Bringing this here after a discussion I had recently where I was surprised at the difference of opinion. The question that was posed is which player at their peak would you argue was better?
Garnett was better on defense than Giannis. Garnett also had a jumper. Giannis' career isn't over yet, but if Giannis retired today, Garnett was better.
KG was a monster who wasted too much of his career playing for a terrible franchise. This was a big that could handle the ball, shoot, and just in general do it all. He'll definitely be one of those underrated players, like Rasheed, who just spent too much of their career's until they found the right situation. If KG had spent the rest of his career in Minny (which he seemed content to do) his legacy would be kind of ruined. He'd still be a HOF, MVPs always are, but his career would have been very forgettable. Just some dude that did some great things for a franchise that wasn't worth it. Giannis just doesn't have the skillset that KG had, not a knock on him. Giannis does what he does and does it well. If Giannis gets a shot though...yeah that's a scary thought.
Kevin Garnet all day. Can defend all 5 positions and could shoot, which means he can fit in any team. Teams wouldn't sag off him for help defense because he would make you pay.
U could give KG the ball in crunch time in the playoffs, u can’t with Giannis because he can’t shoot, and if he gets fouled, he’ll brick the freethrows. Bucks give all the big shots to Middleton while Giannis is relegated to being in the dunkers spot hoping for a dump-off or putback Giannis was 0-14 on shots outside of the paint and 6-13 from the line in game 1. If they were matched up 1 on 1, KG would lock Giannis up. Those Big 3 Boston teams would’ve had Giannis under lock and key. It would’ve been sad for Brick Freak out there.
Giannis is still only 26 but its unlikely he'll ever develop a consistent jump shot KG had a stretch where Wally Szczerbiak was the number 2 option lmao
It's really not even close. The notable thing about KG was that he was so skilled despite being a dominant athlete and that he always stepped up when needed. The notable thing about Giannis is that he relies entirely on athleticism and can be neutralized in key moments. People say he has a good handle but it's mainly agility and length because he can dribble once or twice past half court and get a layup off.
The more you think about it, the more one-sided it is. Garnett was a 7-footer who had the mid-range offense of a Lamarcus Aldridge, the defensive tenacity of a Draymond Green. Dude had fantastic post-moves and had great leadership. His career trajectory was a bit like LeBron's, in that both floundered on really bad teams at the start of their careers, went to a team with a championship pedigree and teamed up with 2 other superstars, and found success. When people say Hakeem could flourish in today's NBA, Kevin Garnett would be a name that's right up there with his.
I think Garnett could defend Giannis better than vice-versa. Peak skill in span of a career is probably similiar
Giannis is a power player that is a non-threat on the perimeter and at the free-throw line. He is like Shaq in a lot of ways and I think Shaq himself had made the comparison. Like Shaq, he badly needs an awesome perimeter side-kick to win big in the playoffs. He has Middleton, that is not enough, he needs a James Harden. As it stands, Middleton and Giannis is a duo more like Shaq and Eddie Jones or if Shaq had Steve Smith than Shaq and Kobe. I don't think Garnett would win much more with the Bucks. He was more Anthony Davis than Tim Duncan. Remember, his most succesful T-Wolves team was pretty damn solid with Cassell and Sprewell. He won a championship in the twilight of his career and on a really, really solid team. So, at the end of the day, who you pick in this comparison is a matter of preference as neither player is flawless and both require pretty strong teams to win big in the playoffs. I would be happy with either, but prefer Garnett just cause he is more fun to watch and less frustrating to watch come up short.
The way the game is officiated Giannis would put his shoulder in Garnett and knock him into the stanchion. KG would be on DL before long. After that happened enough times, Garnett and others would petition for rules changes that are needed in the modern NBA. There is no way that Garnett could stop a hard charging Giannis from scoring, and Garnett would have his hands full trying to generate baskets against the Greek Freak. Is Giannis a better basketball player? No! Is the game tilted to favor Antetokounmpo? Yes!
KG is the far more skilled basketball player, but Giannis has a super rare combination of size, speed, and strength that it can be a nightmarish matchup. Sidenote: I'm not one of those crazy people who think everything from the past is better. It's a case-by-case.
Whoa, that was less than a year ago. Now, Giannis is a threat on the perimeter and an average free-throw shooter. He is still like Shaq as a power player but has now added some finesse to his game. He's easily better than Garnett ever was now in pretty much every facet of the game. We don't even have to take into account his championship and Finals MVP to consider him better.
