What Happened to the New Generation of NBA Stars?
/granite-web-prod/ff/96/ff9677edea4e4c64a5eeb96046dffa1f.jpeg)
The newest generation of NBA stars — the best players in the league 25 years old and younger — has found itself with a massive image problem that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.
It's not going too far to say this might be the most unlikable generation of young NBA players the league has ever seen. It's a group of petulant, uber-talented basketball players with little to no tether to reality or understanding of the things that make the game and their league so appealing to the millions of fans who follow the NBA year in and year out.
It's scary to think what sort of place the league will be in five years when these young NBA players are all in their prime. Is the NBA doomed by this new generation of stars — or can it be saved?
Ja Morant: The Wannabe Gangster
/granite-web-prod/63/96/6396c2cf51fa4a9686b613d1c2ffbdda.jpeg)
It will be hard to catch up with Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant in terms of forehead-slapping moments, which went from slightly annoying to scary in rapid fashion.
In the last two years, there have been gun-related incidents tied to Morant's name — all after he signed a five-year, $231 million contract extension in July 2022. The first incident came when he allegedly beat up a 17-year-old during a pickup basketball game at Morant's home and then displayed a gun to the teenager following the fight.
The second came following a home game against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 29, 2023, in which The Athletic reported Morant, his father, Tee Morant, and several of his associates verbally sparred with several of the Pacers during the game. After the game, an SUV with Ja Morant in it reportedly pointed a red laser inside the Pacers' team bus — a red laser thought to be attached to a gun.
The third incident came following a Grizzlies' road loss at the Denver Nuggets on March 3, 2023, when Ja Morant went on his Instagram Live at 3:19 a.m., rapping and displaying a gun from inside of a nightclub. The Grizzlies, finally out of options, were forced to suspend Morant for at least two games as authorities in Colorado opened an investigation into Morant's actions at the club, as did the NBA.
Two months later Morant displayed a gun during a friend's Instagram Live. Seriously. The NBA came down hard and suspended him for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 regular season.
By the Numbers: Ja Morant
/granite-web-prod/e4/48/e448e6beb2a54605ae8403faa170dc15.jpeg)
Born: Aug. 10, 1999, 23 years old (Dalzell, South Carolina)
Position: Guard
Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 175 pounds
High School: Crestwood High School (Sumter, South Carolina)
College: Murray State
Drafted: No. 2 overall, 2019 (Memphis Grizzlies)
Career highlights: Two-time NBA All-Star (2022, 2023), All-NBA Team (2022), NBA Most Improved Player (2022), NBA Rookie of the Year (2020), AP All-American (2019), OVC Player of the Year (2019), two-time All-OVC (2018, 2019), OVC Tournament MVP (2019), Bob Cousy Award (2019)
Luka Doncic: The Constant Complainer
/granite-web-prod/35/59/3559f82b0d6a43d7aba6cac51a36455f.jpeg)
In just five years, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has already established himself as a player I feel safe saying will be a Hall of Famer one day — a talent so wholly unique that he could have been a star in any era of the NBA.
What he's also done in five years is make the Mavericks almost completely unwatchable. There is never a call he doesn't complain about. I was watching the Mavericks play a game recently where Doncic was actually complaining to the refs as he was taking a shot.
What's wrong with this dude? The central issue with Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and his young star has been the constant complaining. Kidd's called Doncic out several times for not being able to just play the game without constantly whining about calls. This leads me to believe Kidd won't be the coach of the Mavericks for much longer.
RELATED: Current NBA Players Who Could Make the Hall of Fame
By the Numbers: Luka Doncic
/granite-web-prod/c7/fa/c7fac003366a4ee9b12843b5602fa1a2.jpeg)
Born: Feb. 28, 1999, 24 years old (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Position: Guard/Forward
Height/Weight: 6-foot-7, 230 pounds
High School: Real Madrid (youth club)
College: None
Drafted: No. 3 overall, 2018 (Atlanta Hawks, traded to Dallas Mavericks)
Career highlights: Three-time All-NBA Team (2020-22), four-time NBA All-Star (2020-23), NBA Rookie of the Year (2019), EuroLeague champion (2018), EuroLeague MVP (2018), EuroLeague Final Four MVP (2018), EuroLeague All-Decade Team 2010-2020, Liga ACB MVP (2018)
Zion Williamson: Call Him Mr. Glass
/granite-web-prod/77/db/77dbc645d89b4346b0d7d4f2890f296d.jpeg)
It's not lost on me that Zion Williamson and Ja Morant were AAU teammates in South Carolina, then became the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2019 NBA Draft. If you wanted a super hot take in the last few years, it was probably that Morant should have been the No. 1 pick over Williamson ... but these days, that point seems pretty moot.
The problem with Williamson is that he doesn't seem to do the thing we as fans like our basketball stars to do regularly — which is to actually play in games.
Since joining the league in 2019, Williamson has played in just 114 of a possible 291 regular-season games for the Pelicans through March 2023, including missing the entire 2021-22 season with a broken foot suffered in the offseason. When he plays, Williamson is as dominant as any player in the NBA and has career averages of 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists and is shooting over 60 percent from the field.
