[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Who is the best player in the world today?
Who is the best prospect in the world today?
Who is the best team in the world today?

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

My takes:

Best player in the world today’s a tough one… My thoughts are it has to be between Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic at the moment. For me, I’m going the Joker – Nikola Jokic still. His track record speaks for itself. Multiple MVPs and a championship along with a great Olympic showing recently.

Best prospect in the world today is tough too. AJ Dybantsa, Cam Boozer and this year’s Cooper Flagg top the list for me, although you can make a case for a few others. Boozer has looked better than Dybantsa as of late, but I think I’d still take Dybantsa in a vacuum first of the 3. All should be stars in the league.

Best team in the world today is an interesting one… Amongst any league, I guess I’m taking Team USA. Boston Celtics or another contending NBA team could be considered too imo.

Lets say you?

[HitsterParticipant]

Best player in the world, effectively the best in the NBA I think will have to be between the players Norrin has listed. KD, Steph, LBJ are probably now probably not quite at that level. Anthony Edwards hasn’t yet reached the scoring levels Luka, SGA, Embeast have.

I’m going to go with Luka as the best in the world as I think he’ll move above Jokic this season. I love Tatum as a player but he cannot quite score as much as some of the others and Embeast has a few too many injuries.

Prospect hasn’t said the player cannot be in the NBA already so I’m going with Wemby. Next year’s draft looks loaded and I think Cooper Flagg looks the best prospect I’ve seen but might VJ or Ace be a more flashy player?

AJ I’ve not seen much of, heard he could be a superstar scorer but also seen Pippen and Grant Hill comparisons.

I’ll go with Cooper Flagg.

Best team in the world I’ll keep it at domestic level and go Celtics.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

The wild card not mentioned has to be Ja. I had to bring this up because I read the other day that ANT said he’d cook Ja one on one… Idk, imo if it weren’t for the off-court issues of team distrust, etc. I’d put Ja right up there with Giannis. He’s that good but has a past you can’t trust. Too unreliable, so I’d rather have ANT, but I actually believe Ja could get him as a better player if they both played a full season.

[HitsterParticipant]

JA was ahead of Edwards as a player before his disciplinary issues and injury but Edwards was early in his career then. I’d say lets give Ja this season to get back to his best and see what Edwards can do without KAT on the team. Then next season hopefully both are sound and it would be a perfect head to head.

But I don’t ever see either being the best player in the NBA if everyone stays sound but both could push to be in the top 5.

[HitsterParticipant]

I’ve been thinking about the best prospect not in the NBA and I’m definitely sticking with Cooper Flagg. He may not be a go to scorer but at SF or PF in the NBA I feel he’ll have the ability to be an All Defensive Team contender for many years. Look at what the Knicks gave up to get Mikal Bridges and he might only be 4th scoring option on their team.

Cooper may not be the star player or top scorer on his team but he can be the rock the team is built on. A better combined version of AK47 and Shawn Marion sounds good to me. I don’t know if he would ever be the creative player or scorer Scottie Pippen was but he could be as good on defence and should be a better rebounder and shot blocker. I can see parts of Scottie’s game potentially in him but not such a good steal artist as Scottie was. Also how much did MJ skew Scottie’s creative output as Scottie would have passed to MJ hell of a lot.

I much prefer the better AK47/Marion prototype which would translate with some of Scottie’s game but not so much the creative part of it.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

interesting takes, I was kind of thinking the same as far as prototype, but went in the other direction. I didn’t exactly have a comparison for Boozer, but maybe a super Banchero/Tatum type player. I think Dybantsa could be a Kobe type player the way he can take someone one on one in about any situation, including off the dribble at a high level for a wing… and I agree Flagg is sort of like a AK47/Marion (I would even throw in a super charged Franz Wagner for a modern comp). What prototype will we prefer in the NBA time will tell, but yeah I like your Cooper Flagg pick. All seem to be potential homerun picks.

[HitsterParticipant]

I haven’t seen much of AJ or Cameron Boozer really. With Cameron I’ve got to be careful not to just think of his as a better prospect version of his dad given them being the same size pretty much.

How AJ compares to Ace and VJ I still don’t know yet. This site has Darryn Peterson ahead of Boozer on their 2026 mock draft again I don’t know that much about Peterson.

If Cooper had been in the same draft year as AJ and Boozer then I’d take Cooper ahead of both. AJ I’d happily put in top 3 of this year’s draft if he was eligible. Boozer would be top 5 potential.

What there is beyond 2026 draft I don’t know – there will be good players but they are only 16 or so now and there isn’t a generational guy like Wemby lurking there as far as I can see.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

I think I’ve come around with Cooper Flagg being better than AJ… But I think Peterson’s better than AJ too… Peterson’s got a turbo cheat code when he plays. He’s special. AJ and Cam Boozer are good too, but Peterson’s just on another level at least atm.

[HitsterParticipant]

I must admit I’ve not seen a lot of the 2025/26 NCAA incoming freshmen apart from highlight reels. AJ and Darryn I’d happily put in the same bracket as Ace, Dylan Harper and VJ at the moment. Whether they can take the step to be a Cooper Flagg All American First Team/MVP level player in the NCAA I’d want to see them in action first against proven college teams.

