Who is currently the better player: Shai or Giannis?

[Black Jack]

I was watching the OKC-MIL highlights from the other night and had the same thought.

Giannis should be ranked #2 player in the league, it's not close.

The same game SGA had in 19 minutes : 23 pts, 6 ast/2 to, 1-3 3pt, 6-8 ft, 3 stl, block and a +8? That's the game that made you decide it wasn't close? Lol.

In 25 mins Giannis had 16 pts, 5-8 fg, 6-10 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast/2 to, 2 stl, 1 blk -5.

I watched the highlights of Blazers - Warriors and I must say, Shaedon Sharpe should be ranked 9# player in the league over Curry, it's not close. It's almost equally as stupid as your statement.

I think Shai is going to be comfortably the better player this season, unless Giannis has a renaissance of his defensive intensity and impact (rank 24, 75, 17 & 82 in four advanced metrics last season. In his peak defensive years he was 1, 2, 2 & 3), but I surely will not base it off highlights from a game where the player I am comparing him to actually outperformed him.

It's going to be a fun season that's for sure...

It helps when you've got the best team in the league. If they switched teams, which ones going to win easier?

If there was a draft for one year, giannis is going before sga. sga is still younger and just won a ring as #1 option so that's nothing to sneeze at; hes just not as good as the freak. that's all.

[MMyhre]

I was watching the OKC-MIL highlights from the other night and had the same thought.

Giannis should be ranked #2 player in the league, it's not close.

The same game SGA had in 19 minutes : 23 pts, 6 ast/2 to, 1-3 3pt, 6-8 ft, 3 stl, block and a +8? That's the game that made you decide it wasn't close? Lol.

In 25 mins Giannis had 16 pts, 5-8 fg, 6-10 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast/2 to, 2 stl, 1 blk -5.

I watched the highlights of Blazers - Warriors and I must say, Shaedon Sharpe should be ranked 9# player in the league over Curry, it's not close. It's almost equally as stupid as your statement.

I think Shai is going to be comfortably the better player this season, unless Giannis has a renaissance of his defensive intensity and impact (rank 24, 75, 17 & 82 in four advanced metrics last season. In his peak defensive years he was 1, 2, 2 & 3), but I surely will not base it off highlights from a game where the player I am comparing him to actually outperformed him.

It's going to be a fun season that's for sure...

It helps when you've got the best team in the league. If they switched teams, which ones going to win easier?

If there was a draft for one year, giannis is going before sga. sga is still younger and just won a ring as #1 option so that's nothing to sneeze at; hes just not as good as the freak. that's all.

Giannis had an elite second option dropping 25 pts and 7 assists on 62.1 ts % and didn't get more than 48 wins in the east, his impact is diminished.
SGA is 20-24 from the field, 4-7 from 3pt in the preseason and 16 ast to 6 turnovers.. he is going to be better this season, he had a great defensive team, but he he didn't have much offensive help last season. And he hasn't gotten it yet this season, OKC are still looking like a bad 3pt shooting team. I still think he is so good that he will carry the team until the others figure it out, Giannis wouldn't be able to lead OKC to as many wins as Shai has done in the west. Man is struggling in the east enough as it is, against teams SGA and OKC went 29-1 against last season, lol.

Giannis is turning 31 soon, he is looking slower and slower, has less two way impact and apparently struggles to play with good guards because he needs to play his way. I don't see that changing, even if his offensive play is smarter and more efficient, playing elite defense like he used to is more impactful and that's showing in the lack of team success. I would like to see him lock in there a little bit more, but I feel like he has changed his approach to offense, and I think it's the wrong decision, but maybe he just feels like he doesn't have the ability to cover and defend like he used to, and it surely looks much better when you look at his 2019-2020 defensive highlights. He is everywhere, faster, jumps higher and covers more ground. That is true two way impact that made them get the 1st seed that season, even if he was not as good on offense as he is now, he still had more athleticism and motor to make up for it.

Your freak has a lot to prove this season, I just don't see the freaky athleticism and overall impact anymore, despite the offensive stats looking good. His advanced stats say rank 2, 3, 3 and 6 and I think that sounds about right. SGA was at 3, 1, 2 and 1 for comparison.

