Friday, April 10, 2020

Free Stuff Friday - NBA picks

I've been in a basketball mood lately. With no sports happening I need something on in the background while I sort cards or do COMC challenges. I've been listening to Bill Simmons podcasts partly because they're long and uninterrupted (there's one sponsor promo at the beginning and maybe one more halfway though. That's two brief ads in a two-hour show.) His NBA redraft discussions are filling in the 15-20 years of basketball I wasn't watching. 


Kerry offered to send out a few cards to anyone who asked. I can get Red Sox singles just about anywhere - and Kerry has tons of great basketball cards - so I requested some Milwaukee Bucks. This seven-card PWE arrived in the mail Tuesday. Since I'm hooked on redrafts, let's take a look at how these six Bucks compared to the rest of their draft class:

Michael Redd - Drafted 43rd overall in 2000. 4th-highest win shares in his class. Great pick. 

T.J. Ford - Drafted 8th overall in 2003. Ranks 23rd in his class in win shares - lower than their 2nd-round pick Keith Bogans(who they "traded" for cash on Draft Day anyhow.)

Brook Lopez - Drafted 10th overall by the Nets in 2008. Ranks 6th in his draft class in win shares. Great pick by New Jersey. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo - Drafted 15th overall in 2013. Has the highest WS total of any player in his draft class. Milwaukee knocked this pick out of the park. 

Eric Bledsoe - Drafted 18th overall by the Thunder in 2010. OKC traded him to the Clippers, but he didn't develop until a few years later in Phoenix. He's now 8th among 2010 draftees in win shares. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Drafted 1st overall in 1969. NBA's All-Time Leading scorer and, not surprisingly, has the highest career win shares total of any player ever. I'm no NBA expert but I think the Bucks got this one right.

You probably know this already, but the Bucks picked an all-time great player 9th overall in 1998. He's a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer and has the most win shares of any '98 draftee...


 ..and they traded him for "Tractor" Traylor on draft night. This is why I love revisiting past drafts, in any sport. 

Anyway...you're here for free stuff, am I right? I don't have a lot of basketball cards to offer (and there aren't a lot of NBA fans on the blogs) but there are some stars in here, including Dirk. Please pick up to six cards. I'll have another batch available next week.









Let me know if you have any requests for certain sports, teams, or players and I'll do my best to offer them up in the next three weeks. 

Thanks for reading!


~



13 comments:

  1. John Starks, the rewind abdur rahim, Alonzo Pro vision,

    Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I love inserts 95-99, but also John starks And especially Allan Houston!

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  2. LJ, Penny, Otis Thorpe, and Karl Malone.

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    Replies
    1. Penny Classic, UD, or both?

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    2. Oh, I didn't even see the Classic, yes, both then. And thanks for offering up more free stuff :)

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  3. Wow. The Bucks traded Dirk away? I was big on collecting basketball that year... but that piece of trivia totally slipped past me.

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    Replies
    1. It's understandable, there's always some draft day trades that don't seem like a big deal until well after the fact.

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  4. May I claim the two Chronicles and the Kemba Prizm? Only three I don't have already.

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    Replies
    1. Added to your stack. Wait.. you don't have a stack. You do now!

      I'll post some hockey next week.

      Delete
  5. I'd love both Gary Payton please(and thank you).

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  6. Magic and Barkley please.

    So Kareem had a higher win share than Russell? Is it a stat that skews toward offense? I might have to read up on this.

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    Replies
    1. I think it's because he played forever, but offense probably helps.

      Magic and Barkley have been added to your stack.

      Delete