How many players as tall/long as Kevin Durant have better handles?

[SHAQ32]

I can't think of anybody.

[70sFan]

We have quite a few in the league right now.

[AEnigma]

Giannis and Simmons at minimum, and this feels like an odd technicality because the reason Durant is a mediocre ballhandler has nothing to do with him being an inch or so taller than guys like Magic or Pippen or Lebron.

[Doctor MJ]

Giannis and Simmons at minimum, and this feels like an odd technicality because the reason Durant is a mediocre ballhandler has nothing to do with him being an inch or so taller than guys like Magic or Pippen or Lebron.

I'll also note that extra length in the arms at the same height should make it easier to handle the ball rather than harder.

[SHAQ32]

Giannis and Simmons at minimum, and this feels like an odd technicality because the reason Durant is a mediocre ballhandler has nothing to do with him being an inch or so taller than guys like Magic or Pippen or Lebron.

I'll also note that extra length in the arms at the same height should make it easier to handle the ball rather than harder.

But doesn't longer arms (most of the time) = bigger hands? Bigger hands make the ball smaller, and harder to handle.

And I disagree with Giannis and Simmons having better handles than KD.

[Doctor MJ]

Giannis and Simmons at minimum, and this feels like an odd technicality because the reason Durant is a mediocre ballhandler has nothing to do with him being an inch or so taller than guys like Magic or Pippen or Lebron.

I'll also note that extra length in the arms at the same height should make it easier to handle the ball rather than harder.

But doesn't longer arms (most of the time) = bigger hands? Bigger hands make the ball smaller, and harder to handle.

And I disagree with Giannis and Simmons having better handles than KD.

Longer arms means there's less distance between your hands and the ground, and it's that distance that is the critical thing.

In terms of bigger hands making it harder to handle the ball, I don't think so. Frankly, I think just about the scariest thing in existence for a defender is a player who can palm the ball off the dribble (which to be clear, I'm not saying KD can do).

[tsherkin]

I'll also note that extra length in the arms at the same height should make it easier to handle the ball rather than harder.

But doesn't longer arms (most of the time) = bigger hands? Bigger hands make the ball smaller, and harder to handle.

And I disagree with Giannis and Simmons having better handles than KD.

Longer arms means there's less distance between your hands and the ground, and it's that distance that is the critical thing.

In terms of bigger hands making it harder to handle the ball, I don't think so. Frankly, I think just about the scariest thing in existence for a defender is a player who can palm the ball off the dribble (which to be clear, I'm not saying KD can do).

I'm with this. Big hands are an advantage, not a disadvantage. Easier to manipulate the ball, easier to palm it mid-stride off the dribble, etc.

I wonder with KD if his problem isn't so much handles as his reads, though. He seems to cross and stutter well, he doesn't have difficulty switching directions. He isn't Kyrie with the ball, but he also has a long body, which makes shooting gaps a little harder at times. I think he has the same issue with his handles as he does with his playmaking in that he isn't the fastest at recognition, especially for the non-obvious pass.

[70sFan]

Giannis easily has better handles than Durant. Much tighter, much safer against pressure, more reliable in guard-type plays. We're starting to see more and more tall players with better handles than Durant and the reality is that Durant handles were never that amazing for his size. He's good, but extremely overrated based on aesthetics.

[HeartBreakKid]

Durant does a cross over a lot but his handles are pretty meh. When he's breaking down the defense with his dribble it tends not to go anywhere or end up in a turnover.

[One_and_Done]

He's become underrated. The guy is a top 15 player all-time pretty comfortably.

[70sFan]

He's become underrated. The guy is a top 15 player all-time pretty comfortably.

What does your post have to do with the topic?

[AussieBuck]

Giannis easily has better handles than Durant. Much tighter, much safer against pressure, more reliable in guard-type plays. We're starting to see more and more tall players with better handles than Durant and the reality is that Durant handles were never that amazing for his size. He's good, but extremely overrated based on aesthetics.

Yep this nails it. Durant does well with a mediocre handle because he has the threat of pulling up with an impossible release at any time and that will always put off attempts at hawking his dribble. He's never been able to handle dribbling through double team type pressure though and despite having reasonable vision has never really been able to take on significant creation roles for others. It's really all just that carry-heavy (less relevant as the years go on) crossover looking nice.

Giannis had that period around the end of his 3rd and start of his 4th season when teams tried playing guards on him to harass his dribble and that didn't work given the distance he could put between an aggressive guard and him with a turn/pivot or whatever with a simple and tight handle. That kind of basic stuff that could keep peak Rubio away wouldn't have ever worked with Durant. Obviously Durant would beat that kind of coverage by scoring through guard coverage but wouldn't be keeping a live dribble to run offense.

[AussieBuck]

If anything handle is Durant's limiting factor. Kinda like how it is for Paul George who is another tall wing who has a ton going for him but just was never quite able to really handle the amount of perimeter attention/traffic to go one more level. Obviously we're talking different levels with KD/PG but it's really the same issue. Enough length to ward you off and get cooking one on one but not enough handle face up to really take it to the next level.

[Gibson22]

The ball handling thing is some sort of litmus test. people that think pg, durant or tatum have great handles dont get it. people that understand that butler, lebron and giannis have good handle get it. btw doncic is off the charts as far as size/handle. as far as kd not that many just cause there havent been that many guys 6'10 and long doing things but more or less any guy that really puts the ball on the floor has a better handle than him. giannis obv. but there are a lot of guys who are 1-2 inch smaller than him like banchero, simmons. again its hard to find non center all star players who really put the ball on the floor with a worse handle than him.

[homecourtloss]

Giannis and Simmons at minimum, and this feels like an odd technicality because the reason Durant is a mediocre ballhandler has nothing to do with him being an inch or so taller than guys like Magic or Pippen or Lebron.

I'll also note that extra length in the arms at the same height should make it easier to handle the ball rather than harder.

But doesn't longer arms (most of the time) = bigger hands? Bigger hands make the ball smaller, and harder to handle.

And I disagree with Giannis and Simmons having better handles than KD.

Giannis has a better, tighter handle than Durant does; Simmons is in another tier altogether.

[70sFan]

Many people believe that Durant has better handles than full-time PGs like Magic or LeBron, that's just insane.

[HeartBreakKid]

Many people believe that Durant has better handles than full-time PGs like Magic or LeBron, that's just insane.

I remember my family friend came over in 2010 or so and told my dad "You gotta check this kevin durant guy out, he's like Magic!".

That's the average basketball fan lol. Same guy that would say something like "I been watching basketball since ____ how can I be wrong!".