Ranking UK vs. Duke NBA guys. What's your top 20 look like?

[Son_Of_Saul]

Right now, at this point in the NBA (based on current value and NOT based on career), here's my top 20:

#1. Jayson Tatum - Duke
#2. Anthony Davis - Kentucky
#3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Kentucky
#4. De'Aaron Fox - Kentucky
#5. Jamal Murray - Kentucky
#6. Devin Booker - Kentucky
#7. Bam Adebayo - Kentucky
#8. Zion Williamson - Duke
#9. Paolo Banchero - Duke
#10. Karl Anthony-Towns - Kentucky
#11. Julius Randle - Kentucky
#12. Brandon Ingram - Duke
#13. Kyrie Irving - Duke
#14. RJ Barrett - Duke
#15. Tyrese Maxey - Kentucky
#16. Keldon Johnson - Kentucky
#17. Tyler Herro - Kentucky
#18. Marvin Bagley Jr. - Duke
#19. Wendell Carter - Duke
#20. P.J. Washington - Kentucky

 

[Creed Bratton]

Just based on the fact he stays injured and can't play a full season I think Zion is too high. Also, based on the choke factor I wouldn't put Tatum at 1. He has shown both at Duke and Boston he can't handle the bright lights.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Just based on the fact he stays injured and can't play a full season I think Zion is too high. Also, based on the choke factor I wouldn't put Tatum at 1. He has shown both at Duke and Boston he can't handle the bright lights.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but who would you put at #1? None of those other guys have led their teams to a Finals as the #1 option on their team. Murray, Bam, and Davis have all won it or made it to the finals, but none of them were their team's primary option. Tatum led the Celtics to the 2022 finals as the primary option.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

I also think the question of value is important. For example, would a team trade Zion Williamson for Julius Randle right now? No. But would they pull the trigger and make that trade for the guys in front of him on this list? Probably.

 

[J_Dee]

For reference:

Players Who Played For Kentucky

Players Who Played For Duke

Click "To" twice to see the current players.

 

[pfunk4469]

I mean u put zion ahead of KAT and Randle. Are we talking basketball or banging Pornstars and strippers

 

[Mike-D]

Herro has been better than Barrett his entire NBA career.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

Right now, at this point in the NBA (based on current value and NOT based on career), here's my top 20:

#1. Jayson Tatum - Duke
#2. Anthony Davis - Kentucky
#3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Kentucky
#4. De'Aaron Fox - Kentucky
#5. Jamal Murray - Kentucky
#6. Devin Booker - Kentucky
#7. Bam Adebayo - Kentucky
#8. Zion Williamson - Duke
#9. Paolo Banchero - Duke
#10. Karl Anthony-Towns - Kentucky
#11. Julius Randle - Kentucky
#12. Brandon Ingram - Duke
#13. Kyrie Irving - Duke
#14. RJ Barrett - Duke
#15. Tyrese Maxey - Kentucky
#16. Keldon Johnson - Kentucky
#17. Tyler Herro - Kentucky
#18. Marvin Bagley Jr. - Duke
#19. Wendell Carter - Duke
#20. P.J. Washington - Kentucky

I would put booker 3

 

[Blue_2_the_bone]

#1. Tatum - Duke
#2. Booker - Kentucky
#3. Davis - Kentucky
#4. Fox - Kentucky
#5. Alexander - Kentucky
#6. Murray - Kentucky
#7. Banchero - Duke
#8. Towns - Kentucky
#9. Zion - Duke
#10. Kyrie - Duke
#11. Bam - Kentucky
#12. Randle - Kentucky
#13. Ingram - Duke
#14. Herro - Kentucky
#15. Maxey - Kentucky
#16. Johnson - Kentucky
#17. Barrett - Duke
#18. Jones - Duke
#19. Kennard - Duke
#20. P.J. Washington - Kentucky

 

[fadkins82476]

Considering Tatum has never won a championship and Davis has, they need to be switched.

 

[jgodek]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but who would you put at #1? None of those other guys have led their teams to a Finals as the #1 option on their team. Murray, Bam, and Davis have all won it or made it to the finals, but none of them were their team's primary option. Tatum led the Celtics to the 2022 finals as the primary option.

