Best Daily Score (All)
James Harden, Nets vs 76ers (33 PTS, 14 REB, 10 AST (x3) = 171 PRA)
Best Daily Score (No Triple Double)
Devin Booker, Suns vs Nuggets (49 PTS + 4 REB + 10 AST = 63 PRA)
LeBron James, Lakers vs Wizards (50 PTS + 7 REB + 6 AST = 63 PRA)
Best Rookie Score (Drafted)
Cade Cunningham, Pistons vs Kings (25 PTS + 8 REB + 8 AST (x2) = 82 PRA)
Best Rookie Score (Undrafted)
Trendon Watford, Trailblazers vs Wizards (27 PTS + 6 REB + 3 AST (x2) = 72 PRA)
If we were playing with last year's rules, the best one could have done with a veteran selection would have been Devin Booker or LeBron James with 63 PRA. Booker only had one top score all season but he made it count on March 24th against the Nuggets as he double-doubled with a flourish of points and assists for a free-falling Ryan. LeBron James' 63 PRA day came as I was making a charge up the leaderboard against the Wizards. It was surprisingly one of only two top scores all season for the King.
There were many starts and stops to Cade Cunningham's rookie season in Detroit, but in Pick One terms he was money every time he was picked. The #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft was one of of three rookies (Scottie Barnes & Evan Mobley) to earn top score five times but none scored higher than Cunningham's rookie-boosted 82 against the Kings on November 15th which at the time staked Ryan to a nearly 100 PRA lead in the standings.
Portland gave many a mystery man some run this season. One of those ending up being undrafted LSU product Trendon Watford. Originally signed to a two-way contract with the club, Watford would have that converted into a full contract in late February. Less than 20 days later, he went for the joint second-best rookie showing of the season against Washington. His 72 RBPRA night came the day after that aforementioned LeBron torching for the inhabitants of our nation's capital city.
Three members of Dallas and Washington's deadline deal did the deed (Kristaps Porzingis, Spencer Dinwiddie, & Davis Bertans) as well as Philadelphia and Brooklyn's (James Harden, Seth Curry, & Andre Drummond).
Derrick White and Josh Richardson made one and two appearances respectively for their new clubs after being traded for one another, yet White's one outing with the Celtics completed his picking out.
Domantas Sabonis (Indiana & Sacramento), Drummond (Philadelphia & Brooklyn), and Harden (Brooklyn & Philadelphia) were the only men to earn top scores with two different teams.
Spencer Dinwiddie- Wizards, Mavericks / Andre Drummond- 76ers, Nets / James Harden- Nets, 76ers
Montrezl Harrell- Wizards, Hornets / DeAndre Jordan- Lakers, 76ers / CJ McCollum- Trailblazers, Pelicans
Larry Nance Jr.- Trailblazers, Pelicans / Kristaps Porzingis- Mavericks, Wizards / Josh Richardson- Celtics, Spurs
Domantas Sabonis- Pacers, Kings / Daniel Theis- Rockets, Celtics / Derrick White- Spurs, Celtics
Fifty-four players were picked out last season with thirty-nine of those pickings out coming to a close in the playoffs. In contrast, this year seventy-five players were picked out with forty-one of those coming in the postseason. With deep playoff runs (and little confidence from our players of those runs going as far as they did) last season the Hawks and Suns tied with 8 pickings out each. This year the preparation from our players was much better as both Finals teams, the Celtics and Warriors, tied with seven pickings out with seven of those fourteen coming from the Conference Finals on.
Below are the first and last players picked out for the season. Carmelo Anthony was the only person whose picking out came in 2021 as he was entirely off the board on November 23rd. Conversely, Al Horford's final selection came in the season's final game as his Celtics fell to the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
This was the toughest fake award I've ever debated internally. There were players that had higher average scores. There were also ones that made bigger impacts on the leaderboard at any given moment (re: the triple-doublers). But in the end, Stephen Curry bested out Luka Doncic for this honor by both giving hope when there had no reason for there to be any. He earned the day's top score all six times he was selected, including the NBA All-Star Game and three times in the NBA Finals. His 57 PRA showing in Game 4 would have been the stuff of legends had Draymond Green not pissed away Game 5 by encapsulating every possible Draymond Green stereotype. Also, Steph only failed on the Triple Double Down three times while Luka did so a Challenge-high five times. |
So that's all folks! Hope to see some of y'all back again for the third season of the NBA Pick One Challenge for 2022-23 with some of the players that are going to be drafted on this very night. Until then, be easy, be kind, and be part of the hive mind that the Eurostep will always be a travel.
Image Credits: Player Photos (ESPN & NBA), Kings logo (Wikipedia)