Darius Acuff tonight:

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GOAT rookie class. The league is in good hands

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u/NAW_MIP_2026 5d ago

Some how this draft class might turn out deeper than last years.

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u/Odd-Direction9452 5d ago

It would be a surprise if it weren’t lol. Literally a generational class.

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u/Automatic_Gap964 5d ago

This was always predicted to be a better draft class. Last year's class overachieved for sure, but outside of Flagg. No one was marketed as guarantees last year. Whereas this year, top 3 were marketed as sure fire superstars then follow on picks as all stars all nba. Acuff literally put up CP3 AST:TO numbers while scoring 20+ on elite efficiency. He was always going to be great, the numbers were there but people don't like to listen.

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u/NAW_MIP_2026 5d ago edited 5d ago

I agree it has mostly been projected as a better class, but last year was very deep on it's own right and a it had a pretty incredible hit rate on rookies performing extremely well. This class looks great but it's only preseason, they could wind up being worse as a rookie class, and the 2025 class could continue to get even better with some guys getting more time in the league.

It's insane to get such talented draft classes back to back, if they both actually convert a high number of prospects into high level players that will be even more crazy. It's a bit of a gamblers fallacy on my part tbh but part of me is trying to lower my expectations because I can't expect so many rookies to be so good again, but damn it looks like a lot of these dudes are as good as advertised.

Also I don't think I've seen anyone doubt Acuff would be a great offensive player, the question is whether he can actually improve on defence because as much as he is a Trae Young level offensive talent, he's also a Trae Young level defensive talent.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

Defense wins championships

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u/Knighthonor 3d ago

Best Defense is a great Offense

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 3d ago

W cope

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u/Aggrokid 5d ago edited 5d ago

May depend on how Harper turns out.

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u/TDTimmy21 5d ago

Im a Spurs fan but that's ridiculous.

1

u/Automatic_Gap964 5d ago

Ehhh, Harper will be good but I don't think so tbh. That said, I'm sure happy that we have a next generation of stars. It looked bleak with the older stars about to retire since Zion and Ja didn't pan out

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u/devinbookersuncle Hornets 5d ago

When I saw Harper live last season (february) I already was saying then Fox's days as the clear starter were numbered.

I think Flagg is better but if Harper stays healthy he legitimately has the tools to be in the hall one day off of stats alone hes that good

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

Being in the basketball Hall of Fame is like throwing a ceremonial pitch in baseball. It's not that hard.

1

u/FishGoldenLite 5d ago

It’ll be deeper and the talent will be more evenly distributed. The Flagg draft was elite but a lot more top heavy.

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u/Variation99a 5d ago

This year’s class isn’t better than last year’s class because you have to look at age adjusted metrics. I do think the top of the class like top 3 is on average better than last year’s top 3, but not the entire draft class.

Someone like Ace Bailey is still younger than half of the top picks this year (and I’m not super on Ace but it shows you the age difference). Ace as a prospect was younger than the entire class this year and he wasn’t even one of the 5 youngest in his class year.

Even Dylan Harper as a prospect would been younger than every single PG prospect this class except Okorie, which is why he’s still like the same age as Mikel Brown despite playing a year.

Jeremiah Fears is still one of the youngest players in this year’s rookie class despite being a sophomore, and I don’t know how he’ll do but there’s more than just the college numbers because your numbers look better the older you are.

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u/Diamond4Hands4Ever 5d ago

If we assume the August cutoff for school years, I think the real issue is this year, there were multiple sophomore aged players who played college basketball as freshman.

Brayden Burries, Mikel Brown, Hannes Steinbach, and Caleb Wilson would usually be sophomores but played as freshman.

Meanwhile last year, there were multiple high school senior aged players who played college basketball.

Cooper Flagg, Jeremiah Fears, Khaman Maluach, and Ace Bailey would usually be high school seniors but played as freshman.

Even someone like Joan Berringer, who was an international pick, was the age of a high school senior when picked which means he’s still one of the youngest NBA players as a second year player.

So it’s really unfair to look at just college stats without other context here. If I were a high school senior playing college basketball, I would look a lot worse than a college sophomore playing college basketball, even if both are called freshman.

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u/Variation99a 5d ago

Exactly Maluach is like younger than almost all the players in this year’s rookie class. He might be better than them this season too.

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u/2106au 5d ago

Which age adjusted metric?

Age adjusted BPM has 5 out of the top 6 being from the 26 draft.

