iggymcfrack wrote:ChartFiction wrote:For people disputing Giannis, Giannis is a 2 time MVP and Finals MVP very recently.
This season in addition to adjusting to Dame, we saw Giannis start to show another evolution in his game statistically.
It was his highest TS in his career at 64.9% TS. This puts him at the top echelon in efficiency. He did it on volume at 30.4 ppg.
He also averaged the highest assists per game of his career at 6.5 per game. But more noteworthy, it was ramped up overtime showing his intentional growth in that area. From January on, he averaged 7.2 assists per game. With not a single month in that span under 7 assists per game. Averaging that over the course of a season would have put him as top 10 assists per game in the league.
What we might be looking at with Giannis in 2025 season is a hyper athletic, hyper efficient, volume scoring, defensive, playmaking big.
I think he fell in the outskirts of the conversation due to issues integrating Dame and a poor start, but I would not be surprised if Giannis ends up being the MVP next season. I think he is likely to put up an absurd statistical season while being a two-way big.
2020: Got injured in the playoffs and his team got swept out of the 2nd round
2021: Got injured in the playoffs in a 2-2 series and his team went 2-0 without him so he could come back for the Finals
2022: Good but not great playoffs, lost in the second round
2023: Got injured in the playoffs and his team lost in the first round
2024: Got injured right before the playoffs, didn't play, and his team lost in the first round
It's a pattern at this point. If you're going to knock Embiid for always being hurt in the playoffs, the same criticism should apply to Giannis. Also, unlike Embiid who was putting up career numbers before the injury, Giannis has been showing signs of decline even when healthy. His game relies very heavily on jumping and athleticism and even without the injuries, that starts fading around his age. He'll be 30 next season. That's the same age Westbrook was his last year in OKC. Russ won MVP in 2017 at age 28. He was in serious decline at age 30 and by 2020 at age 31 in Houston he was basically washed. Giannis last won MVP in 2020 at age 25. Well we've already seen the beginning signs of decline.
Interesting note: Kawhi has the same number of healthy postseasons as Giannis over the last 5 years.
I don't see Giannis as an injury prone player. He has always played 63 or more games every single season of his career and has multiple seasons playing >= 80 games.
I like Embiid, but you can't compare Embiid's injury history to Giannis. Embiid's missed multiple seasons completely and has multiple seasons where he's played less than half the season. He's never played more than 68 games once in his career.
I don't see Giannis declining yet. I think next season we will see one of his best statistical seasons.