Not saying Tatum isn’t 1 - he probably is. But to the nba finals part, Booker did lead the Suns there as the primary option.

 

[jgodek]

What has Paolo done to be listed above Maxey? That’s crazy.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

What has Paolo done to be listed above Maxey? That’s crazy.

I already disclosed the criteria. Who has the highest value, including trade value? It's close. Maybe you can tell me why it's "crazy."

Go for it. You're on the clock...

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

What has Paolo done to be listed above Maxey? That’s crazy.

Maxey is great but Paolo averaged like 19 and 9 all year as a rookie he is legit

 

[BigCat241]

I already disclosed the criteria. Who has the highest value, including trade value? It's close. Maybe you can tell me why it's "crazy."

Go for it. You're on the clock...

The "Value" part would make both AD and Zion lower on the list though due to their injury history.

 

[StubbornPenny]

RJ Barrett gets some raw numbers, but his PER has him as a solidly below average player, gives up 118 points per 100 possessions, and had a negative +/- on a playoff team. Doesn’t deserve to be on the list at all.

 

[JonathanW]

What has Paolo done to be listed above Maxey? That’s crazy.

All these, being subjective, could slide up/down 2-4 spots.
You could argue Paolo got to in 1-year where it's taken Maxey 3-years, so he may have a higher ceiling.

Agree I would slide down Zion since can't stay healthy, maybe down to like 14. But likewise, I may slide AD down for same reason to 4-5 range.

The interesting thing is that after these 2 schools, you have to look at entire CBB conferences (the highest surprisingly is the P-10) to come close to what these 2 individual schools have in the NBA.

 

[pfunk4469]

What has Paolo done to be listed above Maxey? That’s crazy.

or herro

 

[kentuckykowboy8]

I’ve got ZERO disagreements with the OP. Great list.

 

[king of cali]

What has Paolo done to be listed above Maxey? That’s crazy.

Well he did say the criteria was based on trade value. If Philly called Orlando and said we’ll give you Maxey for Banchero, Orlando laughs and hangs up the phone.

Maxey had a really good season, but there’s a huge difference between being the third option on a team where the defense isn’t focused on you and the guy where all attention is on you.

 

[rabbitTown]

This just strikes me as 'sad'... what lengths BBN must resort to for confirmation and redemption these days.

 

[KentuckyDad]

Just based on the fact he stays injured and can't play a full season I think Zion is too high. Also, based on the choke factor I wouldn't put Tatum at 1. He has shown both at Duke and Boston he can't handle the bright lights.

“Also, based on the choke factor I wouldn't put Tatum at 1. He has shown both at Duke and Boston he can't handle the bright lights.”

Lol…..I hate Duke with a passion but I don’t think any player has ever had more objectively false narratives blindly accepted on them throughout their career than Jayson Tatum. Dude is one of the clutchest players in the league since he came in, statistically.

>”According to NBA.com, he is the only player in NBA history to shoot at least 50 percent on game-tying or go-ahead shots with less than 24 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter among players with at least 25 such attempts. His shot against the 76ers made him 13-of-26 on such shots — 15-of-29 including the playoffs.”

And he’s an elite playoff performer.

He also might be the best playoff elimination game player in the league sans LeBron. 26/9/6 on 44/38 splits with a 11-6 record. 8-3 in his last 11, too.

Dude just dropped 51 points (NBA record) in a game 7 like a month ago and you’re saying the lights are too bright for him.

Rant over lol

 

[KentuckyDad]

Considering Tatum has never won a championship and Davis has, they need to be switched.

AD’s only won 1 2nd round playoff game as the guy in 7 years. Tatum has already been to 4 conference finals, and 1 finals in 6 years in the league lol.

Give Tatum LeBron averaging 28/9/11 as his first option instead of Jaylen Brown who is an empty stats scorer who can’t dribble and he’d probably have 2 rings by now.

There isn’t a single GM taking AD over Tatum. Not even considering age or health.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

AD’s only won 1 2nd round playoff game as the guy in 7 years. Tatum has already been to 4 conference finals, and 1 finals in 6 years in the league lol.

