One Thousand and Thirty Seven: The Player Between Man and God

"Link is very strong. There are probably not many players in the league who can take advantage of him. Playing against him makes me feel desperate."

This is what Wiggins said to reporters after the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves three days ago in Minnesota.

Generally speaking, young players with high potential rarely give in, especially star players who have already established themselves in the league.

For example, when Kobe Bryant entered the league, he was dissatisfied with Jordan.

When James entered the league with the aura of "The Chosen One," he didn't think he was worse than Kobe.

As soon as they entered the league, they began to compete with the best players in the league.

But Wiggins, the No. 1 pick who is said to be comparable to James, clearly demonstrated his helplessness and had no intention of making Link an enemy.

He didn't say "I'm looking forward to the next fight with Link."

Nor did he say “I will continue to work hard and try to do better next time.”

Instead he said: "Link makes me despair."

So after the interview that day, Wiggins was ridiculed by everyone.

People said he lost his temper at a young age.

It is said that he does not have the ambition that a top pick should have.

Without the desire to win that is necessary for a great player, I'm sorry for his talent.

It is said that Wiggins' attitude towards the game and strong opponents is destined to prevent him from becoming a great player.

Originally, many people wanted to use Antetokounmpo to hack Wiggins after the game between the Grizzlies and Bucks.

As everyone knows, Antetokounmpo also failed miserably when facing Link. Moreover, he also agreed very much with Wiggins's statement!

It turns out that Wiggins is not as bad as people say.

He's not a coward, he's just telling the truth. He, like every other young man, tried his best, but still got beat.

Link is really strong, and he is indeed the nightmare of all rising stars. He makes these newcomers understand that "you can win the game as long as you work hard" is just a lie.

If a player with terrifying talent like Antetokounmpo is like this, how can we expect other young people to do better?

It can be said that after this game, Wiggins was saved by Antetokounmpo.

Now everyone knows that Wiggins was not wrong. Because all the new stars in this alliance are helpless in front of Link!

At the post-game press conference, Antetokounmpo also admitted the huge gap between himself and Link.

"I said last season, the best player in the league wears a Grizzlies jersey. But to be honest, Link is better than I thought."

"I had no chance at all. He seemed to be able to predict all my movements. Every move I made was completely under his control."

"Link was impeccable on the offensive end. I tried to use my height and wingspan advantage to interfere with him, but it didn't work at all."

"Even if the championship last season was the Warriors, I still think Link is the best player in the league. How can I put it? He belongs to that kind of role at the top of the pyramid. I hope I can catch up with him one day, but certainly not now. "

As a little fan of Link, Antetokounmpo did not complain after losing the game, but generously acknowledged Link's greatness.

But hearing this from a player whose physical condition was so exaggerated, and who had just defeated Paul George in the last game, reporters were a little surprised.

Is there any limit to Link's strength?

Was it a coincidence that the Warriors defeated Link last season or was it a proof of true strength?

The Grizzlies are so good this year,

Can they really win the championship again after just one year?

If Antetokounmpo praises Link, it is because he already has a good impression of Link.

It's hard to fault Kidd's praise of Link at the press conference.

"Link is a smart player, he knows how to solve the dilemma at hand, and this is what makes him most special. A lot of people only focus on Link's bounce and his precise shooting, but I think what makes him the best is Here." Kidd said, pointing to his head.

Link is as mature as a 40-year-old golfer on the court!

Kidd knows that experience cannot be quickly formed. But when he and the Mavericks faced off against the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals in 2011, the then-first-year Link showed incredible maturity and sophistication.

Yes, experience cannot be accumulated quickly. But there are always a few exceptions in this world, and Link is one of them.

The entire Bucks press conference seemed to have turned into a commendation meeting for Link.

Antetokounmpo and Kidd admitted their defeat while praising Link, which really left reporters speechless.

What they wanted to see was a verbal spat between the two sides, but to their surprise, they were all filled with one-sided praise for Link.

The day after the game, when Kidd and Antetokounmpo's praise of Link was flying all over the Internet, Bill Simmons followed up with another big news.

He updated the much-anticipated column "Hall of Fame Pyramid" on his column.

This column was first updated in 2010. As the name suggests, the so-called "Hall of Fame Pyramid" is a ranking made by Bill Simmons for all the great NBA players in history.

From the bottom to the top of the pyramid, a total of 96 people were selected. And these 96 people are also ranked in order.

This "Hall of Fame Pyramid" selects all players in the history of the league, so both current and retired players are included.

This kind of drama of "Guan Gong versus Qin Qiong" makes fans watch it with relish.