But he hardly ever plays, which leads us to think this guy is made of glass.
By the Numbers: Zion Williamson
/granite-web-prod/de/47/de47085effd24a9083107d2ec70e9c10.jpeg)
Born: July 6, 2000, 22 years old (Salisbury, North Carolina)
Position: Forward
Height/Weight: 6-foot-6, 300 pounds
High School: Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, South Carolina)
College: Duke
Drafted: No. 1 overall, 2019 (New Orleans Pelicans)
Career highlights: Two-time NBA All-Star (2021, 2023), NBA All-Rookie Team (2020), National College Player of the Year (2019), AP All-American (2019), ACC Player of the Year (2019), ACC Rookie of the Year (2019), ACC Tournament MVP (2019)
Anthony Edwards: The Movie Villain
/granite-web-prod/9f/f1/9ff19b81b6504c4d89e7d97ab8beaf41.jpeg)
If you saw the 2022 Netflix film, "Hustle," starring Adam Sandler, you were probably blown away by how well Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards played the movie's villain, Kermit Wilts.
But Edwards may have gotten a little too into the role. Method acting, maybe? In September 2022, he was fined $40,000 by the NBA after he clandestinely filmed a group of shirtless men standing on the street and mocked them for being homosexual. Edwards eventually issued an apology for the incident.
The sad part? Homophobic NBA stars are nothing new.
Edwards is eligible to sign a five-year contract extension worth up to $230 million after the 2022-23 season, which he will undoubtedly sign. That means he has the double NBA death knell of being completely unmarketable and playing in one of the NBA's most dead-end destinations and all-time loser franchises to look forward to.
By the Numbers: Anthony Edwards
/granite-web-prod/e6/b7/e6b789e8c1e44318b2f4fb614e9aaa79.jpeg)
Born: Aug. 5, 2001, 21 years old (Atlanta, Georgia)
Position: Guard
Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 225 pounds
High School: Holy Spirit Prep (Atlanta, Georgia)
College: Georgia
Drafted: No. 1 overall, 2020 (Minnesota TImberwolves)
Career highlights: NBA All-Star (2023), NBA All-Rookie Team (2021), All-SEC (2020), SEC Rookie of the Year (2020)
Trae Young: The Coach Killer
/granite-web-prod/42/1f/421f28e92ef64174828ef8f972a76c75.jpeg)
You don't get many players in NBA history who have been able to score at the level of Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, who is averaging 25.5 points and 9.3 assists for his career through five seasons. Once you factor in Young's size, at just 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds, the number of players who can perform on that level becomes even smaller.
Another thing Young has shown he can do at an elite level? Run off head coaches.
"Ice Trae" is already on his third head coach in five years, with Nate McMillan getting the axe midway through the 2022-23 season despite the Hawks making the playoffs each of his first two seasons, including a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.
Next up as Atlanta's head coach is Quin Snyder, who has already washed out in previous stints at the University of Missouri and with the Utah Jazz. Good luck!
By the Numbers: Trae Young
/granite-web-prod/fe/e8/fee84102a250412792d40e039732b329.jpeg)
Born: Sept. 19, 1998, 24 years old (Lubbock, Texas)
Position: Guard
Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 165 pounds)
High School: Norman North High School (Norman, Oklahoma)
College: Oklahoma
Drafted: No. 5 overall, 2018 (Dallas Mavericks, traded to Atlanta Hawks)
Career highlights: All-NBA Team (2022), two-time NBA All-Star (2020, 2022), NBA All-Rookie Team (2019), AP All-American (2018), All-Big 12 (2018), Big 12 Freshman of the Year (2018)
Jayson Tatum: There's Still Hope
/granite-web-prod/5d/18/5d18d497648842e78a9f9004df10b389.jpeg)
If there is hope for the new generation of NBA stars, it's probably in the form of Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft behind Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball, which seems inexplicable now.
Tatum seems destined to win an NBA title at some point with the Celtics and is already a four-time NBA All-Star, two-time All-NBA Team pick and led his team to the NBA Finals in 2022, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors. Tatum also set the NBA All-Star single-game scoring record with 55 points in 2023 on the way to being named All-Star Game MVP.
Off the floor, he's pretty normal, if not refreshingly boring. He has a son, Deuce, who he seems to spend most of his free time with and who's become a celebrity in his own right.
By the Numbers: Jayson Tatum
/granite-web-prod/b2/71/b271ae23b4444d748dcf05d7538ea867.jpeg)
Born: March 3, 1998, 25 years old (St. Louis, Missouri)
Position: Forward
Height/Weight: 6-foot-8, 210 pounds
High School: Chaminade College Prep (Creve Coeur, Missouri)
College: Duke
Drafted: No. 3 overall, 2017 (Boston Celtics)
Career highlights: Two-time All-NBA Team (2020, 2022), four-time NBA All-Star (2020-23), NBA All-Star Game MVP (2023), NBA All-Rookie Team (2018), All-ACC (2017), Gatorade National High School Player of the Year (2016)