Welcome to the 2024 SAT examination introduced by the School Board! This yr, in an try and attraction to at this time’s youth, the long-essay immediate could seem unusual to some readers. Nevertheless, we imagine it should assist us extra pretty consider all college students. Thanks, and good luck!
PROMPT: Is Jaylen Brown the perfect participant on the planet and the second-best on his personal group?
Simply kidding, this isn’t the true SAT neither is it a dream triggered by repressed stress from years in the past while you had been making use of to varsity. However after I turn out to be president of the world, I’ll make this the lengthy essay query on each standardized take a look at. Your capability to reply it represents greater than your IQ or the effectiveness of curriculum; it unpacks your psychological flexibility, your worldview, and your capability to suppose critically about basketball gamers that don’t make a whole lot of sense.
But it surely’s nonetheless a sure or no query, which implies you would presumably reply, “no, he’s not. Why would you even ask that, you moron?” This response would rating poorly on the take a look at and can also be objectively improper. Brown is certainly the perfect participant on the planet, and undoubtedly the second-best participant on the Boston Celtics. There will probably be no alternatives to revise your reply.
Within the curiosity of educational honesty, this text will act as a solution key, and hopefully additionally educate us why Brown is essentially the most fascinating participant in basketball, and why we could by no means fairly determine him out.
Photograph by Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe by way of Getty Photographs
First issues first, when answering this query, one should add the vital nuance that Brown is barely the perfect participant on the planet to some individuals. This not at all falsifies the reply, as shutting out folks that disagree with you is a elementary a part of being alive. Politics, pal teams and nuclear households couldn’t exist with out this idea. However why just some individuals?
Nicely, within the suite of choices for figuring out who the perfect participant within the NBA is, three shine by means of the remainder: league MVP, online-popular consensus, and NBA Finals MVP. Which one you subscribe to will rely in your elementary opinion of how vital successful is when answering this query. The league MVP and on-line consensus decide is at the moment Nikola Jokic, however he misplaced within the second spherical.
For those who’re extra old-fashioned or simply refuse any knowledge that isn’t “rings,” maybe NBA Finals MVP can be your decide. This hardly ever matches up with the opposite two classes, however it could possibly occur! In 2019, Kawhi Leonard grabbed the Finals MVP trophy on the Toronto Raptors and located the “greatest participant on the planet” award hidden inside it like a type of Russian nesting dolls. After that run, it was simply plain. Saying the Finals MVP merely equals “greatest participant on the planet” isn’t a very refined argument, however it kinda sorta nearly completely all the time works.
Photograph by Adam Glanzman/Getty Photographs
It’s a extremely efficient argument to make, nevertheless annoying. Saying “crucial participant on the group that gained the Finals” is a extremely onerous argument to beat, as anybody within the group chat who says there’s something extra vital than successful is straight away clowned as a faux sports activities fan who ought to return to Loserville.
Arguing for the significance of “successful” in sports activities is advocating for veterans in politics. Mother and apple pie. Sunshine and lollipops. Nobody alive dislikes veterans, and any candidate accused of mistreating them is branded as the largest jerk possible. It may be a bit morally simplistic, however it’s undoubtedly not improper, so basing your worldview on “successful” is completely positive for this query.
As long as we’re being sufficiently cussed, Jaylen Brown is the perfect participant on the planet when in comparison with all different NBA gamers. In response to the historical past books, he was crucial participant within the 2024 NBA Finals. That’s the newest Finals, so bam-bam, thank-you-ma’am on half one.
Photograph by Billie Weiss/Boston Crimson Sox/Getty Photographs
As for half two, sure, Brown can also be the second-best participant on the Celtics behind Jayson Tatum. Many, many, many individuals have informed me, wrote me, texted me, commented-at me, known as me or telepathically communicated to me that comparability is the thief of enjoyable and that I ought to simply “take pleasure in each guys” with out worrying about which one is best. And similar to the opposite 400 instances, I categorically refuse.
That mindset is an outrageously boring means to take a look at sports activities. Merely dwelling in denial about the necessity to make comparisons isn’t going to cease others from making them, and NBA historical past has proven {that a} coherent understanding of everybody’s position on a group is crucial to success. Prefer it or not, “greatest participant” is a type of roles.
I don’t want to dwell on why Tatum is best than Brown, since I’ve made the identical argument for six consecutive years and have virtually no real interest in making it once more. Tatum is a extra dynamic participant with fewer limitations, and has confirmed that he could be the centerpiece of an NBA offense in any respect three ranges whereas dominating the ball. Brown has completed a whole lot of that, however has struggled with consistency, ball safety and playmaking in methods Tatum merely has not.
There are arguments that Brown is best, particularly if you wish to simply throw my Finals MVP logic proper again in my face. However I don’t discover that as fascinating when evaluating two guys on the group that simply gained, and is far simpler to falsify by saying Tatum missed out on the award by one vote. I additionally didn’t use a single statistic to show that nor do I plan to, as I believe a holistic understanding of a gamers’ recreation is simpler when attempting to ask, merely, “who’s higher?” as numerous knowledge and numbers make Karl Malone the perfect participant in NBA historical past which, like, isn’t true in any respect.
I additionally surprise if Brown truly desires to be the perfect participant on the planet or on the Celtics. I can go bananas on a Google Doc attempting to persuade you that he’s, however within the immortal phrases of my pal Tom every time we’d be watching a sporting occasion and his group can be getting ready to successful: “you gotta need it!”
Being the “greatest” is loads like successful an Academy Award. It’s imagined to all goal and analytical, however it’s actually only a political marketing campaign and a recognition contest. Tatum undoubtedly desires it, and has made it clear for years he desires to go down as one of many all-time greats and to be the face of the NBA in a post-LeBron James world. He’s in Gatorade and SoFi commercials, already has three signature footwear with Jordan and went on The Tonight Present with Jimmy Fallon to advertise his youngsters’s ebook. He’s an unbelievable basketball participant and a public man who desires to be well-known. There’s nothing improper with that, and it’s made him simpler to see as “the perfect.”
However I all the time really feel like Brown is skeptical of all that. He covers up the logos on his footwear, has his personal customized attire line and spends the summer time touring the world and seeing what the world has to supply. It hasn’t lent itself to the simplistic definitions of “the perfect” like Tatum’s story has, however perhaps that’s much more admirable. Brown hasn’t drunk the Kool-Assist of the NBA’s company construction, and refuses to be outlined by the labels of others earlier than him.
That’s why he’s my favourite participant, each within the league and on the Celtics. He’s simply essentially the most fascinating, essentially the most particular person and so in contrast to everybody round him. Brown is the perfect and Tatum is best. However I’ve seen Jayson Tatums earlier than and can see them once more. I doubt I’ll ever see one other Jaylen Brown.
