He doesn’t. That’s not a knock on RJ but his lack of athleticism and fluidity means his ceiling is just going to be lower. Like i said before the draft, RJ is a will guy. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to max out his potential because he’ll will himself there. He has that Kobe in him. But i don’t think he’ll be a super star like Ingram, who is legit a year or 2 away from superstardom. This also doesn’t make RJ a bad pick either. I think we see that there were only 2 superstars in that draft when most people thought it was only Zion. And they both went before us.
I disagree
So many people focus on athleticism as a determination of stardom and potential
How is DSJ doing?
That's not a good enough metric as you are oversimplifying what makes someone a superstar
Did Ingram look close to being a superstar star his rookie season or the season after that?
Many Lakers fans thought he was basura early on even though quiet a few saw his potential
You ignore
1) RJ's elite strength for his age
Whatever you don't see in his athletcism is made up by the sheer strength that he plays with
Do you see how strong he is now? Imagine when he hits peak strength
He is also above average athletically but you don't get to see it much because he is not strong enough despite being very strong for a 19 year old and more importantly, the spacing is complete shyt
He is not giannis or westbrook level but he is pretty athletic
I like how you ignored how he blew by an elite defender like PG multiple times in LA for example
2) His ability to get downhill is special
RJ has a great ability to drive to the basket downhill
The problem is he is not strong enough yet to finish at the rim with contact
The refs don't give him calls
When this kid fully grows into his body and can finish through contact, you're telling me
he won't be a monster driving to the rim?
The only way you would be able to stop him is to foul him
3) his bball iq
In the beginning of the season before Randle and Morris' ways rubbed off on him, RJ displayed exceptional bball IQ, playing team ball only to realize it's everyone for themselves
he learns very quickly
Really the only thing holding RJ back is his jumpshot
If he fixes that the sky is the limit for his ceiling
like I said if the ball was running through RJ like it does through Ja (and not Payton, Randle, Morris, etc.) and if the team was catered to his strengths (shooters everywhere), the narrative might be very different
