Sep.13 at 10:11 am

DotComMotion says:
Starting to sound like Tony Mejia over @ cbssportsline.com…Uneducated opinion if there’s ever one

Sep.13 at 10:11 am

D Tox says:
I watched the draft and I still didn’t know who he was.

Sep.13 at 10:36 am

1ozzy says:
Have not seen him play one game! Didn’t Darko play in that other league against “fierce bearded men in the second best ball league…” and also had the same comparisons even before he played a game in L? I’m just saying!
I think you cats make these (in the name of Mike Tyson) absurd ludicrous claims to get readers hyped. If this is the case, damn good job!
To make your claims even seem like they have some validity after this Charlie V needs to be ranked. You cats need to stop with juice and smoke when come up with your lists!!!

Sep.13 at 10:40 am

The Pope says:
I haven’t seen him in action so I can’t really tell. But on the basis of “value to the team,” he must be pretty high. He should be. The Raptors could have had a lot more with the pick (they could have traded it for a proven veteran), but they still got Bargnani so there must be something in him that we don’t know. STill, he might be in the “Top 50 Situations,” (I think I’ve read this line previously). Imagine being the top pick but not having the usual burden of expectations on your shoulders, life is good. But that does not necessarily and definitively place him as one of the “Top 50 Players.” I don’t know Slam, I don’t know.

Sep.13 at 10:48 am

DBlizzy says:
I’m officially boycotting this list. How can you be ranked higher than 4 NBA, I repeat, NBA players, who have established themselves, and you haven’t even played a game in the league yet. Until he actually suits up for an NBA game, he’s still just another european player. They’re so popular nowadays aren’t they?

Sep.13 at 10:55 am

Gilbert0 says:
i think you guys are officially screwing with us now, trying to get some serious reaction. worst selection ever.

Sep.13 at 10:57 am

Gilbert0 says:
Given positions 50 through 48 i was expecting a name like rip hamilton or jefferson or rashard lewis. to pull out a untested european rookie as the 47th best/most valuable/”whatever the changing criteria is” ranked player in the league is beyond lame

Sep.13 at 10:58 am

Bryant Reeves says:
I’m from Toronto and hope “Barg-NAH-nee” has a great season, but what is he doing on this list?
I agree with DBlizzy - this guy didn’t even standout during the summer league!
Funny that an article on a “top 50″ player that talks about his euro days doesn’t include a single stat or the fact that “Barg-NAH-nee” didn’t even start againts those bearded men!
This list needs to be renamed the “TOP 50 PLAYERS WITH POTENTIAL” or “HOW TO GET BASKETBALL FANS’ PANTIES IN A TWIST BY MAKING A R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S LIST”

Sep.13 at 11:00 am

Gilbert0 says:
maybe you should re-word your intro a bit. i see where you have written 50 most valuable but i seem to also see two occasions where you have written 50 best players. which is it? why dont you make it top 60 and just list every teams 2 most important players. sorry for the triple post

Sep.13 at 11:07 am

Sam Rubenstein says:
For the record, I was a part of the selection process only through #38 or #39. I can defend every pick higher (smaller number) than that. There, I’ve said my peace.

Sep.13 at 11:13 am

BullsForeva23 says:
If Brian Colangelo did not have an adequate track record, I’d be all against this selection. Truth is, maybe he he actually does know what he is doing and stating that Bargnani will be the next euro bust is a moot point.
T.O. trading away Charlie Villanueva for TJ Ford pretty much makes a bold statement. MLSE believe that Bargnani is the better player right now of the two. To me that says a lot. “We think Andrea will be an incredible player in this league” Sam Mitchell “We believe that Andrea will become a terrific star in the NBA” Brian Colangelo.

Sep.13 at 11:16 am

Gilbert0 says:
damn, even one of the slam staffers is distancing himself from the debacle

Sep.13 at 11:17 am

Kene says:
…lol…Sam just pulled a ‘Justin Timberlake after the Superbowl’ and denied all responsibility for this pick. Way to bail on your homies, Sam

Sep.13 at 11:18 am

J says:
He averaged 12ppg (54% on 2pts and 39% on 3pts) and 5.5rpg in the Italian league and 10.9ppg (55% on 2pts and 43% on 3pts) and 4.1rpg in the Euroleague. They showed the Italian league finals on NBAtv over here and he was a starter. He played a major role in helping Trevsio win the title. Does that deserve a place on this list? I don’t really know but it makes for good conversation. I think the theme for the media this year when it comes to the NBA will be the team and not the individual after watching the US at the world championships and how the media reacted to the results. It seems this list is about team impact and not stat impact and 1 on 1 ability. The top 10 will be very interesting to see.

