Yo, thank you for checking out this edition of Dead in Sports 365, the place where sports opinions collide. I'm your boy, 12 Kyle, the OG, and I'm back with another episode. All right, check this out. On this episode, what I'm going to talk about is the next five NBA players to carry the torch.
And what I did was I compiled a list of my top five players that I think that will carry the torch in the NBA. And what I mean by that is that, like, just to give you an idea, I remember back in 1998, when Michael Jordan was, you know, winding down his career, a lot was being said and made of, you know, well, who's going to carry the torch? Who's going to be the next guys to be the face of the league and be the guys that will take the league to the next level? And honestly, in the media, there was a lot of concern because, you know, for so many years, we'd had Michael Jordan.
So we didn't know what the league would look like without Michael Jordan. And lo and behold, I mean, there were guys. There were guys like Kobe, you know, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and then subsequently LeBron Carmelo, CP3, Steph Curry, KD, Russell Westbrook, the list goes on and on. Not one guy can carry the league, but these guys, you know, collectively carry the league.
And to be, to be honest, the NBA is in a great space right now. It's a lot of great young talent. And so like I said, I wanted to give you guys my top five as far as guys that I think are going to take the NBA to the next level. And the great part about these guys is that I think they're all under the age, if I'm not mistaken, they're all under the age of 24.
A few of them haven't even turned 23 yet. So let's go ahead with the list. Coming in at number five, and I've got an asterisk by his name, Zion Williamson. Now, I know a lot has been made of Zion Williamson.
Zion, you know, obviously has not played this year. And he won't play this year for the Pelicans. The one thing that Zion has to do obviously is get healthy. The thing that always says that the last time we saw Zion, he was an all-star.
So you can't take that away, but he's going to have to get healthy. He's going to have to lose weight. The reality is Zion can't play at the weight that he's at. He looks like, from what I was saying, like you're pushing about three bills.
You can't be that big in the NBA. He's got to drop at least about 40 pounds. He can play at 265, 250, something like that. But the wear and tear and a grind on your body from the NBA, it would just be too much.
He'll always have issues if he doesn't get his weight down. But I've got him on the list. He's again, under 24. He's definitely one of the next stars that will take the league to the next level.
Number four, I'm going to keep it right here in the ATO. My man, Shray Young. Yes, Ice-Tray, the kid is special. He is special.
Now, I know a lot of people don't like, you know, they think that he flops and stuff like that, but the kid can put the ball in the basket and ultimately that's all that you need to do. He can shoot for three, he can get to the free throw line. He's a great passer. And we saw last year in the playoffs that, you know, he stepped his game up and he was not afraid of the moment and not afraid to go in a hostile territory and become a villain.
And I think stuff like that makes for good TV. And it also makes for, you know, you to build your legacy on. So I've got him at number four. Number three, Luca Donchet.
Probably a lot of people would have Luca higher than what I have him at three, but here's the knock on Luca before I give you the superlatives. The knock is Luca's not American born. And traditionally, in the NBA, it's kind of hard for, you know, I don't want to say the fans, it's hard for Madison Avenue. It's hard for, you know, the suits to get behind a guy who doesn't really speak English that well.
And I mean, his English is fine, but he doesn't sound like the rest of us. But he is a phenomenal talent. He is, you know, like a walking trip, a triple double when he wants to be, you know, he's in Dallas and he's got a good foundation and he's already off to a great start. So keep it on Luca.
Number two, let's go up to Boston, Jason Tatum. I think he just turned 23, which is crazy because it feels like he's been in the league forever. But the guy can, he's got a smooth jump shot, silky smooth, he can, you know, kill you at the three or he can get to the hook, get to the cup and dunk on you. I like his game and I like his game.
I always like this game coming out of Duke. He is definitely destined to be one of those torch bearers for the NBA. And then last but not least coming in at number one in Memphis, John Moran, athletic as hell, just a warrior. And he and that team in Memphis, if they can keep it together, they can be a problem.
Hell, they might be a problem this year, to be honest, but very fun and very exciting to watch. And the thing I like about Jive is that the moment's never too big for him. He's not afraid he's really, really ready and willing to attack you at all times. And I love his game.
I love watching him. So again, these are my stars. The torch bearers coming up for the next wave of superstars, you know, once the LeBron's in the CP3s and the Carmelos and those guys retire, Zion at five, Trey Young at four, Luca Dunchett at three, Jason Tatum at two, and Jia Moran at one. Hey, that's going to do it for me.
Make sure that you check out my YouTube channel, youtube.com backslash spell it out. T W E L V E K Y L E. Make sure that you check out my podcast. It's called a 12, Kyle podcast.
The podcast drops every Thursday at midnight. Make sure that you subscribe so you can catch the bonus episodes that drop sometimes on Sundays at midnight. That's going to do for me again. Thank you for checking out this edition of Dead in Sports 365.
The place was what's opinions, sports opinions, collage. I'm your boy, 12, Kyle. I'll catch you guys next time. Five G's.