Correction* this is Martin Sibal, Simko is his teammate

I didn't realize his story and it's actually pretty miraculous. He almost didn't play, started out at JUCO, and eventually made his way to D1. I don't know if the potential was always there or if nobody really saw him.

Yaxel Lendeborg the Warriors 11th overall pick just had his first 30pt game of the season.

21.8 pts 9.3 reb 4.8 ast on 45/35/77 shooting splits through the first 4 games

Full Game Box Score: https://www.espn.com/nba/game/_/gameId/401909876/warriors-nuggets

Where would he project in the 2027 NBA Draft.

What would be a realistic floor, expectation, and ceiling?

Edit: Context of this game is that he erupted for 38 points in the adidas Next Generation Tournament final in Rijeka, Croatia, capping an impressive weekend that earned him MVP honors.

The recently turned 17-year-old, 6-foot-9 Serbian wing finished with 38 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, and 3 BLK against Zentro Madrid, shooting 5-of-9 from three in Pablo Laso Academy's narrow 76-72 loss.

Edit 2: He is in the 2028 NBA Draft.

14 PTS

6 REB

Clean %. Besides FT, but this is very unusual from him he's usually around 80%

He just turned 18 a couple of months ago

Who do you think looks better so far of the top 2-4 picks?

Darryn Peterson in the loss to the Grizzlies: 14 points on 5-18 FG (3-5 from three) 7 rebounds 4 assists vs Cam Boozer 13 points on 4-12 FG (1-6 from three) 7 rebounds 4 assists

Meleek Thomas in 17 minutes so far in his DEBUT:

• 16 points 🔥
• 6/10 FG🔥
• 4/5 3FG 🔥
• 18 minutes

They really let Meleek Thomas fall to the second round because his barefoot height is 6'3? He's the tallest 6'3 I've ever seen because look at the height of the top of his shoulders compared to 6'2 barefoot Darius Acuff. His shoulders are at LEAST two inches higher than Acuff's. Anything above the shoulders is practically useless in basketball, it just so happens that Thomas has a VERY short head (from chin to top of head) and a short neck. Dude is in effect more like 6'4 - 6'5.

Box score for the game: https://www.nba.com/game/mem-vs-sac-0022600118/box-score

Fun notes about this game: The 7 assists that Acuff got are a season high (so far). He got them on 1 turnover too, his lowest amount of turnovers yet. This game was also the first time that Boozer got a block in the NBA (he got 2 this game), though Acuff had a block of his own. Boozer continues to struggle finishing inside against NBA length and athleticism as he's currently 0-12 on layups across 3 games. Acuff, meanwhile, has a healthy diet of shots at all 3 levels, and bricks them at a similar rate.

If team record affects ROTY voting, then Boozer might get it on that alone. But if voters just go by PRA, then Acuff may eek it out due to his high usage (currently 34%, 6th highest in the NBA).

Due to the sheer amount of mouths to feed in Utah and the sheer lack of defensive talent on the roster, Ace has been pressed into service as the Jazz’s main POA defender and is not getting any ball in hand opportunities. Ace’s points are coming from spot up threes, cuts, transition, and offensive rebounds. Ace is not a good scorer yet (his handle is still HORRIBLE) and the Jazz’s future and present are more reliant on Peterson, JJJ, Lauri, and Keyonte that basically any possession is a possession served by Ace not having the ball for more than a second. Ace has not really complained about this role at all and has worked hard defensively (and again, he is just bad at scoring right now) so it’s not like it’s a terrible call, but do you think this is the right call for Ace’s future and the Jazz?

I’m ngl I don’t think it’s the end of the world but as a nets fan I really think Sean marks track record in tbe 2023 and 2025 drafts have been abysmal. Like I know it’s early and late round picks don’t always hit but man gun to my head rn I think only egor is a future starter and Nolan a bench player. The rest of the guys just look like future overseas players. Idk how a GM who’s been around for a decade still has this job security but idk maybe it’s just me but this place is a dark one rn

I am seeing things Flagg is doing at 19 and its absurd. A GM wouldn't be crazy for picking Flagg first?

He’s going to be runaway #1 pick and would’ve been in the same convos as the top 4 guys this past draft if he was in that class don’t overthink it

Yaxel is averaging 18/8/4 playing 34 mins a game. Morez is playing 14 mins a game and averaging 6/3/1. He can't even stay on the floor. Sure, he's massive and has played some good defense on some big guys. But our team does not have abundant offensive threats. And we already have PJ and Naji and Gafford and Lively at big. What we don't have is another dynamic playmaker who can step up when Cooper or Kyrie are out. I don't care that Morez is 19 and has upside. All the other 19 year old rookies are dropping 30 and making instant impact just like 24 year old Yax. Our top 10 pick should not be this ineffective. Total botch job.

Joksimovic created a huge advantage with good kick-out passes and quick transition play from defense to offense.

Stefan has delivered two strong games in the last three days against top EL teams (PAO & Valencia). His role is rapidly growing as he earns more and more trust from coach Perasovic.

Another rough game for the number 2 overall pick who had multiple bad fouls down the stretch in a close game with the Lakers.

Every other post is negative as hell for what?? We’ve got the first few (exhibition) games of some teenagers’ college careers and then the first few games of some teenagers NBA careers and we got MF’s doing victory hate laps smh.

I’ve been on this sub for like 10 years and it’s actually astounding how far down the drain it’s gone. This place is damn near as bad as WBB twitter, slightly less name-calling but clearly the same toxic energy.

Just watch the kids hoop and give neutral critiques, not everyone and everything is terrible/trash/“he’s a bust/will be a bust”. If everyone is trash then why are you watching, or if you just dont like hoops then why are you watching? Football is on lol

Games came against Toronto on Friday night and Chicago last night. Tre has been the first man off the bench for Washington so far this season.