2025 NBA Draft Thread

[アミーゴ]

Again man, no one has seen anything like Zion possibly ever

Tough comparison

 

[addict4sneakers]

even when Zion got hurt at Duke,

there's months of conversation about it, on TV and social media will come back for duke, will he make it back to play in the tournament.

Scoot gets hurt in G-League...not a peep.

Because he isn’t remotely the same stratosphere of a prospect as zion

 

[ballinsam23]

Zion was a generational prospect with an insane social media following even before Duke.

Can’t compare him to Scoot.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

He was dunking on random dudes that went to g tech and nc state. The same random dudes go to the g league.

He’s like the worst example ever.

those guys are on TV with millions of people watching, tons of duke fans tweeting and posting about it.

if it happens in g league you lose all of that extra engagement, cultural investment and eyeballs,


it's great example, your argument functionally means that no one should spend any marketing dollars on TV or live sports. more money is spent on TV and live sports for a reason.

but hey maybe all these businesses and marketing agencies are wrong. who cares about millions of people watching march madness.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Because he isn’t remotely the same stratosphere of a prospect as zion

so you really think, if Zion was missing meaningless G-league ignite games.

...it would generate the same level of engagement of Zion getting hurt at Duke and the debate whether he would make it back for the tournament?

i dunno seems ridiculous to me.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Zion was a generational prospect with an insane social media following even before Duke.

Can’t compare him to Scoot.

and even with a massive following, he still DOUBLED it at Duke.

but again if you think, playing for a team that nobody cares about, being hurt for a bunch of the games.

would be the same level of growth and engagement as Zion's Duke run.

seems like a totally ridiculous assertion to me.

 

[addict4sneakers]

so you really think, if Zion was missing meaningless G-league ignite games.

...it would generate the same level of engagement of Zion getting hurt at Duke and the debate whether he would make it back for the tournament?

i dunno seems ridiculous to me.

ridiculous comparing anyone’s media coverage to Zion not named lebron

 

[dacomeup]

it's great example, your argument functionally means that no one should spend any marketing dollars on TV or live sports. more money is spent on TV and live sports for a reason.

That’s not what the argument means at all . And it’s not even a reasonable assumption either

 

[osh kosh bosh]

ridiculous comparing anyone’s media coverage to Zion not named lebron

nice avoiding the question.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

That’s not what the argument means at all . And it’s not even a reasonable assumption either

it really is. if you think Zion or Scoot'd name ID and social media following wouldn't benefit from

playing in front of millions of people, with millions of invested fans engaging on social media.
hours of conversations on sports media driven by college basketball season
all culminating in the biggest sporting event of the year outside of the super bowl.

if that won't help Scoot, why would it help any potential advertiser who in reality stands to get way less engagement than a star basketball player.

there is a reason media company love pre existing IP, because it has a built in audience.
college basketball has a massive built in audience that dwarfs the essentially non existent audience of Ignite.


now you can say you'd rather have the money up front.
but let's not pretend like the built in audience of NCAA basketball isn't incredibly valuable.
it obviously is, thats why people pay billions of dollars for it.

 

[dacomeup]

it really is. if you think Zion or Scoot'd name ID and social media following wouldn't benefit from

playing in front of millions of people, with millions of invested fans engaging on social media.
hours of conversations on sports media driven by college basketball season
all culminating in the biggest sporting event of the year outside of the super bowl.

if that won't help Scoot, why would it help any potential advertiser who in reality stands to get way less engagement than a star basketball player.

there is a reason media company love pre existing IP, because it has a built in audience.
college basketball has a massive built in audience that dwarfs the essentially non existent audience of Ignite.


now you can say you'd rather have the money up front.
but let's not pretend like the built in audience of NCAA basketball isn't incredibly valuable.
it obviously is, thats why people pay billions of dollars for it.

Again — you’re arguing things that people aren’t arguing. Who said it won’t help? The point is that the impact just isn’t close to what you think it is, or what it used to be. Scoot’s success with endorsements, etc is going to be based on his NBA performance at the end of the day. He already got a big shoe deal. Those 5 months of CBB are not as valuable as you claim.

 

[RustyShackleford]

If you have an incredible social media presence like Lamelo I'd concede yah maybe college won't benifit you.

But Scoot is largely anonymous to non NBA experts.

You don't think being in March Madness one of the most watched sporting events of the year.
Being on a college team with a built fanbase and being talked about on ESPN in the context of college basketball

Wouldn't improve your name ID and social media fame?

Famb let me walk through my thinking as to why it doesn't make sense to me.

You are talking about NCAA having a higher ceiling for national exposure because of March Madness, ok that is true, but I think you are overselling the impact of that.

First, think of all the things that have to go right to get that national exposure

So a top prospect would have to be on a team that makes a deep run in the tournament, probably the third weekend or at least the second weekend. To insure that happens would mean going to a top program with the capacity in place to win the National championship. The bigger the program the more you have to share the ball and shine with other players, and many of them are located in small markets. The teams that get the most national press and normie casual fans care about in March are cinderella stories from mid-majors. It is near impossible for a top prospect to try to pull this off. If I am a top prospect, it is not only about betting on myself playing well, but also about the stars aligning come March to reap the supposed rewards

As far as the rewards, they seem minimal to me. In the age of social media, prospects can build fame without college. The best care scenario happens in college I think that a boost in national exposure doesn't translate to much. Brands have a preference for what type of players they think sell (being a guard, etc.), and the other part of that is NBA success. Scoot seems like a good investment on paper. The position he plays, his style of play, all that is missing is the league's success. It is smart for Puma to want to get in early on someone like him.

