My Five Favorite High School Basketball Mixtapes Ever

One of the things I like to do in my spare time, being a basketball nerd, is watching some of the basketball mixtapes the best high school prospects from around the country have on YouTube. The reason that I find this exercise so enjoyable is because these are guys with college and even NBA-level talent and aspirations, and they're going up against peers who have no way of competing with them, thus producing more incredible highlights. If you want to enjoy yourself watching people much more talented than you or I, read (and watch) on.

5) Cassius Stanley

This guy is in 9th grade in this video. 9th Grade! A freshman! Stanley is the sixth ranked prospect in the class of 2019, and you can see why. I've hardly ever seen anyone who can jump like Stanley does. His bounce is very similar to Gerald Green, because he just glides, staying up in the air forever. He basically spends the entire 2:48 of this video with his head at or above the rim. And if he's not doing that, he's breaking someone's ankles in the open court. And he's a freshman! He's only going to get better! My God.
Favorite Highlight: At the end of the video, 2:17, Stanley is alone in the open court and whips out a between-the-legs, two-handed reverse dunk. I mean, how much more athletic can the guy get?

4) Kwe Parker

Parker may have the most incredible natural vertical I've ever seen. He's 6'2 and he's doing stuff like this? Are you kidding me? The number of times that his whole forehead is above the rim is astounding. What's even more impressive is how much he can do with the ball in the air at his size. His hang time is what strikes me the most, because he can do so many things after he's hit his initial peak. Which brings me to...
Favorite Highlight: It's actually not his famous twisting, cupping, tomahawk dunk. It's at the 0:17 mark when he tips the ball to himself from left hand to right hand in the air and slams it down. Oh, and his neck is at the rim.

3) John Wall

The OG Hoopmixtape. I remember watching this as an 11-year-old with my friend Will, freaking out about the left-handed dunks, insane blocks, 360 lay-ups, etc. That type of variety is what sets the next three videos apart, because while it's fun to watch Parker and Stanley above the rim for 2 minutes, Wall combines that with crazy acrobatic passes and lay-ups and unfathomable ball handling and flashy rim protection.
Favorite Highlight: Okay, so I'm going to cheat a little bit here. I'm going to discuss three plays in this mixtape, but it's alright because they're all in succession in the video, which makes it about 20 times cooler. It all starts at 2:39, when he splits two guys around half-court, loses the ball, and regains control of it just in time to hit a guy with a 360 lay-up. Then he makes a pass to a teammate on the left-wing, who misses a three, only Wall comes out of nowhere to to throw the ball in from way above the rim. Then he somehow pulls out a between-the-legs, double behind the back, crossover move on this poor unsuspecting sucker who had the misfortune of guarding John Wall in high school. This video is the stuff of legends.

2) Aquille Carr

They say the crime rate went down in Baltimore when Aquille Carr played, and I believe it from his mixtape. If I knew some 5'6 guy was dunking, hanging in the air for eternity, and breaking ankles, I wouldn't be trying to jack a car, either. I can't even explain how Carr makes his body do the things on the tape. It's inimitable, it's mind-boggling. He changes direction so quickly and stays in the sky forever when he takes off. If you don't understand, just watch the video.
Favorite Highlight: At 1:27, Carr gets the ball in the backcourt and some genius getting back on defense decides to reach for the ball. Carr goes between his legs and behind his back to avoid his arm, and just to embarrass the poor guy even more, starts dribbling up the court between his legs in the most exaggerated, disrespectful way possible. Again, my words don't really do it justice, so watch the video if you're confused. It's not the craziest move he makes, but it shows the absolute contempt he had for his "competition".

1) Marcus Lovett Jr.

This isn't even Lovett's senior year tape (although that one is pretty cool, too). This is when Lovett was a sophomore, and it's incredible the how many ankles he shattered at such a young age. The number of defenders falling over due to Lovett's crazy handle makes it seem like a Life Alert video on steroids. Lovett's handle, even then, is reminiscent of Jamal Crawford, so it's no surprise he drops defenders to their knees and backsides regularly. The other thing I like about Lovett is that he's cocky and knows he can back it up. He starts out the video by nailing a three right in someone's mug and yelling "He can't guard me!" He follows that by making someone fall and then pointing at them with a contemptuous look and an arrogant shake of his head. You gotta love it.

