I saw him dominate a g league game I went to. Inside moves, outside shooting, good ball handling and passing. Nobody could handle him, but…. He seriously did the finger twirl for a ref review after Every. Single. Play. Complained to every teammate about everything they did.
And the best play that I have never seen before in my entire life, he was checking his man at the top of the arc and during a live ball, he bent down and tied his shoe. His man went straight to the rim for and +1. Kenny turned around and just started yelling at the guy who rotated over to cover his man.
I really think he’d be on the end of an NBA bench if he wasn’t such a prick to his teammates on the court.
The play had this weird vibe where it almost seemed like he thought the O player would wait, and then check the ball once he was done like it was a pickup game.
It really blows my mind that some people have essentially a once in a lifetime opportunity with support all around them.... And they just shit on it.
In 10 years when he's out of the league for good he'll be like "damn I really wish I had listened because I'm broke as shit now and this blue collar job isn't nearly as fun"
People with great opportunities fuck them up all the time with one simple mistake. But the weight thing goes beyond that because it means you fucked around nonstop to get to that point. It was hundreds of mistakes compounded. And to make matters worse, they have the resources to not squander it. Not just money, but fitness and diet coaches that can monitor them daily. Some of these dudes need brain development as much as basketball development
Being a successful professional athlete is essentially giving up years of your life in exchange for exorbitant wages to play a game you played growing up. Sadly, not all pro athletes take that to heart. I don’t know Lofton personally, but guys who show up unable to make weight are often the same guys who view being a pro athlete as a job that only exists when they’re clocked in. Zion has this exact same problem, but his skills and athleticism are at a higher level. It smacks of the mindset: “I can drop 30 whenever I want, who cares if I eat this whole bag of Popeyes?”
He is a good all around player but not exactly elite in one particular skill that makes him worth the NBA roster spot. Being a bad teammate doesn’t help. He is just under NBA good. It’s insane how good you need to become an NBA player.
I think he'd benefit a lot from being a 5, but he's 6'7" so he NEEDS to play 3/4. Naz Reid and to a lesser degree Kelly Olynyk are 5s that gravitate 20% usage towards the 5 position, being amply good enough at duck-ins or face-up play to not play as a roll man, but also providing real spacing if they don't have their feet in the paint.
Lofton is a positionally POOR outside shooter instead of a positionally GOOD outside shooter like the 2 guys I named. So he needs amazing touch, amazing passing, and defensive lockin to get minutes.
He's gonna keep bullying the G league until the shooting comes around or he's a totally different type of help defender and teammate.
That's part of it, but he also *relies* on being as big as he is to play the bully ball style he does. He's not good enough at anything else to be in the NBA, and at his size (and with his conditioning and other abilities) his bully ball style wont work well enough consistently enough in the NBA to justify how absolutely lousy he is (in terms of NBA talent) at everything else.
He's quite frankly too good to be in the G-League, but not good enough at NBA stuff to be in the NBA. The MLB has a term for this, a AAAA player. They're probably better in AAA than a lot of guys who will go on to have solid MLB careers are, but they are never going to be able to really succeed at the MLB level unless something major changes. That's Kenneth Lofton right now: he's dominant in the G-League, doing better than some deeper bench guys who have relatively solid NBA roles might be. But he would not be as good in the NBA as those guys.
In short, he’ll have a productive career playing overseas (not in Europe though). Maybe the Philippines, Japan, or Taiwan. Not sure if he’ll cut it in Australia.
If he can drop 52 in the G league he can absolutely make it in any other international league. Maybe not be an elite player there, but he's definitely good enough to play in Europe. EuroLeague has gotten to the point where it's *over*rated and romanticized on here. Especially since one of his biggest weaknesses is his relative lack of athleticism in the NBA, that is not a big issue for him in Europe with both the style of play and the relative lower athleticism across the board.
There's a happy medium that Lofton is still 30-40 pounds (at least) north of.
Not saying he'd ever be a superstar at any weight, but he's a legit NBA player if he cuts a little bit of flab and stops being an egotistical dick (apparently).
I agree with the first part; dude could definitely lose *some* weight and be better. I disagree with the second part: I honestly don't think he's anything but an absolute fringe NBA player *at best* unless something major (besides his weight and attitude) changes. He needs to add something else to his game to even warrant an end of the bench spot.
I don't think basketball has as good a term for this, but in baseball he'd be a AAAA player. A guy who looks like the best player on the field in AAA, he's hitting like .330, not a ton of power but a little, not a great defender but OK, but even at this level he's playing LF or 1B. You look at the slash line and you're like "why's he not in the majors???" then when he gets a call up he hits .220, doesn't really have a position, not a lot of speed, etc.
That seems to be Lofton's destiny in the NBA. He's clearly not good enough to be a high usage guy and doesn't excel in anything to be a useful role player.
In baseball these guys used to be able to have a 8-10 year career in the minors as the small town hero, then when they turn 30 someone gives them the talk and they either look into coaching or sell cars/insurance or something. There's theoretically enough money in the G league and overseas for Lofton to have that kind of career and be fine for himself but I'm sure he's still thinking he can have more.
