Bucket Getter Or Complete Player.....Your Choice?!

We debate whether the best foundation for a team is a pure bucket getter or a truly complete two-way player who impacts both ends. We define both labels, test them against NBA and WNBA examples, then land on what we value most when building a franchise.
• Our definitions of bucket getter versus complete player
• Why late-clock shot making and pressure free throws still count as buckets
• NBA examples that fit the bucket getter label and why some stars break the mold
• Why mismatch advantages are different from pure bucket getting
• WNBA comparisons with Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart
• The Caitlin Clark efficiency debate and what double teams really mean
• College basketball examples and how winning profiles translate
• How coaching experience shapes what matters most in a lineup
• The question of which skill set is harder to replicate

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Transcript

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Welcome And The Core Debate

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show get a bucket. I'm your host, Shrey, and as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're gonna talk about bucket getters or complete players. Who are you building your team around? But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button, comment on anyone who's anyone about the show. Try and get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. And if you're wondering where you heard this before, that's because you've been listening with me Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. And I greatly appreciate your support. Now, I've kind of already talked about a little bit of this topic before, but we're gonna go a little bit deeper, right? And yeah, look, you know, based on the show title, I may have a little a little biased on this conversation, but we're gonna talk about it, right? Because look, in in is getting buckets actually the most valuable skill in basketball? And before you start yelling a yes at me, let's think about this. Okay, because I understand the the entire objective of basketball is ultimately to score, it's ultimately to get a bucket. But like this ain't what I'm really talking about. Like, not is is scoring important. Which one would you choose? Which type of player? The player that can get a bucket or a player that's viewed as complete. Typically, when people are saying that they're complete, they're talking about offensive-minded players, right? Points, assists, things like that. My definition of a complete player is someone who's playing elite on both offense and defense. That's a complete player. The game is on two sides of the court, by the way. That's how it's played. So that's my personal definition. But if your definition is scoring and assisting, you know, offensive evolution. Okay, cool. I hear that too. So let's talk about now that we kind of laid the groundwork

Defining A True Bucket Getter

SPEAKER_00 1:50

for that, right? Providing a little standard. What's a bucket getter? Uh, for me, it's it's this simple. A bucket getter is someone who can get a bucket no matter what the circumstances. Okay, like shot clock down at foe. We still good. It's a bucket. Defense switches up on you. We still good as a bucket. How about when the play breaks down? We still good because it's a bucket. How about if you get fouled late game after three? And you gotta go to the free throw line. Because that's I still view that as a bucket, even though it's a free throw. Because I mean, you can still win or lose a game on a free throw. Like you, you gotta be able to get a bucket, ladies and gentlemen, regardless. Like these are still buckets. Okay. Like if I wanted to call some specific players out, I'm I understand that they're averaging 30 plus. That I don't necessarily view them as bucket getters. Now, let's let's use some examples. But Kevin Durant, yeah, that's probably the bucket getter's bucket getter. Okay, like that, like he is up there, ladies and gentlemen, averaging 27 points for his career, hella efficient. Like the man is a seven-foot specimen, like it's ridiculous, okay? But he also can play a little defense too, but he ain't made no all-defensive team. So I think people view Kevin Durant as more of an offensive-minded player, but he can also defend too. I actually view KD as a complete player, to be honest with you. But typically people view KD as an offensive mind, but just to be clear. But when we're talking about bucket getters, I mean, three-point, he got post-up, he got mid-range, he got transition, he got again free throws, he got layups, dunks, he better do that. He's he's seven foot, damn. Like, like, like KD. That's what we got to think about. But other examples, right, of bucket getters. Carmelo, right? Alan Iverson, James Harden. Oh, Steph Curry, that's a good one. Because you got to guard him. You got to guard that brother 94 feet. Okay. Like, like he won them, you know what I'm saying? He was one of them ones.