Both guys will be playing under top coaches who can assemble a team around them. Cameron Boozer I think his mid to downside level is the sort of career his father had and he could have a higher upside possibly what Paolo Banchero promises to be. Again he is going to a great Uni where his dad was one of many great players through the system so he will be in a perfect setting.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Peterson’s on another level – a little higher than Harper. Think Damian Lillard meets Derrick Rose or something…
I like the Cam to Paolo comp, was thinking the same too.

[HitsterParticipant]

I like Peterson as a similar prospect to D-Rose when D-Rose was going to college in 07-08. Both guys are/were legit top 3 picks.

Dame has had a fantastic NBA career and is a sure fire HoF guy. He was a slower burning college guy and used up his 4 years there but Peterson as a bigger version of Dame as an upside I like.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Jokic, Flagg, OKC

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

We’re now close to entering the next season here for the NBA and NCAA…
With that I ask the same;
Who is the best player in the world today?
Who is the best prospect in the world today?
Who is the best team in the world today?

I’m going with today;
Joker, Peterson, Team USA once finalized, otherwise OKC.

[HitsterParticipant]

With prospects I assume it has to be a guy outside of the NBA.

So I’ll go Jokic as the best player

Best NBA upside is Wemby but if prospect is non NBA guy I’ll go with AJ or if you want a hail mary then Jeremy Gohier.

Best team its a bit boring but OKC tick the boxes.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Yeah, for prospect I almost picked Mohamed Dabone

[OhCanada-Participant]

SGA is coming off regular season and playoffs MVP’s and won the Championship. Until someone knocks him off hes the guy. I get that Jokic is unreal but when two players are so close I always go with winning as a tie breaker.

Prospects are more difficult now. I’d probably lean towards Peterson but theres just so many good prospects in this years college recruiting class.

Best team is still OKC.

[HitsterParticipant]

With the prospects post 2026 there aren’t any that are really getting huge hype. Stokes has looked good and if he had reclassified he could have gone top 5 next year so would be the obvious prospect if we looked beyond 2026 draft class but I’ve not heard huge hype about anyone post 2026.

There are no doubt good prospects out there but no-one really being an elite Wemby, Flagg, AJ type prospect.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Mohamed Dabone is the real deal… super young future prospect though, but sheesh… check him out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FunUBJnxg9Q&t=182s

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

actually, Dabone is the best prospect in the world atm… he is just super fantastic.

[HitsterParticipant]

Dabone looks good and it’s scary to think he is 5 years away from playing in the NBA.

I guess he’d have to be 17/18 to go to the NCAA. Being at Barca he is mixing with former NBA and top Euro League players. Also he’ll have likely been around their superstar footballers so will get a good grounding of the sort of attention he will generate going forward.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Looks like he just turned 14 today…!

[HitsterParticipant]

Dabone is scary with his upside he is already bigger than Giannis and Cooper Flagg for heaven’s sake. He looks like he can be a point forward or a point C from his skillset. We probably don’t want him to grow that much more as the taller he gets could mean he becomes more injury prone.

He has an upside to be Wemby 2.0.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

I might have to scrap everything altogether from my original thoughts of who the best in the world is… Idk, but if last night was an indicator of what Wemby really is on a consistent basis… and he stays healthy… Wemby’s best. He was doing things that a guy that size shouldn’t do… he was playing nerf basketball on the court where other players were just not on his level.
Cooper Flagg had an off night – sure, but lets credit part of that to the defense of San Antonio – anchored by Wemby… AD couldn’t shoot it much either against this guy. Dallas has one of the better frontcourts in the league at least in talent and theory… on paper… but Wemby is Wemby.

[HitsterParticipant]

Guys like Jokic, Giannis and to a lesser extent SGA and Doncic have been playing at an elite level for a fair few years. Wemby isn’t at that level yet but is rapidly getting there and I think he his upside could be beyond anything those mentioned above have or could reach.

Are there any other guys in the NBA who could get to the level described above, I’d be hard pressed to name one unless it was the complete upside of what say Cooper might be.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Did you see the game last night??? If Wemby stays healthy and plays like that all year – he’s untouchable.

[HitsterParticipant]

I only saw highlights as I’m in England. As regards MVP a lot still depends on how many games the top player’s team wins so that would be my concern about Wemby for that vote.

But he was looking the complete player vs Dallas. His stepback and fade is deadly as his height gives him an uncontested shot, anything lobbed around the basket he’ll put away, he has his hook shot too as well as legit 3 point range. He was doing more ball carrying too last night and his height enables him to see all options easily.

[OhCanada-Participant]

That was probably one of the best basketball games to be live for. Zion dunking on Wemby the first play of the game set the tone. Its rare players get genuinely competitive like that. That was more than “lets win a playoff game”‘ compete level. Those two teams went at it.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Joker tonight… fantastic

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

If Jokic was American, the conversation over whether he is having a better career than LeBron would get heated. Still, he is either getting pretty close to being the best player of this century or is already there.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

He has to be at least in the convo… been great for a long time now

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Still say same prospect – it’s Dabone here. Although the 2028 class looks good overall as a class.
Team – ??? Team USA still
Player… toss up, I’ll go Wemby.

[Author]

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