Favorite Highlight: I love the one at the very end of the video where Lovett strings about 75 different moves together in a millisecond, but I'm going to pick the one at 0:13 where he hits a defender with a step-back crossover so vicious, it makes the poor kid fall to the floor with the power of a thousand suns. I'm surprised the kid got up. That's the brilliance of Lovett's handle; he's so good at going hard one way and being able to transition to another direction both seemingly and incredibly hard. He's just impossible for mere high school players to guard.

The Best and Worst Case Scenarios for the New England Patriots Without Tom Brady

The New England Patriots will be without Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of this upcoming season as he serves his suspension for his "role" in the Deflategate scandal. I could go on all day about how bogus the punishment is in the first place, but that's not what this is about. Now that they know Brady will miss the first four games, the Patriots have to prepare to succeed in his absence.

The start to a season is very important in the NFL. If a team starts off well, it can give them momentum moving forward. If a team starts 1-3, it's very hard to recover and make the playoffs. So this time without Brady will be key if the Patriots want to have a shot at their fifth Lombardi Trophy. Here are the best and worst case scenarios for the Patriots' four games without Tom Terrific:

Best Case

The Patriots go 3-1. Back-up QB Jimmy Garoppolo assimilates into the offense well because of the weapons he has to throw to. Those weapons are led by the two-headed monster at tight end of Rob Gronkowski and the recently added Martellus Bennett. He also utilizes the great route running trio of wideouts in Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, and Danny Amendola. The X-Factor for the offense may be the return of halfback Dion Lewis, who tore his ACL in Week 9 last season after eight games of electrifying performance out of the backfield. Lewis gave the Pats a spark last season as the first back they've had in a while who could hold his own catching and running the ball, giving the offense some much needed variety. If Lewis gets back to his sharp-cutting, pace-changing self, the Patriots have a good chance to succeed, even without Brady.

Another key will be the offensive line. Brady was sacked 38 times last year, and the struggling, injured offensive line was the biggest reason the Pats fell to Denver in the AFC title game. New England spent a lot of time this off-season on the line, drafting Joe Thuney and Ted Karras, acquiring Jonathon Cooper in the Chandler Jones trade, and bringing back former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. This group will need to be better if the Pats want to start 3-1.

But most important is the defense. They won't get as much support from the offense, even if Garoppolo plays well. The defense has really good players, led by linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower and safety Devin McCourty. Coach Bill Belichick is a defensive mastermind, known to befuddle even the league's most prolific offenses. In the best case scenario, the defense plays at a top-five level and carries the team to that 3-1 mark. After the opening week game at Arizona, the Pats have the Dolphins, Texans, and Bills, all at home. Those are teams Belichick's defense usually dominates, especially at home.

Now, you'll notice my best case scenario doesn't have the Patriots undefeated after four weeks. I don't think the Patriots have much of a chance against Arizona Week 1; I might even pick against them if they had Brady. Arizona is just a really good team. Even if they did pull off a miraculous win that week, it would probably take so much out of them that they drop one of the other three games.

So that's the best case scenario for the Pats the first four weeks without Brady: 3-1. Now onto the...

Worst Case

The Patriots go 1-3. Garoppolo gets knocked around in Week 1 at Arizona, loses any confidence he might have had, and plays scared for another three weeks. He brings the team down because he's unable to make plays for his teammates. This wouldn't be a surprise; it's hard to succeed in your first few games as a starter. Gronk gets hurt, Edelman and Lewis struggle to come back from off-season surgeries. LaGarrette Blount doesn't take any pressure off Garoppolo with the run game. The off-season additions don't have the expected effect.

The offensive line continues to struggle against four talented defensive fronts. Coach Scarnecchia and the new line are still unsatisfactory to help Garoppolo gain confidence. In fact, they remove any possibility of Garoppolo playing well because he keeps getting lit up. In addition, they don't let Blount and Lewis get any traction on the ground.

