EWB Best of 2010’s: (16) 2015 Odell Beckham Jr. vs. (17) 2010-11 Amare Stoudemire
By Kyle Morello
Our next match of the Empire Writes Back best seasons of the 2010’s tournament features 16th seeded 2015 Odell Beckham Jr. vs the 17th seed, 2010-11 Amare Stoudemire.
Up next in the tournament is (16) 2015 Odell Beckham Jr. vs (17) Amare Stoudemire. This is arguably my favorite matchup of the entire tournament, so let’s get right into it.
First, let’s take a look at the season that Amar’e Stoudemire had for the New York Knicks in 2010-11.
After signing a 5 year/$99.7 million contract with the Knicks that July, Stoudemire kicked off his Knicks career proving that he deserved such a luxurious contract. He averaged 25.3 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game, and 1.9 blocks per game while averaging 36.8 minutes a game. He also shot 50.2% from the field on 19 shots a game while accumulating 8 win shares for that year’s Knicks team.
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His efforts that season propelled him to a top-10 finish in the MVP voting finishing 9th in a year that saw Derrick Rose take home the award. In addition, he was also named to the Eastern Conference all-star team, which was the sixth all-star appearance of his career.
Stoudemire was a revelation for the Knicks and their fans, as the team hadn’t see a player perform like that with a team that saw success since the team last made the playoffs in the 2003-04 season.
Even playing alongside Carmelo Anthony the second half of the year, Stoudemire was the main reason that team made ended their playoff drought. This season that Stoudemire produced was one of the best seasons we’ve seen from a Knick in a long time and it should not go unnoticed.
However, there is still one more player in this matchup who also crazy good season.
The season Odell Beckham Jr. put together in 2015 for the New York Giants was downright sensational.
Coming off a year that saw him take home NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, Beckham Jr. put together an even better season in year two. He caught 96 passes on158 targets for 1,450 yards and 13 touchdowns in 15 games in 2015. The wide receiver also averaged 96.7 yards per game and 15.1 yards per reception.
All of these impressive stats resulted in his second career pro bowl appearance.
The 2015 season was Beckham Jr’s best of his young career, which is impressive in its own right considering the fact that he is on pace already to be enshrined in Canton one day.
This is one of the toughest matchups of the opening round of the tournament, which makes sense given how close they are seeded to one each other.
However, I would have to give the nod to Stoudemire here.
While Beckham Jr’s season was outstanding, Stoudemire was a borderline MVP and that’s what makes the difference for me. I understand that it’s harder for a wide receiver to win MVP or even Offensive Player of the Year in the NFL, Beckham Jr. wasn’t even in the conversation.
Who do you think wins this matchup? Let us know by voting on Twitter, @empirewritesbck, and leave comment if you have an opinion of your own on this matchup or any future or past ones, too.
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