[DrModesty]

I was watching the OKC-MIL highlights from the other night and had the same thought.

Giannis should be ranked #2 player in the league, it's not close.

The same game SGA had in 19 minutes : 23 pts, 6 ast/2 to, 1-3 3pt, 6-8 ft, 3 stl, block and a +8? That's the game that made you decide it wasn't close? Lol.

In 25 mins Giannis had 16 pts, 5-8 fg, 6-10 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast/2 to, 2 stl, 1 blk -5.

I watched the highlights of Blazers - Warriors and I must say, Shaedon Sharpe should be ranked 9# player in the league over Curry, it's not close. It's almost equally as stupid as your statement.

I think Shai is going to be comfortably the better player this season, unless Giannis has a renaissance of his defensive intensity and impact (rank 24, 75, 17 & 82 in four advanced metrics last season. In his peak defensive years he was 1, 2, 2 & 3), but I surely will not base it off highlights from a game where the player I am comparing him to actually outperformed him.

It's going to be a fun season that's for sure...

It helps when you've got the best team in the league. If they switched teams, which ones going to win easier?

If there was a draft for one year, giannis is going before sga. sga is still younger and just won a ring as #1 option so that's nothing to sneeze at; hes just not as good as the freak. that's all.

Giannis had an elite contending team from 2019-2023 and he made 1 finals with it. In 2019 they were definitely viewed as behind the KD Warriors, but those Warriors got injured. The Bucks were supposed to beat the Raptors that year. Then in 2020 with the best team he got embarrassed by the Heat in the bubble. The series was effectively dead at 0-3 when Giannis got injured in game 4, and he had personally underperformed in giving up that lead. 2021 the Bucks win the title with Giannis having a legendary year. 2022 Middleton gets injured so he gets a bit of a pass (though he lost from 3-2 up). 2023 the Bucks lose the 1-8 matchup and Giannis misses half the series with injury (the only game they win is while he is injured).

On top of that, are we sure that OKC win against Denver if we switch Giannis and SGA last year? The non Shai starters shot 25% from 3 in that series and the Nuggets were leaving them all wide open to load up on Shai. They didn't have a closer outside of Shai either, while going up against Jokic of all people. I can't help but feel that Denver would have run OKC down in every close game if you swapped SGA for Giannis.

[jscott]

I don’t really value FT merchants, so…

[Black Jack]

The same game SGA had in 19 minutes : 23 pts, 6 ast/2 to, 1-3 3pt, 6-8 ft, 3 stl, block and a +8? That's the game that made you decide it wasn't close? Lol.

In 25 mins Giannis had 16 pts, 5-8 fg, 6-10 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast/2 to, 2 stl, 1 blk -5.

I watched the highlights of Blazers - Warriors and I must say, Shaedon Sharpe should be ranked 9# player in the league over Curry, it's not close. It's almost equally as stupid as your statement.

I think Shai is going to be comfortably the better player this season, unless Giannis has a renaissance of his defensive intensity and impact (rank 24, 75, 17 & 82 in four advanced metrics last season. In his peak defensive years he was 1, 2, 2 & 3), but I surely will not base it off highlights from a game where the player I am comparing him to actually outperformed him.

It's going to be a fun season that's for sure...

It helps when you've got the best team in the league. If they switched teams, which ones going to win easier?

If there was a draft for one year, giannis is going before sga. sga is still younger and just won a ring as #1 option so that's nothing to sneeze at; hes just not as good as the freak. that's all.

Giannis had an elite contending team from 2019-2023 and he made 1 finals with it. In 2019 they were definitely viewed as behind the KD Warriors, but those Warriors got injured. The Bucks were supposed to beat the Raptors that year. Then in 2020 with the best team he got embarrassed by the Heat in the bubble. The series was effectively dead at 0-3 when Giannis got injured in game 4, and he had personally underperformed in giving up that lead. 2021 the Bucks win the title with Giannis having a legendary year. 2022 Middleton gets injured so he gets a bit of a pass (though he lost from 3-2 up). 2023 the Bucks lose the 1-8 matchup and Giannis misses half the series with injury (the only game they win is while he is injured).