Sep.13 at 11:19 am

Sam Rubenstein says:
I’m like one of those republicans trying to distance himself from the war.

Sep.13 at 11:23 am

Myung says:
1st of all, paolo, we’re cool. thanks for the good words, brother. as for bja, i don’t want to copy and paste what i wrote to you but you can check it out at the end of the josh smith post. now, as for this euro cat, i’ll hold off any specific “bust or star” thoughts on him until i see him play. i was wrong on pau gasol (i thought he would stink up the league and he has certainly made me eat my words) so i don’t want to make that mistake again. i definitely agree that he has to have some VALUE, else he wouldn’t have been the first pick in the draft. again, i think he might turn out to be a nice player. i mean, he can’t be any worse than olowokandi, right? but i’ll just say two little bits: (1) i know in my fantasy basketball draft, i’d leave him alone through 50 players FOR SURE. i’d pick rookies like adam morrison or tyrus thomas over him and (2) if my hawks had the #1 pick and we used it on this guy instead of brandon roy or tyrus thomas or adam morrison or rudy gay, i would’ve been upset (though i’ll admit i would’ve taken this italian cat over sheldon suvari). seeing boris and josh or even kaman on this list didn’t shock me. i’ve said it a ton of times already, but i won’t knock your picks, SLAM…but i’ve got to admit, this pick raised an eyebrow.

Sep.13 at 11:34 am

Chris O'Leary says:
“I’m officially boycotting this list.”
“This list needs to be renamed the “TOP 50 PLAYERS WITH POTENTIAL” or “HOW TO GET BASKETBALL FANS’ PANTIES IN A TWIST BY MAKING A R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S LIST”
“I don’t know Slam, I don’t know.”
Sam — “I’m like one of those republicans trying to distance himself from the war.” I’ve picked up 3rd degree burns from the e-flaming in here. What a hilarious mess. This is my homepage, and Bargnani at 46 had me clicking on it faster than anything I’ve ever clicked on this site. I didn’t even look at anything else. I’ve got serious work to do and had to check this out and comment on it. I didn’t think Bargnani should have been a #1 pick, so needless to say, seeing him at 46 on this list comes as a surprise. Being from Canada, I hope he proves me wrong. I’m giving the guy a year. If, two years from now he hasn’t had a quasi-breakout season at least, I’ll be convinced that Colangelo was overpowered by a bitter Rob Babcock on draft day, who made the natural selection for his former team.

Sep.13 at 11:51 am

Myung says:
btw, sam wasn’t distancing himself from THIS pick. which frightens me, to be honest. if he’ll stand behind this pick but won’t claim responsibility for picks 1 through 37, this ride could get bumpy. i wrote that whole “bassy, marbury, dajuan wagner, darius miles, qyntel woods” thing a week ago as a joke. but i’m beginning to think this list is going to turn into a “michael jackson/r kelly/ oj simpson” saga. the list will get a rise out of people, get people to argue its validity, and as much as many of this site are saying they’re going to disregard the list, they’ll still tune in each day to see who SLAM has put on this list. it’s like a bad accident on the freeway. we can’t turn away. i’m now convinced that before we hit #40, we will see sebastian telfair’s name on this list. personally, i’d enjoy seeing khalid write up a “why JJ Reddick deserves to be the #43 player on this list” piece. but that’s just me.

Sep.13 at 11:54 am

Lang Whitaker says:
Yeah, Sam was distancing himself from this pick. The fourth wall has been broken. Wait until tomorrow when Sam writes about the pick he demanded: no. 45, Jerome James.

Sep.13 at 11:59 am

Sam Rubenstein says:
Myung you got it exactly wrong. I am fine with 1-37. It’s 38-50 that I have my doubts about. Fortunately Jerome James is in the top 10 where he belongs.

Sep.13 at 12:06 pm

Myung says:
whoops. my bad, sam. i read it incorrectly. my fault. i’d still like to see JJ reddick on this list though.

Sep.13 at 12:06 pm

Chris O'Leary says:
As long as you run that pic of Jerome James wearing the garbage bag cape in his Sonics jersey, you can put him anywhere from 5-1 and it’d be fine by me.

Sep.13 at 12:20 pm

Aaron says:
This kid is probably the third most important player on his entire team. I would put TJ and Bosh ahead of him. If this list is about most important players to their given team, Steve Nash better be number one. Just do 50 breakout stars or something because this has been nothing but confusion thus far.

Sep.13 at 12:24 pm

Myung says:
Aaron, I think you’ve set yourself apart as the most loyal Suns fan on this site by far. Nearly every comment you write has to do with a Sun. Haha. I got no beef with that. At least you’re a loyal fan. I just hope Lang let’s you write the Sun’s Season Preview.

