Luka or Zion - if you had to pick one to start a franchise

Part of me says that over the long-term, Zion's insane explosiveness may cause his joints and connective tissues to explode at a premature date, and Luka's game, which is not predicated on really any type of speed or athleticism, could be indicative of an extremely long and fruitful career.

I think Barkley and Kemp are the closest thing we have to predict for Zion's physical longevity, and Barkley did alright I think, and Kemp I think would have if he had a nutritionist.

So, even though I think Luka is amazing, one of my favorite players in the league really, gonna have to go with Zion for biased/emotional reasons; he has the potential to be the most exciting player in history.

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Originally Posted by SoCal4Pels

Part of me says that over the long-term, Zion's insane explosiveness may cause his joints and connective tissues to explode at a premature date, and Luka's game, which is not predicated on really any type of speed or athleticism, could be indicative of an extremely long and fruitful career.

I think Barkley and Kemp are the closest thing we have to predict for Zion's physical longevity, and Barkley did alright I think, and Kemp I think would have if he had a nutritionist.

So, even though I think Luka is amazing, one of my favorite players in the league really, gonna have to go with Zion for biased/emotional reasons; he has the potential to be the most exciting player in history.

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Zion's game is not just speed or athleticism either. Those augment his other attributes and give him GOAT potential, but you're basically implying that Zion is just a high flying player.

He's got great vision, he's going to hustle, he's got great hands, excellent touch, strong as an ox, has solid handle, and his feel for the game is advanced.

He would have all those things even if he had the athleticism of Zach Randolph.

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Originally Posted by Eman5805

Zion's game is not just speed or athleticism either. Those augment his other attributes and give him GOAT potential, but you're basically implying that Zion is just a high flying player.

He's got great vision, he's going to hustle, he's got great hands, excellent touch, strong as an ox, has solid handle, and his feel for the game is advanced.

He would have all those things even if he had the athleticism of Zach Randolph.

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This is my take as well. It's easy to look at Zion, who obviously benefits from being stunningly fast and having nuclear bounce, and say ''well that's what he's got, so when he ages and he slows down athletically, he'll be chopped liver''.

But as you point out, he has other skills that don't require him to have any bounce whatsoever, and some of those skills will only improve with age. His handle is better than many give him credit for, and it's only going to get better; that will not leave him as he ages. You point out his vision, which I think is truly a special part of his game that will give him a lot of added value, and that vision doesn't die as players age either: look at Lebron averaging a career high in assists 17 years into his career, or Stockton being a positive passer at age 39 and 40. Obviously Zion's vision isn't on quite Lebron's level, sure, but the point remains.

I feel like it's obviously possible that Zion never reaches his absolute peak of potential: most players never do, and that isn't a knock on them. It requires hard work, luck, good situations, general good health, a good development staff, etc, for a player to truly hit 100%. But if he does, he has top 10 all time ability, imo.

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Originally Posted by Eman5805

Zion's game is not just speed or athleticism either. Those augment his other attributes and give him GOAT potential, but you're basically implying that Zion is just a high flying player.

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I watched every single Duke game last season, and you can bet I have NEVER said nor implied that Zion is just a high flyer ;)

My point was simply, from a physiological longevity standpoint if you are picking a 'franchise player', regardless of Zion's other skills (which you barely even touched on), there is a greater than average possibility that the career of an athlete generating inhuman amounts of torque could be shorter than an average or below average athlete. I am not saying Luka's game is not predicated on athleticism 'compared to Zion', I am saying his game is not predicated on athleticism compared to a large number of superstars.

Now, if you would like to chat about whether Zion or Luka would be preferable if they had identical athletic abilities, i.e. an older 'post-athletic Zion', that is another discussion...