Consider the following two players:
Player |
G |
FG |
FGA |
FG% |
3P |
3PA |
3P% |
FT |
FTA |
FT% |
ORB |
DRB |
TRB |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
TO |
PTS |
A |
47 |
348 |
756 |
46.00% |
24 |
92 |
26.10% |
235 |
298 |
78.90% |
45 |
179 |
224 |
241 |
73 |
22 |
135 |
955 |
B |
51 |
166 |
388 |
42.8 |
101 |
243 |
41.60% |
39 |
49 |
79.60% |
26 |
233 |
259 |
472 |
93 |
28 |
121 |
472 |
(If you're not seeing the full stats, expand to the wide view of the home page.)
Player identities revealed after the jump. But if you look before voting you're a cheater and people won't like you very much.
Player A is our very own Tyreke Evans.
Player B is Jason Kidd, who is reportedly going to be replacing Bryant in the All-Star Game.
My gut reaction was that the NBA was going with a name that casual fans would recognize. I feel like they're blowing an opportunity to give additional exposure to an up-and-coming star. I even went so far as to say that Kidd in the All-Star Game was as bad as McGrady and Iverson. The stats, however, made a compelling case, and I was curious how blind voting would turn out.
Stats courtesy of Basketball Reference.