Sep.13 at 12:59 pm

Myung says:
I kind of liked that last line, Skeets. Good one. Let me flame myself here: “That Myung…what a comment whore, eh?”

Sep.13 at 1:13 pm

NicaPlease says:
Putting Bargnani on this list is not as farfetched as the predictions of him becoming the next Milicic/Tskitishvili. In my opinion, he has all the talent in the world (looked more fluid than dirk in the D-league at times) but the question is, does he have the drive, will, mental toughness to be an immediate impact? Prediction: He will end up starting sooner rather than later. Yes I’m a Nesterovic hater, and I believe that his usefulness will only come into play in less common half court situations. Bargnani Stat line 2006-2007: 29mpg, 14ppg, 5rpg, 2.5apg, 1.5bpg, 1spg
48% fg, 43% 3pt.

Sep.13 at 1:17 pm

VIGGO says:
Skeets is on point I watched the italian play in the summer leauge granted it’s summer leauge but the kid can ball and flat out shoot, he’s not scared to play. And as for the DARKO comment keep your head up cause DARKO is coming threw this year. And if you dont know now you know……………

Sep.13 at 1:34 pm

boston's finest says:
your kidding right? but then again, this is nothing new for long time readers. its the same as penny hardaway being on the cover, talking about his “REVENGE” and his time. or the new jersey nets w/ a roster of sam cassell, jayson williams, keith van horn, kendall gill, and kerry kittles GUARANTEE nba champs by 2001 or whatever year. RIIIIIGHT! so placing Andrea Bargnani ahead of josh smith and boris diaw is not far fetched for long time slam readers. whats next? yao ming ahead of dwight howard?

Sep.13 at 1:56 pm

Jake Appleman says:
Optimism reigns supreme in Canada. Nice post, Skeets. Now you see what years and years of mindless power rankings do to people. Lists are overrated. Words aren’t. Wait till you guys see where Scalabrine ends up on this new juggernaut feature!

Sep.13 at 2:10 pm

dpak says:
Kind of silly to anoint someone who hasn’t played a single NBA game yet in the NBA top 50.

Sep.13 at 2:12 pm

Aaron says:
Thanks Myung. I have a bias but I try to be a realist with it. haha. I know there are players out there better than Boris but I don’t think any have been listed yet. I would be more than down to write the Suns season preview. I’ve written for some bball sites around the net…

Sep.13 at 2:25 pm

Howard says:
after reading this, Bill Simmon’s annual trade-value column makes more sense.

Sep.13 at 2:59 pm

Troy Dallas says:
I think everyone is over-reacting just a tad bit. If you can read you would see the following line: “OK, we cool? Yeah? Good. Now, go back up and read the slant. “We tried to list the 50 guys we think have the most value to their teams, right now, at this moment.” You follow?” and this one: “we tried to list the 50 guys we think have the most value to their teams” See, the top 50 can mean a lot of things, and it seems that people think that this top 50 outlines the top 50 talented/most skilled athletes in the game. Well as you can obviously see, thats not the case. Its the top 50 players ranked by importance. And if you look at it that way, this pick and the darko at 49 makes good sense because they are both vital to the success of their respective teams. If you still don’t get it, read a dictionary or something I dont know how else to explain it to you.

Sep.13 at 3:31 pm

Urethra Franklin says:
I like how the people who haven’t seen him play a lick, or hadn’t even heard of him before are up in arms about the pick. The list is “Top Players in the NBA Today” not “Top Players Last Season”, “Top Players Who Have Played At Least 1 NBA Game”. Whether he deserves to be Top 50 or not, I don’t know. But it’s not as outrageous a proposition as some of you might think. The guy can flat out ball. He wasn’t picked because it was trendy or whatever else lame excuse you can think of, he was picked because he’s 20 years old, 7′1″, 250lbs with the speed, agility and offensive game of a small forward (if you think he’s just a catch and shoot guy, put on a dunce cap). He’s a solid shotblocker but needs to work on his man defence and rebounding - mostly because he was used more as a SF at Benetton and just has to learn how to do it - same thing with learning his post game. But he has the talent and work ethic to get it done. He’s a way above average offensive player relative to his rookie class (in the company of Morrison, Foye etc.) and certainly is one of the better offensive big men in the league as a rookie. Defensively, he’s at least an average defender relative to his rookie peers. If you haven’t seen him here’s some vid: Summer League:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=u15IORiDlz8 Benetton:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=z14brkHotT0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RlEIdn19tlU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RlEIdn19tlU (finals) Not expecting some of you to agree with the Top 50 thing, maybe just to calm down on some of the ignorant hate going on here.