NBA Examples And Broken Archetypes

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Here's where things kind of break down with bucket getters, though. Because again, I told you what my definition of a complete player is. And if you notice, I ain't mentioned two specific individuals, Kobe Bean, Bryant, and Michael Jeffrey Jordan. And that's because they kind of break this mold, ladies and gentlemen. They I view them as complete players. So it's hard to just label them as bucket getters, right? Like with LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, I don't view them as bucket getters. I view them as mismatches who helped that. And when you're a mismatch, ladies and gentlemen, that helps you get a bucket. Like these freak of nature athletes, like Zion, I wouldn't say Zion is a bucket getter. I think he's a freak of nature athlete that can do a lot of different things on the court because of his athleticism. But if that athleticism was not there, huh? That could be a little interesting. Like, is Zion gonna kill you from the three? From the MIDI? I don't know about that. So again, just to give you a little context, the bucket getters. Those are examples. Hell honestly, even Allen Iveson to a degree could be viewed as a complete player. The man led the league in steals three times. I mean, like he played good defense. Elite, that's another discussion. But he was on the he was on the D-point list. So I mean, you complete players, again, offensive and defensive, at an elite level. If you just view it as offense, right? Scoring, assists, which I've heard a bunch of y'all talk about, that's fine. Now, a complete player, like I said, offense and defense. So even if you're having a terrible shooting night, can you still be one of the better players on the floor? Like, if you shoot four of 17, what else you're gonna give me? Now, I I mentioned LeBron James earlier. And you can say he's a complete player. Like a bucket getter, that's another discussion. But a complete player, sure. Like, he might only give you 22 points. Well, he's probably gonna give you about eight assists, seven rebounds. I'm sorry, eight rebounds, seven assists, one 1.5 steals and almost a block. That's about what his career averages are. Matter of fact, I think it's more so like 25 from the scoring, 25, 27, so one of those two. That's not bad. But again, his mismatch, him being a mismatch, does help with that too. But a complete player, I can understand somebody wanting to choose a complete player like LeBron James over a bucket getter. But how is that bucket getter viewed? So again, ladies and gentlemen, I'm just breaking down what I view as a complete player versus a bucket getter. And we used NBA as an

WNBA Bucket Getters And Two-Way Greats

SPEAKER_00 6:28

example. Now let's use WMB as an example. Because it kind of still gets interesting, right? If you're using bucket getters, we could talk about Diana Tarossi, DT. Some people view her as the GOAT. And we know that when she had them buckets, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, they were crucial plays. All right, if you took away the three, she can get you from the midi. If you gave her the midi, or if you took away the mini, she can get you from the three. She could drive the ball. And she also played solid defense, too. Elite could be another discussion, but I may give it to her. You may sound biased, but I'll give it to her. Like she's a complete player as well, too, but she's also a definitive bucket getter. Another bucket getter I could consider is Maya Moore. Although, again, this is a complete player to me. She played elite on both ends of the court. Like, you gotta respect their games. Mitty, again, she was stellar. Three-pointer, he man, she can hit that thing too. Like, what literally could these players not do on the offensive end? So you gotta label them at minimum as a bucket getter. But I say complete player because, again, it's similar to the NBA. They kind of mess up the mold for me. If I'm thinking of a complete of an offensive-minded player solely, I gotta think of someone like Caitlin Clark. She doesn't really play good defense. Hell, she gets sought out after, matter of fact. But not a knock on her. Well, I guess I do knock her from time to time when I'm comparing her other players. But just her game? No, I don't knock it. Could she give more effort? Maybe. On the defensive end specifically. But she also has a lot to worry about on the offensive end, too. So I also get it from a strategic from a strategic perspective. But bucket getter, though, maybe I need to see a little bit more efficiency out of Caitlin on a consistent basis. I hear you. I hear you. What about DT? What about Kobe? What about they weren't the most efficient? Heard you. But when y'all say that Caitlin gets double teamed a lot, yeah, no. Like them players got double teamed a lot. They had a lot more focus on them. Caitlin don't get double teamed as much as people want to make it out to be. Because then when we flip the script and go to the other players, we act like they don't get double teamed ever. And I think it's somewhere in the middle. All players actually get double teamed kind of decently. I've seen Olivia Miles get double-teamed. I've seen Paige Beckers get double teamed. I've seen Sabrina Inescu get double-teamed. All players get doubles. Brianna Stewart, Asia Wilson. Like all players get doubled, ladies and gentlemen. So again, when I'm thinking of offensive-minded players, bucket getters, I can consider a Caitlin Clark. Easily. But let's flip it,

Caitlin Clark Talk And Double Teams

SPEAKER_00 9:02

though. Right, because I gave you complete players. How about offensive-minded players? How about complete players like Asia Wilson? Now, again, I told you all some other complete players too. But Asia is gotta, she gotta be a complete player, bro. She literally just won, what was it? MVP, Co-DPoy, Finals MVP, and won the championship. That's the first player. Oh, oh, oh. And the scoring title. That's the first player in WNBA history to do all that. That's gotta, like, if that's not complete, I don't know what is. How about someone like Brandon Stewart? Stewie's gotta be a complete player, bro. Because she can score just as well as Asia, rebound slightly less than Asia, I'll give you that. But she got good length, can play make probably better than Asia, actually. And then defensively, she got good length. So she matches up there too, even though Asia could be the better defender. But complete player nonetheless. And when I'm looking at these players, I don't know, bro. Like, I'm thinking the offensive-minded players, if I'm just looking at Caitlin, I don't know if I'd take her over the others. I don't. I really don't, but maybe if who would I rather have? DT over Asia Wilson. That's the possibility, actually. And again, I'm I'm bringing up DT just because if I'm lowering her elite defense, just good defense. You know what I'm saying? That's why that's why I'm trying to help my case out. Because again, I told you, ladies and gentlemen, it gets interesting.

