The Shaun Livingston Pipeline: Big Creators and Anthony Black
Written by Coach Jesse Bender
A commonality noticed at the top of recent NBA drafts has been creation. Creation is a broad term that can apply to every basketball player: the ability to create a shot for themselves or their teammates. It's how offense is played. It makes sense to use high draft capital on players with a skillset that can potentially one day dictate your entire offense or contribute to it on a high level. This hasn’t always been the case in the draft. If we go back 10 years to 2012, the 2nd overall pick was Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a wonderful defender who was famously awful on offense. He never had a season his entire career with an Offensive Box Plus/Minus over 0.2, his rookie year. A pattern inside that pattern has emerged in the last 6 years, exploded in 2021 and is about to have a big moment in 2023 with the arrival of Anthony Black. That is the evolution of the Big Creator.
Prospects in the mold of point forwards like LeBron James have long been a fascination of NBA fans. In 2016, we saw Ben Simmons drafted #1 overall, followed by Brandon Ingram at #2. Simmons has played exclusively as a Point Guard in his career thus far, while Ingram has ranked in the 72nd percentile as a P&R Ball Handler last season. In 2017, Jayson Tatum was taken 3rd overall; he has ranked in the 88th percentile for the aforementioned metric. 2018 brought on the closest replica in Luka Doncic. 2019 brought Zion who is undefinable but definitely qualifies as a point forward. 2020 gave us 6’8” LaMelo Ball.
The renaissance began here in 2021 with Cade Cunningham, who was famously assumed to be 6’8” during his high school and college time but only measured at 6’6” at the combine. However, he still qualifies for this list due to his plus-6 wingspan. Furthermore, three players taken later in the lottery represent this archetype better, and all achieved great success in their rookie years. Those players are Scottie Barnes, Josh Giddey, and Franz Wagner. Barnes, the Rookie of the Year winner, ranked in the top 10 in Points Per Possession as the Ball Handler in Pick & Roll situations. Giddey averaged 9.9 assists per 100 possessions. Wagner has shown his growth in creation this summer in Eurocup and carried that over into the early season for the Magic where he seems to be the nominal PG (they recently started Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr., Bol Bol and Terrence Ross).
The 2022 draft’s top player could join these ranks. The aforementioned Banchero had 16 games with over 4 assists at Duke last season. In his first 8 NBA games, he has achieved that number 4 times. Picks 2 through 4 have a chance to a lesser extent; Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., and Keegan Murray will all get opportunities to hone their creations abilities. However, it would be pretty unexpected if any of them became “point forwards.” The next most likely player in that realm may be Jeremy Sochan, the Spurs’ 9th pick, who is most likely not going to be considered a high end creator but showed flashes at Baylor of initiating the offense competently from the 4 or the 5.
That brings us to 2023. Much ballyhoo-ed because of the successful scrimmage between the top two prospects, there isn’t much more to be written of Victor Wembanyama, who you could absolutely argue is an ultra big creator.
The twins, from Overtime Elite, Amen & Ausar Thompson are the obvious heirs to this line of succession. There has been great coverage of these prospects on the internet thanks to the accessibility of their film. Both are athletic forces, perhaps the most athletic prospects since LeBron himself. Both have shown high level playmaking skills and are able to make reads and see angles that would be impossible to normal basketball players that they make possible with their long arms and freak of nature jumping ability. It's still not entirely clear as far as who will wind up the better player or the higher draft pick, although Amen seems to be pulling away from his brother.
The prospect that is just as prototypical as the Thompsons but is being ranked behind them consistently is Arkansas’ Anthony Black. German born, freakishly fast floppy headed madness, think Giddey meets Zach LaVine. Black is 6’7'' with a massive wingspan that has yet to be officially measured. An insane quick twitch jumper, he uses his athleticism all over the court, whether it’s pinning the ball against the backboard ferociously on defense or throwing down perfectly timed put backs on offense. He is a master of hit-ahead passes, many coaches’ favorite skill. Since Black is faster than most guards, he eats up space in transition and draws the attention of every defender working hard enough to get back on defense, then utilizes his gravity to find perfect counter passes, dump-offs to trailers, kickouts to shooters, or lobs with perfect timing and placement. He played high school ball for Duncanville where he won 3 state titles in a row. He will be playing on a Razorback roster loaded with NBA talent, including one of the early season favorites for 3rd best prospect in this class, Nick Smith JR. Black will have plenty of opportunities to run the show for Arkansas. Let’s take a look at some of his highlights playing in the FIBA U18s.