On top of that, are we sure that OKC win against Denver if we switch Giannis and SGA last year? The non Shai starters shot 25% from 3 in that series and the Nuggets were leaving them all wide open to load up on Shai. They didn't have a closer outside of Shai either, while going up against Jokic of all people. I can't help but feel that Denver would have run OKC down in every close game if you swapped SGA for Giannis.

I think the Raps with healthy-enough Kawhi were better than the Bucks with Giannis for that season. Elite defense and seasoned vets plus one of the best closers ever.

[TheAlchemist]

Giannis has more "gravity" and dominates games in ways SGA doesn't. If every player suddenly became a FA and teams had to draft players to win in the next 3 years, I don't think you'd get many GMs who would take SGA over Giannis, Joker, Luka, and possibly Wemby.

That said, SGA is incredible. I find his game to be underwhelming but it seems impossible to stop the guy from getting 30/night at impressive %s. His output is prodigious and he's such a crafty player. He's like prime Harden, but from mid-range, with splashes of Steph Curry's ball-handling.

Luka should not be anywhere close in this. He is to me less then Shai. Shai is consistent, a true master of the pace of the game. He is absoloutely controling tempo and makes his team better. But he's also reliable, doesn't get injured, doesn't have off performances. Luka is flakey like that.

Truthfully in the hypothetical it should be Jokic, Giannis, Wemby, Shai. And Wemby is there cause his potential is out of this world + current world.

[SA37]

Giannis has more "gravity" and dominates games in ways SGA doesn't. If every player suddenly became a FA and teams had to draft players to win in the next 3 years, I don't think you'd get many GMs who would take SGA over Giannis, Joker, Luka, and possibly Wemby.

That said, SGA is incredible. I find his game to be underwhelming but it seems impossible to stop the guy from getting 30/night at impressive %s. His output is prodigious and he's such a crafty player. He's like prime Harden, but from mid-range, with splashes of Steph Curry's ball-handling.

Luka should not be anywhere close in this. He is to me less then Shai. Shai is consistent, a true master of the pace of the game. He is absoloutely controling tempo and makes his team better. But he's also reliable, doesn't get injured, doesn't have off performances. Luka is flakey like that.

Truthfully in the hypothetical it should be Jokic, Giannis, Wemby, Shai. And Wemby is there cause his potential is out of this world + current world.

With these guys, it really comes down to preference because they're all on another level versus even really good pros.

I think Jokic and Luka are in a league of their own, and what sets them apart, imo, is their bball IQ.

[HMFFL]

Giannis has more "gravity" and dominates games in ways SGA doesn't. If every player suddenly became a FA and teams had to draft players to win in the next 3 years, I don't think you'd get many GMs who would take SGA over Giannis, Joker, Luka, and possibly Wemby.

That said, SGA is incredible. I find his game to be underwhelming but it seems impossible to stop the guy from getting 30/night at impressive %s. His output is prodigious and he's such a crafty player. He's like prime Harden, but from mid-range, with splashes of Steph Curry's ball-handling.

Luka should not be anywhere close in this. He is to me less then Shai. Shai is consistent, a true master of the pace of the game. He is absoloutely controling tempo and makes his team better. But he's also reliable, doesn't get injured, doesn't have off performances. Luka is flakey like that.

Truthfully in the hypothetical it should be Jokic, Giannis, Wemby, Shai. And Wemby is there cause his potential is out of this world + current world.

Indeed.

SGA carries a bunch of young talented players to a championship, wins MVP, and FMVP, yet some fans are clueless, and mention Luka. Underrated talent is exactly what SGA is. Steph struggled to win a FMVP, which at one point, it was unknown if he would win one. SGA already has his FMVP and his ceiling has yet to be reached yet. Luka needs to accomplish much more so I agree with you.

[DrModesty]

It helps when you've got the best team in the league. If they switched teams, which ones going to win easier?