Even in the worst-case scenario, the defense is above average, probably top-ten. It's just not good enough to carry the offense to wins. Belichick doesn't quite hit every decision right, bringing back memories of some of his blunders from last year.

Arizona embarrasses New England in Week 1 on Sunday Night Football. The last three games are close, but the opposition always pulls out a winning drive against a defense tired from supporting a struggling offense.

This scenario sounds bad, and it is. If the Patriots start 1-3, it will take all of Brady and Belichick's brilliance to bring the season back. But the Patriots have been too successful for the last 15 years to contemplate a 0-4 start. Belichick deserves more credit than that, so the worst I can give is 1-3.

If you want my prediction for the Patriots' record when Brady returns Week 5 against the Browns, I would say 2-2. I think they'll lose to Arizona and Houston, but pull out big divisional wins against Miami and Buffalo. I would be alright with that as a Patriots fan, and hopeful that Brady would come back with enough fury to lead the Patriots to the number one seed, and possibly another Super Bowl title.

Here's Why the Timberwolves Are the Next Thunder

Come back to 2010 with me. Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" is the year's hottest song, "Lost" is finishing it's final season, and "Toy Story 3" is the highest-grossing movie (God, that was a long time ago). Also, a potential dynasty is blossoming in Oklahoma City, as the young tandem of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook lead the team to the playoffs and a surprisingly competitive six game series with the defending (and eventual) champion Los Angeles Lakers. And that series could have gone seven, as evidenced by the one-point margin in the deciding Game 6.

The optimism around the early Thunder was incredible. They were young, they were talented, they were athletic, and they were relentless, as shown in the below video.

I mean, just remember watching that version of the Thunder. Weren't they so exciting? Didn't you want them to succeed? Even if you were a fan of another team, weren't you drawn to what was going on in Oklahoma? After hitting on Durant, Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and James Harden in three consecutive drafts, OKC was seen as the next great team and the model for how to build a potential dynasty through the draft.

The subsequent failures and ultimate demise of OKC is a different topic for another day. Think about that team before three of their four core pieces took off one-by-one. They were set for the future because they had a once-in-a-generation combination of young talent on one roster.They were ready to be in the Finals for the next seven years.

I miss that team. I miss how fun they were to watch. I miss seeing them grow and mature as players from year to year. I miss the growing pains in the playoffs against the Lakers and the Mavericks. Now that the team has really imploded, I look back at the 2010 Thunder like the opening act of a Greek tragedy. They missed so many opportunities to become the defining team of the era, whether it be through fault of their own (the Harden trade) or things they couldn't control (injuries to Westbrook/Durant). It bums me out that they didn't realize their full potential.

But you know what softens the blow just a little bit? The Thunder have a bit of a clone building here up north. That's right: For the first time in a while, people have reason to fear the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Let's break this down, building block by building block. The Thunder had Durant, completely unique offensive force, 7-footer who can shoot and handle the rock, long-limbed athlete. The Wolves have Karl-Anthony Towns, most versatile center ever to come out of the draft, able to do anything on the floor, moves like a guard, defends and finishes at the rim like the behemoth he is. He averaged 18 PPG, 10 RPG, 2 APG and almost 2 BPG as a rookie.Towns has a chance to be a top-five player ever, and I don not say that lightly. He will win multiple MVP's in his career barring injury or historic fall from grace.

Next up, the Thunder had Russell Westbrook, a beast of an athlete with unbridled intensity. Andrew Wiggins doesn't have the same ferocity that Westbrook does, but you can bet he's right there athletically. And while some have questioned his motivation at times, all you need to do is look at how well he always plays against the Cavaliers, the team that traded him for Kevin Love. He has that fire inside, he just needs to figure out how to turn it on when he needs it.

Next, both teams had young, dynamic ball handlers who spent a significant amount of time coming off the bench: Harden for OKC, Zach LaVine for MN. This isn't a great comparison because I don't think LaVine could become an MVP candidate anytime soon. But he's an incredible athlete who can carry the offense if Towns and Wiggins are off that night.

