https://youtu.be/NNHMmRur-Jo
For reference: it took Tony Parker 84 games before he had a 12-assist game. Theo Maledon? Only 28. John Stockton? 16.
You know, I thought I was being really clever there with Stockton. I know he had a bit of a slow start to his career, so my plan was to impress everybody with Maledon’s nascent playmaking ability as compared to Stockton. Turns out, even when playing a limited role with limited minutes, Stockton could just rack up dimes with no problem. His teammates were probably way better than Maledon’s this game, though. I just checked, and Darrell Griffith (I really should reupload that vintage vid I made of him scoring 40 while a rookie Michael Jordan cried like the bitch he is) went 13 of 30 that game, so if he was a little better, Stockton probably would’ve had 20 dimes that game. Still, Maledon definitely had less to work with here. He didn’t even get an assist to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it seemed like they were all to players like Darius Bazley, Mike Muscala, and Ty Jerome, who I didn’t even know was still in the league.
That Tony Parker comparison, though, that one’s still good and, dare I say, ILLUMINATING. There’s been a lot of French rookies whose debut seasons have compared favorably to Parker’s, because Parker wasn’t even that great coming into the league, but few of those French rookies have flashed the kind of playmaking that Maledon flashed in this game. I’m not saying right out that Maledon is going to be a HOFer like Parker, but I am kind of hinting towards the idea. And I don’t even really need to do the hinting: just watch this video, and you will see HOF-like passes. Note the plural. PASSES. There were some lame assists in here, because there always are when it comes to the NBA, but he had vision. And some serious chemistry with Ty Jerome, a pairing which might be gearing up to be the hottest new bromance of the 2020-21 NBA season.
Oh, and if you’re confused about why it looks like I switched to a different game at halftime, it’s because the Thunder changed jerseys. Turns out that if one team is wearing orange, and the other team is wearing red, it’s very easy for people to get confused. Certainly, I wasn’t having a very fun time watching the chaos. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that NBA jersey madness has gone too far.