IMHO Jokic-Giannis would be the best hypothetical duo ever.

[Rubios]

Again, IMHO.

Better than (both in their prime, of course)... LeBron-Curry, LeBron-Durant, Jordan-Shaq, Jokic-Lebron, Jordan-Kareem or Jokic-Curry, i.e.

Just think about...

1. They would massively win the RBD vs any team.

2. Jokic assisting perfect alley-oops to an unstoppable force lol.

3. Giannis' off-ball gravity has never been that high. But, along a passer like Jokic, besides someone guarding him (that would be surpassed by his first step lol) teams would need a dude just to stay in the trajectory between Anteto and the basket every play. And a rim protector not leaving the zone.

4. Jokic with -at least- one opponent less over him.

2. Giannis' (you can take '21 Giannis or whatever year you think was his peak) defense.


Thoughts? Do you agree? Better alternatives?

[Saints14]

They'd be a great fit and pretty unstoppable. Giannis fits the Aaron Gordon mold that worked so well with Jokic, and Jokic can stretch the floor like Brook Lopez that's worked so well with Giannis. As far as the best duo (of modern players), tough for me not to include Curry due to how good he is off ball and how much his gravity enhances his teammates. Curry-LeBron is the apex, but Curry-Jokic or Curry-Giannis would be an amazing duo too. I can picture Curry playing 2 man game with Jokic in the Murray role, how on earth would you stop that?

[cupcakesnake]

Giannis and Jokic are both top-20 all-time level guys, and their talent level stacks up against basically any NBA player ever. So it's perfectly reasonable to have them as options for any hypothetical all-time duo.

I agree the fit is one of the most dynamic ones in the league. Just looking through other possible combos of all-time top 20 guys, Jokic/Giannis is one of the best combinations involving a big size advantage. Like, I think Curry with Shaq or Duncan is pretty terrifying, but having one of your 2 guys being small is a disadvantage relative to other duos.

Other contenders:
Lebron and Dirk
Lebron and KG
MJ and Bird
Shaq and Durant

Giannis is probably the all-time great rim pressure guy, outside of Shaq. He's more versatile than Shaq because you can have him as a driver. Pairing an all-time rim pressure guy with an all-time playmaker is a no brainer. Having them both be huge and able to handle the ball is cool. One of them being able to shoot is crucial.

[makubesu]

> Better than (both in their prime, of course)... LeBron-Curry, LeBron-Durant, Jordan-Shaq, Jokic-Lebron, Jordan-Kareem or Jokic-Curry, i.e.

Magic-Kareem?

[Kobe187]

Yeah they’d be unstoppable. Just give them 3 3&D role players that can shoot, they’d win multiple championships, Jokic passing from the top of the key to a cutting Giannis would be deadly as would the back door lobs, teams wouldn’t be able to double Giannis or Jokic and they would just feast on teams. Defence would also be nuts.

[Rubios]

> Better than (both in their prime, of course)... LeBron-Curry, LeBron-Durant, Jordan-Shaq, Jokic-Lebron, Jordan-Kareem or Jokic-Curry, i.e.

Magic-Kareem?

I see you = )
But Magic-Kareem actually happened. Do you think it was the best duo you can mix even in your imagination and merging eras?

[Lalouie]

bird and magic

[DCasey91]

Its:

Lebron Jordan
Lebron Curry
Or Curry Jordan

Why?

Jordan played with Pippen and James with Wade... Boom upgrades.

Both play best with an off ball c&s/ secondary gunner and whose the outright best floor spacer and shooter Curry.

Giannis and Jokic is clunky because Giannis's best possible threat tree is from elbow in.... which I'd rather have Jokic. Hes a non spacer let's not forget

An all time duo is Green and Curry now its Lebron
Paxson and Jordan was the best offence in the NBA now its Curry. Super simple

Any of those above 3 synergies way too much in actuality if you have all 3 together it's basically unbeatable.

[zimpy27]

LeBron and Duncan?

[CumberlandPosey]

LeBron and Duncan?

always thought about that one and the changes james would have to make.talking about two cerebral players.

also jordan and russell would be nuts.scary....

[guynumber45]

Jokic and Steph Curry would be the ultimate duo offensively.

Jokic and Michael Jordan would also be another fun one. Jordan is an incredibly underrated off-ball player and would feast cutting off Jokic

[CobraCommander]

Jokic and Steph Curry would be the ultimate duo offensively.

Jokic and Michael Jordan would also be another fun one. Jordan is an incredibly underrated off-ball player and would feast cutting off Jokic

Did Jordan win MVP, DPOY and Scoring title in same year?

Only two players in nba history have the quad crown- and a fmvp in a career

Giannis and MJ if I’m not mistaken

Take jokic and either Giannis and MJ as the best duo
Ever

Even tho I’m tempted to say Shaq and Jokic cause jokic is a point and Shaq is the power - - 3 long wings and this is perfect - they just need to D and 3

[TheShow2021]

How about Wemby instead of Giannis?. He can space the floor and rim protect much better. It would have to be a lot of Giannis Jokic pick and rolls to mitigate for Giannis' lack of shooting. Otherwise it's very easy to double Jokic.

We've seen this play out when AG would insist to stay in the dunkers spot and his man would double Jokic and also simultaneously be able to recover to block the lob.

Both are maximized with 4 shooters spacing off the 3 point line. Luckily for Giannis his organization isn't (Please Use More Appropriate Word) like Denver. As good as Jokic's numbers have been, it would be substantially better with 4 shooters.

