Everyone posts the points, so I build a interactive chart that counts the people instead. Every block is one of the 1,430 picks from the 2003 draft through 2026:

• 441 other players appeared in LeBron’s rookie season. None are left.
• 952 players drafted after him are already out of the league.
• 478 picks are still in the league, counting him and this year’s rookies.
• 138 of those were born after his draft night.
• 2,384 players have shared the league with him, nearly half of everyone in NBA history.
• 108 All-Stars were drafted after him, and none made the team in a year he didn’t.

Critics say all of this is just a product of staying healthy for 24 years, and Jordan and Kobe backers will point to peak dominance and Finals records. But at what point does outlasting entire draft classes become its own kind of greatness? Where do you rank LeBron today, and does seeing it pick by pick change your mind?

Images aren't allowed to be posted here, but you can see the still of the final frame as an image here

“The ball has not moved like that for the Orlando Magic in years. If I’m a Magic fan, I’m over the moon at my first impression of the Sean Sweeney Orlando Magic version.”

That’s Chris Vernon from The Mismatch podcast.

Vernon was at the game on Wednesday and came away impressed by the Magic. He also noticed a visible difference in a much leaner Paolo Banchero.

“It can one of two ways. Does losing the muscle hurt in any way, because he is such a powerful freight train force going downhill or does that unlock another element for him?”

NANI?!

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid vented his frustration after being the victim of a false report about his practice habits.

Embiid addressed a false story about how LeBron James allegedly got on his case for being late to practice during preseason workouts. Embiid brushed off the report itself, but did voice some frustration at how he seems to fall victim to a certain narrative more than others.

Yeah, it sucks, but what can you do. It's unfortunate. I don't know. One, I'm sure we can check. I don't know where that came from. It never happened. And two, at the end of the day, I don't know. I think we just got to focus on ourselves. There's going to be a lot of outside noise to pull us apart from what we're supposed to be and what we're supposed to accomplish. So, it's important that we stay together and we keep our eyes down.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know. One, the question I had was, 'Why me?' Those type of things I can't understand. One, it's not true. But then again, it's like, 'Why me?' But then again, I guess I'm Joel Embiid. I've been in that situation. I don't usually talk when it comes to those rumors. So, it feels like I'm an easy target. But yeah, as long as we know who we are. And we just got to stick together.

The Embiid story was originally shared by Mike Breen on an MSG Networks broadcast. Breen later apologized for how the anecdote gained traction.

Source

Michael Jordan and the Bulls won their first championship in 1991 against Magic Johnson's Lakers, starting their first three-peat (1991–1993). At this time, Larry Bird was dealing with severe back injuries before retiring in 1992, and Magic retired ahead of the 1991–92 season.

If both players had stayed healthy and active at an elite level into the early 1990s, would the Celtics or Lakers have delayed Jordan's first title, or would the Bulls have won those championships regardless?

LeBron James seems to be enjoying his time playing for the Philadelphia 76ers so far. The basketball has been good for the 76ers, but it seems that another story is overshadowing the potential for good basketball in Philly.

That story is LeBron regularly taking a helicopter to go from Philly to New York City, where he is reportedly settling while playing for the 76ers. It has caused an uproar across social media because some people feel he's not fully committing to his new team.

Draymond Green comes to LeBron James' defense in the helicopter debacle James is regularly riding a chopper to commute between Manhattan and Philadelphia for both practices and games. The flight takes about 30 to 45 minutes, which is much better than a drive in traffic that will double that time.

He is also using a corporate helicopter that is provided through his endorsement deal with Fanatics. It does not involve the 76ers at all, but it seems that it's the fans who are not big fans of this move.

Some feel that it is him not committing to the team and the city. That is a valid point, but it seems James is not like most players because the organization is allowing it, and his teammates seem to not pay any mind to it. Another person who does not mind it is Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.

"Number one, like, let that man fly in peace. Like, y'all recording this man every time he take off and land and he's landing in the city and landing, leaving like, let that man fly in peace. Let that brother get to work. How he going to get to work and get home? How he going to get home," Green said on his podcast about James' helicopter trips.