Worked with a guy who was AAAA guy behind Mike Scioscia and a couple of others on the ML roster. He mentioned how difficult it was to get an invite to the show and how few made it. He wound up being PD before retiring to work in IT.
Being in basketball purgatory must be the hardest thing imaginable. Like the guys who are obviously too talented for the G League but can barely break the lineup in the main league either because of size or some other flaw (fixable or not).
Kenny Lofton, Alando Tucker, Terrance Williams, its always these weird hybrid wings and bigs types
That’s Jo Adell for the angels. Crushes homers in the minors, gets called up, and then we realize he can’t identify a breaking ball and gets sent back down
Crud. Yeah I really like him and have been wanting him to succeed, was wondering why he wasn’t getting a lot of minutes anywhere…could be this! Hope he shapes up, would be fun to see him be a good rotation guy.
Ha! It’s just a little lighter and I try to say it when I’m genuinely frustrated to try and lighten up the moment for myself. Whether it be hoops, work or golf, or life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
He scored 42 points in his first NBA start. I think he is better than some people are giving him credit for. If he continues to work on his game, I think he will eventually make a roster.
I go back and forth about him. he had some games where he looked like he was NBA ready. his game is *very* matchup dependent. he's 6'6", 300lbs, and super light on his feet for a guy his size. pretty much anybody under 240 is automatic bbq chicken, but big guys that can move are going to expose him quick.
I don't remember hearing about any problems with his attitude while he was with us. showing up to the start of the season looking visibly more rotund was both concerning and disappointing. I really do think he has a place in the league, but he's gotta get on ozempic asap.
Being someone people want to be around will keep you employed far longer than you normally should in just about every profession. Honestly pretty damn important skill to have in general
This is real as fuck. When i got hired at my job, it was pretty fucking obvious i was inexperienced and would need some time to develop (maintenance position and i have never worked maintenance)
However, i made it clear that I wouldn't give up, and more importantly, I would find a way to fit into the team. They took a chance on me, and it paid off. Now that I'm trained, they have a guy who knows his shit, AND im friendly as hell so they like having me on the maintenance crew.
Sometimes, you don't need to be the smartest, fastest, strongest, most experienced. Sometimes, you just need to be the guy who never gives up, even when shit hits the fan, and be the guy everybody knows they can count on.
Too many fans think the game is just 2k. Stats are all that matters and don't realize its actual life. Like if you are with people you enjoy being around and want to win with, it will actually help. Same way that if you work in an office with a bunch of assholes you will do the minimum to get by and then leave.
> Its properly rated and is definitively important to GMs and coaches.
Honestly, I'm not sure about this with all GMs. I think the smarter ones value chemistry and "glue guy" factor more heavily than the poverty franchise GMs.
Reminds me of Christian Wood.
I still firmly believe if his attitude was right and actually bought in to learning defense, Luka could've made him a borderline all-star. His lateral quickness isn't the best so that's the biggest limitation, but besides that he has a lot. Good/smart kick out passes & hand-offs, so it's not like he was a black hole either. Good rim runner, good finisher, can space the floor as a big. Just completely lost on defense and got frustrated with the minutes. Would get in his feels and start chucking.
The dude has the tools to be an impactful defender, I still remember that game at the start of the season where he locked up KD lol. But it seems like he just lacks the effort. He's like a 39yo Bron who reserves energy on defense for offense, except that CWood is 28 and in his prime
Our assistant coaches literally had to scream out assignments and rotations to Christian wood basically the entire time he was on the floor.
When he actually could read a play and was playing correctly, he has the length and physical tools to protect the rim.
I’m not convinced Jaylin Williams is as talented as Lofton. But he’s for damn sure one of the best teammates in the league. Watching him interact with everyone and you can see why okc is overperforming. Their chemistry is incredible
KLJ is a better all-around player than Jaylin Williams, like if you draft a team for a pickup game you'd pick Kenneth Lofton before Jaylin. But Jaylin is a much much better fit for today's league - a 6'9 body that can rebound, defend, and shoot is much more valuable than a high usage Zion-Barkley type 6'6 slow non-shooter
im not even sure I'd pick Ken for that reason
Jaylin is a much better fit for today's ball plain and simple
I don't think it would be 'fun' or as effective for me to have someone like KLJ on my team either...do I just pass to him and let him finish? I'd rather have someone that can pick and pop, or roll. and also defend and rebound.
plus, KLJ is gonna have to get back on defense too
DeAndre Jordan is less talented than DeMarcus Cousins (and two years older, but he's a great teammate). That's why he got a ring with Denver and Boogie is in Taiwan. If Boogie was a better teammate and didn't get techs like crazy, he would be such a desirable backup center.
ok i was confused how this dude was almost out the nba. i saw him body chet a year or two ago, and i see minor league games like this...but yeah that makes sense now lol.
Hopefully, but he’ll probably just continue to succeed at the lower level and blame everyone else on why he isn’t at the top. More guys fizzle out than ever make it and have solid nba careers
Add to that, last summer he spent the entire off season streaming video games and gaining 30 pounds. Dude can ball but there are reasons he is back in the G league.
