RealGM

If you offer all the GMs of the League any player they want in exchange for nothing just for a single season / PO run (so age doesn't play a factor), any functional GM would choose between these two.

The ones with teams (A) lacking on defense but (B) having a competent playmaker would ask for Anteto.

The ones with teams (A) with an acceptable defense but/or (B) lacking playmaking or overall offense and/or (C) having decent C&Shooters would ask for Jokic.

Do you agree?

Possibly. I'd say that 80% of gms would choose Jokic though because I don't think Giannis' defense is thought of as top tier still. Honestly I don't watch enough of him to have a good idea of it but that seems to be the common opinion of his defense in recent years plus he hasn't made an all def team since 2022 either.

I went through the 28 other teams. Out east I think the following would be better with Giannis over Jokic:

Knicks, Pacers, Hawks, Philly, Hornets

In the west, I could only find 2 teams who would potentially be better with Giannis:

Clippers, Kings

Which probably suggests there are a lack of capable playmakers in the league (and that Jokic is just that guy).

Giannis defense has fallen off, but I think there’s a really good argument for his peak being better because of that. Jokic is not a bad defender, but he’s not a great one, and that is clearly something that is lacking when you compare him to other all time big men. Obviously he’s an offensive savant, but even there, he’s limited compared to the truly all time great offensive players (like LeBron for example), because he doesn’t have the ball handling and play initiation ability as a result compared to the all time great guards/wings.

I think peak Giannis and Jokic are around the same level.