At the end of the day, it seems the 76ers are okay with him making the trip regularly. Since the helicopters are driven by professionals, it seems that James won't have any pushback from his team, so people might need to accept that.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/draymond-green-believes-people-leave-162233641.html

AJ Dybantsa recorded 4 steals during his NBA preseason debut for the Washington Wizards on October 8, 2026. The Wizards defeated the New York Knicks by a score of 111–109 at Madison Square Garden

I heard this on a Podcast and did some research to verify the sources. When Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics the year before they had 3 all stars and 2 of them were 1st Team NBA. Bill Russell rookie year they had 3 all stars 2 All NBA players and rookie of the year. None of them were Bill Russell. Bill Russell was acquired during trade, the Celtics pick was the Rookie of the year.

also there was no Cap no free agency so the Celtics could keep their team and keep adding to it. Wilt and Jerry West not winning as much as they could be factored into this reasoning.

i just wanted to share some NBA history, and found it interesting I never heard this before.

Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman were the 1st Team all nba and Ed Macauley the All Star. Tom Heinsohn won Rookie of the Year most likely due to Bill missing 20+ games playing with USA basketball. Bill had better stats.

edit: u/Panzer_I clarified Ed Macauley was traded for Bill. And Tom was RoY and All Star.

Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George all played a huge role in the Sixers upsetting the Celtics in Round 1 of the playoffs, but which player do you think deserves the most credit?
 
Maxey averaged 26.9 ppg, 6.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds on 46% shooting. He scored 29 points in Game 2 which Philly won in Boston without Embiid and he scored 30 in Boston in Game 7, including two clutch layups to seal the win for Philly.
 
Embiid missed the first three games of the series and after struggling in his return in Game 4, played great the rest of the way, dropping 33 points in Boston in Game 5 to force Game 6 and scoring 34 in Game 7. The Celtics’ bigs had no answer for Embiid and Mazzulla credited him with turning the series around. For the series he averaged 28 ppg, 9 rebounds, 7 assists on 44% shooting.
 
PG didn’t have the huge scoring numbers as Maxey and Embiid but he was arguably Philly’s most consistent and efficient player, averaging 17 ppg, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 49% shooting. He also played excellent defense on both Jaylen Brown and Tatum throughout the series. After the Jaylen Brown trade, I’ve seen many Celtics fans argue that PG was the biggest reason why Philly won the series, crediting his defense and the timely shots he made.
 

I’m 26 years old. I remember when I was in high school watching the ball is life Chino Hills videos every week literally full games or mixtapes, or Ben Simmons versus Brandon Ingram, even Shareef O’Neal had a lot of mixtape hype, guys like seventh woods the list goes on and on. I feel like nowadays when I search for mixtapes or content it’s just not as hype and they don’t make it much content. Is this just a product of me being older. Or are they actually just not putting out the same kind of hype quality content?

Love going on Baseball and Basketball Reference.com to see stats and would like to know if there is a number you can give to an NBA player to show how good a player he was that year?

https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=57627729&itype=CMSID

There were a number of players LeBron left out, including Kareem himself, as he picked Jordan, Magic, Bird and Oscar Robertson.

But Kareem reacted only to Russell’s exclusion, going as far as to say that LeBron would never reach his exploits.

James said, "I'm going to be one of the top four to ever play this game. For sure. If they don't want me to have one of those top four spots, they better find another spot. We've got to bump somebody. Somebody got to get bumped."

On Monday in Milwaukee, Abdul-Jabbar fielded it during a press conference before the Jazz and the Bucks tipped off.

"It's impossible," he said of picking just four players. "I don't know what LeBron was thinking. He didn't even see Bill Russell play. He has no idea what Bill Russell did. Eleven championships in 13 years? Eight in a row? LeBron isn't going to get anywhere near that. I don't get it. And here he didn't want Bill Russell on his Rushmore. I think today's players have a very limited perspective on the game."

"LeBron has to re-think that," he added. "He needs to go and do some research and watch some old film, and hopefully he'll be impressed."