Sep.13 at 3:45 pm

anj says:
i don’t buy this stuff about “no pressure”. i think being a number 1 pick in any draft is pressure enough. true, this one’s more uncertain, but he’s probably feeling some heat. regardless, 46? nope.

Sep.13 at 4:23 pm

winston and the telescreen says:
I do think its a bit odd to list someone whos never played a single NBA game
however
if hes good this year
you get a nice little ‘I told you so’ in your arsenal

Sep.13 at 4:23 pm

Myung says:
i am a hypocrite. i said i wouldn’t make my own list, and i did. it’s a slow day at work; what can i say? knocking out 30 out of the 50, i did one per team, giving me: joe johnson. paul pierce. okafor. ben wallace. lebron. dirk. carmelo. chauncey. jason richardson. yao. JO. elton. kobe. pau. dwyane. redd. KG. vince. chris paul. steph. dwight. iverson. nash. zach randolph (this was the hardest team for me to pick a franchise player). bibby. duncan. ray allen. bosh. AK47. gilbert. you add diaw, andrea, kaman, josh, and darko…and that leaves 15 spots. this isn’t to say that slamonline HAD to have picked one per team, but i’m just assuming they did (i could be wrong). it’ll be interesting to see who gets left off? in coming up with my “1 per team” list, i have a feeling some pretty good players (tony parker, manu, jason kidd, hinrich, ben gordon, shawn marion, rashard lewis, jason terry, lamar odom, rip hamilton, gerald wallace, etc?) will be left off. just one man’s thoughts from a slow wednesday afternoon…

Sep.13 at 4:24 pm

BullsForeva23 says:
Ok, who in the right frame of mind would by a Rudy Gay jersey? Just think about it. GAY #69 But on a more serious note, I’m just not understanding where all this “Bargnani will never be a Dirk Nowitzki” stuff is coming from. And how do you know? Well I don’t know and won’t pretend to know. I mean give the guy a break, give him a shot first. Maybe then meaningful assessments can be made.

Sep.13 at 4:24 pm

SWAT says:
TJ Ford better be higher than this

Sep.13 at 4:31 pm

Shiz says:
So how in the hell can you be a top player in the league when you havent…played…yet. This is a “Im fuckin with you guys” pick…I hope. My God, J.E. Skeet put that L down!! We dont know shit about this kid. He could be Dirk, he could be Darko, he could be Radmanovic, he could be Skeetervilli. We dont know so how in the hell do you even give him that much value, he HASN’T DONE ANYTHING YET!! And worst of all, 9 outta 10 people have never seen him play. And I doubt son-duke got enough clout to get the ill-ass overseas scouting report, so where is he gettin this from. Not to make this a personal attack, but son…c’mon…what the hell were you thinking? You’ve provided no evidence other than the fact that he’s a 7 foot perimeter guy..and that he moves a little like Dirk. No stats, no history, no mention of any sources that have seen him play. JESUS!! You know about as much about dude as we do, which is to say absolutely jack…and shit!! HAHAHA!! Yo, you played yaself son. Never go out on a limb when your biggest reason for doing so is “the unknown”…You’ll end up lookin like MJ after he got fired as Wiz GM, all salty an shit and superfoolish.

Sep.13 at 4:35 pm

Joe Leavitt says:
Myung - Get a job or a life or something and stop trying to use these comments to get slam to hire you.

Sep.13 at 4:37 pm

Lang Whitaker says:
Myung, you’re hired!

Sep.13 at 4:39 pm

DBlizzy says:
I guess since you guys are ranking the people “most vital to the success of their respective teams” we should include the Knicks team trainer, the guy that calls the games for Detroit and Benny the Bull too! I don’t care how you put it, there’s no rationalizing these picks.
Maybe this is just a publicity stunt to get hits on the new website.
We’ve all been duped!

Sep.13 at 4:43 pm

Shiz says:
putting dude at whatever number is insanity when he hasn’t even logged a minute yet.

Sep.13 at 4:45 pm

Shiz says:
Congratulations Myung on your new hire as one of slams new off-beat online writers!! *commences to poppin bottles!*

Sep.13 at 4:48 pm

Myung says:
thanks, lang. my goal of getting hired by slam has come to fruition. joe saw right through me. i’ve officially become the most hated “poster” on this site, i believe. which is basically because (1) i write too much (2) i write too often (3) i write nonsense. wow. a lot of other cats on here post pretty frequently, but they don’t get called out. others write long comments, but they don’t get called out. others write pure nonsense, but they don’t get called out. for those who call me out to get a life, did (as kobe might say) your mom’s not hug you enough as a kid? just so you know, joe, i’m a college graduate (same alma mater as lang, THE univeristy of georgia) who has a good paying job that allows me to work in front of computer all day. i also have a very enjoyable social life, but because i have a sidekick 3, i’m able to be out and still check this site (like when i’m taking a dump). but thanks for the comment, joe. you got me hired by slam.

