Announcing the NBA League Pass All-Stars
By Wes Goldberg
Jan 25, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) celebrates after stealing an inbounds play from Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (not pictured) during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Mavericks 109-106. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
It’s time for basketball and you’re browsing NBA League Pass. It’s one of those nights with 12 games on. What game do you watch?! It’s as tough a decision as there is. On one hand Anthony Davis’ Pelicans are playing the Memphis Grizzlies. On the other, the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers are shooting it out where Fred Armisen has that show.
One of these two seems like the obvious choice, but what’s this? Twitter is yapping about this great game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz. Why? Because you have two of the most freakish players in the league going head-to-head in the paint.
So how do you make your decision? Knowingly or unknowingly, we all keep our own NBA League Pass All Stars roster.
Maybe Stephen Curry is your League Pass MVP. Everytime the Dubs are playing, you’re watching just to see how many points Curry drops. The Brow is your starting forward because you love watching his emergence as one of the league’s best players. Or you’ll never change a Nets game if Rihanna is in attendance.
I watch a lot of basketball on League Pass, and this is my NBA League Pass All Stars. This is how I decide on which games to watch. Did LeBron James and Kevin Durant make the cut? No they did not. This is not the best players in the NBA. This is a list of the most fun to watch.
Starting Guard: Damian Lillard (runner up NBALP-MVP)
Stephen Curry is lighting it up in Oakland. He’s averaging 23 and 8, shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range and trails on LeBron James in All-Star votes.
So why is Damian Lillard my starting point guard? Because, this season, if the Trail Blazers are down by three points in the final seconds and the Warriors are down three points in the final seconds, you and I are flicking over to Lillard.
Because of moments like this.
And this.
Or these.
Simply put, if the Trail Blazers are in the game and it’s going to the buzzer, don’t you dare change that channel.
Starting Guard: Stephen Curry
When Curry goes nuclear, the only player who can match his heat is teammate Klay Thompson apparently. He put himself permanently in the NBALPAST conversation during the semi-finals on the 2013 playoffs and hasn’t let up since. He’s a dang wizard passing the basketball and if he’s got a green light as long as he’s on the right side of mid-court.
A nuclear Curry upends the two NBA League Pass MVP’s. If Curry’s just hit four 3’s I don’t care what is going on–Anthony Davis could be shaving his unibrow while perched atop a basketball hoop like a gargoyle–I’m watching Splash Brother 1A make it rain.
Starting Forward: Draymond Green
This is the break down of how often I watch the following players while watching the Warriors.
Curry: 55%
Thompson: 5%
Green: 33%
Bogut: 7%
Graduated Summa Cum Laude from “Heart and Soul of the Team University,” Draymond Green is everything you want from a guy in a starring role on League Pass. He defends on every possession, he’s a terrific passer, you genuinely feel happy for him evert time he makes a shot and he’s not afraid to get in someone’s face or hold his teammates back. When Green’s playing, every game feels like a playoff game.
Starting Forward: Anthony Davis (NBALP-MVP)
Anthony Davis’ rise to NBA League Pass MVP may be the greatest story in NBA League Pass All-Stars history.
From 2013 to 2015, the New Orleans Pelicans will appear on national tv just SIXTEEN TIMES. During those same two years the Los Angeles Lakers will play FIFTY THREE DEPRESSING AS HELL GAMES ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!
Not only is Davis shooting up the NBA Alpha Dog rankings, power rankings, jersey sale rankings and everything else. He’s doing it when no one (other than the good people of Louisiana and those who pay for League Pass) is watching!
He’s averaging 24.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 2.9 blocks per game and inventing the double block.
He’s doing things humans shouldn’t be able to do without robot parts and he’s doing it on NBA League Pass.
Starting Forward: Boogie Cousins
Things I thought I would never see in my life but did: A 6-foot-11, 270 pound, 24-year-old center from Mobile, Alabama bringing the ball up the court in an NBA game and being better at it than any point guard wearing a Miami Heat jersey.
