Jason Kidd doesn't buy it one bit.
He's been there.
He knows the exact temperature of the competitive fire that burns between high-profile, extensively hyped lottery picks who carry the burden of overwhelming expectations from college into the NBA.
He's heard Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, the top two picks from this year's draft, speak with maturity beyond their respective 19-year-old perspectives in downplaying a rivalry entering their first NBA regular-season matchup Wednesday. Both insist one hasn't kept track -- other than an occasional TV highlight -- of the other's development through their first erratic month of NBA indoctrination.
"I've just focused on getting better with my team," said Wiggins, picked No. 1 by Cleveland but traded before the season to Minnesota in a deal that sent Kevin Love to join LeBron James with the Cavaliers.
"I don't watch [Wiggins], nah, not really. But I respect him," said Parker, picked second by Milwaukee.
But Kidd, in his first season coaching the surprising Bucks, knows better.
It was exactly 20 years ago when Kidd and Grant Hill were selected second and third in the 1994 draft and went on to become, at the time, only the second duo in league history to be named NBA co-rookies of the year. They both played for different teams and even retired just days apart in 2013. And between their rookie seasons and the year they retired, not many days passed when one didn't monitor the other's progress.
"Regardless of what they may say now, there's a friendly competition, and that's healthy," Kidd said of Wiggins and Parker. "It's good when you look throughout the league. It's the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson kind of situation. And if you want to be in that elite company, you always look at the guy you maybe got drafted with or compared to, so maybe you can stay on pace or maybe try to do better."
The Bucks (8-7) visit the Timberwolves (3-9) in the first of two regular-season meetings between Wiggins and Parker, who both have flashed the once-in-a-decade talent that essentially had nearly half the NBA's teams tanking, er, creatively maneuvering for years in advance to land a shot to draft them.
But they've hardly been dominant from day one.
Wiggins is averaging 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 28.8 minutes for the Timberwolves, who have seen a recent surge in his production the past three games after recent injuries to leading scorer Kevin Martin (wrist) and facilitator Ricky Rubio (ankle) forced the freakishly athletic swingman to be more assertive.
"I sense some," Wiggins said of the urgency and outside pressure to deliver immediately. "I know people want me to do everything right now. But for me, it's a long season. Hopefully, I'll be around for a while, so in time I can do what I have to do. I don't know how long it's going to take. I just go out there and play hard and try to do things to help my team win right now. When I get the opportunity, I try my best."
There have been plenty of learning opportunities amid all of the losing, with Minnesota's last seven games decided by double-figure margins. But Wiggins has taken at least 13 shots in each of the last three games and is coming off his best performance after finishing with 29 points on 9-of-22 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists and a block in 41 minutes during a loss to Sacramento.
That surge came a little more than a week after Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders addressed the challenge his staff has had in preventing Wiggins from drifting into disappearing acts during games.
"I think like most rookies so far, he's had times where he's been spectacular and he's had times where he's had what you call wasted minutes, when you hardly notice him on the floor," Saunders said. "So we're trying to eliminate those wasted minutes and turn those into productive minutes."
Kidd has faced a similar process with Parker in Milwaukee, which like Minnesota boasts one of the youngest rosters in the league. Parker is one of three 19-year-olds with the Bucks and Wiggins is one of two players that age who are starting in Minnesota.
Parker is averaging 11.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 29.4 minutes a game for the Bucks, who are already more than halfway to eclipsing their win total from last season, when they posted a league-worst 15-67 record. Whereas injuries sped up the process and granted Wiggins extended opportunities to play through those stretches of empty minutes, there are still times Kidd takes the opposite approach and curtails Parker's playing time late in games to aid in his development.
Before Minnesota's rash of injuries, Saunders would simply replace Wiggins with veteran Corey Brewer in key stretches of tight games when he felt the rookie was overwhelmed. Not anymore.