Sep.13 at 5:07 pm

Susan Price says:
Myung, …”like when I’m taking a dump…” You’ve just been fired.

Sep.13 at 5:21 pm

Troy Dallas says:
damn we need some water up in here cuz its a flame fest…its just a damn list. If you agree, fine, if you don’t, deal with it. Lets all just respect everyone’s opinion. This list is obviously open to some hearty debate, but thats all it is. Bitching about the picks wont change anything(even though its kinda funny watching y’all murder each other over it)

Sep.13 at 5:21 pm

Myung says:
Wow, I even got the infamous Susan Price to leave a comment. What happened to the value of honesty, Susan? Oh well. Another example of “When keepin’ it real goes wrong.” This was the 2nd shortest job I’ve ever had. Haha.

Sep.13 at 5:25 pm

Kene says:
…whoever came up with this comments idea is a fracking genius. I love it! …also, said person prolly deserves to be on this list as much as Bargnani does….i’m just saying.

Sep.13 at 6:17 pm

scott says:
Bargnani being on this list is a complete joke. There is no way he will have more value or a better season then Diaw, Kaman, or Smith (maybe Milicic). He is not even the top rookie in his class. Who wouldn’t take Brandon Roy or Randy Foye over him going into the next season?

Sep.13 at 6:18 pm

benny says:
Interesting decision. No one with any sense believes the kid will be an instant icon.
While obviously talented, he’s still very green and very weak. As mentioned above, he’ll no doubt struggle on D and on the glass. Then again, one or two well-respected players happen to also struggle in those same areas. Shoot, one of those players was even given a “C” on the latest Dream Team. Bargnani is in an excellent position to succeed. Along for the ride will be his old boss, a couple of old teammates and a thriving Italian community. Oh, S.Mitchell might not have a clue about playcalling, but he knows a thing or two about molding young Bigs.

Sep.13 at 6:27 pm

Phoenix19 says:
Haha… I love this selection. Actually, there are whole teams of twelve out there that I would pick ahead of Bargnani, plus Boris Diaw - even if he was split in half - should be far ahead of unproven Euro-guy - twice, each half of him… But hey, at least it’s funny. Is it to late to write in Renaldo Balkman as suggestion for 1st place?

Sep.13 at 6:37 pm

serbia23 says:
u guys are just haters first to milicic then bargnoni,just cuz u havent seen them play how bout u go to youtube and look the shit up,just cuz he aint a guy from america

Sep.13 at 6:45 pm

Joe Leavitt says:
Myung - did Jim Harrick help you graduate by enrolling you in Basketweaving 101?

Sep.13 at 6:45 pm

albie1kenobi says:
so i came in work late today and what do I see on the front page of slamonline? my immediate thought was “today’s comments/discussion/flame posts are gonna be great”. turned out to be even more fantastic than i expected. i just checked the top 50 list, and the amount of comments has been dropping a bit, good thing bargnani is here to save the day! like i said before, this is slam’s “top 50 get ‘em talking/outrage” list. bravo, Slam.
as of bargnani himself (i keep having to look up his name, i gotta to learn it; speaking of italian name, what happened to the italian player name fucka?), i can’t comment on him whatsoever, seeing that he didn’t play at WBC and that I haven’t seen him play other than from highlight clips (which can even make Tyronne Lue look spectacular). i do really look forward to watching raptors play next season. all they need is an european coach (or at least assistant coach) to make this a complete euroball team. THAT’s gonna be interesting.
on a side note, i’m browsing espn’s rookie “class trip” page, and on top of the page there’s the group pic. hmm… is Bargnani there? I don’t think he is. and if he isn’t, that’s kinda ridiculous that the #1 draft pick isn’t present for the class photoshoot. is he hiding somewhere to practice his post moves and defense?

Sep.13 at 6:54 pm

albie1kenobi says:
when i read “Jim Harrick” and “basketweaving”, i was thinking about the 3 man weave drill. THEN i realize what that really meant. well, that’s a below the belt hit. Myung, show him basketweaving is no cakewalk, it takes years of practice to perfect craftsmanship.

Sep.13 at 7:23 pm

scott says:
serbia23, I believe Diaw got ranked way too low on the list and last time I checked he wasn’t american. Just because the majority believes Milicic and Bargnani don’t deserve to be ranked doesn’t mean the list is biased. There are many international players that deserve to be included however your boy Milicic and Bargnani just aren’t two of them.

