can he do it with the fate of the universe on the line?

No one watches all the games. It would require about 17 hours per day of sitting in front of the tv with no days off and no breaks. Stupid to pretend that should be expected for commenting on /r/nba

If 6 is too few to judge (it is), then so is 11. Fox is having one of the best seasons of anyone in the league so far. Missing 5 games with a sprained ankle isn’t going to decide his fate, the other 71 games will. Same goes for the rest of the field.

No one is saying he’s a sure bet to play 75+ games because his jumper is falling. I think the point you’re missing is that a lot of guys who come back from injuries at this age look way worse than they once were. Look at Kobe after his Achilles.

KD still looks a lot like his MVP peak when he’s healthy. Obviously it’s a fair concern to say he might get injured again, but it’s also reasonable to say he’s playing at an all nba level while healthy. That is rare at 35 and it’s a testament to his game that he still has his jumper, ballhandling, length, fluidity, defense, and mind. Other guys who were more reliant on their explosive athleticism, quickness, strength have to retire or turn into role players as they age and injuries pile up (Rose, Wall, Russ, Love, Cousins, Kemba, etc.)

Yeah the Sacramento Kings franchise really shouldn’t have gotten him addicted to crack

I guess it’d depend a lot on how good he was on the championship run and how good KD was. Like if KD is hurt and doesn’t play, then yeah Booker surpasses AI in terms of reputation among fans. But if KD is doing his normal thing at a HOF level and Book is 2% better, then I doubt people would automatically put him above AI on the strength of one ring on a super team.

For instance, I don’t think people put Paul Pierce above AI, even with his ring and finals MVP, because he only did it once with a loaded team.

One title as the best player, or multiple titles with the current lineup.