In Milwaukee, Kidd has the luxury of a healthy roster and interchangeable parts at the forward spots, with Ersan Ilyasova, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jared Dudley and Khris Middleton all rotating with Parker.
"Fans want a player to play, but sometimes it's key to see what it takes to observe, to be able to learn from watching," Kidd said of how he's handled Parker's playing time. "Jabari maybe has sat some, but he won't sit every fourth quarter. He's going to be in a lot of positions to impact the game. But hopefully from watching and talking in those moments, he'll understand what he has to do to be successful."
Perhaps no lessons were more prudent for Wiggins and Parker than the collective NBA crash course they endured on Nov. 8 late in games separated by 1,400 miles.
Wiggins was in Miami, assigned to defend Dwyane Wade in the fourth quarter of a close game. Wade, an 11-time All-Star, three-time champion and future Hall of Famer, seized on the matchup. He scored in isolation on Wiggins with a turnaround jumper on one possession. Miami sealed the game when Wade slipped past Wiggins and through a trap near the free throw line and darted down the lane for a dunk.
A week earlier, Wiggins made a crucial mistake in the final seconds when he fouled Chicago guard Jimmy Butler, whose free throws secured a 106-105 win by the Bulls. In the next game, Wiggins bounced back to shut down Brooklyn leading scorer Joe Johnson in the fourth quarter in a 98-91 win against the Nets.
After the final buzzer sounded in the loss to the Heat, Wiggins was walking back toward his team's bench when Wade called him over and wrapped his left arm around the rookie's shoulder.
"As you go through this rookie year, try not to get discouraged," Wade told Wiggins at midcourt. "There's going to be some tough times, but try to stay with it. If you want to be great, then put in the work and you can be it."
Wiggins walked off the court smiling in defeat. He would later tell reporters that it was one of the most motivating moments he's had as he tries to find his way through the NBA.
"I haven't put a stamp on where I want my game to be. ... I don't know who you'll see because I haven't really gotten that far yet," Wiggins said. "Right now, it's just about trying to get better every game. I watch everybody and tried to take bits and pieces from everybody."
That same night, Parker was in Milwaukee being schooled down low by Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph, whose combination of strength, experience and positioning created an overwhelming obstacle as he finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. But Kidd shifted the defensive assignment late in the game to Antetokounmpo, whose length and athleticism slowed Randolph down the stretch.
The Bucks won 93-92 to hand the Grizzlies their first loss of the season. Parker had 13 points and four rebounds but watched key stretches from the bench. He learned a lasting lesson about the confidence and relentlessness needed to survive at his position in the league.
"It's going to be every day that I'm going to have to play against a person like Z-Bo [Randolph]," Parker said. "It's going to be a guy every night that's probably been in the league a long time or has been an All-Star. So it's motivation each and every game. You have to learn to be prepared for that. I'm trying to learn as fast as possible, really being involved in scouting reports so I won't be cut again like that again."
There's very little sympathy in the league for fledgling phenoms.
Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris was on a team that lost 59 games last season and put itself firmly in the sweepstakes for Wiggins and Parker but ended up with the fourth overall pick. Harris then faced both players during a seven-day stretch in early November and saw what the fuss was all about, despite Wiggins and Parker each finishing with just six points against the Magic.
Harris' assessment was not unlike that of many seasoned NBA scouts and executives. He believes Parker has more confidence right now and a wider skill set but that Wiggins has the higher potential ceiling.
"It's tough because anybody would put pressure on the first two picks from a draft that was talked about for two years before it even happened," said Harris, who averaged 21.5 points and 13 rebounds in his two matchups with Wiggins and Parker. "And if you have that type of pressure, it can be a blessing and a curse. Both of those guys have the right mental state to make this work. You can see the learning process when you're matched up against them. This is the NBA. You've going to learn first, and you've got to learn fast."
After a month of crash course lessons in the league, Wiggins and Parker now get their first face-to-face chance to measure progress.