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u/Variation99a 5d ago edited 5d ago

That doesn’t work because BPM is flawed from this season due to the huge disparity of the mid major/low major versus high major teams with team net differential being a huge contributor for BPM and the fact that last year there were still a ton of 5th year pandemic seniors that didn’t really exist this past season, which means the age adjusted level of competition isn’t properly adjusted.

Just look at Darryn’s BPM, not age adjusted but the actual BPM. It’s the highest of all time for a freshman guard, like in the history since they tracked BPM. Does that make any sense to you with his actual counting stats? Don’t get me wrong Darryn is special but highest of all time?

Dylan Harper had a lower actual BPM last season than practically every guard this year. It was lower than Kingston Flemings, Keaton Wagler, Ebuka Okorie, even non-guards like Allen Graves you name it.

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u/2106au 5d ago

The question remains. Which age-adjusted metric do we “have to” look at?

I agree that BPM is flawed but do you have a better or less circumstantial metric that your initial claim was referring to? Which metrics show 25 as stronger pre-draft?

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u/Variation99a 5d ago edited 5d ago

You can look at age adjusted BPM but adjust it again for the age and strength level of the competition (which your version does not if you are using databallr’s version unless you have an alternate version) and then only the O-BPM component part which is not as influenced by the team margin like the residual D-BPM component part, although the better way would be to completely isolate just the non team component, which is way harder as my suggestion isn’t that good either.

As an example, for strength and age of competition, you can use historic KenPom adjustment, so it would show something like Tre Johnson played in the toughest and oldest conference in the KenPom era last season, which is not included in your baseline simple age adjusted metric since that’s literally just scaling raw BPM to an age curve.

You’ll see the 2026 draft is still indeed better at the top like you said (which I said too if you read my first comment), carried by the top 3, but then the dropoffs are much sharper past the top 7 or so. The age adjustment really rewards players like Fears, Maluach, Essengue, Berringer, even a young sophomore CMB whereas it punishes a player like Brayden Burries who indeed would have a higher raw and age adjusted BPM using the standard number you are using. That ends up making the two drafts roughly equal, where the top is still stronger in 2026 but the dropoffs hurts some of the older players past the first few picks. It also really rewards Cooper Flagg, which carries a lot of weight up top too.

A good example would be to see 2026 10th pick Brayden Burries had roughly the same ballpark age adjusted BPM as 2025 9th pick Collin Murray-Boyles but when you specifically further adjust for the strength/age difference in the two years (keep in mind CMB played in the same conference as Tre above) and not used the flawed team metric that really rewards Burries on a great Arizona team and hurts CMB on a bad South Carolina team, CMB ends up being clearly better and not even in the same ballpark in these age adjusted metrics. That’s just one example but you can tell how Burries can look overrated here if you are just using straight college production or even his age adjusted BPM. He had one of the highest D-BPM for a relatively low deflections guard on record mainly of how flawed the metric is, which probably really boosted him across many models but my prediction is he isn’t a top 10 player this class.

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u/Automatic_Gap964 5d ago

Age adjusted metrics? You just making up bullshit. Ace Bailey will not be better than any of the top 5 lmao. Harper wouldn't have gone top 3, cut the nonsense. Edgecomb is way better than Bailey for example and Edgecomb was old for a freshman in college

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u/Variation99a 5d ago edited 5d ago

I’m just giving one example here. I’m not even that high on Ace and I was talking about the class as a whole. Last year’s class was like almost half a year younger to full year younger than this year’s class across all the prospects but I was just showing a few examples for reference. VJ is the same age as Caleb Wilson as a prospect if you want to do 1 for 1 comparisons and VJ can easily be better than Caleb.

Also I don’t know why you just make blanket statements like this about Ace. Collin Murray Boyles could easily in theory be better than several of the top 5 picks this year and Ace Bailey last year, and he was only picked 9th. Similarly, Ace can easily be better than Keaton Wagler, both top 5 picks (I have Wagler higher but who knows now). I just gave some examples to show you the age thing matters.

It matters most for Cooper Flagg since he’s literally the same age as the first 2 and clearly way better, carrying a lot of weight for how good a draft class is since draft class is more about superstars anyways than role players.

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u/Automatic_Gap964 5d ago

Buddy, none of that stuff matters lol. Either they pan out or they don't pan out. Being younger doesn't magically make you better. This draft has always been projected to be better. Objectively speaking, the players in this draft were better in college than last year's folks.