[MyTake_1]

How about Wemby instead of Giannis?. He can space the floor and rim protect much better. It would have to be a lot of Giannis Jokic pick and rolls to mitigate for Giannis' lack of shooting. Otherwise it's very easy to double Jokic.

We've seen this play out when AG would insist to stay in the dunkers spot and his man would double Jokic and also simultaneously be able to recover to block the lob.

Both are maximized with 4 shooters spacing off the 3 point line. Luckily for Giannis his organization isn't (Please Use More Appropriate Word) like Denver. As good as Jokic's numbers have been, it would be substantially better with 4 shooters.

I find this take strange to say the least. No one has done well doubling Jokic, and with someone like Giannis on the same team it is exactly what you cannot do.

[TheShow2021]

How about Wemby instead of Giannis?. He can space the floor and rim protect much better. It would have to be a lot of Giannis Jokic pick and rolls to mitigate for Giannis' lack of shooting. Otherwise it's very easy to double Jokic.

We've seen this play out when AG would insist to stay in the dunkers spot and his man would double Jokic and also simultaneously be able to recover to block the lob.

Both are maximized with 4 shooters spacing off the 3 point line. Luckily for Giannis his organization isn't (Please Use More Appropriate Word) like Denver. As good as Jokic's numbers have been, it would be substantially better with 4 shooters.

I find this take strange to say the least. No one has done well doubling Jokic, and with someone like Giannis on the same team it is exactly what you cannot do.

Do you understand basic concepts of spacing? If Jokic is in the post with the ball, Giannis' man can double Jokic with less punishment than if it were someone who was an efficient 3 point shooter. Giannis could go to the dunkers spot but a good long defender can block the lob and also contest a Jokic shot simultaneously.
How many times have we seen Jokic get past his first defender only to be contested by another player (because one or two of his teammates are in the dunker's spot)?

Just because Jokic has put up ATG numbers, doesn't mean he can't do better. We've seen him struggle against the free safety defense, as he gets double teamed (someone fronting with help behind) without the ball. Defenses can do this because of a lack of competent shooting and spacing.

With Giannis on the court with Jokic, Jokic's post play becomes much less of an option as Giannis would kill the spacing. it would have to be pick and rolls between the 2, and Giannis selfishly a la Lakers Dwight, doesn't like to be the roll man.

With Wemby and Jokic on the court, Jokic could post, Wemby could go to the corner and be a 3 point threat there, and then opportunistically cut the baseline for lobs.

Of course they also could run pick and rolls with eachother, with either being the roll man. The offensive options are much better with Wemby. And defensively he would fit and be much better.

What you are losing most is a player to dominate the offense in the non Jokic minutes, which Giannis could do much better than Wemby at this point.

[Rubios]

Giannis has been surrounded with thrash since the chip. Dame is an insanely good player, it just didn't work for whatever reason.

I don't see the spacing overlap problem because I think Anteto would be perfectly fine playing off ball and being a constant threat to run towards the rim along the best passer and so-called "court mapping" on the League.

Plus the RBD differential would be abysmal.

[Bloodbather]

Yep, perfect two-way fit. Giannis would be a very rich man's Aaron Gordon, who has excellent chemistry with Jokic.

Not the best hypothetical fit on the offensive end, though, I think that's Jokic-Steph. There's just no way to guard that duo. LeBron-Steph and Shaq-Steph, also. Two-way, though, hard to top Jokic-Giannis. Maybe Duncan-Jordan or something for the defensive advantage. It's less directly synergistic as a duo, though, you can easily imagine how Jokic and Giannis would exploit each other's strengths.

[Rubios]

I get that 3s > 2s, but the most efficient/productive way of scoring is still the nearest to the rim: layups, lops, dunks.

Giannis has never got the gravity of Steph, but IMHO pair him with a passer like Jokic and, besides someone guarding him, you'd need:
- A dude just staying in the trajectory bw Anteto and the basket, that would be easily surpassed most of the times by his unreal stride and phenomenal -underrated- footwork.
- A rim protector VERY hesitant to leave the paint.

In addition to Anteto's defense and the RBD differential these two would cause, I see an easy-buckets machine.

Jokic-Steph would be unstoppable.
Jokic-Giannis is a cheat code.

[ropjhk]

I'll just take Jordan and Lebron. Can't go wrong with the two greatest players of all time.

[Profound23]

Yep, perfect two-way fit. Giannis would be a very rich man's Aaron Gordon, who has excellent chemistry with Jokic.

Not the best hypothetical fit on the offensive end, though, I think that's Jokic-Steph. There's just no way to guard that duo. LeBron-Steph and Shaq-Steph, also. Two-way, though, hard to top Jokic-Giannis. Maybe Duncan-Jordan or something for the defensive advantage. It's less directly synergistic as a duo, though, you can easily imagine how Jokic and Giannis would exploit each other's strengths.

You can say Giannis would be a rich man's Gordon or Joker would be a rich man's Lopez.

Either way, these two would definitely dominate. However, I would say the best hypothetical duo ever would be MJ/Hakeem. Both drafted in the same year therefore they would have the same career trajectory. Giannis and Joker are close for the same reason (drafted one year apart).

Of course mixing people from different eras might change the answer, but if we are going off when the player was drafted, peaked...etc then I have to go MJ/Hakeem.

Magic/Bird would be another one to consider.

If we are throwing eras out then it's obviously MJ/Lebron.