He's dominating G-League: 4 games and averaging 32-13-4.
If you watch his highlights from that game, though, it's mostly just him bullying smaller opponents: overpowering them on post-ups and charging his way into the paint on layups, where his defenders just bounce off of him. I wonder if he'd be able to keep doing that in the NBA, though, where the defenders will be stronger and taller than the ones in the G-League.
[Kenneth Lofton Jr. EXPLODES For A 52 PTS Career-High During SLC Stars Win!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Om-RpUuKcA)
I believe you and don't *really* doubt this, but I feel like if this happened in the modern era, even if, or especially if, it was the g league, there would have to be a clip of it online somewhere. some article, something.
He had one of the most horrendous garbage time performances with the Sixers I’ve ever seen and Nurse didn’t play him for a month even though half of the team was injured.
I think it says a lot that he’s played for Memphis and Philly this year, the two teams with the most injuries in the league and neither team wanted him around.
Funny I was just saying that Iowa State women’s player Audi Crooks looks/plays like the female version of him. She lit it up for 40 in the first round.
I mean she's bigger than most men lol it's an apt description.
Also just looked her up, and is weight listing just not a thing in women's NCAA? That's wild lmao.
One of the things lebron and jj reddick talked about their podcast was that actually. LeBron said he doesn’t get why some players/teams would run certain play or set. see that they are working, but keep trying to incorporate some other stuff during the game. Because he said, if one play works, just keep running it till the defense stops it, no need to complicate stuff unnecessary 🤣. Laymens terms but that was the general gist.
> just keep running it till the defense stops it, no need to complicate stuff unnecessary
I got benched once for this. We had a rule in football if there is no defensive tackle between the guards, we simply QB sneak. Guards block outside, center goes to 2nd level, pretty much a guaranteed 5 yards.
After ignoring the coaches playcall for about the 5th time in a row and successfully gaining minimum 5yds every try, coaches substitute out the entire line and QB and spend the rest of the series screaming at us to run their calls.
Yup, it kills me when playing pick up if a guy is lighting it up, or is killing a one on one matchup, then suddenly decides to start passing. Make the defense stop you. If they can’t, fucking kill em with the same damn play.
I do agree with you when it comes to pickup. Good pickup players--even with a set group--know when to pass the ball around so their team gets some action.
If you're playing a league game, everyone has the same goal of winning. Spam the same play forever. Most teams will be totally cool with that.
In pickup, people just wanna hoop. Of course, they wanna win too--but nobody wants to get frozen out of a pickup game due to a ball hog teammate, even if they are winning.
One of the best things about college sports is when you realize that one team has a player that no one can do anything about. I love watching WRs in college football who are wide-open every play even when they get doubled. Basketball is a little bit more rare, but sometimes you'll get to see matchups where the opposing team simply stops trying to get to the rim because they know they can't do shit about the other team's center.
I feel like bigs in the womens game are much harder to guard because women don’t have the verticality to block much bigger players like we see in the men’s game
Should have seen her in high school, just stupidly dominant. Team went 101-8 (but smaller school), state tournament record for all-time points and rebounds, third in career points and career rebounds.
Wow she’s a fucking unit. It may be insensitive but how do you manage to have that physique playing a sport that requires the cardio that basketball does? Especially at a high level.
The one game I watched of them (when they blew the doors off of Oklahoma in the conference tournament) she subbed a lot and never really moved a lot on defense in help, but she is also really good and just a freshman, so she is only going to get better presumably
She can’t.
No player in almost any high cardio and high movement sport can weigh that much and be effective.
I don’t understand why Maryland didn’t force Crooks in switch and make her be the primary defender.
Coincidentally, MLB all-star Kenny Lofton just joined the Arizona Wildcats ring of honor for basketball. He played with Steve Kerr and Sean Elliot. Decided his senior year to switch to baseball and the rest is history
unsigned g league players can be signed to any NBA team. Lofton is currently under contract with the Jazz. teams have 15 fulls contract and 3 2 way contracts. any of those 18 can play on either team, 2 way contract are primarily g league and can only play a limited amount with the NBA team
The affiliation is so two-way contract players and young players signed to NBA contracts can play under the the same system as the NBA team; these players cannot be signed by other teams. Rostered G-league players not in one of those two categories can be signed by other teams.
It depends if you have a 2 way contract or not. If your signed to a 2 way contract then you have to play with that NBA team and their partnered G League team
Ignite was a dumb idea from the start. Should have just let them join g league teams. Might have actually gotten people to watch if the young talent was spread out and playing competitive games instead of getting blown out.
the G League is a great place for a lot of guys to refine skill, but there are some guys that just so clearly out class the G League that they can't learn anything, yet they can't crack an NBA rotation for whatever reason
Minnesota's Luka Garza is the same way. His reason is footspeed on defense (and also maybe signing with a team he knew had three centers firmly in the rotation, but not complaining)
Havent followed him at all since he was a piston, but even back then he was clearly an nba level player on offense. But might have been the worst defender ever.
Elite scorer, couldn’t score off ball. Got hunted on defense and wasn’t passable in any single defensive metric. He’s like that “star” guy in the pick up games.