Sep.13 at 7:42 pm

Sewer Kraut says:
If Andrea Bargnani was instead named Charles Sims and instead of being from Italy and playing for Benetton Treviso he was from UConn - and everything else was the same about him - I’d bet that 80% of you would be singing a completely different tune. Let’s all a spade a spade here.

Sep.13 at 7:47 pm

Gage says:
I just gotta say that it is great to see this guy get some love. Its true its not fair to the player to be compared to Dirk, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a great player. We’ll put it this way. You may not understand it now, but come playoffs, you’ll know the name Il Mago.

Sep.13 at 7:56 pm

Brandon says:
Alright where do I begin. I’ve read down through these comments and all I can see is comparisons to Darko. I’m guessing NONE of you have ever seen him play, if you did you simply would not dare say such a thing. Basically your all goign all in when you’ve never seen your cards just to compare how idiotic your comparisons are. I will remind you Darko put up decent stats in the Adriatic League which is by far a much worse leauge then the Italien A1 and much worse then Euroleauge which Bargnani also played in. The Euroleauge is the land of the bearded men who I may remind you made up a lot of the teams that flat out embaressed the USA in FIBA and the past olympics. Bargnani’s numbers in Euroleauge were simply unreal for a player his age and the last player to put up near identical numbers was Pau Gasol who I might recall had a pretty good rookie season. But numbers are numbers and nothing more. If you’ve actually sene him play you’d see his quick high release on his near flawless jumpshot that he shoots a high percentage with. You’d also see that he easily has NBA three point range on his jumper. You would have also seen that his first step is comparable to the great Dirk himself and that within two dribbles form staic he’s at the rim and finishing with a one handed flush. You also woudl have seent hat he has oen certian skill that even the great Dirk himself dose not posses: a crossover, which he uses to get his deadly jumper off easily. His timing on blocked shots is great and even understands unliekt eh Stromile Swifts of amercia that when you block a shot that you should try and send it into the direction of a teamate so you can start the break instead of pleasing the crowd by pounding it out in the stands. His upper body strength yes is still underdeveloped and yes his game needs refinment in the post but this kid has got a lot of talent and he’s gonna show the NBA world next season why he deserved to be the first pick in the draft. As for the whole idea of who’s more important to their team. Unless Bargnani performs like a top-3 rookie do you really think the Raptors have a chance to make the playoffs? He’s pretty much their biggest X-factor.

Sep.13 at 8:42 pm

serbia23 says:
why arent they two of them,diaws a punk,over rated,while milicic and bargoni are pro,i watched bargoni in the rapters games over the summer and he deserves to be on here,and i watched milicic play for serbia this year and he defiantly deserves to be on the list maybe even higher,scott shut the fuck up u havent even seen these guys play 5min combined so dont say shit

Sep.13 at 9:03 pm

myung says:
Honestly, Joe…yes. He did. That was my major in college. I double majored in that, along with Writing Long Comments 101. I actually liked that comment. It was sort of witty. I appreciate humor. I really do. Telling me to get a life or a job was patronizing. You don’t know me so don’t act like you do, just because I write a bunch of comments on a web site. Your follow up was pretty good though. I’ll give you credit for that. But how about you get off my back and just skip any comments when you see the name “Myung” and we’ll both be better off. If Lang or one of the staffers on here told me to cut down on my comments, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But for someone else who’s just a visitor to this site gets annoyed by the frequency or length of my posts, then just deal with it, man. I’ve been reading the Links for years and have had many of my (lengthy) e-mails posted by Lang over the years even before comments were enabled on the site (I went by “Myung the Hawks Fan” whenever I wrote him). I’ve bookmarked the Links on my computer for about 4 years. Look, I love to write (as you can tell), and I love hoops because it’s the greatest sport in the world. I try to bring passion, humor, and knowledge to this page. Maybe I’m off sometimes, and I can admit to that. But for real, man, I’m tired of writing these type of comments, trying to defend myself as if I need to. You want me to flame people with comments like, “You should write LONGER comments, ” or “Your spelling is horrible” or “You are an idiot?” C’mon, dog…I didn’t come on this site to get into arguments with people about the length of my comments. Let’s argue about hoops and sports, man. This is mad immature, no? I’m not going to write less and what not, just bc you guys choose to call me out and I’m not going to write more just to annoy you (like some little kid might do). Like I said, your last comment was actually pretty funny. Good one, man. But for the last time (this goes out to all of you don’t like these comments), just skip ‘em if you don’t like ‘em. There’s a mouse and a down arrow and scroll bar for a reason.