Give Tatum LeBron averaging 28/9/11 as his first option instead of Jaylen Brown who is an empty stats scorer who can’t dribble and he’d probably have 2 rings by now.

There isn’t a single GM taking AD over Tatum. Not even considering age or health.

Career-wise, you take Davis over Tatum, but Tatum has more value right now. Tatum is a legit top 5 player right now. Davis is probably closer to top 12.

 

[Player2020]

Who cares about what they do in NBA, some of them guys were not very good at Kent, it just makes Cal look bad

 

[Creed Bratton]

“Also, based on the choke factor I wouldn't put Tatum at 1. He has shown both at Duke and Boston he can't handle the bright lights.”

Lol…..I hate Duke with a passion but I don’t think any player has ever had more objectively false narratives blindly accepted on them throughout their career than Jayson Tatum. Dude is one of the clutchest players in the league since he came in, statistically.

>”According to NBA.com, he is the only player in NBA history to shoot at least 50 percent on game-tying or go-ahead shots with less than 24 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter among players with at least 25 such attempts. His shot against the 76ers made him 13-of-26 on such shots — 15-of-29 including the playoffs.”

And he’s an elite playoff performer.

He also might be the best playoff elimination game player in the league sans LeBron. 26/9/6 on 44/38 splits with a 11-6 record. 8-3 in his last 11, too.

Dude just dropped 51 points (NBA record) in a game 7 like a month ago and you’re saying the lights are too bright for him.

Rant over lol

And how many titles does he have in college or the NBA in all of his attempts?

 

[NavyCat88]

Ranking UK vs. Duke NBA guys. What's your top 20 look like?​

I'm kinda partial to the ones that helped us hang banners. All the other NBA farm-teamers............

GBB!

 

[UKAlum88]

Ingram and Barrett are too high but no complaints other than that. I get why Tatum is where he is but I don’t like him personally. I know what he averages but I’d take Booker over him everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[KentuckyDad]

And how many titles does he have in college or the NBA in all of his attempts?

What does college championships have to do with who they are as NBA players? This is cope.

What has AD done as the best player on his team? Tatum has lapped AD’s New Orleans tenure 3 times over as a 25 year old, in terms of success. Conference finals in 4/6 years of his career so far and a finals berth all as the best player. Looked several all time greats in the eye in the playoffs too - LeBron, KD, Giannis, *Playoff* Butler.

AD needed to hide under LeBron’s wings to win one. Switch Tatum and AD and the Lakers still win in 2020, and Boston doesn’t even beat Toronto in the 2nd round.

 

[Creed Bratton]

What does college championships have to do with who they are as NBA players? This is cope.

What has AD done as the best player on his team? Tatum has lapped AD’s New Orleans tenure 3 times over as a 25 year old, in terms of success. Conference finals in 4/6 years of his career so far and a finals berth all as the best player. Looked several all time greats in the eye in the playoffs too - LeBron, KD, Giannis, *Playoff* Butler.

AD needed to hide under LeBron’s wings to win one. Switch Tatum and AD and the Lakers still win in 2020, and Boston doesn’t even beat Toronto in the 2nd round.

He is the Peyton Manning of basketball players....oh wait even Peyton won a title. I guess that means he is the Tony Romo or Dak Prescott of basketball. He puts up big numbers and gets wins in the regular season and then chokes in the playoffs.

 

[KentuckyDad]

He is the Peyton Manning of basketball players....oh wait even Peyton won a title. I guess that means he is the Tony Romo or Dak Prescott of basketball. He puts up big numbers and gets wins in the regular season and then chokes in the playoffs.

Haha what? Yeah except he puts up big numbers and wins in the playoffs too. He’s only ever had one playoff series in his 6 year career where he “choked”.

24/8/5 and a 52-42 (55 win%) record in the playoffs for his career.

**Name another player since Tatum joined the league that has more playoff success and I’ll donate $100 to a charity of your choice.**

 

[Blueheart32]

Haha what? Yeah except he puts up big numbers and wins in the playoffs too. He’s only ever had one playoff series in his 6 year career where he “choked”.

24/8/5 and a 52-42 (55 win%) record in the playoffs for his career.