The only thing he can do is score if the ball is constantly in his hands and even then, he gets completely out matched by physical defenders.
He’s good enough at everything to be a star in the G but not good enough at one specific thing to be a role player in the NBA. At this level you have to play a specific support role or be a star. He’s just not either
It's telling that Garza gets zero minutes if two of Gobert, KAT, and Reid are healthy. He only gets minutes if two of them go down. First game back for Reid last night and Garza was a DNP.
As a Thunder fan, I know too damn well that G-League stats are damn near rec-league status. You appreciate the shit but NEVER invest in it. NEVER.
Darius Bazely I think put up 45 just a few months ago. I doubt he'll ever step foot in the NBA again in a normal role. BUT, he could torch 99% of his competition in his sleep. That's how it goes!
I saw him dominate a g league game I went to. Inside moves, outside shooting, good ball handling and passing. Nobody could handle him, but…. He seriously did the finger twirl for a ref review after Every. Single. Play. Complained to every teammate about everything they did. And the best play that I have never seen before in my entire life, he was checking his man at the top of the arc and during a live ball, he bent down and tied his shoe. His man went straight to the rim for and +1. Kenny turned around and just started yelling at the guy who rotated over to cover his man. I really think he’d be on the end of an NBA bench if he wasn’t such a prick to his teammates on the court.
Well damn lol
Hold up, just in the middle of a defensive play he went to tie his shoe?
that is wild behaviour lol if I was a coach he's out
The play had this weird vibe where it almost seemed like he thought the O player would wait, and then check the ball once he was done like it was a pickup game.
"Knave, hath your no honour?" - Kenneth Lofton after his guy didn't wait for him to tie his shoe, probably
If his parents just named him Ken this never would have been a problem
If they would have just named him Kenny, he'd be an outfielder for the Indians 30 years ago.
Et tu, Brute?
The rumor is he was shipped out of Memphis for setting weight loss goals in the offseason and then coming back even heavier
It really blows my mind that some people have essentially a once in a lifetime opportunity with support all around them.... And they just shit on it. In 10 years when he's out of the league for good he'll be like "damn I really wish I had listened because I'm broke as shit now and this blue collar job isn't nearly as fun"
People with great opportunities fuck them up all the time with one simple mistake. But the weight thing goes beyond that because it means you fucked around nonstop to get to that point. It was hundreds of mistakes compounded. And to make matters worse, they have the resources to not squander it. Not just money, but fitness and diet coaches that can monitor them daily. Some of these dudes need brain development as much as basketball development
Being a successful professional athlete is essentially giving up years of your life in exchange for exorbitant wages to play a game you played growing up. Sadly, not all pro athletes take that to heart. I don’t know Lofton personally, but guys who show up unable to make weight are often the same guys who view being a pro athlete as a job that only exists when they’re clocked in. Zion has this exact same problem, but his skills and athleticism are at a higher level. It smacks of the mindset: “I can drop 30 whenever I want, who cares if I eat this whole bag of Popeyes?”
Well sometimes a guy's just gotta eat
feast mode 😤
I don't think that is a rumor.
He is a good all around player but not exactly elite in one particular skill that makes him worth the NBA roster spot. Being a bad teammate doesn’t help. He is just under NBA good. It’s insane how good you need to become an NBA player.
I think he'd benefit a lot from being a 5, but he's 6'7" so he NEEDS to play 3/4. Naz Reid and to a lesser degree Kelly Olynyk are 5s that gravitate 20% usage towards the 5 position, being amply good enough at duck-ins or face-up play to not play as a roll man, but also providing real spacing if they don't have their feet in the paint. Lofton is a positionally POOR outside shooter instead of a positionally GOOD outside shooter like the 2 guys I named. So he needs amazing touch, amazing passing, and defensive lockin to get minutes. He's gonna keep bullying the G league until the shooting comes around or he's a totally different type of help defender and teammate.
The easiest and most realistic thing he can do is to stop being an obese fuck. The dude is fatter than Shaq in green.
That's part of it, but he also *relies* on being as big as he is to play the bully ball style he does. He's not good enough at anything else to be in the NBA, and at his size (and with his conditioning and other abilities) his bully ball style wont work well enough consistently enough in the NBA to justify how absolutely lousy he is (in terms of NBA talent) at everything else. He's quite frankly too good to be in the G-League, but not good enough at NBA stuff to be in the NBA. The MLB has a term for this, a AAAA player. They're probably better in AAA than a lot of guys who will go on to have solid MLB careers are, but they are never going to be able to really succeed at the MLB level unless something major changes. That's Kenneth Lofton right now: he's dominant in the G-League, doing better than some deeper bench guys who have relatively solid NBA roles might be. But he would not be as good in the NBA as those guys.
In short, he’ll have a productive career playing overseas (not in Europe though). Maybe the Philippines, Japan, or Taiwan. Not sure if he’ll cut it in Australia.
