Written and audio coverage of extreme offseason candor from Giannis Antetokounmpo that the Bucks surely didn't want to hear so soon after their expensive summer business
You know what would be a great landing spot for Giannis if he decides to bolt from the Bucks in a couple years. Right next to a slightly season Wemby in SA. Just sayin.
Marc, here's a question that is hopefully right in your wheelhouse. In terms of overall, top-to-bottom team strength, how would you compare the gap between the NBA and Euroleague to the gap between the Premier League and the next best soccer league (presumably Bundesliga or LaLiga)?
I recognize that there are many variables we could take into consideration, but I'll appreciate your general take on it.
First of all, great question, and if anyone could answer it, it’s Marc. But aren’t teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Paris-St. Germain competitive with, say, Manchester City or Chelsea? If so, the gap would be much smaller than between the Euroleague and the NBA, because I don’t think that any Euroleague team would be competitive with any but the worst NBA teams, if that.
The EPL is definitely stronger top to bottom, but, in reality, it's been dominated by 6 teams (Man City, Man U., Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham). Newcastle has some new ownership and money, so they're starting to make noise, and there are others that are slowly building up the capital, but those 6 dominate.
Also worth noting that the UEFA Champions league, which has been going 30 years strong now and takes the top 32 teams from the various leagues (typically top-3 teams, although additional qualifiers can make it, but it'll take a long time to explain all the nuances of qualification), has actually been dominated by Spain, and specifically Real Madrid over the past decade (5 of the last 10 championships). EPL teams have won 3, including Marc's Man City (their first ever) this past year. So.. I think there's no comparison here. Euroleague basketball is different and has some real talent, but the football league differences are like the SEC vs. Big 12 (SEC has more depth, but top teams in the Big 12 can and have been right there with the SEC).
Thanks, Ron! Good point, and yeah, that's why I'm curious about top-to-bottom strength. In the EPL, the top 10-15 teams are usually pretty strong, with Marc's City team running away at the top and the 3-4 relegation candidates mired at the bottom. I think the other leagues are weaker overall outside of their top 1-2 teams.
I think you guys covered it well. The Prem does have more top-to-bottom strength than the top division in Germany or Spain or France or Italy … but the gap between the NBA and the EuroLeague is still way wider.
Why is Kelly Oubre still unsigned?
Come play with Luka! What a dream Euro twosome that would be. Dallas has a decent-sized Greek community, too.
Wow, a player who isn't going to just sign an extension and then demand a trade? What a novel idea.
You know what would be a great landing spot for Giannis if he decides to bolt from the Bucks in a couple years. Right next to a slightly season Wemby in SA. Just sayin.
Completely unbiased suggestion!
Marc, here's a question that is hopefully right in your wheelhouse. In terms of overall, top-to-bottom team strength, how would you compare the gap between the NBA and Euroleague to the gap between the Premier League and the next best soccer league (presumably Bundesliga or LaLiga)?
I recognize that there are many variables we could take into consideration, but I'll appreciate your general take on it.
First of all, great question, and if anyone could answer it, it’s Marc. But aren’t teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Paris-St. Germain competitive with, say, Manchester City or Chelsea? If so, the gap would be much smaller than between the Euroleague and the NBA, because I don’t think that any Euroleague team would be competitive with any but the worst NBA teams, if that.
The EPL is definitely stronger top to bottom, but, in reality, it's been dominated by 6 teams (Man City, Man U., Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham). Newcastle has some new ownership and money, so they're starting to make noise, and there are others that are slowly building up the capital, but those 6 dominate.
Also worth noting that the UEFA Champions league, which has been going 30 years strong now and takes the top 32 teams from the various leagues (typically top-3 teams, although additional qualifiers can make it, but it'll take a long time to explain all the nuances of qualification), has actually been dominated by Spain, and specifically Real Madrid over the past decade (5 of the last 10 championships). EPL teams have won 3, including Marc's Man City (their first ever) this past year. So.. I think there's no comparison here. Euroleague basketball is different and has some real talent, but the football league differences are like the SEC vs. Big 12 (SEC has more depth, but top teams in the Big 12 can and have been right there with the SEC).
Thanks, Ron! Good point, and yeah, that's why I'm curious about top-to-bottom strength. In the EPL, the top 10-15 teams are usually pretty strong, with Marc's City team running away at the top and the 3-4 relegation candidates mired at the bottom. I think the other leagues are weaker overall outside of their top 1-2 teams.
I think you guys covered it well. The Prem does have more top-to-bottom strength than the top division in Germany or Spain or France or Italy … but the gap between the NBA and the EuroLeague is still way wider.