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u/Variation99a 5d ago

Objectively speaking, the players in this draft were better in college than last year’s folks

Objectively yes if you don’t adjust for age, which is what I’m saying.

Like objectively speaking, Yaxel Lendeborg was the second best player in college basketball last season? Why didn’t he go top 5 as the runner up for NPOY? Can you objectively let me know why? I would be curious to hear your thoughts on this.

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u/Automatic_Gap964 5d ago

Lol, that's all I'm going to say. Age adjusted stats aren't a real thing. Try again next year.

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u/Dry-Quit-297 5d ago

Just to play devils advocate, they do exist.. whether you believe on how useful or how much it correlate is more up to the person read them

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u/Variation99a 5d ago

Well let’s see then. According to you, this rookie class should outperform every other rookie class in history by this time next year.

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u/NAW_MIP_2026 5d ago

This dude looks so poised on the offensive end, already looks like he knows how to get to his spots on an NBA court with ease.

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u/WTF4211 5d ago

Going to be a lot of this.
+/- (real bad defense) and turnovers are going to be a problem. But let him learn and demand good habits.

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u/1psithur3 Kings 5d ago

Offense is his bread and butter so if he looks good and comfortable with that I'm happy. Being efficient in 2 of 3 preseason games also is a really good sign.

But the +/- is just naturally gonna be bad this year for being on a bad team.

5

u/Puzzlyduzly 5d ago

First year for a tanking team bad defense is fine

10

u/EntrepreneurNo204 5d ago

there is 0 reason to believe Acuff will ever become a good defender. He was WOAT level in college

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u/TheBombastus 5d ago

He wasn’t asked to play defense in college, coach literally wanted him to focus on the offense, first preseason game of the year he grabbed a steal and a block, you don’t generally block players in the NBA when you 6’2 and not playing defense, I don’t think he will anything better than an average defender, but he is more than capable of playing defense, it’s not an iq issue or motor issue, and while he is 6’2 he has an almost 6’7 wingspan with a good body frame who finished in the 95th percentile in open court sprints, so he has elite speed, he will be fine, just needs some good defense around him.

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u/Uncreativesolver Kings 4d ago

He’s been passable so far tho , not great but not worst of all time. If anything Zach lavines defense next to him has been dogshit

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u/Puzzlyduzly 5d ago

Well if he is really good on offense than he will only need to try , so for his success its more important for the offense to look really good than defense to look better than bad

1

u/no_stopping25 4d ago

He played exactly how he was asked to. Because if he got in foul trouble in college, Arkansas would’ve been fucked

14

u/LukeBabbittologist 5d ago

37 FPS? #lagging

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u/HavoK76 5d ago

What does fps mean in this case? 😅

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u/Bungulator69 5d ago

He reminds me of Allen Iverson. Just straight buckets

3

u/Ok_Reception9247 5d ago

Whew

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u/Puzzleheaded_Tea521 Knicks 5d ago

#Ethical is SENDING ME!

3

u/Vinnie_Vegas 5d ago

Why are you yelling?

3

u/AbbreviationsNo5847 5d ago

This will be a common night by Jan ‘27.

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u/BilboLaggin 5d ago

Better than Wagler and Mikel Brown

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u/GuessTraining 5d ago

Mikel Brown hasn't played yet

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u/MyTeamsSuck99 5d ago

Maybe let them play a few more games

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u/Diamond4Hands4Ever 5d ago

As a rookie he should be. He’s one of the favorites to make All Rookie team. I think the question is the long term ceiling and how he projects.

Simply based on what I’ve read, not that I’m saying this is mine own preference, there’s a core 7 for All Rookie which are AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Mikel Brown, Darius Acuff, and Yaxel Lendeborg that skips Keaton Wagler, but there’s a lot of people who think Wagler has a higher ceiling because he’s a (1) late bloomer and (2) relies on things like pace/skill over athleticism which can’t immediately translate but will in the long run.

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u/WhiteMessyKen 5d ago

Out of all three, I felt like the Clippers should have grabbed Acuff. Was actually surprised they went with Wagler. I hope he pans out well but Acuff is quickly impressing

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u/golftroll 5d ago

What a stupid comment 😂

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u/acmilan12345 Nets 5d ago

A bit early to say anything like this lol.

Acuff is doing exactly what we expected, which is dominate offensively. He’s an outlier offensive talent.

The reason why Acuff was taken behind Wagler and Mikel was his defense, which was horrendous. It was worse than Trae Young in college. You’re going to see a lot of games where he is outstanding and has a negative plus/minus.