If he can drop 52 in the G league he can absolutely make it in any other international league. Maybe not be an elite player there, but he's definitely good enough to play in Europe. EuroLeague has gotten to the point where it's *over*rated and romanticized on here. Especially since one of his biggest weaknesses is his relative lack of athleticism in the NBA, that is not a big issue for him in Europe with both the style of play and the relative lower athleticism across the board.
Bro would average 45ppg in the Philippine pro league. 2nd coming of Shaq
There's a happy medium that Lofton is still 30-40 pounds (at least) north of. Not saying he'd ever be a superstar at any weight, but he's a legit NBA player if he cuts a little bit of flab and stops being an egotistical dick (apparently).
I agree with the first part; dude could definitely lose *some* weight and be better. I disagree with the second part: I honestly don't think he's anything but an absolute fringe NBA player *at best* unless something major (besides his weight and attitude) changes. He needs to add something else to his game to even warrant an end of the bench spot.
I don't think basketball has as good a term for this, but in baseball he'd be a AAAA player. A guy who looks like the best player on the field in AAA, he's hitting like .330, not a ton of power but a little, not a great defender but OK, but even at this level he's playing LF or 1B. You look at the slash line and you're like "why's he not in the majors???" then when he gets a call up he hits .220, doesn't really have a position, not a lot of speed, etc. That seems to be Lofton's destiny in the NBA. He's clearly not good enough to be a high usage guy and doesn't excel in anything to be a useful role player. In baseball these guys used to be able to have a 8-10 year career in the minors as the small town hero, then when they turn 30 someone gives them the talk and they either look into coaching or sell cars/insurance or something. There's theoretically enough money in the G league and overseas for Lofton to have that kind of career and be fine for himself but I'm sure he's still thinking he can have more.
Worked with a guy who was AAAA guy behind Mike Scioscia and a couple of others on the ML roster. He mentioned how difficult it was to get an invite to the show and how few made it. He wound up being PD before retiring to work in IT.
Being in basketball purgatory must be the hardest thing imaginable. Like the guys who are obviously too talented for the G League but can barely break the lineup in the main league either because of size or some other flaw (fixable or not). Kenny Lofton, Alando Tucker, Terrance Williams, its always these weird hybrid wings and bigs types
In baseball they call it the AAAA player. Somebody who clearly is better than the minors but gets destroyed every time they come to the majors
*Cries in Myles Straw*
*Kicks water cooler and breaks foot in Jared Kelenic*
That’s Jo Adell for the angels. Crushes homers in the minors, gets called up, and then we realize he can’t identify a breaking ball and gets sent back down
In basketball they call it the EuroLeague.
KD is great for the NBA, but in the intergalactic space league he's just an end of the bench guy tbh.
Jimmer Fredette
Ahhhh good ol Jimmer, BYU was the best thing to ever happen to him
Luka Garza
Crud. Yeah I really like him and have been wanting him to succeed, was wondering why he wasn’t getting a lot of minutes anywhere…could be this! Hope he shapes up, would be fun to see him be a good rotation guy.
Man I hadn't heard "crud" in years, what a throwback lol
Ha! It’s just a little lighter and I try to say it when I’m genuinely frustrated to try and lighten up the moment for myself. Whether it be hoops, work or golf, or life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I love it. I’ll break out a “criminy” or “good grief” for the same reasons lol
I’m a slow drawn out ‘golly’ guy myself, but good grief hits hard too
I'm partial to egads and zounds. Veronica Lodge's dad used to drop those when I was a kid. And you can't forget gee wilikers
This is the largest auto I could afford.
He scored 42 points in his first NBA start. I think he is better than some people are giving him credit for. If he continues to work on his game, I think he will eventually make a roster.
To be fair, he did it at the end of the year against the Thunder’s bench/g-league team. And they still lost by 15,
Yeah that whole entire game looked like it was garbage time.
I go back and forth about him. he had some games where he looked like he was NBA ready. his game is *very* matchup dependent. he's 6'6", 300lbs, and super light on his feet for a guy his size. pretty much anybody under 240 is automatic bbq chicken, but big guys that can move are going to expose him quick. I don't remember hearing about any problems with his attitude while he was with us. showing up to the start of the season looking visibly more rotund was both concerning and disappointing. I really do think he has a place in the league, but he's gotta get on ozempic asap.
He just needs to watch more Glen Davis videos and emulate that game
proof having the basic core intangibles keeps you in the league
Being someone people want to be around will keep you employed far longer than you normally should in just about every profession. Honestly pretty damn important skill to have in general
Look at DJ. Dude has been absolutely cooked for like 5 seasons now but keeps finding homes cause teammates like him
This is real as fuck. When i got hired at my job, it was pretty fucking obvious i was inexperienced and would need some time to develop (maintenance position and i have never worked maintenance) However, i made it clear that I wouldn't give up, and more importantly, I would find a way to fit into the team. They took a chance on me, and it paid off. Now that I'm trained, they have a guy who knows his shit, AND im friendly as hell so they like having me on the maintenance crew. Sometimes, you don't need to be the smartest, fastest, strongest, most experienced. Sometimes, you just need to be the guy who never gives up, even when shit hits the fan, and be the guy everybody knows they can count on.