And then, of course, there's this.

Other young talent on the Wolves include big man Gorgui Dieng and wing Shabazz Muhammad, both of whom have the ability to be good role players on this upcoming team. But there are two players on the roster who could help enable these young studs to become the next Thunder.

Ricky Rubio is the perfect point guard to help guys build confidence at the NBA level. He gets his guys so many easy looks and lives to make others better. I think he'll be especially helpful in helping Wiggins find his scoring niche in the NBA. Rubio will be able to hit Wiggins in the spots he likes most and direct him away from areas he's less successful in. Maybe Rubio can even teach LaVine a little about being a pure point guard so LaVine can add that to his skills.

But most importantly, if you could pick someone to mentor Towns, it would be Kevin Garnett. Towns is like KG if KG could shoot threes, although minus the intensity. Towns is already a great team player, and the lessons Garnett gives about teamwork and unselfishness should carry over to the rest of the team.

Which brings me to the final, and possibly most encouraging connection between the 2010 Thunder and the current day T-Wolves. The young Thunder loved playing with each other, fed of each other's talent and athleticism, and enjoyed every minute of their time on the court together. That's something I get from these Wolves. Sure, they have a lot of talent, but if they don't enjoy each other as teammates, they're never going to be championship contenders. But that's not the case.

I got the chance to interview Tyus Jones in March. We went to the Wolves practice facility towards the end of their practice. When it ended, everyone split off to do individual work. Except Towns and LaVine. They went to one of the baskets and started playing one-on-one, but the only shots they would take were contested 30-footers off the dribble. They were having so much fun with each other, and whenever something noteworthy happened, the entire gym would be engaged. One time when LaVine hit a particularly tough shot, Towns ran off in disbelief (nearly killing me and my friend in the process) while Wiggins chimed in from across the gym sporting his signature wide grin. It was awesome to see the camaraderie the team had developed in such a short amount of time, and it let me know that the team was definitely going places sooner rather than later.

The talent Minnesota has assembled is a great foundation, but the players have followed up by making it a real team atmosphere. If the Wolves can keep up what they have right now, the entire league better be on notice about the kids from up north.

Would Larry Bird Be Able to Play in Today's NBA?

Even though I never got to see him play, Larry Bird is my favorite player ever. I think part of the reason I love the Legend so much is that I saw someone who dominated my favorite sport who didn't have world class athleticism. He overpowered opponents with his mind to make up for a lack of foot speed, quickness, or leaping ability. When Bird retired, he was revered as possibly the greatest all-around player ever because of how he was always a step ahead of the other team.

But as the NBA has gotten more athletic, mostly due to improved training knowledge and technology, some have raised the question: Would Bird be able to play in today's uber-athletic league? My answer is a yes and I am incredulous that the question has been legitimately asked.

I agree that it's hard to imagine Bird guarding small forwards like LeBron James or Kevin Durant because he just doesn't have the foot speed to handle them. But in today's game, Bird wouldn't play the three. He would move to the four, and maybe even the five in certain line-ups. Imagine Bird as a stretch four, picking defenses apart with his passing and long-range shooting. That's what I see for him in the game today.

Also, Bird would benefit greatly from modern work-out regimens. These days, he would have Pilates to save his ailing back, and he would pay someone to shovel stone for his mother's driveway, which is when he hurt his back in the first place. His career would have lasted longer.

I think the question of if Bird could play comes from when people see his athletic ability and (possibly) his skin color and assume his success was a product of his era. Well that's stupid because the eighties might have been basketball's greatest era. There's just no question Larry Bird could survive and thrive in the league now. The NBA is completing its transition back to ball movement and team play as the way to win after the nineties ushered in an era of isolation play around one great scorer. That ball movement is what Bird killed people with. His vision was incredible and it would fit so well today. He would live to make everyone around him better, and take over with his scoring when he needed to.

I know this is an extreme example because the Warriors have two of the greatest shooters ever, but imagine Bird in the low post in the Warriors post split action, featured from 4:30-6:13 in this video.

(By the way, how scary are the Warriors going to be next year? Yikes.)

