RealGM

Which duo would you rather build around in modern NBA?

Arguably the two best players since 2019 in Giannis/Jokic.

I'd also prefer Duncan/KG in their era to Giannis/Jokic.

Don't think you can go wrong either way, but Giannis and Jokic are obviously proven to work. KG and Duncan, however, can guarantee you longevity. Too early to say for the current duo.

Giannis and Jokic just seem like the perfect fit together on both ends of the floor

KG and Duncan are somewhat redundant. Also, their interior defense is not quite as important. Not to mention neither can shoot the three. Pairing one with someone like Kobe might be a better discussion.

Interesting.

Jokic is far and away the best offensive player here, and Giannis is a better scoring threat than either Garnett or Duncan, while also quite impressive on D himself. They also have better offensive synergy than the older pair.

Imagining like 01-04 Garnett with like 01-03 Duncan in-era is a fun exercise; they'd be a dynamite frontcourt. With reduced volume (much as he enjoyed in Boston), Garnett would be a more palatable option in terms of his scoring prowess, bombing 20-footers to open up the interior for TD while the two of them locked down the paint.

Flash forward to the contemporary era, and I think that's a little more problematic offensively, but likely no less awesome on D.

Giannis/Jokic would be better on O in either era, and obviously not as good on D. Putting Joker in the older league environment and watching his scoring efficiency and passing break the game would be interesting, though. I'd lean on those two over KG and Duncan, though it pains me some to do so.

Duncan and KG. Not even close.

Giannis playing like an Uber Aaron Gordon next to Jokic…I foresee a lay-up line and an ORTG of 150 or something.

KG and Duncan would be better defensively but I don’t see much synergy at all on offense.

Peregrine01 wrote:Giannis playing like an Uber Aaron Gordon next to Jokic…I foresee a lay-up line and an ORTG of 150 or something.

KG and Duncan would be better defensively but I don’t see much synergy at all on offense.

I imagine lots of high/low stuff like a better version of Gasol/ZBo or Gasol/Bynum. Not as obvious or good as Jokic/Giannis but would be just fine in their era.

I think for prime this is easily Jokic/Giannis

I think Duncan would actually lose a good bit of value on both ends if put in the current era. I also think Giannis and Jokic fit better/cover each other's flaws better than KG and Duncan do for each other. An offense with Giannis/Jokic could potentially be running 2 big-men PnR actions which would be absolutely crazy, and Jokic could capitalize on Giannis's finishing ability. Giannis hurts floor spacing on a team, so pairing him with Jokic, one of the very best shooting/spacing bigs ever, would be great. And on the defensive end, Jokic is known to not be much of a presence at the rim, and this could be masked by Giannis, one of the best help defenders and backline/secondary rim protectors ever. For all these reasons, I would take Giannis/Jokic for the modern era.

KG and Duncan Lockdown Giannis and Jokic, they'll be feasting on defense