If there was a draft for one year, giannis is going before sga. sga is still younger and just won a ring as #1 option so that's nothing to sneeze at; hes just not as good as the freak. that's all.

Giannis had an elite contending team from 2019-2023 and he made 1 finals with it. In 2019 they were definitely viewed as behind the KD Warriors, but those Warriors got injured. The Bucks were supposed to beat the Raptors that year. Then in 2020 with the best team he got embarrassed by the Heat in the bubble. The series was effectively dead at 0-3 when Giannis got injured in game 4, and he had personally underperformed in giving up that lead. 2021 the Bucks win the title with Giannis having a legendary year. 2022 Middleton gets injured so he gets a bit of a pass (though he lost from 3-2 up). 2023 the Bucks lose the 1-8 matchup and Giannis misses half the series with injury (the only game they win is while he is injured).

On top of that, are we sure that OKC win against Denver if we switch Giannis and SGA last year? The non Shai starters shot 25% from 3 in that series and the Nuggets were leaving them all wide open to load up on Shai. They didn't have a closer outside of Shai either, while going up against Jokic of all people. I can't help but feel that Denver would have run OKC down in every close game if you swapped SGA for Giannis.

I think the Raps with healthy-enough Kawhi were better than the Bucks with Giannis for that season. Elite defense and seasoned vets plus one of the best closers ever.

That is easy enough to say in hindsight, but it was an upset at the time. For that whole regular season the Bucks were viewed as better, and they were viewed as better during the playoffs as well until the second half of that conference finals when the Raptors reverse swept them from 0-2 down. Remember that Raptors team had Kawhi clearly outplay Giannis while playing on an injured knee, Siakam and FVV were lesser players than now and OG missed the playoffs with that hip injury. On the other hand the Bucks were fully healthy.

I like Giannis. I like his attitude, his crazy athletic plays and that he stayed and won a title for a small market team. But he has flaws, and he has had some underachieving playoff runs. The poll results are wild to me considering what we just saw Shai do.

[Patches Perry]

I love Shai's villain arc. If people don't hate you, you're not the best.

[SA37]

Giannis has more "gravity" and dominates games in ways SGA doesn't. If every player suddenly became a FA and teams had to draft players to win in the next 3 years, I don't think you'd get many GMs who would take SGA over Giannis, Joker, Luka, and possibly Wemby.

That said, SGA is incredible. I find his game to be underwhelming but it seems impossible to stop the guy from getting 30/night at impressive %s. His output is prodigious and he's such a crafty player. He's like prime Harden, but from mid-range, with splashes of Steph Curry's ball-handling.

Luka should not be anywhere close in this. He is to me less then Shai. Shai is consistent, a true master of the pace of the game. He is absoloutely controling tempo and makes his team better. But he's also reliable, doesn't get injured, doesn't have off performances. Luka is flakey like that.

Truthfully in the hypothetical it should be Jokic, Giannis, Wemby, Shai. And Wemby is there cause his potential is out of this world + current world.

Indeed.

SGA carries a bunch of young talented players to a championship, wins MVP, and FMVP, yet some fans are clueless, and mention Luka. Underrated talent is exactly what SGA is. Steph struggled to win a FMVP, which at one point, it was unknown if he would win one. SGA already has his FMVP and his ceiling has yet to be reached yet. Luka needs to accomplish much more so I agree with you.

Doncic led a much less talented Mavericks team to the NBA Finals just 2 years ago while averaging 34-10a-9r/game. He's been a perennial all-NBA 1st team selection since he was 20.

[AussieBuck]

The same game SGA had in 19 minutes : 23 pts, 6 ast/2 to, 1-3 3pt, 6-8 ft, 3 stl, block and a +8? That's the game that made you decide it wasn't close? Lol.

In 25 mins Giannis had 16 pts, 5-8 fg, 6-10 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast/2 to, 2 stl, 1 blk -5.

I watched the highlights of Blazers - Warriors and I must say, Shaedon Sharpe should be ranked 9# player in the league over Curry, it's not close. It's almost equally as stupid as your statement.