Bird's passing and scoring out of the post would make this play lethal if he had two good shooters around him. He could do this type of thing for any team today.

If you want a projection of Larry Bird today, think Kevin Love during the 2014 season when he averaged 26 PPG and 12 RPG, only an exponentially better passer, smarter and more capable defender, and better team leader. I would take that guy on my team. I'm taking Larry Bird.

The Possible Russell Westbrook/Boston Pairing

There have been recent reports that the Boston Celtics are targeting Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook for a trade. Westbrook is one of the league's best five players, but Kevin Durant's Independence Day departure puts his future in Oklahoma City in serious doubt, especially considering that he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season. Sam Presti can't afford to lose another star for nothing, so unless he can get Westbrook to resign, look for Presti to deal the final part of Oklahoma City's once promising past.

I'm a Boston fan, so you can see why I'm excited at the possibility of getting a player like Westbrook. There's never been anyone who pairs unrelenting ferocity with otherworldly athleticism quite like Russ. And the Celtics need a star to get them over the hump in the East. With Westbrook on board, it almost doesn't matter who they give up, they will be the opponent the Cleveland Cavaliers need to worry the most about in the East.

However, adding Russ to the Celtics is a bit more complex than plugging in a great player to a great organization. Firstly, the Celtics have based their recent modest success on team play and total involvement, due to their lack of a transcendent talent. This is one reason they should go after Westbrook, but they would have to ensure that Westbrook's omnipresence doesn't overtake the team concept that has helped Boston overachieve in the first place. Because let's be honest; I love Russ, but he can be a ball-hog. It doesn't come from a selfish place, he just wants to win so badly and thinks that he needs to take over for his team sometimes. But his indomitable will to win is something anyone loves from a player.

That's especially true for Boston fans. Celtics fans are some of the smartest and most passionate in the league. They've rooted for guys who play the right way, from Bill Russell to Dave Cowens to Larry Bird to Kevin Garnett, and supported them all the way. The fans will love Westbrook once they experience his unquenchable thirst for victory, but the fans aren't who I'm worried about.

As Bill Simmons described it, the Boston media is a conglomerate of old, grumpy white guys. I'm not sure how well they'd take it the first time Westbrook went 8-for-30 from the field, or the first time he showed up at a press conference with clothes that made him look like a fourth grader who took a bad dare. What about the first time he lights up a reporter for what he feels to be a stupid question? All of the OGWG's would go crazy.

Maybe some of the issues the Boston media have had with connecting with divisive black athletes goes back to the troubling race relations the city has had going back to the busing desegregation riots in the 1970's. Boston has been described as a racist city at times. I wouldn't go so far as to generalize something as horrible as racism for an entire city, but the writers there seem to have a particularly hard time coexisting with black athletes.

That isn't how it has to go, though. I think the best case scenario, if Westbrook did go to Boston, is what happened with Garnett when he joined the team in 2007. Garnett, whose intensity rivals Westbrook's, ended up thriving in Boston, and the writers appreciated his team focus, especially on the defensive end. That could happen for Westbrook too, but only if he performs well. If he plays like an MVP candidate and the Celtics win, the writers will not have anything to say. Winning cures everything, even grumpiness. But the media are liable to roast Westbrook the first time and every time he does something they don't like, and with Westbrook's pride level, that could start a long and slippery slope towards terrible media relations in Beantown. Westbrook is more than capable of providing ammunition for the media to get angry at him.

And now a quick dive into the wormhole of Russell Westbrook hating the media:

At the 0:45 mark of this clip, Westbrook flat out tells a reporter he doesn't like him:

(Video from asapviralz)

In this video, Russ shows why he has been called "The Marshawn Lynch of the NBA":

(Video from djvlad) 

And finally, my favorite act of Westbrook disdain:

(Video from djvlad)

It's not the worst thing in the world if Westbrook doesn't get along with the media in Boston. It would just be an annoying story line. It won't change the fact that he would be the perfect player for the team because he gives them a star talent  and the city because every fan would get behind him. If the Celtics can get the guy knowing they can keep him long-term, they should do it.

