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Best basketball IQ in NBA?


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For rookies, I'd say Landry Fields.

 

In general, it's almost impossible to say.

 

I mean...you'd have to watch a TON of all the NBA teams and players. Because this is something you can't really statistically measure. It's something you have to see on a consistent basis.

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One of these PG's; Kidd, Nash, Paul, or Williams. Kobe is also really high up there, although his shot selection kind of hurts his case IMO, and naturally those PG's have a better understanding of how an offense is supposed to be ran. I'd probably go with Kidd overall; his IQ is way off the charts.

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One of these PG's; Kidd, Nash, Paul, or Williams. Kobe is also really high up there, although his shot selection kind of hurts his case IMO, and naturally those PG's have a better understanding of how an offense is supposed to be ran. I'd probably go with Kidd overall; his IQ is way off the charts.

I like your list, but I think you're forgetting Rondo. He definitely deserves to be mentioned amongst those players.

 

And I'll throw in Duncan and KG into the conversation as well.

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I'm giving a dead serious nomination for Brian Cardinal.

 

He rotates really well on defense and always makes the right pass on offense.

 

He also knows when, and when not to take open shots.

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I wanna put Battier back in conversation. He has great shot selection. Kobe is super cerebral with his playmaking abilities, and so is Andre Miller. After Lebron's winning assist tonight, you'd have to talk about him a little too.

 

But when it comes down to highest IQ, it's going to be a PG since their position demands it the most. So i'd say Nash because throughout the course of the game, he still has time to think about his hair.

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I think LeBron is the smartest. To go with vision:

- knowing where his teammates are (and will be),

- figuring out opponents' weaknesses and destroying them,

- figuring out his own weaknesses (before his opponents do) and fixing them

- seemingly getting better when we say it's impossible for him to get better

 

 

Guy is still having games of 35pts, 14rebds, 8assists on a team with 1 more superstar (Wade) and 1 more All Star (Bosh)? And he's the one seemingly responsible for Wade, Bosh and everyone else getting their numbers. He's been impressive.

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I'm taking Steve Nash. Jason Kidd is someone I would consider, but if we're penalizing Kobe for his shot selection, I'm doing the same to him.

 

Kidd's defensive IQ puts him ahead of the curve, of course, but Nash makes the attempt to play smart defense...he just doesn't have the physical tools to be a good defender (not strong, doesn't have the lateral quickness, etc).

 

I haven't seen a guy control an offense as much as Steve Nash. I know that may sound ridiculous to some people because they first think of Magic and Stockton, but Nash works his offense like a video game, and all he asks his players to do is spot up or to screen in his pick and roll. It hasn't led to championships for Steve, but that's also because those Suns were never a stellar defensive team.

 

Kidd is on his heels in this debate, but Nash really knows his basketball. Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant...those two get mentioned as well.

 

And I can't pick someone like Bonner or Scalabrine because they just run through the motions. They aren't the conductor.

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I'm going with Chris Paul. Nash leads the league in turnovers per 48 minutes so that eliminated him for me. Chris Paul simply amazes me with his decision making every time I watch him play. I can see a how someone could make a legitimate argument for Williams, Kidd, or Lebron but I'm going with Paul.

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