Current 2019 Giannis vs peak Kobe Bryant

[No-more-rings]

Has Giannis already peaked higher than Kobe? There's still playoffs left, and can always bump in a few weeks if needed.

[70sFan]

All I can say is that Giannis is clearly better defender and Kobe has advantage on offense. Still waiting for the end of the season to compare these gaps.

[No-more-rings]

All I can say is that Giannis is clearly better defender and Kobe has advantage on offense. Still waiting for the end of the season to compare these gaps.

You have a point, though i'm not sure how much which is likely to be fewer than 10 games will move the needle, and that's assuming they even beat Toronto which is not a given at this point.

People had no problem picking him over KG which i found weird because i thought KG was comfortably better.

[Heat4lyf]

People on realgm really hate Kobe huh

[uberhikari]

All I can say is that Giannis is clearly better defender and Kobe has advantage on offense. Still waiting for the end of the season to compare these gaps.

You have a point, though i'm not sure how much which is likely to be fewer than 10 games will move the needle, and that's assuming they even beat Toronto which is not a given at this point.

People had no problem picking him over KG which i found weird because i thought KG was comfortably better.

The difference these next 10 games will make is the difference between having a ring and a FMVP or not having one. That's a pretty big difference.

[uberhikari]

Peak Kobe pretty comfortably.

[70sFan]

All I can say is that Giannis is clearly better defender and Kobe has advantage on offense. Still waiting for the end of the season to compare these gaps.

You have a point, though i'm not sure how much which is likely to be fewer than 10 games will move the needle, and that's assuming they even beat Toronto which is not a given at this point.

People had no problem picking him over KG which i found weird because i thought KG was comfortably better.

Well, he struggled in last games offensively against the Raptors. If he continues to struggle, I have to change my mind about his offensive abilities. A lot of that is due to his decision making and struggling to adjust. He adjusted against the Celtics and I expect him to do so again, he's a smart player. We will see.

I don't think that Giannis is better than peak KG either. He's better scorer and that's basically his only advantage and he has far better team than any Minny team Garnett had. So I'm with you here, keep in mind that I also have KG peak over Kobe.

[No-more-rings]

All I can say is that Giannis is clearly better defender and Kobe has advantage on offense. Still waiting for the end of the season to compare these gaps.

You have a point, though i'm not sure how much which is likely to be fewer than 10 games will move the needle, and that's assuming they even beat Toronto which is not a given at this point.

People had no problem picking him over KG which i found weird because i thought KG was comfortably better.

The difference these next 10 games will make is the difference between having a ring and a FMVP or not having one. That's a pretty big difference.

Fine, but again it's important for people to not overreact from game to game. He's already went from being better than peak KG to now being worse than peak Kobe, who's generally viewed as worse than KG. All in a matter of half a playoff series.

[70sFan]

All I can say is that Giannis is clearly better defender and Kobe has advantage on offense. Still waiting for the end of the season to compare these gaps.

You have a point, though i'm not sure how much which is likely to be fewer than 10 games will move the needle, and that's assuming they even beat Toronto which is not a given at this point.

People had no problem picking him over KG which i found weird because i thought KG was comfortably better.

The difference these next 10 games will make is the difference between having a ring and a FMVP or not having one. That's a pretty big difference.

Huge difference for a team, but not for evaluating him as a player. He can play outstanding 3 games and lose the series, that wouldn't make him worse. At the same time, he can play underwhelming and Bucks will still advance. So no, ring and FMVP are not what makes me hesitate, I simply want to know his performance at the biggest stage.

[70sFan]

You have a point, though i'm not sure how much which is likely to be fewer than 10 games will move the needle, and that's assuming they even beat Toronto which is not a given at this point.

People had no problem picking him over KG which i found weird because i thought KG was comfortably better.

The difference these next 10 games will make is the difference between having a ring and a FMVP or not having one. That's a pretty big difference.