**Name another player since Tatum joined the league that has more playoff success and I’ll donate $100 to a charity of your choice.**

He can't. He allows his duke hatred to cloud his judgement. Tatum could win back to back titles and he would say they won them in spite of him.

 

[Jamal Sunburn]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but who would you put at #1? None of those other guys have led their teams to a Finals as the #1 option on their team. Murray, Bam, and Davis have all won it or made it to the finals, but none of them were their team's primary option. Tatum led the Celtics to the 2022 finals as the primary option.

Ever heard of Devin Booker?

He did that and didn’t play like a turd when he got to the Finals.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Ever heard of Devin Booker?

He did that and didn’t play like a turd when he got to the Finals.

Tatum's made it farther more often.

 

[Jamal Sunburn]

Tatum's made it farther more often.

Both played in one Finals.
Do you watch the NBA? Honest question.

 

[Creed Bratton]

He can't. He allows his duke hatred to cloud his judgement. Tatum could win back to back titles and he would say they won them in spite of him.

Provide proof to me that he isn't like Romo or Prescott. Until he wills the Celtics to a title you can't because he is just like them. It's okay and doesn't mean he isn't a good basketball player he just isn't the GOAT like you guys want to think no matter where he played college ball. A lot of guys were great players and had playoff success but just could never win a title like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Dominique Wilkins. They are all considered one of the top 25 of all time but when you talk about who is the GOAT you don't hear them mentioned like you do Jordan, Bird, Kobe, LeBron, Kareem, Magic, etc because the latter all won on the biggest stage.

 

[Titpwhami2014]

Solid list. This is being nitpicky but I would value Ingram over Randle and PJ over Bagley.

Bagley may go down in history as one of the more disappointing picks in recent memory. He was a monster at Duke. Picked one spot ahead of Luka Doncic. Sacramento has made amends but kind of crazy that was only 5 years ago. I thought that kid was going to be a perennial All-Star.

 

[Blueheart32]

Provide proof to me that he isn't like Romo or Prescott. Until he wills the Celtics to a title you can't because he is just like them. It's okay and doesn't mean he isn't a good basketball player he just isn't the GOAT like you guys want to think no matter where he played college ball. A lot of guys were great players and had playoff success but just could never win a title like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Dominique Wilkins. They are all considered one of the top 25 of all time but when you talk about who is the GOAT you don't hear them mentioned like you do Jordan, Bird, Kobe, LeBron, Kareem, Magic, etc because the latter all won on the biggest stage.

I don’t think anyone is saying he’s the GOAT. Im certainly not, but I think calling him a choker is way over the top. Not winning a title yet says more about the players around him than it does him in my opinion. I don’t think there is an NBA player out there that wouldn’t love to have him on the team.

 

[KentuckyDad]

Provide proof to me that he isn't like Romo or Prescott. Until he wills the Celtics to a title you can't because he is just like them. It's okay and doesn't mean he isn't a good basketball player he just isn't the GOAT like you guys want to think no matter where he played college ball. A lot of guys were great players and had playoff success but just could never win a title like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Dominique Wilkins. They are all considered one of the top 25 of all time but when you talk about who is the GOAT you don't hear them mentioned like you do Jordan, Bird, Kobe, LeBron, Kareem, Magic, etc because the latter all won on the biggest stage.

When did AD will his team to anything? He never won a 2nd round playoff game until he went to hide in LeBrons shadow.

Being the best player in the NBA from the pool of all Kentucky/Duke guys, pretty clearly, doesn’t mean anyone thinks he’s the goat. Hahahahaha. He’s just clearly the best player between the two schools right now and every reason you used to try to argue against that was objectively wrong, or hypocritical to your own stance.

I can’t even tell if you’re trolling or not when you are writing multiple sentences about what the GOAT means LOL. We’re talking about who is the best Kentucky/Duke player in the the NBA is and it’s Tatum. Not “is Jayson Tatum the goat”

 

[KentuckyDad]

Both played in one Finals.
Do you watch the NBA? Honest question.

They’ve both made the finals but Tatum’s playoff resume is on a completely different level. The second he walked in the Celtics building he basically booked their flight to the ECF every year.

Sure Tatum played awful in the finals, but are we gonna ignore Booker’s infamous playoff L’s? Lol