Even if someone plays well in March Madness, that will slip out of the memory of most casual fans soon after. For more avid basketball fans the draft will soon come, then Summer League, and months later the season. Hype can be built there too. Good play in the NBA season probably matters more. I just don't see brands spending over and above what they would give a g-league prospect just because of March Madness. Especially for what will turn out to be longer-term investments

Still comes back to the same stuff, are the marketable asset on paper, and how do they do in the league?

At best, I think if all goes right for the college guy we are talking 5 to 6 figures on some rookie endorsements. I just don't see it making a high 7-figure or 8-figure difference

So dudes should just choose the places that they think are the best scenario for them. The market isn't really punishing them for not going to college.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

I think osh's point is better suited to someone like Wemby

 

[frshstunna]

well sure, some amount of speculation.
but we know for sure he hasn't gotten significant development gains from being on Ignite.

Givony said on the pod teams specifically are disappointed with his lack of development.

The advantage of Ignite is more money up front, more certainty. Ill agree with that.

but Scoot against worse competition on national tv, I don't think it's a stretch to think he'd be a more well known figure if he's on national tv every week dunking on hapless mid major cannon fodder.

Like I said alotta assumptions…Is his team gonna be good? They making the tourney Is he gon be that much better in a college system? Would ppl even care to watch him if he’s on tv? What kinda school would he even go to? What network is his school/conference plugged in with l? Etc

It’s not some, it’s ALOT of speculation …Scoot wasn’t as hyped/popular in high school to have the casuals he would need to become a more known figure guaranteed to check for him…Brandon Miller might be the best player in college right now on a top 3 team and most 1st heard of him for being involved in a murder …Paolo was just at Duke in coach K’s last year putting up numbers and nobody cared that much, still the #1 pick overall too

 

[earldagoat]

 

[WASHED KING]

As he should be. No reason to play.

 

[アミーゴ]

Cam going to be a solid pro man

 

[osh kosh bosh]

I think osh's point is better suited to someone like Wemby

Wemby's a generational prospect and outside of the big bump during the Scoot game. he's back to pre Met 92 levels of growth.

Wemby would def be a bigger deal if he's playing for Duke or Kentucky.
but he has different considerations given his size and risk of injury.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Famb let me walk through my thinking as to why it doesn't make sense to me.

You are talking about NCAA having a higher ceiling for national exposure because of March Madness, ok that is true, but I think you are overselling the impact of that.

First, think of all the things that have to go right to get that national exposure

So a top prospect would have to be on a team that makes a deep run in the tournament, probably the third weekend or at least the second weekend. To insure that happens would mean going to a top program with the capacity in place to win the National championship. The bigger the program the more you have to share the ball and shine with other players, and many of them are located in small markets. The teams that get the most national press and normie casual fans care about in March are cinderella stories from mid-majors. It is near impossible for a top prospect to try to pull this off. If I am a top prospect, it is not only about betting on myself playing well, but also about the stars aligning come March to reap the supposed rewards

As far as the rewards, they seem minimal to me. In the age of social media, prospects can build fame without college. The best care scenario happens in college I think that a boost in national exposure doesn't translate to much. Brands have a preference for what type of players they think sell (being a guard, etc.), and the other part of that is NBA success. Scoot seems like a good investment on paper. The position he plays, his style of play, all that is missing is the league's success. It is smart for Puma to want to get in early on someone like him.

Even if someone plays well in March Madness, that will slip out of the memory of most casual fans soon after. For more avid basketball fans the draft will soon come, then Summer League, and months later the season. Hype can be built there too. Good play in the NBA season probably matters more. I just don't see brands spending over and above what they would give a g-league prospect just because of March Madness. Especially for what will turn out to be longer-term investments

Still comes back to the same stuff, are the marketable asset on paper, and how do they do in the league?

At best, I think if all goes right for the college guy we are talking 5 to 6 figures on some rookie endorsements. I just don't see it making a high 7-figure or 8-figure difference

So dudes should just choose the places that they think are the best scenario for them. The market isn't really punishing them for not going to college.

okay i think you guys are way underselling the NCAA platform.

back when I was more involved in social marketing nobody would trade the best run social media campaign for like weekly 2 hour national tv spots,
constant sports talk coverage, pre existing fanbase of million signal boosting your content. I think it's a huge force multiplier.

If Scoot is good he' could double his following Zion did. IMO it's worth the risk. of 1 million you get from G league.

but minds can differ.

 

[dacomeup]

Continually going back to the exception that is Zion is not convincing

 

[RustyShackleford]

okay i think you guys are way underselling the NCAA platform.

back when I was more involved in social marketing nobody would trade the best run social media campaign for like weekly 2 hour national tv spots,
constant sports talk coverage, pre existing fanbase of million signal boosting your content. I think it's a huge force multiplier.

If Scoot is good he' could double his following Zion did. IMO it's worth the risk. of 1 million you get from G league.

but minds can differ.

I don't think I am underselling the NCAA superior national platform

I just don't think that translates into the financial boon for prospects when it comes to future endorsement deals

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Continually going back to the exception that is Zion is not convincing

Wemby is a generational prospect and his growth on social media has slowed to what it was before the two games in the US.

 

[dacomeup]

Wemby is a generational prospect and his growth on social media has slowed to what it was before the two games in the US.

What’s that got to do with the price of tea in China?

He’s a generational player who wasn’t born in the US and still has an unprecedented amount of hype heading into the draft. He played the two games in the US against G League teams and he saw exponential growth on SM accounts is what you’re telling me? And English isn’t his first language and his team has been highly protective of him in general.

 

[sole searchin]

Thread derailed.

Mikey Williams got a great following. He great?

 

[pmatic]