U.S. Olympic Basketball Roster Minutes Breakdown

The United States Men's Basketball team will descend on Rio, Brazil this August for the Olympics. This year's team is very intriguing, missing many of the NBA's signature star players. This smaller talent disparity means there may be questions as to who should play the most and the least. In games with 10 minute quarters, the team total should be 200 minutes. Think of this under the circumstances of a game where the U.S. gets more than it expected from an opponent and needs to play everyone the right amount to ensure a win.

ROTATION:

Starters:
Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins

Bench:
Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, Carmelo Anthony, Kyle Lowry, DeAndre Jordan, DeMar DeRozan, Harrison Barnes.

Kevin Durant: 30 minutes.
Durant is the star of this team. He's the best scorer and the most versatile player in the NBA, which makes him indispensable on a team with such talent because he can fit with any four on the court. If the U.S. faces an unexpected challenge in Rio, Durant needs to be on the court as much as possible.

Paul George: 28 minutes
George is similar to Durant in that his skill set can fit around any line-up, but that versatility is felt more defensively and athletically for George than offensively as it is for Durant. George lets everyone around him do what they do best because he'll contribute in every way from lockdown defense to long-range shooting.

DeMarcus Cousins: 28 minutes
Team USA only has three players who played the majority of their minutes at the two big men spots during the season, so it's that much more important that Cousins play his best. Boogie is possibly the most talented big man in the league, but he needs to keep his head on straight and contribute in any way he can to the team if he wants to keep the starting spot permanently.

Klay Thompson: 23 minutes
Thompson is the X-Factor on this team. When he's shooting his best, he should play more in the 30-minute range, because that's when Team USA will destroy everything in their path. If not, he's still a great defender and his liability to go off keeps the defense honest.

Kyrie Irving: 20 minutes
Team USA is stacked with wings, which leaves the point guards and centers as (relative) weaknesses. Kyrie just had an awesome Finals, so he has to be riding high. Let's hope he doesn't use his recent success as grounds to continue his habit of pounding the ball for 20 seconds and throwing up isolation jumpers. This is a crucial time for Kyrie. If he plays the way we know he can, using his otherworldly playmaking for himself and others, the Cavs may hand him the offense next year as LeBron begins his decline. This tournament may be a sneak-peak of Kyrie's future.

Draymond Green: 20 minutes
Draymond is another guy whose value is shown most in his versatility, as shown by his role with Golden State. But there's a difference between Draymond's versatility and that of Durant and George: he can become the de facto point guard if the Irving/Lowry duo is struggling or in foul trouble, even if he's technically playing center. His ability to create for his teammates is essential to a team with little creating guard depth.

Jimmy Butler: 16 minutes
On a not so wing-centric team, Butler would get more minutes. If Karl-Anthony Towns replaced Klay Thompson, for example, Butler would play around 23 minutes. Because of the roster lay-out, however, Butler will get lost in the shuffle a little bit. That's too bad, because Butler can help the team in multiple ways, especially with his bulldog defense.

Carmelo Anthony: 16 minutes
Melo is one of USA basketball's most decorated players. What he lacks in NBA team success, he makes up for in international play, as he's looking for a third Olympic gold medal. However, he's no longer a signature star, as age and injuries have sapped enough of his ability to justify removing him from the starting lineup. But he's been the old head of this team through exhibition play, a leader, and his example is important for some of the first time guys to follow.

Kyle Lowry: 9 minutes
Lowry may have to play more minutes than this if Coach Krzyzewski wants a point guard on the court at all times, but he isn't a big minutes talent on this team. He'll fit in, but he doesn't really deserve to play a whole lot.

DeAndre Jordan:8 minutes
Jordan is another player who may have to play more than I think he should due to the lack of depth at his position. However, Cousins and Green can always play center, and I think Coach K should even go to Durant at center occasionally, so there isn't a ton of pressure on Jordan to play big minutes. He will have incredible highlights, some bone-headed decisions, and should be a net positive for the team because he sticks to what he's good at: finishing at and defending the rim.

