MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY
Jose Altuve is the biggest star in this huge city.
James Harden just topped LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry for NBA MVP.
Which means my esteemed, wine-drinking colleague Dale Robertson is wrong yet again. And there’s no way Deshaun Watson should be at the top of the 2018 “Houston 10.”
Watson could be The One. But what he is at this moment is a second-year quarterback who started just six games and only played in seven for one of the worst teams in Texans history.
If Watson leads this city’s professional football team to the promised land for the first time on Kirby Drive, I’ll gladly jump DW4 over Altuve and Harden, all the way up to No. 1.
Right now, I honestly felt a little weird locking in the (incredibly promising and fanfriendly) 22-year-old QB at No. 6 on my Chronicle’s annual top-10 list.
The debate continues
Influential. Consequential. Simply the best.
Ever since Robertson dreamed up this list — the first arrived a few months before I started covering what would become the 111-loss 2013 Astros — we’ve struggled to determine exactly what the Houston 10 should be.
Even though J.J. Watt has only played eight games the last two seasons, I swear that ol’ No. 99 is the most recognizable athletic face and name in Houston, and one of the city’s greatest national (and international) products.
But Altuve just received more fan votes than any player in Major League Baseball, becoming the first athlete in Astros history to be named most popular for the annual All-Star Game.
The Beard? Harden’s image is instantly known on T-shirts, billboards, TV commercials and bags of neon gummy worms. Considering that Altuve and Harden will forever be known as MVPs, there’s no way Watt can even crack the Houston 10’s top five, despite the incredibly famous Texan being the reigning NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year for all of his Hurricane Harvey relief efforts and a trophy case that features three AP Defensive Player of the Year awards from 2012-15.
Watt still would top the list in almost every other sports city. In Houston during the year 2018, he’s No. 8 on mine and, like Watson’s placement, it felt odd placing him that high.
Football is always king
Because of America, Texas and football, the Texans are the biggest thing in Houston. But the Astros are reigning World Series champs, possess six All-Stars, drive the daily summer chatter and are set up for another long playoff run once October rolls around.
Justin Verlander, somehow, is overshadowed. Alex Bregman is currently the top Astro with a bat in hand, yet there was no way I could fit him in this “Houston 10.” That’s how wonderfully overloaded this city’s sports scene has become in 2018. And let’s be honest: It’s never been this good before.
DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Hinch, Jadeveon Clowney, Carlos Correa, Mike D’Antoni, George Springer, Tilman Fertitta and Ed Oliver deserve spots.
Hey, Dale: How about the “Houston 20?”
General managers ( Jeff Luhnow, Daryl Morey) matter in this city. New guy Brian Gaine is going to have to guide the Texans to a playoff win — harder than it sounds when you were 4-12 the season before — just to have a shot at reaching the bottom of next year’s list.
Chris Paul was the Rockets’ best player before his hamstring betrayed him in the Western Conference finals. He’s No. 5 in 2018, sliding behind Verlander — the arm that propelled the Astros to their first World Series title — and two spots above the Rockets’ GM, who might be on the verge of forming a make-or-break Big Three: Harden, Paul, Carmelo Anthony.
Jim Crane has a championship ring to go along with all his big-city moving and shaking.
O’B Wan Kenobi
Bill O’Brien is coming off his worst record as an NFL coach. But no one — and I mean no one — drives the local sports conversation like good ol’ O’B from August through December. Make it to late January and then we can really talk.
Hopkins has become one of the premier receivers in pro football. He should be higher.
Oliver could be one of the biggest names in the college game in a few months.
But that’s just how oversaturated Houston has become. What a beautiful thing it is. It’s also time for a Houston 20.