Sep.13 at 9:20 pm

scott says:
myung enjoy the posts
serbia 23 ……I personally enjoyed your comments. Diaw is overated because you believe he is a punk. Bargnani was decent in some summer league games so he is destined for superstardom. Lets just wait and see how he does in Toronto this year. Maybe, Milicic played decent for your team in the wbc but what has he really done to this point in the nba? Your logic is great Milicic is better then Diaw because the former is a punk. Please explain how Milicic or Bargnani are better then Diaw.

Sep.13 at 9:33 pm

G says:
you guys are fcuked up.. period

Sep.13 at 9:49 pm

myung says:
Thanks for the support, Scott. I’ll stay out of your little side conversation with homeboy. I’ve got enough side conversations of my own. Haha.

Sep.13 at 11:40 pm

BullsForeva23 says:
Myung: Its cool and all that you are posting messages, seeming to have a good time, possibly making friends along the way. Nice to see you involving yourself with society, always a healthy thing to do. Question: do you have any responses, anything at all regarding Andrea Bargnani? Do u think he’s the next Darko? Dirk?

Sep.14 at 12:32 am

Marco says:
I hope Bargnani can play Briscola because I can’t figure it out (despite my Italian heritage). If he can play that then he’ll have no trouble in the NBA.

Sep.14 at 12:48 am

Arnhold says:
I only read the first few comments but it appears that most ppl are judging him w/o ever seeing him play. I assume there are ppl defending him though… For what I’ve seen, he has a great shooting touch all the way to the nba 3 point line, has a killer first step (better than nowitzki i may add), good ball handling skills, and has great blocking instincts. Does he deserve to be #46 on this list? Probably not considering he never played a single game in the nba. But at the same time, it’s not as far fetched to see him placed there as some of you are making it out to be.

Sep.14 at 12:50 am

Clay says:
If Bargani is #46 then Bogut has got to be #20… just my 2 cents from down under.

Sep.14 at 6:08 am

matt the jazz fan says:
I read the following in J’s post: J Says:
September 13th, 2006 at 11:18 am “(…)I think the theme for the media this year when it comes to the NBA will be the team and not the individual(…)” Two Words:
Wet.
Dream.

Sep.14 at 6:32 am

Paolo says:
I agree with Shiz. With all due respect for everything that Andrea has done in Europe, it wouldn’t have to matter if he hadn’t logged a single NBA minute. How can he be one of the top 50 players if he haven’t played in the league yet? I thought being honored with an inclusion in lists like this have to be earned.

Sep.14 at 9:51 am

Shiz says:
yeah, not judging the boys skill level now, or his future potential, I just think that to make the list it should be required that you’ve at least stepped foot on a court for at least 1 of 82 real games. That summer league / training camp stuff really means squat, cuz how many times have we seen a guy like Dmiles or Gerald Wallace rip it up in summer league play just to come back, have a few good games then start wingin it up again? It seems a waisted pick, a place where you coulda put a A.I.2 or a Corey Maggette. And really lets all be very honest right now, unless some of us are international scouts slumming online, none of us know anything about Bargnani besides what we’ve either read about in SLAM or seen on ESPN, so all this “I’ve heard” or “I’ve seen” is irrelevant cuz most of us have only seen so much and you cant count on shady youtube videos made by other basketball fan/internet geeks for a comprehensive breakdown on his playing ability, in other words, it aint no scouting report.

Sep.14 at 9:17 pm

IndianIverson says:
lol you guys keep running your mouths. SLAM, you guys are on point with your list and don’t let any 13 yr olds with big mouths alter your opinion … remember, the criteria most of these cats use to judge players is how far can they shoot the three and if they can pull off a reverse through the legs dunk. Ignore and keep making that list baby, shoutz to the best BALL mag in the world. I survived the offseason by going through my entire collection of your mags … Just a lil note on Bargs tho guys, - (to the Darko comparers) Darko (amongst other Intl players that have taken long to adapt) had LESS than 100 minutes of actual playing time under his belt
- Bargs played an average of 20-25 mins during the first half of the year.. and 30-35 mins 2nd half in heated competition (not to mention 4 years total of Intl ball)
- Became one of the Key go2 guys for Benneton
- Has well over 1000 mins of INTENSE tournament basketball
- Mentioned in Europe, the competition is so heavy because when you lose, its not like we’ll try next year - when you lose, your team drops into level 2.. level 3 etc losing $$$, losing endorsements etc
- Compettive nature in Europe is VERY high
- Bargs will adjust fast and be ready
- Took the summer off after 24 months of basketball
- He looked tired in the summer league but wanted to test his skills
- Has gained 5-7 kg this summer
- His shot is $$$

Sep.15 at 2:36 pm

eddie droutsas says:
i think michael olowokandi was a better #1 pick. this guy averaged about 8 points in the EURO league.

