We have to talk about the "could I score 20 points in at least 1 NBA game" tweet
I suspect a few of you have seen this: A guy on twitter posted a question with a poll. It went semi-viral, getting mentions from people like Andy Staples and Geoff Schwartz; and it was heavily ratioed.
Here's the catch: He's one of us. A Michigan student whose twitter bio says he's a data analyst for Michigan Hockey. He has something like 150 followers, so it's not like he was aiming for serious engagement, but he got it, and appears to be taking the blowback in good humor.
The question itself is pretty easy to answer: If the opposing teams put any effort in at all, he has zero chance of scoring 20, even if he plays 82 games. Anyone who has spent time around high-level athletes knows that there is a different level of ability and athleticism, even at a high school or low-division college tier. And the standard in the NBA, even on the bench, is bonkers.
My first up-close experience of this was high school, when the NTDP started and I had a gym class with Joe Goodenow, who was on the team. Goodenow topped out as a checking-line player in college, not a particularly skillful player, a character guy. Made up for his lack of physical tools with grit, etc. He was also faster, more agile, and more athletic than every person in the class in every sport, and it wasn't close. Because it's a different level.
You may as well speculate whether you can outrun a Corvette on foot in a 1/4 mile drag race.
February 16th, 2022 at 10:04 PM ^
No
Former NBA 12th man Brian Scalabrini was 9 years removed from the league and destroyed a starter from Syracuse fresh off his senior season. He also dismantled an overseas pro.
Tim McCormack said he played summer pickup ball vs Bill Laimbeer and did well. Played him during the season and got completely demolished.
Pickup < real NBA game
February 16th, 2022 at 10:15 PM ^
Jordan Poole has done it twice in three years (both times this year)
Old friend Duncan Robinson last year, whose job is basically to just shoot 3's, did it twice last year, and he was shooting over 40%
James Harden last year - 0 times
Devin Booker last year - 0 times
Trae Young last year - once
February 16th, 2022 at 10:44 PM ^
Why on Earth wouldn't they contest his corner 3s?
I can guarantee it's a lot harder for him to drive to the basket than to hit an open 3. In fact, I'd double team him. You think some average guy is going to make good decisions under heavy pressure from far superior athletes and is a capable passer?
February 16th, 2022 at 1:38 PM ^
You guys remember how good Derrick Walton was in college? The most he's averaged in an NBA season is this year at 6.3 ppg.
The answer is no, now let's go have a beer.
February 16th, 2022 at 1:49 PM ^
Except Walton doesn't play 48 minutes in all 82 games, has to play defense, and his teammates don't continue to feed him the ball if he's not scoring.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:04 PM ^
The only scenario where I could see this happening is if Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk or another egotistical billionaire buys an NBA team, appoints themselves as a player/coach and insists that they have to be the focal point of the team's offense.
Sure, the entire team and coaching staff will be unhappy and Adam Silver would probably try to put a stop to it as soon as he could, but Elon or Musk or whoever would have an opportunity to score in an NBA game. And they might even do it! If the refs call fouls if the other team is abusing them too obviously. And if they can hit free throws.
The only real question is how long they'd make it before somebody "accidentally" puts them in the hospital.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:02 PM ^
I could see Mark Cuban trying this 10 years ago, maybe in a pre-season game.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:25 PM ^
If playing all 48 minutes conferred some kind of advantage, you'd see actual players doing it.
If a guy off the street has to play 48 minutes, he'll be utterly exhausted most of the game. And then keeping that up 82 games is going to leave his body totally wrecked by April.
February 16th, 2022 at 1:41 PM ^
The only correct answer is LOL.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:00 PM ^
ROFLMAO
February 16th, 2022 at 1:44 PM ^
The worst athlete in the NBA would roll through the YMCA like children trying to tackle Derek Henry.
I would expect this guy to have more TOs than shot attempts let alone points.
February 16th, 2022 at 8:46 PM ^
I remember playing a pick up game at LA Fitness in OC, where I played before work several times per week. One day, Nick Foles walks in (the Rams had just move to LA), and proceeds to completely demolish everyone, can't even stop him with triple teams. And you could tell he wasn't even trying.
And obviously Nick is an NFL QB and is an athletic guy, but nowhere near NBA level. This guy is not scoring 20 all season.
February 16th, 2022 at 1:46 PM ^
It's an insane premise that so underrates the speed/size/skill of NBA players that it's clear the guy has never sat particularly close the court during an NBA game.
I think his argument was if my team was good with me just cherry-picking and if the defensive team didn't keep a guy to hang back with me, I could do it. Still Hard No. My guy Sam is not successfully catching 10 85-foot lob passes, gathering himself, and making 10 layups with guys like Ja Morant getting down court in a few seconds in any world.
February 16th, 2022 at 1:49 PM ^
The odds of this guy even getting a shot off that even gets within a foot of the rim are slimmer than the odds of, I dunno, finding a piece of Michigan apparel WD doesn't own in triplicate.