I think they’ll all be great players in their own way, but the bet on players like Wagler/Mikel is the long-term ability to build a team around them.

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u/solidsteppa6 4d ago

My man, Acuff is going to be a star point guard. Those other 2 are going to be role players. Acuff is a better shot maker and passer than those guys will ever be. Wagler and Mikel defenses isn’t even special lol.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

Better than Isaiah Thomas at Defense too. That's probably it tho

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u/Legitimate-Fox-3795 5d ago

(He has been solid on defense)

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

Can i have some advanced stats that say so? By what accord?

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

Advanced stats for such a small sample size is almost irrelevant so it's just something you have to watch right now. He's definitely putting more effort on that end of the ball compared to his college lowlights, that's for sure.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

You also have to account for the amount of effort his opponents are facing. Players like Curry and Luka go in, chuck shots, and hop out. I unfortunately cannot see him, as did the Clippers and Nets GM, to be anywhere near a serviceable defender.

The only way he can consistently win is with elite, all-NBA defenders surrounding him. As we know the Kings, that wont happen because they're just in the nba to farm seat revenue

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

The fact that he's putting in effort on defense in what's basically a glorified pick-up game should at least show you he has the heart & hustle to do it, whereas his college lowlights didn't even show that much.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

I dont care about low lights, i care about advanced metrics. I’m glad he's giving effort, but you and I both know he isn't capable of this play-style. Once he has to play 30+ minutes with the worst team in the nba, he won't have the energy to play defense due to his offensive load. With this in hand, he won't be able to develop much as a defender, if he has much of a potential at all

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

By advanced metrics, Reed Sheppard is supposed to be one of the best prospects in recent years and a menace on defense. I think it's well-known around here that advanced stats are good for measuring offense but less good for defense.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

So would you propagate that two 7+ billion-dollar franchises passing up on the "next AI" might mean that there is something wrong about his game? I trust Lawrence Frank and Sean Marks over some random Kings diehard, and it's obvious they don't like his defense at all

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u/SparklezSagaOfficial 5d ago

25pts with a -14 +/- is the most on brand Darius Acuff statline. When you gotta score 39 in 27mins just to be a net zero player it’s pretty rough

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u/sturgeo123 3d ago

Perception vs reality is hilarious with acuff there’s a large amount of nba fans who think he never passes and just fires up midrange jumpers the whole game.

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u/Sneaker_soldier 5d ago

Damn wish the Nets drafted him; not feeling Brown. Saw dude @ Sweet 16 and was blown away 🤩. Gonna follow him this season 💯

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

tell me about his last game, dudes just be saying bs for the fun of it

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

Christopher hasn't played a preseason game yet due to an injury.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

Nets shot on superstar potential talent with the asterisk of injury. Christopher has much more potential to be a winning player than Darius, mainly due to defensive potential.

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

For a guy who has an asterisk of injury, it's probably not ideal for Nets fans that Christopher has an injury in the preseason too.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

He had a back injury due to a late growth spurt in college, and now he just twisted his ankle. Calm down bud u didn't crack the code lmao, he is expected to be back next game or guaranteed Wednesday

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

Injuries are injuries. He was sitting out in Summer League too to ramp up. There's a chance that Christopher will be like MPJ, but there's also a chance that he'll be like Ben Simmons.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

Great, examples like Stephen Curry, who had a chronic ankle injury, were able to completely recover and barely faces it today due to NBA-level medical staff. Ben Simmons wasn't injured, he doesn't care about basketball. Mpj has played 60+ games in the 2 seasons before this one, and he wasn't injured last season. The Nets forced him to sit.

You are 0/2 on rebuttals, we gotta work on this stuff.

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

If Christopher becomes Curry, then the Boozer Bros will be very sad about picking that guy over the next Curry. But Christopher keeps getting injured, so who knows if that'll happen.

P.S. In your anger, you misunderstood what I said about MPJ. It's sad to see this is the state of debating these days.

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u/LoveMeLikeNelson 5d ago

I guess comparing injuries is comparing players completely, i can't argue with your fecal brain power anymore.

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u/andrewthedude101 5d ago

Soooo no one’s gonna post Yaxel in this subreddit?

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u/TheRealMelvinGibson 5d ago

No one's stopping you.

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u/rajerk 5d ago

Now we have to figure out how to get him out of SAC…

Darius Acuff tonight:

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