College Legends And Championship Profiles

SPEAKER_00 10:30

How about in college basketball? It applies too. We got a couple examples like Pete Merovich for bucket getters. Pete was one of them ones. We're talking about scoring, offensive potency. Yeah. He's up there. And again, let's spin the block back with Caitlin Clark because this is where her efficiency actually was solid. It was cool. She was getting a bucket quite often. So I can't be too mad at that. But then when we think about complete players, again, let's spend the block back with Brianna Stewart. Because this is somebody who's won four national championships, four final four most outstanding player awards. That's a complete player, ladies and gentlemen. She's one of them ones. And I I get you, she went to UConn. It don't matter. She dominated freshman through senior year complete player. So when we're talking about ladies and gentlemen, who would you rather build your team around? Get a bucket or bucketeers or complete player.

Coaching View And Team Engine Players

SPEAKER_00 11:39

This even applies to when I'm coaching Special Olympics, honestly. And I'm gonna talk about my team and some teams that I've actually analyzed. It's nice when your player can score, when you have a player that can score consistently. But it's better when there's a player on your team that can almost do everything else. Because to be honest with you, they're putting a lot of pressure then on the opposition. So if I'm using a player and they are my best defender, right? Like they're getting blocks, they're creating fast breaks, and other players are just able to shoot and knock down shots. That's the engine that's driving my team, ladies and gentlemen, the person who's creating all these shots. So that's my most valuable player on my own team. So I mean, I don't know if y'all are peeping the trend right now, but I may be viewing complete players better than I do bucket bucket getters. But also, what if you're viewing complete players as like scorers and playmakers? Because people talk about complete when they focus on well, they might even throw rebounding in there too. Because you know, all the triple-double means you're a complete player. Not necessarily, not necessarily. It may just mean you have a good amount of energy to expend on the court, like that could be a possibility. Or you're just a solid playmaker and scorer and rebounder, but maybe you slacking off on the defensive end. So I wouldn't view you as a complete player personally. So even in Special Olympics, ladies and gentlemen, the complete player might get the nod over the bucket getter for me. Like, think about which skill set is harder to replicate? Like, how often are you able to just hand someone the basketball and say take me to the promised land? We don't always see that. We don't. Like, we've seen instances for sure. We've seen glimpses, but on a consistent basis, ladies and gentlemen, we don't see that typically. Saw it in Cove, saw it in Jordan. Players like that. SGA trying to make a case for himself. And he's brought in the championship so we can throw him into this conversation. Could we throw Luca in there? Someone like Luca, maybe. And I hear you. What about Donovan Mitchell can get a bucket too, offensive minded. But if I'm thinking about the scoring players like that, like Donovan Mitchell, I'd probably rather have a complete player. Like I personally have Jalen Brown over Donovan Mitchell. Because Jalen Brown's more of a complete player to me than Donovan Mitchell is. Same thing with Devin Booker. I think Devin Booker's more of a complete player than Donovan Mitchell is. No disrespect. That's just how I see the game. And again, which one's harder to replicate? Well, Donovan has has gotten off there. I'll give him that. So has D Book, and so has Jalen Brown. So from a scoring perspective, it's probably easier to replicate than a complete player. Because I mean, defensively, who the hell is Donovan gonna stop on a consistent basis? But like the man's 6'2. You know what I'm saying? Like sometimes stuff like that matters. So if you can find someone who is a complete player that does check off a lot of checkboxes, great. But if you do find that one guy or woman who's able to get a bucket under any circumstance, like how we saw Kobe or Jordan or Diana Tarossi or Maya Moore, if you can see players like that, I I say get them. Because they also, again, break the code. All of them are complete players, ladies and gentlemen. Every single last one of them. Elena Deladon, I'd say she's a complete player. A little bit more offensive-minded, but again, a complete player. Like you tell me a player that you're thinking about, and I'll tell you how whether I view them as a complete player or a bucket getter. And again, there are certain players that are both. So which one has more value, right?

Final Verdict And Your Franchise Pick

SPEAKER_00 15:51

I think we got to consider the fact that, you know, how do they play in playoffs? How do they play during the regular season? What's the consistency like? Ladies and gentlemen, the one that has the most value for me is the complete player. But again, if you find that bucket getter that does not have any issue, that has all the confidence in the world and can back it up, I'm gonna say go with the bucket getter too. Because again, that's the name of the game. Get a bucket. So that's my breakdown, ladies and gentlemen. But I'm curious, once y'all get a bucket verdict. Like, do you prefer the bucket getter or the complete player? Like, if you're starting a franchise tomorrow, who you taking? Again, I like the complete player. But if I'm being honest with you, my complete player sometimes includes it, sometimes encompasses those bucket getters. Not the mismatches, the bucket getters. So again, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of this episode. But, you know, please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.