I covered the five new MyTeam Moments cards here. If you just want my quick and dirty thoughts on them, then just head there to read up on them. However, if you want reviews for diamond Kelly Oubre Jr., amethyst Caris LeVert and ruby Furkan Korkmaz, then read on.
Diamond Kelly Oubre Jr. Review
HOF Badges: Relentless Finisher, Consistent Finisher, Contact Finisher, Pro Touch, Difficult Shots, Tireless Shooter, Catch and Shoot, Green Machine, Slippery Off-Ball, Volume Shooter, Flexible Release, Pogo Stick
Gold Badges (include): Clamps, Pick Dodger, Chase Down Artist, Off-Ball Pest, Tireless Defender, Quick First Step, Corner Specialist, Deadeye, Quick Draw, Range Extender, Giant Slayer
Attributes: 95 3-point shooting, 95 driving layup, 90 driving dunk, 86 ball handling, 87 speed with ball, 90 help defense, 93 lateral quickness, 89 perimeter defense, 87 blocking, 89 steal, 84 defensive rebounding
Analysis: Oubre Jr’s amethyst and ruby Moments cards have both had their fans, and it’s because he fits into the mold of a “budget” 3-and-D option. The same case applies here, he’s just moving up the food chain into diamond status to try and keep up with the power creep. He will remain in the “budget” tier because there’s just so many good elite wings, but his same strengths and weaknesses apply.
For me, Oubre Jr. has never been my go-to 3-and-D option over the likes of Jonathan Isaac or De’Andre Hunter because he has some bad offensive animations. On top of that, his size is not anything crazy so I expect a little more out of his offense. The problem is he’s a bit of a suspect dribbler. So while his speed is great, he’s hurt by the dribbling animations. The same overall concept still applies here. In other words, if you were not sold on Oubre Jr. before, then this card is not going to be the one that does it for you.
Oh, and his lefty release is still money, and you’re going to get greens for days in the corner with him.
Amethyst Caris LeVert Review
HOF Badges: Relentless Finisher, Contact FInisher, Cross-Key Scorer, Difficult Shots, Catch and Shoot, Green Machine
Gold Badges (include): Quick First Step, Corner Specialist, Quick Draw, Range Extender, Flexible Release, Pro Touch
Attributes: 95 3-point shooting, 85 driving layup, 80 driving dunk, 86 ball handling, 85 speed with ball, 84 lateral quickness, 85 perimeter defense
Analysis: LeVert doesn’t have Clamps, so you know from the start he’s sort of already out as a starter even on budget teams. But this card is interesting because it’s the first new Caris card we have received all year. So since this was my first time scoping him out, I was just curious to see how he felt. I came away mostly negative on him. He has some solid dribble moves, and he’s a 6-foot-7 SG, which is great, but he feels a little stiff.
On top of that, his shot is slow. It’s an easy shot to read and green, but it’s not going to be one you can really do a lot with off the bounce. So even if LeVert did get an unrealistic boost to his defense, he still would not be too viable to me because his animations rule him out overall. Still, happy to see the updated card in the player pool now.
Ruby Furkan Kormaz Review
HOF Badges: Tireless Shooter, Catch and Shoot, Range Extender, Volume Shooter
Gold Badges (include): Space Creator, Difficult Shots, Deadeye, Green Machine, Hot Zone Hunter, Quick Draw, Slippery Off-Ball, Flexible Release
Attributes: 96 3-point shooting, 88 driving layup, 80 driving dunk, 86 ball handling, 80 speed with ball, 80 help defense, 84 lateral quickness, 79 perimeter defense
Analysis: Like LeVert, this is the first new Korkmaz card we have received this year. However, also like LeVert, Furkan does not have Clamps. However, he’s at least a ruby so he can actually be placed on a lower overall team if you want to go that route for a bit. On top of that, he’s 6-foot-7 and man is his shot delicious. I had a lot of success with Korkmaz last year when knocking out Domination games, and he’s still a fantastic shooter in-game this year.
Shooting is essentially all he can do, but he’ll get up for a dunk more than a lot of the other one-dimensional shooters you might be bringing in off the bench to hit some open shots. In no way is Korkmaz some sleeper of a pick, but he has one elite skill and will fit nicely into that box if you want a tall shooting guard off the bench. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of the earlier versions of Buddy Hield as well. Hield finally got a diamond with gold Clamps, which made him usable, but before that he was a one-dimensional sniper with no defense. Korkmaz can take that role, and he’s got some added height to help him stand out even a bit more.