AB is a master in transition, pushing the pace and finding teammates in a plethora of ways. He is a preternatural lob thrower. When he is on the court, the pace of the game goes through him.
The competition level in FIBA at this level certainly leaves something to be desired defensively. Black picks apart defenses, always knowing where the next pass is.
Watch him turn nothing into something before you can blink.
Of course, Black wouldn’t be considered a top prospect if he could ONLY pass. Black is an ambidextrous finisher with soft touch on floaters. He also has an array of one-on-one moves with pretty polished footwork.
Black certainly understands how space develops and more importantly how to exploit it.
His jumpshot is inferior, with definitely a ton of unnecessary movement. Despite that, Black has shown a willingness to shoot and under professional shot doctors could certainly turn into a steady shooter. A determined work ethic paired with his touch bodes well for the future.
Defensively, Black dominates opposing guards with his size and athleticism. His defense on the ball is smothering; he will follow his man around like an 180 pound labradoodle that thinks it’s a lapdog, and as soon as his man thinks he has a moment, boom! The dog is eating his lunch.
Always a fan of a player that can turn defense into offense, which AB does here without a dribble.
This poor guard from Ecuador had no chance. Love the way he stands there watching the results transpire before his eyes.
Okay I made you watch passing and defense, have a dunk.
With the College Basketball season approaching, teams are having their Not So Secret Scrimmages, and Arkansas hosted Rogers State, a Division 2 team. This opportunity blessed us with a preview of hopefully what is to come this season with this talented team
Maybe this steal + lob is his signature move?
I’ll leave the last clip with no words for your enjoyment.
Eric Musselman will have the young Razorbacks playing very fast-paced, which will fit Black’s style perfectly, clearly. Their depth chart is loaded with talent, however Black and Smith Jr. seem to be the only guards guaranteed to be in the rotation. That’s probably for the best, not sure if you want the ball in anyone else's hands. It remains to be seen how proficient Black is going to be at running a half court offense against Division 1 defense, a large leap from the talent level seen in the clips, and that he faced in high school. How will he manage more advanced pick and roll defense and more capable defenders? How will he guard players that he doesn’t physically and athletically outmatch? The questions seem large but the evidence on and off the court point in the direction of positive outcomes.
Black is everything you want from a big guard. Ability to read 2nd and 3rd line of defense? Check. Point of attack defense? Got it. Control and quarterback a team? (3 rings) Please. Punish smaller opponents with strength and length? Absolutely. Ability to create shots for himself and others? After all this, are you really questioning it?
Along with Black and the Thompsons, there are a few dark horses in the 2023 class for this distinction. Baba Miller, a Spanish native who played for Real Madrid last season, will play his freshman year for Florida State. He’s a massive 6’11”, but an absolute Poku-level twig at 204 lbs. His jump shot also needs work, but he has shown a great handle and passing touch for his size. GG Jackson, the #1 player in the 2023 class who reclassified to join South Carolina, is very hard to define. He’s massive in size and is adept as a playfinisher from the dunker spot and off cuts. He also loves to face up and take his defender off the dribble and even shoot it from the perimeter. He’s included on this list because he reportedly had reps in a scrimmage as the point guard. The same report mentioned he struggled. Dayton frosh Mike Sharavjamts warrants a mention, 6’9” who seems to not physically be able to look in the direction he is passing. Mongolian Mike is a must watch, but he may spend multiple years in college as he adds strength to his frame.
It's easy to see why NBA teams would be enamored with this archetype. At the end of the day basketball is a game of creating and exploiting advantages over your opponent. A big creator allows for a few advantages that are extremely difficult to prepare for. A larger player at a traditionally smaller position forces a mismatch on both sides of the courts. Adding a second playmaker to a lineup in a non-lead guard role, allows flexibility offensively while not sacrificing size or versatility defensively. This trend isn’t dying anytime soon. The best player in high school basketball, 2025’s Cam Boozer, will certainly join this group one day as big creators that were drafted #1 overall. This year, with Wembenyama that may not be the case for Anthony Black or the other players discussed. Nevertheless, Black’s combination of skill and size, plus feel and attitude should bring him to hear his name called early on draft night.