I think Shai is going to be comfortably the better player this season, unless Giannis has a renaissance of his defensive intensity and impact (rank 24, 75, 17 & 82 in four advanced metrics last season. In his peak defensive years he was 1, 2, 2 & 3), but I surely will not base it off highlights from a game where the player I am comparing him to actually outperformed him.

It's going to be a fun season that's for sure...

It helps when you've got the best team in the league. If they switched teams, which ones going to win easier?

If there was a draft for one year, giannis is going before sga. sga is still younger and just won a ring as #1 option so that's nothing to sneeze at; hes just not as good as the freak. that's all.

Giannis had an elite contending team from 2019-2023 and he made 1 finals with it. In 2019 they were definitely viewed as behind the KD Warriors, but those Warriors got injured. The Bucks were supposed to beat the Raptors that year. Then in 2020 with the best team he got embarrassed by the Heat in the bubble. The series was effectively dead at 0-3 when Giannis got injured in game 4, and he had personally underperformed in giving up that lead. 2021 the Bucks win the title with Giannis having a legendary year. 2022 Middleton gets injured so he gets a bit of a pass (though he lost from 3-2 up). 2023 the Bucks lose the 1-8 matchup and Giannis misses half the series with injury (the only game they win is while he is injured).

On top of that, are we sure that OKC win against Denver if we switch Giannis and SGA last year? The non Shai starters shot 25% from 3 in that series and the Nuggets were leaving them all wide open to load up on Shai. They didn't have a closer outside of Shai either, while going up against Jokic of all people. I can't help but feel that Denver would have run OKC down in every close game if you swapped SGA for Giannis.

Blaming Giannis when his second and third guys were historically bad when defended by Norm Powell in single coverage and nobody respectively is the height of bad analysis, particularly in the context of him being swamped by one of the GOAT defences. Further to that, in 2020 the team had fallen apart by the time the bubble arrived and he was injured ~10 minutes into game 1 not game 4. Game 4 was when he re-injured it and couldn't continue. Game 4 was when he had stopped being hobbled and was crushing until he re-injured it.

[HMFFL]

Luka should not be anywhere close in this. He is to me less then Shai. Shai is consistent, a true master of the pace of the game. He is absoloutely controling tempo and makes his team better. But he's also reliable, doesn't get injured, doesn't have off performances. Luka is flakey like that.

Truthfully in the hypothetical it should be Jokic, Giannis, Wemby, Shai. And Wemby is there cause his potential is out of this world + current world.

Indeed.

SGA carries a bunch of young talented players to a championship, wins MVP, and FMVP, yet some fans are clueless, and mention Luka. Underrated talent is exactly what SGA is. Steph struggled to win a FMVP, which at one point, it was unknown if he would win one. SGA already has his FMVP and his ceiling has yet to be reached yet. Luka needs to accomplish much more so I agree with you.

Doncic led a much less talented Mavericks team to the NBA Finals just 2 years ago while averaging 34-10a-9r/game. He's been a perennial all-NBA 1st team selection since he was 20.

Let me know when Luka wins MVP or a championship. SGA won both in one season and the FMVP, which you know this. Luka's not in the discussion.

[MrBigShot]

Look at their playoff numbers.

Gianns is a literal cheat code

[Black Jack]

Giannis had an elite contending team from 2019-2023 and he made 1 finals with it. In 2019 they were definitely viewed as behind the KD Warriors, but those Warriors got injured. The Bucks were supposed to beat the Raptors that year. Then in 2020 with the best team he got embarrassed by the Heat in the bubble. The series was effectively dead at 0-3 when Giannis got injured in game 4, and he had personally underperformed in giving up that lead. 2021 the Bucks win the title with Giannis having a legendary year. 2022 Middleton gets injured so he gets a bit of a pass (though he lost from 3-2 up). 2023 the Bucks lose the 1-8 matchup and Giannis misses half the series with injury (the only game they win is while he is injured).

On top of that, are we sure that OKC win against Denver if we switch Giannis and SGA last year? The non Shai starters shot 25% from 3 in that series and the Nuggets were leaving them all wide open to load up on Shai. They didn't have a closer outside of Shai either, while going up against Jokic of all people. I can't help but feel that Denver would have run OKC down in every close game if you swapped SGA for Giannis.

