“LeBron played in a weak Eastern Conference”
50 win teams
- 1980s West: 1.6 per year (outside of Lakers)
- 2011-18 East: 1.9 per year (outside of LeBron’s teams)
So LeBron’s Eastern Conference had more 50 win teams than Magic/Kareem’s Western Conference….
Did LeBron play in a weak Eastern Conference?
2011-18 All-NBA players
- West: 10.25 per year (max: 12)
- East: 4.75 per year (max: 6)
The East averaged 3.25 All-NBA players per year (26 total) outside of LeBron and his teammates.
LeBron in Eastern Conference Playoffs (2011-18)
- Record: 96-27
- Series Record: 24-0
- Sweeps (4-0): 9
- Gentleman’s Sweeps (4-1): 7
- 6 games (4-2): 4
- 7 games (4-3): 4
Beat
- 35 All-Stars (total)
- 14 All-NBA (total)
- 15 All-Defense (total)
- 11 50+ win teams
- 2 60+ win teams
To score 50K points, a player would need to average
- 30.6 ppg (MJ’s record)
- 90 games a year
- for 18.2 years
To make 4K threes, a player would need to average
- 4 threes per game (Steph’s record)
- 82 games a year
- for 12.2 years
Most points generated per game in the 2024-25 season (PTS + PTS via Assists)
- Jokic: 56.0
- Trae: 53.0
- SGA: 49.5
- Cade: 49.5
- Giannis: 48.0
- Luka: 47.5
- LeBron: 45.1
- Booker: 44.5
- LaMelo: 44.2
- Harden: 44.2
Tyrese Haliburton only averaged 18.6 ppg this year, yet he generated 42.4 ppg. That’s more than…
- Steph Curry: 39.5
- Anthony Edwards: 39.3
- Paolo Banchero: 38.3
- Kevin Durant: 37.6
- Donovan Mitchell: 37.3
(PTS + AST PTS Created)
Passing work!!!
This would never happen, but I want thoughts. Something along the lines of
Lakers get
- Giannis
Bucks get
- Garland
- Jarrett allen
Cavs get
- LeBron
- Reaves
Add in picks and other salaries, etc
Lakers centers since 2022 (besides AD)
- Jaxon Hayes
- Alex Len
- Trey Jemison
- Christian Koloko
- Colin Castleton
- Harry Giles
- Thomas Bryant
- Wenyen Gabriel
- Mo Bamba
- Damian Jones
LeBron for Kyrie and Gafford. Who says no?
MJ NBA contract by year (league rank/salary)
1991: 8th ($2.5 mil)
1992: 5th ($3.25 mil)
1993: 2nd ($4 mil)
1994: 5th ($4 mil, didn’t play)
1995: 16th ($3.85 mil)
1996: 32nd ($3.85 mil)
1997: 1st ($30.14 mil)
1998: 1st ($33.14 mil)
J turned Basketball into Boxing!!!
% of team pts that leading scorer on NBA champ accounted for:
Reg Season
- pre-MJ (60-90): 19.91%
- MJ era (91-98): 28.52%
- post MJ (99-2025): 23.64%
Playoffs
- pre-MJ (60-90): 21.94%
- MJ era (91-98): 32.39%
- post MJ (99-25): 26.26%
Acho’s GOAT formula (🏆s/Teams)
- Bill Russell: 11
- Sam Jones: 10
- John Havlicek: 8
- K.C. Jones: 8
- Tom Heinsohn: 8
- Tom Sanders: 8
- Jim Loscutoff: 7
- Frank Ramsey: 7
- Michael Jordan: 6
- George Mikan: 5
- Jim Pollard: 5
- Michael Cooper: 5
- Kobe/Magic/Duncan: 5
The Thunder won the championship despite finishing….
- 10th in AST%
- 12th in REB%
- 9th in eFG%
- 13th in 3P%
(Among 16 playoff teams)
So good and yet so much room to grow!!!
The state of ESPN
During the draft lottery era (since 1985), the only No. 1 overall picks to win a championship with the team that drafted them are David Robinson, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving…
Hardest Trophies to win in Football…
1. World Cup
2. Champions League
3. Euros
4. English Premier League
5. La Liga
6. Serie A
7. Copa America
8. Bundesliga
9. Ligue 1
10. Europa League
11. Domestic Cups (FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France, DFB-Pokal)
12. Conference League
Old heads loving this!!!
In 2023, the Celtics were heavy favorites over the Heat, but they ended up losing the series in 7. Why?
Heat
- 89/205 from 3 (43.4%)
- had been a below avg 3 pt team (34.4%, 17th most 3s)
Celtics
- 81/267 from 3 (30.3%)
- had been elite 3pt team (37.7%, 2nd most 3s)
The Celtics have been outscored 94-50 after taking 20 point leads in Games 1 and 2…
The Celtics in the 4th Quarter of Games 1 and 2⬇️ 💀💀💀
- 9/45 FGs (20%)
- 4/26 from 3 (15%)
- 11/11 FTs (100%)
- outscored by 22 points (55-33 Knicks)
Prior to 2000, there were 5 20+ point comebacks in playoff history…
There have been 5 20+ point comebacks in the 2025 playoffs alone!!!
Who was most important to the Warriors dynasty?
Warriors ON/OFF Regular Season
- Steph: +13.6
- Dray: +8.7
- Klay: +4.7
Warriors ON/OFF Playoffs
- Dray: +12.3
- Steph: +8.7
- Klay: -1.7
Warriors ON/OFF (6 Finals Runs)
- Dray: +13.8
- Steph: +7.2
- Klay: -3.6
Warriors Defensive Rating Rank by Year⬇️
- 2013: 14th
- 2014: 4th
- 2015: 1st 🏆
- 2016: 5th
- 2017: 2nd 🏆
- 2018: 11th 🏆
- 2019: 13th
- 2020: 26th
- 2021: 5th
- 2022: 1st 🏆
- 2023: 17th
- 2024: 15th
- 2025: 7th
Draymond’s 2015-16 season was SPECIAL!!!
Reg Season
- Dray ON/OFF: +25.6 ✅
- Steph ON/OFF: +21.3
- Dray ON/Steph OFF: +10.6 ✅
- Steph ON/Dray OFF: +0.9
Playoffs
- Dray ON/OFF: +8.1 ✅
- Steph ON/OFF: +4.1
- Dray ON/Steph OFF: +12.4 ✅
- Steph ON/Dray OFF: -1.6
Holy 😳
LeBron only took 9 shots today… the fewest of his playoff career! EVER!!!
Russell Westbrook clutch plays vs Clippers
Win Probability Added (Estimate)
93-92 layup: +7.4% (47.0% ➡️ 54.4%)
95-94 layup: +7.7% (46.7% ➡️ 54.4%)
98-96 three: +34.7% (32.6% ➡️ 67.3%)
105-102 pass: +9.4% (63.1% ➡️ 72.5%)
110-107 steal: +16.8% (83.2% ➡️ 100%)
LeBron is 12-11 in playoff series where he lost Game 1. Here are all his wins⬇️
Same vibes
Which sport has the most parity?
Best Team/Worst Team (Diff)
- MLB: .605/.253 (.352)
- NHL: .683/.244 (.439)
- NBA: .829/.207 (.622)
- NFL: .882/.176 (.706)
5th Best vs 5th Worst Team (Diff)
- MLB: .574/.426 (.148)
- NHL: .610/.402 (.208)
- NBA: .622/.293 (.329)
- NFL: .765/.235 (.530)