Sep.15 at 9:04 pm

IndianIverson says:
k now your an official idiot … to ignore blatant facts is stupid … open your eyes buddy

Sep.17 at 7:20 am

A_B says:
one word, pick and pop

Sep.17 at 4:50 pm

Joe Millionaire says:
If bargnani, who hasn’t played a single NBA game is on this list, where do yoiu think Charlie V will end up, or Marcus Camby, or Levon Hernandez

Sep.18 at 11:21 am

Shane says:
this guy does not deserve to be in the 50 let alone the top 100.

Sep.18 at 5:34 pm

MLfooey says:
I can understand why some of you dudes keep doggin’ on bargnani, being in the top50 is pretty prestigous itself. but mr.skeets has done his share to get to voice his opinion, where as several of you so-called hoop experts get all of your info from commercial ball and hype. bargs has paid his dues to get to the L. i aint sayin he’s dirk, but the kid MUST have talent, if hes been drafted by Colangelo, who is one of the best evaluators of talent in the NBA. like several others said, this aint a TOP 50 NBA Players with at least 1 game experience list, its simply which 50 dudes give their teams the best chance to win on a nightly basis. relax people, theres still about 43 or so spots left, enough to give your JJ’s and Manu’s a chance.

Sep.24 at 6:03 pm

Justin H says:
I Hate Dirk So I’ll probably will hate this guy to. I Hope He Can Play D

Sep.26 at 9:49 pm

serbia23 says:
scott, milicic is better than diaw because he is more valuble to the magic,u take diaw off the suns who cares, if u take milicic off da magic whos gonna play power foward u get u 10+ rebounds a game or block 3+ shots a game, and bargoni is better cuz hes more versitle 7ft tall shoots crazy good deep range and diaw is a PUNK looks like some homo…NO HOMOS

Sep.27 at 12:29 am

scott says:
Nice post Serbia23, Diaw is better then Milicic or Bargoni. Who won most improved player last year? Milicic nope. Oh yeah, it was Diaw. If you take Milicic off the Magic who cares they still have a real frontcourt player Dwight Howard.

Sep.27 at 8:09 pm

serbia23 says:
oh yea cuz dwight can do everything, ooooo most improved player, oh but he has nash dat gives him every point he gets, hes a punk

Sep.28 at 12:27 am

scott says:
Serbia23 I think you may be mentally challenged.

Sep.28 at 6:07 pm

serbia23 says:
no man im just smart and ur mentally challenged and i actually know about basketball

Sep.28 at 6:37 pm

scott says:
I’m mentally challenged when you are the one that cant even spell half the time. Lets both just drop it. It is getting old. You think Diaw is overated and I think the same of Milicic.

Sep.29 at 6:36 pm

serbia23 says:
yea sure its gettin old, u dissin players wit out even seeing then play

Oct.25 at 10:59 am

Mike says:
hell no this fool hasn’t done anything yet

Oct.25 at 11:01 am

john says:
I think this guys gonna be one of the biggest busts ever. What has he done? Not a damn thing!

Oct.25 at 11:02 am

john says:
Biggest busts ever. What has he done? Not a damn thing!

Nov.1 at 2:49 pm

linda says:
hello to everyone. I’m an italian girl,and sorry for my not perfect english!!!).
I think that andrea BARGNANI is an almost perfect player and in my opinion he will kill lots of your players :>, with all respect for your basketball, wich is the best in the world, but the our one, is nice played too!!! so, w ANDREA and W italy, CIAO CIAO, linda

Nov.18 at 3:57 pm

fady says:
goin to be one of the worst number one picks in history

Jan.7 at 1:10 am

Jamie21 says:
What are you all saying id shutup until you see the boy play…notice how i say boy he will be the next dirk i dont care what you say…why dont you watch a few raptor games and youll find out a little bit more Il Mago wil become a legend….thats funny worst 1st picke ever…my a**

Feb.27 at 1:16 am

ToldYouSo says:
Well, it’s late Feb now…Bargnani just put up 17 and 7…11 boards the other night, 22 pts before that. Now that he’s getting the minutes, this is basically his kinda statline night in and night out. I wish I’d posted here before….then I coulda said “Told u so”.

Mar.16 at 10:55 am

tiger says:
anfrea bargnai is the best rookie in hte NBA and the best shooter in the NBA, i would put him in shooting skill with ray allen and micheal redd, he has an amazing rotation and release, you people need to watch raptors basketball