However, this column has never been updated since 2010.

Now six years have passed, and the situation in the league is completely different from what it was back then. Kobe has left, and James and the Heat have failed to reach the heights people expected.

Therefore, everyone is eager to know how the ranking will change if Bill Simmons is ranked again.

For this reason, fans have been arguing on basketball forums.

As a result, today, Bill Simmons' "Hall of Fame Pyramid" has been updated, and his ranking is really here!

Fans flocked to Bill Simmons' column with excitement, which even caused the server to crash.

Otherwise, how can we say that Bill Simmons is a very influential basketball writer around the world.

Less than ten minutes after the "Hall of Fame Pyramid" was updated, basketball forums all over the world exploded.

Because this time's ranking is very different from last time, and it is quite controversial!

Vince Carter, who was ranked 89th in 2010, this time surpassed "Rain Man" Kemp, Robert Horry, Dwight Howard and McGrady and other gods, soaring 12 places to the 77th position. !

The reason is simple. Compared with 6 years ago, Carter has one more championship ring!

In 2010, Simmons predicted that the aging Carter would retire mediocrely and would never perform any amazing performance in the playoffs in this life.

As a result, the nearly 40-year-old veteran is still fighting hard.

Moreover, his redemption buzzer beater from the left corner in the 2015 playoffs and his eventual championship win with the Grizzlies exceeded Bill Simmons' expectations.

So this time, he raised Carter's ranking, ranking him ahead of McGrady, who has no championship, and Howard, who is now playing badly.

After that, Kidd and Nowitzki's rankings also improved.

Because at that time, Bill Simmons probably never imagined that these two veterans could win the championship tenaciously one year after he ranked the "pyramid".

Kidd and Dirk were originally ranked 43rd and 39th, but now, Kidd has surpassed Nash, Kevin McHale and others to rank 30th!

Compared to Nash, Kidd has won a championship after all and played a key role in the championship season, so he is now ranked higher than Nash.

Nowitzki has risen to No. 26. Above him are great players such as Garnett, Isaiah Thomas, Pippen and John Stockton.

In other words, 26th place is already a very high position.

You must know that before winning the championship in 2011, Dirk was not popular. At that time, he had nothing to do with the word "great". People are more willing to call him weak than great.

But the superb season of 10-11 allowed "German Tank" to turn around. He not only won honors, but also respect.

Therefore, Simmons adjusted Dirk's ranking, and Nowitzki deserved this honor.

After that, James soared from the original 20th place to 13th place.

In 6 years, James has successfully entered the top 15 in history from the bottom of the top 20 in history.

When Bill Simmons was working on this "pyramid" for 10 years, James had not yet won a championship and had not even announced that he would join the Heat.

But relying on his strong personal ability, Simmons still ranked the untitled James at 20th.

While the Heat won a championship, James also reached the NBA Finals for 6 consecutive years!

This allowed him to surpass Barkley, Elgin Baylor, Julius Erving and Moses Malone and other historical players, temporarily ranking 13th!

The two people above James are Olajuwon and O'Neal, two historical behemoths.

If James wins more championships, his ranking may be even higher.

But in the end, fans discovered that whether it was Carter, Kidd, Dirk or James, their rankings did not change the most.

This year, the player with the biggest change in ranking has directly surpassed 90 players!

In 2010, this player had not yet entered the "pyramid".

But now, he is ranked sixth in the pyramid by Bill Simmons, replacing the position that originally belonged to Wilt Chamberlain!

The top five of Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, "Magic" and Bird, in addition to their own personal honors, also have a lot of historical status bonuses.

Because the five of them are not just a matter of personal honor, but also drive the development of the entire league.

Therefore, the top five rankings are generally considered unshakable.

The sixth-ranked player, to put it bluntly, is actually a superstar basketball star who Simmons believes is equal to the top five in terms of strength, regardless of factors such as history and location!

He is a player between God and man.

In the past, Bill Simmons left this position to Chamberlain, even though he hated that guy very much.

And now, he thinks this person is Link!

Legends such as Chamberlain, Duncan, Kobe and "LOGO Man" Jerry West were all forced down one rank by Link!

There is no doubt that Link has become the most controversial in this "pyramid".

Ranked sixth, second only to those five "gods". Moreover, he is the highest ranked among the active players!

Bill Simmons' praise for Link caught everyone off guard! The appearance of Link is also the reason why "Pyramid" is so popular after this update. .

The strongest in active service, or in other words, the greatest in history!

People are very curious, does Link really deserve this position?