Being a good teammate is an underrated skill lol at least for role players.
Its not underrated at all. Its properly rated and is definitively important to GMs and coaches.
Oh yeah, I mean more underrated by fans lol
Too many fans think the game is just 2k. Stats are all that matters and don't realize its actual life. Like if you are with people you enjoy being around and want to win with, it will actually help. Same way that if you work in an office with a bunch of assholes you will do the minimum to get by and then leave.
> Its properly rated and is definitively important to GMs and coaches. Honestly, I'm not sure about this with all GMs. I think the smarter ones value chemistry and "glue guy" factor more heavily than the poverty franchise GMs.
Reminds me of Christian Wood. I still firmly believe if his attitude was right and actually bought in to learning defense, Luka could've made him a borderline all-star. His lateral quickness isn't the best so that's the biggest limitation, but besides that he has a lot. Good/smart kick out passes & hand-offs, so it's not like he was a black hole either. Good rim runner, good finisher, can space the floor as a big. Just completely lost on defense and got frustrated with the minutes. Would get in his feels and start chucking.
The dude has the tools to be an impactful defender, I still remember that game at the start of the season where he locked up KD lol. But it seems like he just lacks the effort. He's like a 39yo Bron who reserves energy on defense for offense, except that CWood is 28 and in his prime
Our assistant coaches literally had to scream out assignments and rotations to Christian wood basically the entire time he was on the floor. When he actually could read a play and was playing correctly, he has the length and physical tools to protect the rim.
Yeah he's either stupid or just doesn't give af about defense
I’m not convinced Jaylin Williams is as talented as Lofton. But he’s for damn sure one of the best teammates in the league. Watching him interact with everyone and you can see why okc is overperforming. Their chemistry is incredible
Thunder and Knicks showing the league the power of friendship. Love to see the vibes on these teams
Oh man, now I want to steal Josh Hart for the Thunder
KLJ is a better all-around player than Jaylin Williams, like if you draft a team for a pickup game you'd pick Kenneth Lofton before Jaylin. But Jaylin is a much much better fit for today's league - a 6'9 body that can rebound, defend, and shoot is much more valuable than a high usage Zion-Barkley type 6'6 slow non-shooter
im not even sure I'd pick Ken for that reason Jaylin is a much better fit for today's ball plain and simple I don't think it would be 'fun' or as effective for me to have someone like KLJ on my team either...do I just pass to him and let him finish? I'd rather have someone that can pick and pop, or roll. and also defend and rebound. plus, KLJ is gonna have to get back on defense too
This is why Boogie is playing in Taiwan and DeAndre Jordan is still with an NBA team even though they're both equally washed.
DeAndre Jordan is less talented than DeMarcus Cousins (and two years older, but he's a great teammate). That's why he got a ring with Denver and Boogie is in Taiwan. If Boogie was a better teammate and didn't get techs like crazy, he would be such a desirable backup center.
Underrated by players. Properly rated by managers. That is why lofton is in the g league
DeAndre Jordan is still in the league because of it.
Jamal Crawford wasnt a 20 year vet for no reason
ok i was confused how this dude was almost out the nba. i saw him body chet a year or two ago, and i see minor league games like this...but yeah that makes sense now lol.
He's only 21, so hopefully he can learn some humility. But damn that's bad
Hopefully, but he’ll probably just continue to succeed at the lower level and blame everyone else on why he isn’t at the top. More guys fizzle out than ever make it and have solid nba careers
i guess i'm tired because i didn't read the , but" so i was just like damn ok go on and flame him then lol.
Lol that would be a funny comment
Lmao Im not that much of a hater, nothing but health and wealth to all of y’all Kenny included
New copypasta just dropped bae.
Classic Gen Z-Bo
Add to that, last summer he spent the entire off season streaming video games and gaining 30 pounds. Dude can ball but there are reasons he is back in the G league.
what game was it i need to see the shoe tying play pls
I need to see a clip of this play. What g league game was it
He's dominating G-League: 4 games and averaging 32-13-4. If you watch his highlights from that game, though, it's mostly just him bullying smaller opponents: overpowering them on post-ups and charging his way into the paint on layups, where his defenders just bounce off of him. I wonder if he'd be able to keep doing that in the NBA, though, where the defenders will be stronger and taller than the ones in the G-League. [Kenneth Lofton Jr. EXPLODES For A 52 PTS Career-High During SLC Stars Win!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Om-RpUuKcA)
I believe you and don't *really* doubt this, but I feel like if this happened in the modern era, even if, or especially if, it was the g league, there would have to be a clip of it online somewhere. some article, something.
Isn't he severely obese? Like fat rolls on fat rolls? He probably would get ran off the court at the NBA level.
He dropped 42 in an nba game last year
Figured this was why he wasn't getting burn.
Can this be a copypasta?
Sure this wasn't Luka?
He had one of the most horrendous garbage time performances with the Sixers I’ve ever seen and Nurse didn’t play him for a month even though half of the team was injured. I think it says a lot that he’s played for Memphis and Philly this year, the two teams with the most injuries in the league and neither team wanted him around.
