Who’s next to the throne?

As LeBron James enters his 16th season, and first outside of the Eastern Conference, one has to think his reign must eventually end. Father time is undefeated. All of the greats come down to earth at some point, right? Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Shaq all can be listed in GOAT conversations whether it be for their respective position, their era, or all time. All of them defeated by Father Time. Players from that historic 2003 draft class are trying desperately to fight Father Time, think of how far Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony have fallen from their superstar pedestals. Fellow 2003 draft members have recently retired, Nick Collison and David West just this year. Zaza Pachulia, Kendrick Perkins, and Kyle Korver are clinging to their careers for dear life. Kyle Korver is a flame thrower with brilliant hair and never relied on his athleticism, he may play for another 3-4 years and I wouldn’t be surprised.

All this to say, LeBron, eventually, will not be the Alpha Male, the Silverback, of the NBA. Michael Jordan played into his 40’s but let us not forget the year of retirement to play baseball (or to get away from a gambling scandal) came back, retired again, came back again, played for the Wizards (still an odd image) and then retired for good. LeBron has been the model of consistency, always at the top of the league in minutes played and usage %. No retirements, maybe just the occasional week off, trip to Miami. The man has wear and tear like no one has before. 8 straight finals!

But who is next?

Long presumed, and most likely, to pick up the crown is Kevin Durant. He too, is already in his prime. 30 years old this September. He has even talked of early retirement, but who voluntarily walks away from the competition of the game they have played their whole life-wait, we are talking about Kevin Durant, who has already shown the ability to walk away from competition to take the easy route. He’s a smooth 6’9-7’1, depending on the source (he’s clearly taller than people listed at 6’11 in pictures), with handles and a silky jump shot. Limitless range, he can score from all levels. Now without as much offensive pressure, he has been showing off his defensive chops. Using those impossibly long tree limbs he calls arms to block shots and interrupt passing lanes and drives. He is the clear 2nd best to LeBron, but with the way LeBron takes care of his body, he could still hold the crown when Kevin Durant exits his prime.

So who’s next?

We’re going to exam two candidates: Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Anthony Davis -25 years old (March, 1993)

The Brow has all of the physical tools that one would want to build a team around. Davis has a 7’6 inch wing span, helping him to be an offensive and defensive force. According to ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus in the 2017-18 season, among Power Forwards Davis was 5th in ORPM+1.8, 1st in DRPM at +3.7 and 1st in overall RPM. This ranked 7th among all NBA players.

The Greek Freak was 2nd 4.23 RPM among Power Forwards.

Anthony Davis, in 2017-18 while sharing time with Boogie Cousins, averaged 28.1 ppg, 11.1 rpg, and 4.1 stocks per game (blocks + steals), with 53/32/83 shooting splits. In the 9 games of just his second playoff run in his 6 years, Davis averaged 30.1 ppg, 13.4 rpb, and 4.3 stocks, with 53/27/8 shooting splits. Stepping up huge in light of the DeMarcus Cousins injury.

The one thing that will help in his takeover of the league will be to run the Point Forward more often. During the regular season The Brow averaged just 2.3 apg, when one could only imagine what a high-low inside-out game with DMC and The Brow would look like. Without Cousins in the playoffs, this number dropped to 1.7 apg. This seems to be an area that AD knows that needs work, as several summer workouts videos show him working on his dribble handle. Davis was a high school point guard, having grown 8 inches between his junior year in high school and freshman season at Kentucky, he’s not having to start with a blank canvas.

The biggest knack, and concern, with Anthony Davis throughout his career has been his health. He has yet to play at least 80 games in a season. Although, the last 2 seasons he has been in 75 out of 82 contests.

Giannis Antetokounmpo – 23 years old (December, 1994)

The Greek Freak, this years’ NBA 2K cover athlete (except for the 20 year edition version). Giannis ascension through the ranks of the NBA seems to have come out of nowhere. Entering the league a near unknown out of Greece, as an 18 year old Giannis was listed at only 6’9” and 196, looking more like the original Bruno Caboclo (who was 2 years away, from being 2 years away, according to Fran Fraschilla), than the next MVP. Antetokounmpo has improved not only his stats, but his body as well.

The 2017-18 saw Giannis grow into his Greek Freak name, sculpted more like a Greek God, he is now listed at 6’11 with a 7’3” wingspan and 222 lbs-26 lbs of muscle added in 5 years, imagine that added to KD! Statistically, ‘17-‘18 was his best yet. Averaging 26.9 ppg, 10 rbg, and 2.9 stocks, increases of 4 ppg and1.2 rbg from the previous season. Giannis has been running the Point Forward position for portions of games now for 2 years, resulting in 4.8 apg. Giannis vision and ball handling seem to be out of this world for a human that large. The Greek Freak needs only 2 dribbles to get from half court to the rim on a fast break. He is virtually unstoppable on a long rebound or steal on the perimeter with his combination of length, speed, vision and ball handling.

The biggest knock on Giannis thus far has been his jump shot. With shooting splits in ’17-’18 of 53/31/76. Do not let the 53% on 2 point field goals fool you, inside of 3’ of the basket, Giannis shot 76%, from 3-10 just 36%, 10-16 just 35%, and from 16’ to the 3 point line only 40%. He has been seen this summer working out with Kobe Bryant, who has challenged Giannis to winning the MVP, and is a perfectionist when it comes to footwork, so I believe a jump in these numbers is to come this year.

Conclusion

Regardless of who is next, the NBA is in good hands for a long time to come. You can look forward to seeing these two, along with other young ballers fight for the crown for at least the next decade.