The data doesn't lie|The two successors recognized by Jandukudu: one is like a fire and the other is like a piece of ice

James is 39 years old, Durant is 35 years old, and Curry is almost 36 years old. With the day of retirement getting closer, who can be the face of the league's future? At the 2024 All-Star Weekend, the question was put in front of the three superstars, and they also gave their own answers.

Durant mentioned the most, with six stars listed as his successor in the league, including Alexander, Edwards, Booker, Doncic, Maxey and Haliburton.

Curry mentioned Alexander, Edwards and Doncic, and the two players James explicitly mentioned who could take over the torch were Alexander and Edwards (note: James later praised Tatum and Doncic as good, but did not call them successors)

So the future faces of the alliance who are recognized by Janduku at the same time are Edwards and Alexander. These two young men, one like a fire, the other like a block of ice.

Edwards: A new generation of wolf kings

At this year's All-Star Game, Edwards scored just four points, the lowest among the 12 All-Star players in the West. Interestingly, his Timberwolves teammate Towns scored a game-high 50 points. The head coach of the Western Conference All-Star is Finch of the Timberwolves, and maybe Towns is playing so hard, and he is embarrassed to put Edwards on the court for a long time. Edwards played just 12 minutes in the All-Star Game and played just more minutes than Kapepper.

However, being able to be recognized by all three superstars at the same time makes Edwards naturally special. He is an extremely confident young man, and in the All-Star interview, when asked who is the best player in the league right now, Edwards replied decisively: "I!" When it comes to the Timberwolves' goals this season, Edwards makes no secret of his ambitions. "We want to say loud — we want the league and the world to know that we're not a team that can win a few games in the regular season and not play in the playoffs, and we're going to stay in contention for a championship. ”

Edwards' talent has been recognized by Janduku at the same time. The NBA official listed some of his relevant stats before the All-Star break-

For one, this is his fourth season, and with each passing year, his points per game and assists per game numbers are improving. In his rookie season, Edwards averaged 19.3 points and 2.9 assists per game, became 21.3 points and 3.8 assists per game in his second year, 24.6 points and 4.4 assists per game in his third year, and has averaged 26.3 points and 5.3 assists per game so far this season.

Second, Edwards' true shooting percentage is also increasing year by year, with 52.3 percent in his rookie season, 56 percent in his second year, 56.4 percent in his third year, and 59.1 percent so far this season.

Third, Edwards has become one of five players who are averaging at least 2.5 three-pointers and at least 5.5 free throws per game (the other four being Doncic, Trae Young, Tatum and Lillard). He shot 33.6 percent from the free-throw line and 84.0 percent from the free-throw line. All are career highs.

Edwards is only 22 years old, and the possibilities for his future are endless. He's like a fire, it burns more and more.

Alexander: A low-key supergiant

If Edwards is like a fire, then Alexander is like a piece of ice. Alexander was named to the All-Star team last season, but he was undoubtedly the most low-profile of the team. Alexander, who has become one of the supergiants, has maintained a first-class offensive level while defending better, and overall, he has played better than last season, but he is as low-key as ever.

In this year's All-Star Game, Alexander scored 31 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, shooting 12 of 16 and 7 of 10 three-pointers. So far this season, Alexander has played 53 regular-season games and scored 30+ points 39 times, ranking first in the league in the number of times. He averaged 31.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 54.6% from the field, and his assists, steals and shooting percentages per game were all career highs, including the highest number of steals in the league.

Under such a strong individual performance, he is a very low-key character, and he and Edwards are like two extremes. Former NBA star Marbury recently called Alexander Canada's best player of all time, and Alexander's response was: "I'm thankful he said that. But Nash is still ahead of me, I'll try to catch up with him, he's still ahead of me now. ”

The NBA's official website also gave some relevant data about Alexander before the All-Star break-

For one, Alexander's breakthroughs have been very sharp, averaging 23.9 breakthroughs per game so far this season, leading the league for the fourth consecutive year.

Second, Alexander's cumulative plus/minus is the third highest in the league, and when he is on the floor, the Thunder outscore their opponents by 402 points. When he was on the court, the Thunder won the opponent by 10.3 points in 100 rounds, and when he was not on the court, the Thunder lost by 0.4 points in 100 rounds, and the difference between the two was 10.7 points.

Third, so far this season, Alexander's steals per game (2.2) and interceptions per game (3.6) are the league's first.

Alexander is a bit more mature and reserved than Edwards, who is also 3 years older than Edwards. It is worth mentioning that the two have not only faced each other in the NBA, but also on the World Cup stage.

Will the two new stars of the league who have been recognized by Janduku at the same time really become the face of the future of the NBA? Who is the ideal candidate in everyone's heart? Welcome to leave a message to express your opinions.