February 16th, 2022 at 1:52 PM ^
im pretty sure i would never score 20, but i would play defense, and i would foul out before halftime of every game. it was my role in highschool to rough up the best scorer on the opposing team...and that i did. i have to admit it was a blast of a role. bully the star of everyone you play...it was foul filled fun. football on wood.
February 16th, 2022 at 5:40 PM ^
"pretty sure", lol
You might make it a couple of games in the role you describe, before the opposing teams figured you out and you wouldn't foul out before halftime, you'd be in the locker room with season ending injuries.
February 16th, 2022 at 1:53 PM ^
Back in the day I was a good, not great, bb player. One day at an open gym in AA I found myself going up against Gary Grant who at the time was playing for UM. My first shot was a 20 footer with GG 8 feet away. HE STILL BLOCKED IT! For the rest of the game(s) what he didn't block he stole......embarrassing! So no, you could never score 20 pts in an NBA game....EVER.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:51 PM ^
I played junk, pickup games against Rice, Rumeal, M Griffin, K Taylor, Talley and others and competitive or IM games against Oosterbaan and members of the football team (T Welborne, D Alexander, V Murray...). Those guys were great players and athletes but you could still score points against them at times, especially if they were not going 100%. Now playing defense was much more difficult...
February 16th, 2022 at 1:53 PM ^
I never even scored 20 points in high school...in summer ball. 18 was as close as i got!
February 16th, 2022 at 1:57 PM ^
It's mindboggling that 7% of people answered yes. Not only would he score 0 points, he would turn the ball over 80+% of the time he touched it. Every shot he took would be blocked, and virtually every pass he attempted would be stolen. Until you've seen it up close, you have no understanding of how fast and big NBA players are.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:10 PM ^
Those are all the overweight / dadbod-sporting guys who played HS basketball who legitimately believe they could get up a shot with an NBA player closing out on them.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:00 PM ^
The problem is the premise can be taken a few different ways. If he's asking that if he played in the NBA for a whole season, which presumably would mean practice time and whatnot, sure, maybe you could get good enough to score 20 in a game. But could the average person, with no extra training or practice have hope to do so, even in 82 attempts? My answer to that, is absolutely not. Maybe you hit 3 threes in a row, but you won't get another open shot after that. And the average person has never tried shooting over people who are hyper athletic and average well over 6 feet tall.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:18 PM ^
There are quite a few NBA players who haven’t hit 3 three pointers in a game and you think Joe Schmo from off the street would come in and do that?
February 16th, 2022 at 2:32 PM ^
Joe Schmo off the street, no...but I thought my post made that clear? With practice and effort, possibly though incredibly unlikely.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:52 PM ^
So with practice and effort, you think an athletic person can make 3 threes in a game? Giannis Antetokounmpo has guys sagging off him all game long, he practices basketball all year long, and his career high for 3 pointers made in a game is 5.
February 16th, 2022 at 5:29 PM ^
if he played in the NBA for a whole season, which presumably would mean practice time and whatnot, sure, maybe you could get good enough to score 20 in a game.
I could practice 50 hours a week with NBA coaches for a year, and it wouldn't change the simple fact that I don't have NBA talent.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:01 PM ^
I love the smell of dumbass sports debate in the afternoon!
February 16th, 2022 at 2:02 PM ^
Im surprised people actually said yes to that question...no freaking way.
Change that 20 to 2, and maybe you would get an even split
February 16th, 2022 at 2:11 PM ^
Right away we have an assumption that is very questionable: 15% a game is bad for the NBA, but extremely generous for a guy without NBA-level ability playing in an NBA game. I think he'd be lucky to hit 5%, which would involve making one shot a game. I doubt he even approaches that.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:06 PM ^
Interesting that you say 5% because this is exactly the threshold where there's 0% chance of scoring 20.
At 6% shooting, there's nearly a 1% chance. If you could manage 10%, then you'd have almost an 18% chance of scoring 20 once in 82 games.
February 16th, 2022 at 4:27 PM ^
20 “shots” a game is also a ridiculous assumption. Nobody, not even Steph Curry, averages 20 3-point attempts per game. You’d have to cut that in half to get a realistic number.
February 17th, 2022 at 12:36 AM ^
There is nothing realistic about the entire premise, so why start at 3PA?
February 16th, 2022 at 7:43 PM ^
There is no way some rando is hitting 15% from three just because “that would be the worse in the league.” First, there are players who never make a single three in a season (I don’t think Tyson Chandler has one in his whole career). So it’s not really accurate to say 15% is the worst in the league. 15% is lower than anyone who bothers to take them in the NBA, but even those players who don’t take them are better shooters than Joe Blow.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:08 PM ^
20pts? Hard no. A better question might be three baskets of any variety in a single game over the course of the season. I've played against a handful of next level athletes, Antonio Gates in high school basketball being the most prominent and he was an absolute athletic mutant. Despite taking Kent State to the Elite 8 he couldn't sniff the NBA. Ain't no way I'm scoring 20pts against a team comprised of players who are all substantially better than he was.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:09 PM ^
The summer before my senior year of HS we had the third string PG from UNC come to our open gym because he was in town for a wedding and wanted to get some run in. He was about 6' 1" and had a huge vert but averaged about 2 PPG his entire career. We were a decent HS program with a couple guys who played NAIA hoops on the court that day. I was our starting PG and only an average hoops player. He probably gave it 60% the first two games so we asked him to go all out for one game just so we could see what it was like. I could barely dribble against him. There was no driving to the hoop. Whatever he wanted to do offensively he did. We had a kid who was a 6' 3" NAIA tight end and amazing athlete (for our school) guard him and he got mopped.