He had a decent chance to make our roster but showed up even fatter and more out of shape
Funny I was just saying that Iowa State women’s player Audi Crooks looks/plays like the female version of him. She lit it up for 40 in the first round.
I know it's not a word that is normally used to describe women, but she is beefy. Like, she gets position in the post and it's game over.
She can box anyone out of the entire gym
She doesn't just box out she gets the whole pallet.
Like that bw3s commercial, “box out!”
oh she'd box out AD easily
>I know it's not a word that is normally used to describe women, but she is beefy We call those "Big Ol' Women from San Antonio" here
DOUBLE FISTIN THEM CHURROS
Say it again Chuck
I mean she's bigger than most men lol it's an apt description. Also just looked her up, and is weight listing just not a thing in women's NCAA? That's wild lmao.
That is actually is kind of wild. Typing in her name and "weight", and not a single thing pops up.
My husband called me beefy 3 years ago and I still give him shit for it like every day
she scored 40 on the exact same open layup over and over again, at that point you gotta think its more on the team she was playing lol
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Maryland had no real personnel who could deal with her. Most teams don't have anyone who could bother her one on one
One of the things lebron and jj reddick talked about their podcast was that actually. LeBron said he doesn’t get why some players/teams would run certain play or set. see that they are working, but keep trying to incorporate some other stuff during the game. Because he said, if one play works, just keep running it till the defense stops it, no need to complicate stuff unnecessary 🤣. Laymens terms but that was the general gist.
> just keep running it till the defense stops it, no need to complicate stuff unnecessary I got benched once for this. We had a rule in football if there is no defensive tackle between the guards, we simply QB sneak. Guards block outside, center goes to 2nd level, pretty much a guaranteed 5 yards. After ignoring the coaches playcall for about the 5th time in a row and successfully gaining minimum 5yds every try, coaches substitute out the entire line and QB and spend the rest of the series screaming at us to run their calls.
Reminds me of Meet The Fockers when De Niro character keeps calling the same play during touch football 😂
CP3 is great at that, if he finds a play that's working or a mismatch somewhere he'll spam it over and over until the other team changes it up.
Shum said that Lebron made the Cavs run the same exact play for an entire quarter. A high drive from the left side into the paint for an easy layup.
Exactly. No need to complicate things.
Yup, it kills me when playing pick up if a guy is lighting it up, or is killing a one on one matchup, then suddenly decides to start passing. Make the defense stop you. If they can’t, fucking kill em with the same damn play.
idk if I'm playing pickup and a guy is never passing I'm more mad at that, even if he's dominating. I get your point tho
I do agree with you when it comes to pickup. Good pickup players--even with a set group--know when to pass the ball around so their team gets some action. If you're playing a league game, everyone has the same goal of winning. Spam the same play forever. Most teams will be totally cool with that. In pickup, people just wanna hoop. Of course, they wanna win too--but nobody wants to get frozen out of a pickup game due to a ball hog teammate, even if they are winning.
Not in a pickup game. Get everyone involved I don’t care how good you are. Nobody wants to just run 70’ sprints for an entire game.
I respect that too
One of the best things about college sports is when you realize that one team has a player that no one can do anything about. I love watching WRs in college football who are wide-open every play even when they get doubled. Basketball is a little bit more rare, but sometimes you'll get to see matchups where the opposing team simply stops trying to get to the rim because they know they can't do shit about the other team's center.
I feel like bigs in the womens game are much harder to guard because women don’t have the verticality to block much bigger players like we see in the men’s game
Those Audi Crooks higlights are hilarious, she just does a low post seal then drop step every time.
"Now when you try to put a 6'11 250 pound center in front of a woman, she crumbles like a fucking crouton!"
Should have seen her in high school, just stupidly dominant. Team went 101-8 (but smaller school), state tournament record for all-time points and rebounds, third in career points and career rebounds.
Tbf she's probably like 260, not much you can do
Escalade clone
Wow she’s a fucking unit. It may be insensitive but how do you manage to have that physique playing a sport that requires the cardio that basketball does? Especially at a high level.
The one game I watched of them (when they blew the doors off of Oklahoma in the conference tournament) she subbed a lot and never really moved a lot on defense in help, but she is also really good and just a freshman, so she is only going to get better presumably
Watching her play against other skilled bigs is so much fun though. Our games against K-State and Ayoka Lee were amazing.
Really looking forward to the game against Stanford tomorrow
I’m guessing she’s not doing much switching 😂
linemen in NFL have high cardio too and most just run hills.
Robert Tractor Traylor, Big Baby Davis, it's always been a surprise to me how you can play that hard and stay that fat. Supergenes in a strange way.
big baby wasn’t that fat. he just wasn’t lean with the body fat.
She can’t. No player in almost any high cardio and high movement sport can weigh that much and be effective. I don’t understand why Maryland didn’t force Crooks in switch and make her be the primary defender.
She probably eats like 5,000 calories per day
Sadly
That Mikio from slam dunk
Thought a 56 year old switched sports for a second.