Reserve Guards: John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Wes Matthews
John Wall may have been the hardest to leave off as a starter. Lillard and Curry just have the 3-point shooting, and I did the long ball. Wall is a freaking super freak. He’s probably the fastest player in the NBA and he uses that speed perfectly. He’s got grade-A leadership skills and is leading a dark horse candidate in the Eastern Conference. Oh, and the sublities in his game are sublime. I could go on, but Grantland’s Zach Lowe already aced that topic.
I’ll be honest with you, I don’t watch the Oklahoma City Thunder for Kevin Durant. I watch for Russell Westbrook. That guy moves like something out of the X-Men comics and his unpredictability is compelling as hell. Anything is possible with Russ on the floor, and that’s thrilling.
Klay Thompson was almost left off this list but he scored all the 3-pointers that one time so now he’s in.
If you don’t enjoy watching Wesley Matthews play basketball you either (1) don’t like basketball, (2) live on the East coast and don’t watch Portland games or (3) live in Portland and you’re either (a) are too busy watching Damian Lillard obliderate opponents or (b) are too strung out on drugs and Voodoo Doughnuts to watch basketball.
Reserve Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tim Duncan, Marc Gasol, Rudy Gobert
The Greek Freak gets in on his euro-step alone.
That said, the Bucks have been a joy to watch the last monthish. They press on defense and move the ball nicely on offense. In the NBA League Pass Team Power Rankings, the Bucks stock is on the rise. Tim Duncan is the veteran on the squad. He’s a joy to watch because not only is he playing, like, really really really well (15 and 10) and anchoring a top-five defense, it’s the added idea of thinking “holy crap, he’s still this good?” every time you watch him.
HC: Stan Van Gundy
Honorable mentions: James Harden, Robin Lopez, Nick Young, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Joey Crawford, Jimmy Butler, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dwyane Wade, Andrew Wiggins, Hassan Whiteside, Markieff Morris, Kyle Lowry, Atlanta Hawks
This seems as good a time as any to point out that this is not an all star team based on skills and stats alone. Those factors are inherently built into watchability, but other things come into play. The subtleties, or the intangibles, in a player’s game is what makes him an NBA League Pass All Star.
That’s why James Harden is an honorable mention. An MVP candidate IRL. Possibly the best offensive player in the game IRL. But when it comes down to me deciding which game to watch, I’m watching the Rockets because they are good. Not singularly for The Beard.
Grantland’s Kirk Goldsberry has a great piece on Harden, and how he’s the most efficient player in the NBA. Essentially, all of Harden’s shots come from near the rim or beyond the arc. You know what that means? I can look at the box score after every Rockets game and know exactly where his shots came from.
Is that a simplistic way to view Harden? Duh. But it’s also true. And unlike that ski mask wearing Westbrook and his shell shocking dunk potential; or John Wall and his cross-court bullet passes, blazing speed and head fakes, Harden lacks the subtleties in his game that makes him a must watch.
Lillard and Curry are the Bono’s of the NBA. They have a stage presence that keeps your eyes on them every play. Harden is The Edge. Great at his craft, but you don’t necessarily need to watch his every move to appreciate him.
Bullet points for the other guys:
- You may be wondering why Robin Lopez is included. If you can pry your eyes from Lillard, watch him play. Watch him move. He has 76 percent of Andrew Bogut’s ability to defend by getting the most out of the fewest steps and is as good at diving on the pick-and-roll as almost anyone in the league. Add the Side Show Bob aesthetics and he deserves consideration.
- I love me some LeBron James, but he’s missed a bunch of games and, even though the Cavs are coming on strong, it sucked to watch them for most of the first half of the season.
- Andrew Wiggins is super fun to watch and his watchability increases when he’s sharing the floor with Zach LaVine.
- I lumped the Hawks into one because I couldn’t choose one guy. If I had to, it would be Kyler Korver I guess. Maybe Jeff Teague. Oh, I like watching Paul Milsap and Al Horford, too. Oh, yeah, this is why I lumped them into one.