So no, this guy would never score 20. Ever. I don't care if he cherry-picked the entire time, he wouldn't be able to get a shot off if they didn't want him to.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:22 PM ^
Not basketball, but my D1 athlete exposure story: before I broke my shoulder and quit football, I did tackle drills in high school with a guy who by todays standard, would be considered a 3 star LB talent. He eventually went to MSU, but ultimately played very little. I was similar height and weight, but I was removed from my feet with hilarious ease and it took the rest of practice to catch my breath again.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:22 PM ^
I played basketball against a guy who was drafted and never played in the NBA. I was 32, he was in his 50s I think. I'm 6'1 170, he is 6'5 230ish. I scored a couple points because we played 3 on 3. I couldn't affect his shots at all, no matter where he shot from, even when I was tapping his elbow.
Few years before that, played flag football. Played against Brian Still, formerly of VT, the Chargers and Falcons. Wasn't a burner in the NFL, he was as a 40 year old flag football player. The speed with which he gets in and out of breaks is unbelievable.
Played against Russ Wilson the spring before he was drafted. The accuracy and drive with which he threw the ball was a level above a lot of other guys, including Dave Terrells high school QB who played d2 ball. There was a noticeably effortless zip on his passes.
Played against Antwan Randle-El after his Redskin days...on of the quickest moving people I've ever seen.
I think people get tricked into thinking that it moves slower than it actually does. The speed with which things happen field level is an eye-opener.
February 16th, 2022 at 4:51 PM ^
I worked with a guy who, back in high school, played cornerback against Andre Rison. He said before the game he thought he was fast and could cover. But against Rison it was clear there's a whole other category of speed: Rison had it, and the guy I worked with didn't.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:29 PM ^
Im not sure I could score 20 points total on an entire season. I'd be good for a bunch of hard fouls though.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:00 PM ^
I met Luc Longley when he was playing for the Bulls. His wife was in the room across from my wife in the maternity wing.
I think if I put a "hard foul" on him, I would be the one in a stretcher.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:44 PM ^
Will Perdue, though, is not an intimidating man.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:33 PM ^
Never played competitively but did play open gyms in college.
We had one guy who was a walk-on bench warmed at Michigan State who would come play all the time.
Needless to say the talent level from a walk-on who never played to an average joe is pretty substantial.
I can’t imagine going against professionals.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:38 PM ^
Get fouled enough times and hit 75% of your free throws and maybe it can happen. A good point guard can put you in position to at least get fouled and go to the line.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:33 PM ^
You’d have to get fouled 14 times assuming they were all shooting fouls. That’s not happening haha.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:50 PM ^
Nope. Not a chance. Not only would he have to get open for the shots, he’d have to make them. If it were that easy, Nik Effin’ Stauskas wouldn’t be playing in the G League.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:52 PM ^
He wouldn't score 20 points in any game. But I think his shit would get blocked at least 20 times in many games.
And I've told this story before about my 6'4" tall friend who played high school basketball and was a pretty solid player but was never offered to play in college. He often played pick up at the Oakland University gyms and lo and behold Vinnie (the microwave) Johnson showed up one day to play with the guys. My friend told me how Vinnie would just dominate the whole fuckin thing. He was faster than everyone, stronger than everyone, jumped higher than everyone and ball handled better than everyone. Nobody could guard him and he would just score at will. More than few times my friend would be going up for what seemed like an uncontested layup only to find Vinnie swooping in and blocking his shot. And it wasn't the swatting type "get that shit outta here" block. He literally palmed the ball with one hand and took the ball away from my friend and the force of that event knocked my friend to the gym floor.
This story is why I know that this guy would never sniff a 20 point game against NBA players.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:55 PM ^
Assuming you were cherry picking, the backside wing would be getting back on defense as soon as the shot was taken. Leaving a guy open on the other end prevents him from crashing the board. So your team would have to get the rebound, turn, and throw an absolute dime to you on the other end before the backside defender reaches the free throw line. You would have to catch the ball, not travel, and proceed to hit a lay up without getting your shot blocked. The intimidation factor alone of Ja Morant barreling down on you would be enough to cause you to miss. So no, even in the easiest scenario it's not possible.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:10 PM ^
Are hard fouls allowed? If so, no. I'd probably be in the hospital after my second attempt to shoot.