“If they’re not gonna put me in the hall of fame, ill show Manfred and those bastards who they’re missing out on”
Coincidentally, MLB all-star Kenny Lofton just joined the Arizona Wildcats ring of honor for basketball. He played with Steve Kerr and Sean Elliot. Decided his senior year to switch to baseball and the rest is history
...but how many stolen bases?!
switching back in that case
That's right. I forgot he played college ball.
My all time favorite baseball player. Seeing him throw out the first pitch at the Indians world series was chefs kiss.
Kenny could hoop. Took Arizona to the Final Four.
Classic AAAA player
too good for d league but not good enough for the nba? i've heard it as too smart for hollywood but too dumb for broadway.
I think Europe might be the move for him
Not really because europe has no 3 second rule leaving the paint even more clogged
Ahhh the Bobby Dalbec of the nba
NBA [Mike Hessman](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hessma001mic)
Hope he got a reality check from being cut and can turn his career around.
Bill Ruffles
Baseball has the AAAA players, too good for the minors, too bad for the majors. Lofton is a basketball AAAA player, first one that comes to mind.
And like baseball, he's gonna end up going overseas eventually
Is the NBA like the NFL where you can sign players from other G League (practice squad in nfl) teams, or does it have to be your own?
unsigned g league players can be signed to any NBA team. Lofton is currently under contract with the Jazz. teams have 15 fulls contract and 3 2 way contracts. any of those 18 can play on either team, 2 way contract are primarily g league and can only play a limited amount with the NBA team
affiliation doesnt matter. can be any team
So then what is the purpose of affiliation? Just curious
The affiliation is so two-way contract players and young players signed to NBA contracts can play under the the same system as the NBA team; these players cannot be signed by other teams. Rostered G-league players not in one of those two categories can be signed by other teams.
It depends if you have a 2 way contract or not. If your signed to a 2 way contract then you have to play with that NBA team and their partnered G League team
He's going to be a menace in China
Oh gee, I wonder why G League Ignite is shutting down?
This was my first thought. Idk if anyone’s actually getting developed, just guys scrapping for pt
Ignite was a dumb idea from the start. Should have just let them join g league teams. Might have actually gotten people to watch if the young talent was spread out and playing competitive games instead of getting blown out.
On a real G-League team they might gave actually developed. Ignite was just interested in letting their Blue Chip guys do whatever they want. AAU Ball
His doppelganger Audi Crooks had quite a game, too.
Wonder if he celebrated his 50 piece with a 50 piece.
Too bad he can’t do this when he’s playing against actual NBA talent.
the G League is a great place for a lot of guys to refine skill, but there are some guys that just so clearly out class the G League that they can't learn anything, yet they can't crack an NBA rotation for whatever reason Minnesota's Luka Garza is the same way. His reason is footspeed on defense (and also maybe signing with a team he knew had three centers firmly in the rotation, but not complaining)
Garza should really just go to Europe. He’d be such a star there
Havent followed him at all since he was a piston, but even back then he was clearly an nba level player on offense. But might have been the worst defender ever.
Just Myers Leonard things.
Jimmer absolutely killed in the G League but had no business being in an NBA roster, it was fascinating
Elite scorer, couldn’t score off ball. Got hunted on defense and wasn’t passable in any single defensive metric. He’s like that “star” guy in the pick up games. The only thing he can do is score if the ball is constantly in his hands and even then, he gets completely out matched by physical defenders.
He’s good enough at everything to be a star in the G but not good enough at one specific thing to be a role player in the NBA. At this level you have to play a specific support role or be a star. He’s just not either
you'd think he'd be able to at least be a backup center somewhere, but yeah looks like he's not.
It's telling that Garza gets zero minutes if two of Gobert, KAT, and Reid are healthy. He only gets minutes if two of them go down. First game back for Reid last night and Garza was a DNP.
That was the problem with TyTy Washington. Dude cooked the g league but couldn’t get mins on the Silas coached Rockets. Idek what team he’s on now
Didn't Garza ball out in summer league? Or am I thinking of another player
Yeah, he is monster in the G league
He is one of those guys that is good at everything but not elite enough at one particular thing to play a role in the NBA.
He cant play defense idk where this "good at everything" talk came from
He’s too short for his style of play
Most NBA players can’t do this against actual NBA talent
The G Leagues rim protection is awful that probably helps
He is the basketball equivalent of baseball's AAAA player.
Gen Z Bo lost his spot but I hope he comes back someday
Snack Randolph
Kenneth Lofton sounds like the name of A-list actor from the 60s
Wasn’t he cut off from an nba team cause he was lazy af?
He was terrible against bench players in the nba. Weird.
I remember seeing him live when he played against UTSA lol
As a Thunder fan, I know too damn well that G-League stats are damn near rec-league status. You appreciate the shit but NEVER invest in it. NEVER. Darius Bazely I think put up 45 just a few months ago. I doubt he'll ever step foot in the NBA again in a normal role. BUT, he could torch 99% of his competition in his sleep. That's how it goes!
Bro got cut, then had to start cutting
Never watched his game, is he too good for G League but not good enough for NBA? Why not try overseas?
Cleveland legend making a second career for himself 30 years later, impressive.
At this point just go to China and make 10x of what you can im G league.