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So this is pretty great, but before you jump off the deep end, put your pants on and read the whole thing. In ESPN's Top 25 Under 25, Sixers rookie Michael Carter-Williams placed 15th, which is delightful, a few spots ahead of trade buddy Jrue Holiday. The list, which is headed by Anthony Davis (swoon), Paul George (swooooon), and Andre Drummond (swoooooooooooooooooooooon), has commentary about each player from scouting, coaching, and analytics projectionage.
Via Kevin Pelton's SCHOENE projection system (explanation here), MCW garnered five similar comparisons: Penny Hardaway, Steph Curry, Jason Kidd, Russell Westbrook, and Baron Davis.
Keep in mind, it's only been 15 games for Carter-Williams (and he's out again tonight with his infection), and SCHOENE by no means is the be-all end-all of projections. MCW will never be the shooter Curry and Kidd are. He'll never be as strong as Baron and Russ. And he'll never be in any Nike commercials with Lil' Penny like WAIT JUST A SECOND.
But still, this is excellent. Do a small dance at your desk. I feel like I'm doing more work to curb the angry traditionalists that will yell about how early it is for this and not actually celebrating it. So gimme a sec: MCW! MCW! MCW!
Okay.
Thumbs Up. This is cool. Nobody's saying he will actually become as good as any of those near Hall of Famers (PENNY THOUGH!), but the fact that he's generating statistical comparisons that project out to future success is great news. Another reminder, along with the Rookie of the Month honors, that Sam Hinkie knows what he's doing.
(h/t Unterberger at The 700 Level)