Fine, but again it's important for people to not overreact from game to game. He's already went from being better than peak KG to now being worse than peak Kobe, who's generally viewed as worse than KG. All in a matter of half a playoff series.

2 weeks ago people bash Curry for his terrible performance and say that Lillard was better, but now with great series against bad team he's the best player in the world. Overreaction has always been common on RealGM.

[uberhikari]

You have a point, though i'm not sure how much which is likely to be fewer than 10 games will move the needle, and that's assuming they even beat Toronto which is not a given at this point.

People had no problem picking him over KG which i found weird because i thought KG was comfortably better.

The difference these next 10 games will make is the difference between having a ring and a FMVP or not having one. That's a pretty big difference.

Huge difference for a team, but not for evaluating him as a player. He can play outstanding 3 games and lose the series, that wouldn't make him worse. At the same time, he can play underwhelming and Bucks will still advance. So no, ring and FMVP are not what makes me hesitate, I simply want to know his performance at the biggest stage.

Your response is a red herring. I never said anything about Giannis getting better or worse. I'm talking about how to evaluate him compared to peak Kobe. Those are two different things.

Giannis can play the worst basketball of his career in the Finals and it wouldn't make that much difference to me with respect to how to evaluate him. Giannis is only 24 years old, so him failing spectacularly wouldn't actually be all that surprising from a historical perspective. I usually give players like Giannis (in the convo for all-time great) a buffer of several years before I start expecting them to win a chip if they have a capable supporting cast.

But if Giannis plays the best basketball of his career and wins a chip, then that elevates him quite a bit, especially given how stacked GSW is. Because it would show that he's actually on pace to being an all-time great. The only thing left after that would be questions about consistency and longevity.

None of this is a question about how good he is at basketball, rather it's a question about greatness.

[Sublime187]

Kobe.

[OdomFan]

Giannis has a long way to go before reaching the level of Prime Kobe, and yes that includes if he leads his team over the Warriors this year.

[Ooduwa]

This is disrespectful to Kobe Bean. Giannis hasn't proven enough for this discussion to be had just yet.

[Jaivl]

Closer than KG's comp but I'm not gonna weigh in until the playoffs end.

[Amares]

Giannis easily, Kobe was never on his current level. Stats don't lie and also Giannis provides huge value on both ends, MVP + DPOTY level, Kobe was never close to achieve that.

[trex_8063]

The difference these next 10 games will make is the difference between having a ring and a FMVP or not having one. That's a pretty big difference.

Fine, but again it's important for people to not overreact from game to game. He's already went from being better than peak KG to now being worse than peak Kobe, who's generally viewed as worse than KG. All in a matter of half a playoff series.

2 weeks ago people bash Curry for his terrible performance and say that Lillard was better, but now with great series against bad team he's the best player in the world. Overreaction [to recent events] has always been common everywhere.

fyp

[No-more-rings]

This is disrespectful to Kobe Bean. Giannis hasn't proven enough for this discussion to be had just yet.

Stop the hyperbole. Peak=one season, not a career discussion. Giannis had an mvp season and is 2 wins away from the finals, it warrants discussion. I’m still leaning Kobe myself, but i’d expect Giannis to get more arguments the way people have talked about him all year.

[Ooduwa]

This is disrespectful to Kobe Bean. Giannis hasn't proven enough for this discussion to be had just yet.

Stop the hyperbole. Peak=one season, not a career discussion. Giannis had an mvp season and is 2 wins away from the finals, it warrants discussion. I’m still leaning Kobe myself, but i’d expect Giannis to get more arguments the way people have talked about him all year.

Giannis is getting bodied by a player on one leg. This is also his season making it out of the first round.

Kobe is obviously the better player. This thread is a premature at best, and a joke at worst.

[TheProfessor]

Are we really acting like Kawhi's not a top 5 defender all-time and some one that even gave prime Lebron trouble? If Giannis's teammates start making shots, then we don't have this discussion, the only reasoning I can see is Kobe may be a better fit against Toronto's defense, but against the other 29 teams in the Nba give me Giannis.