DeMar DeRozan: 2 minutes
DeRozan comes in if the other wings get tired and in foul trouble. He can give an athletic boost of energy and perhaps one of his crazy dunks can create some momentum, but he's inferior to the plethora of wings on this roster.

Harrison Barnes: 0 minutes.
Sorry Harrison, but that Finals performance showed me you're not ready for prime time yet.

Kevin Durant's Decision and Player Legacies

As I've mentioned many times before, I'm obsessed with player legacies across sports. I'm convinced that Super Bowl XLIX clinched Tom Brady's status as greatest QB ever. I know for a fact that Derek Jeter is overrated by every fan who says he's one of the best 10 baseball players ever just because he won five World Series. And for me, none of Karl Malone's 36,928 career points matter as much as the two he left on the table when he missed two free throws in the final moments of Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals. On the flip side, the shot that Michael Jordan hit to win that game is an example of what made him the greatest to ever play. Stuff like that is what brings me back year after year.

And that's why Kevin Durant's decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder to form a super team on the Golden State Warriors really bothered me. Like REALLY bothered me. To me, there's nothing as respectable as being the best guy on a championship team, the guy who leads others by example and lifts everyone's game until they reach the promised land.

We've always known that KD had that type of ability. He's a completely unique talent. He was the youngest scoring champion in league history. He's seven feet tall with the athleticism and ball handling ability of a guard and he can pull up from 30 feet. Nobody in the NBA has ever been quite like him. He's like George Gervin if the Iceman was seven feet tall and could shoot from anywhere.

This playoffs, KD unlocked the two-way ability he's hinted at since his stint at Texas. He's always been an unbelievable scorer, but in the series against the Spurs and Warriors, we saw Durant become a versatile force, scoring, distributing, and using his once-in-a-generation physical tools to guard every position defensively. He would switch out onto Stephen Curry, force Curry to give it up, then recover to stuff a Warrior at the rim.

There was one play in Game 4 against Golden State that has become a bit of an internet sensation among NBA nerds. Durant switched onto Curry up top, contained him, and forced a pass to the right wing. As Curry set a screen for Shaun Livingston, Durant switched with Andre Roberson onto Livingston cutting to the basket. The ball went to the corner and then down low to Draymond Green, who was able to muscle Russell Westbrook out of the way and moved to the rim. Durant rotated over, jumped to force Green to drop it off to Livingston. Durant somehow lands, and immediately lifts off of two feet to stuff Livingston at the rim. It was an incredible display of athletic fluidity by a guy with all the tools to be the best player in the league on both sides of the ball.

And now he's joining the team that just set the record for wins in a regular season. A team that, up until they went up against Durant's Thunder, looked unstoppable without Durant. Don't compare this to LeBron James' Decision in 2010. The Heat had to completely dismantle their roster just to put two other really good players around LeBron. The Heat won 47 games the year before LeBron went there. The Warriors won 73 games last year, and don't have to destroy their team as much as the Heat did that first year with LeBron.

I'm just really disappointed that Durant copped out like that. And not just because my Celtics were apparently his second choice. We saw that he could be the best player on a championship-caliber team. I want Durant to become that guy, but now I feel like whatever he wins is tainted by the fact that he had to join an all-time team to do it.

The only way that Durant could salvage this and maintain the possibility of being a top ten player all time is if he takes control of this Warriors team, becomes their best player and leader, and leads them to four or five straight titles. And he has to be the go-to guy, the leader by example for all of them. LeBron had to take control of the Heat to push aside the narrative that he was too weak to win one of his own accord. Durant has to do more because he's joining such a great team.

To me, narrative is everything in sports, especially in basketball. Bill Russell was better than Wilt Chamberlain because he was all about winning and Wilt was all about stats, which showed up in their head to head record. Michael Jordan is the greatest ever because he constantly came through on the biggest stage when he needed to most. Magic Johnson solidified himself as a top-five guy with the killer baby hook to go up 3-1 on my Celtics in 1987. Until Durant does something incredible with the Warriors, like being Finals MVP for the only four-peat by a non-Celtics team, he won't be able to cast aside the narrative that he didn't earn his place among the greats. At least not in my mind.