 yards in an uneventful 19-6 loss to NFC West rival St. Louis Rams.

After losing Kurt Warner to retirement the Cardinals offense has, to say the least, struggled.  The Cardinals quarterbacks have combined to throw just eight touchdown coupled with 16 interceptions this season.  What??  No wonder the Cardinals are at the bottom of the leagues worst division.

Luckily, for Cardinals fans the NFL Draft is right around the corner and this years class has some can't miss talent.  Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Kellen Moore, and Ryan Mallett would all look great as the new signal caller for this desperate and other-wise talented team.

Lets hope the Cardinals organization recognizes what's best for the future and avoids any prideful runs at mediocrity.

JaVale McGee's Best Dr. J Impression

By Brett Fitzgerald


On Wednesday night, as the fourth quarter wound down, the Wizards were trailing the Kings by 25.  The poor circumstances did not stop Wizard's center JaVale McGee from aggressively tipping away Omri Casspi's lazy in-bounds pass and sprinting towards potentially his first major career highlight.  Sometime after stealing the pass, McGee decided to channel his inner Julius Erving.  Unfortunately for the Wizard's fans, JaVale is no Dr. J.

Although he could not finish, this "hot dog" performance did provide us with what is sure to be a NOT top 10 play of the week.

Check out his missed free-throw line dunk attempt:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Javale-McGee-hot-dogs-misses-a-free-th?urn=nba-293811