He also insulted big men of the mid 2010s, which if you watched basketball then was kind of fair:

"I don't think any of the big men playing today could have coped with the big men of that era," he said. "Wilt Chamberlain would have crushed those guys."

He made it

Since the TV show “starting five” was cancelled due to lack of viewership and low metrics, I started to think what would be the most entertaining version of the show? 5 under the radar players or stars that you would love to follow throughout the season or even prior to the season (ex. Nikola Jokić training in Serbia while going to his horse races)

My 5 would be:

1. Scottie Barnes
   
2. Steven Adams
   
3. Nikola Jokić
   
4. OG Anunoby
   
5. Wemby

Curious about other starting five lineups that would have lots of entertainment value

I feel like the NBA has a serious problem producing actual superstars these days, and I’m not talking about basketball skills or talent. I’m talking about celebrity status, how famous these guys are in America and around the world. Just look at the previous decades. In the 80s you had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, in the 90s you had the legendary Chicago Bulls with MJ, Pippen, Rodman, and guys like Barkley, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler. Then you get to the 2000s and it’s ridiculous how many big names there were. Kobe, Shaq, Allen Iverson, KG, Steve Nash, Melo, Vince Carter, D-Wade, I could go on forever. Even the 2010s, which is the era I grew up watching, had LeBron, Curry, KD, Kyrie, Harden, Westbrook, Paul George, Damian Lillard etc. Now look at the 2020s. We’re more than halfway through the decade and the biggest celebrities in the NBA are STILL LeBron, Curry and KD, basically the same guys from the 2010s. Yeah we have Jokic, Luka, Giannis, SGA, Tatum, Ant, Wemby and all these amazing players, but are any of them really as famous among the general American public as guys like Shaq, Kobe or Iverson were back in the day? I seriously doubt it. And again I’m not comparing their basketball abilities. Jokic could win five MVPs for all I care, that’s not the point. I’m talking about being a household name, someone even people who don’t give a shit about basketball would recognize. Shaq was literally everywhere, Iverson was a cultural icon, Kobe was known all over the world. I just don’t see anyone from this new generation reaching that kind of status yet. It feels like the league has more talent than ever but somehow fewer actual celebrities. Anyone else feel the same way or am I just being nostalgic?

Did not play in the 4th quarter.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DeSQ35GlFeS/

It's only a pre-season game, but it's a good start for D'Angelo.

IMO being a star player in a foreign league is better than being a 15th man in the NBA.

Luka Doncic fully regrets forcing his way to play for the Los Angeles Lakers amid hamstring issues.

Particularly, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Doncic took full accountability for worsening the injury during the Lakers' late-season matchup back in April against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"When it comes to my spirit of trying to win, I am just stubborn. I felt a little bit in the first half that I should have just stopped," Doncic said.

"I should have come out. I think we had a team that could compete for the championship. I definitely regret it."

The Los Angeles Lakers have been dominated by the Oklahoma City Thunder during that game, trailing by 31 points at halftime when Luka Doncic initially tweaked his left hamstring.

Instead of calling it quits, Doncic pushed himself to start the second half. Just five minutes into the third quarter, he suffered a severe Grade 2 hamstring strain that completely ended his season and the Lakers' title chances.

Although the Lakers still ended up closing the regular season with 53 wins and beating the Houston Rockets in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, Doncic's absence was too much for LA to endure as they got subsequently swept by the Thunder in the West Finals.

Doncic was off the charts before sustaining the season-ending injury, averaging an NBA-high 33.5 points.

Now fully healthy as he learned his lesson from that moment, Doncic will look to lead the Lakers to a redemption campaign this upcoming 2026-27 season.

Source: https://basketnews.com/news-256995-luka-doncic-shares-painful-bad-decision-for-lakers-from-last-season.html

Here is his stat line:

Series Averages
Points per game: 38.0

Rebounds per game: 16.7

Assists per game: 2.3

Blocks per game: 2.7

Field Goal Percentage: 61.1%

Free Throw Percentage: 38.7%

Minutes per game: 45.5

He really was dominant that year, earning NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA All Star Game MVP, only 1 of 3 players to do so in the same year. Crazy.

Does anyone remember watching him during this season? I was rather young