I think the Raps with healthy-enough Kawhi were better than the Bucks with Giannis for that season. Elite defense and seasoned vets plus one of the best closers ever.

That is easy enough to say in hindsight, but it was an upset at the time. For that whole regular season the Bucks were viewed as better, and they were viewed as better during the playoffs as well until the second half of that conference finals when the Raptors reverse swept them from 0-2 down. Remember that Raptors team had Kawhi clearly outplay Giannis while playing on an injured knee, Siakam and FVV were lesser players than now and OG missed the playoffs with that hip injury. On the other hand the Bucks were fully healthy.

I like Giannis. I like his attitude, his crazy athletic plays and that he stayed and won a title for a small market team. But he has flaws, and he has had some underachieving playoff runs. The poll results are wild to me considering what we just saw Shai do.

Giannis has flaws but also I don't think his squads were overwhelmingly great. He had one super peak to win a title and after that he fell down a level to me because his jumper wasn't hurt, maybe injuries etc.

I definitely thought Raps with Kawhi, Siakam, Lowry, Gasol were title contenders and was not shocked they beat the Bucks. At all.

Do you even remember how awesome and scary pre Clippers Kawhi was??? cmon

[Black Jack]

Giannis has more "gravity" and dominates games in ways SGA doesn't. If every player suddenly became a FA and teams had to draft players to win in the next 3 years, I don't think you'd get many GMs who would take SGA over Giannis, Joker, Luka, and possibly Wemby.

That said, SGA is incredible. I find his game to be underwhelming but it seems impossible to stop the guy from getting 30/night at impressive %s. His output is prodigious and he's such a crafty player. He's like prime Harden, but from mid-range, with splashes of Steph Curry's ball-handling.

Luka should not be anywhere close in this. He is to me less then Shai. Shai is consistent, a true master of the pace of the game. He is absoloutely controling tempo and makes his team better. But he's also reliable, doesn't get injured, doesn't have off performances. Luka is flakey like that.

Truthfully in the hypothetical it should be Jokic, Giannis, Wemby, Shai. And Wemby is there cause his potential is out of this world + current world.

Wemby goes first in a draft today but also Wemby, Jokic, and Giannis are the clear top three picks. Guys like Luka and SGA can be competed with but dominant bigs are another thing.

I appreciate SGA and Luka but there are other guys who could possibly one day deliver their equivalent impact or close, like Cade.

[DrModesty]

I think the Raps with healthy-enough Kawhi were better than the Bucks with Giannis for that season. Elite defense and seasoned vets plus one of the best closers ever.

That is easy enough to say in hindsight, but it was an upset at the time. For that whole regular season the Bucks were viewed as better, and they were viewed as better during the playoffs as well until the second half of that conference finals when the Raptors reverse swept them from 0-2 down. Remember that Raptors team had Kawhi clearly outplay Giannis while playing on an injured knee, Siakam and FVV were lesser players than now and OG missed the playoffs with that hip injury. On the other hand the Bucks were fully healthy.

I like Giannis. I like his attitude, his crazy athletic plays and that he stayed and won a title for a small market team. But he has flaws, and he has had some underachieving playoff runs. The poll results are wild to me considering what we just saw Shai do.

Giannis has flaws but also I don't think his squads were overwhelmingly great. He had one super peak to win a title and after that he fell down a level to me because his jumper wasn't hurt, maybe injuries etc.

I definitely thought Raps with Kawhi, Siakam, Lowry, Gasol were title contenders and was not shocked they beat the Bucks. At all.

Do you even remember how awesome and scary pre Clippers Kawhi was??? cmon

I am not trying to imply that the Bucks were heavy favorites over the Raptors. But I remember how the consensus viewed those teams at the time. Some people picked the Raptors, but most people were picking the Bucks, and almost everyone was picking the Bucks when they were up 2-0.

Also, yes Kawhi was fantastic that year, and his play had people asking if he was the best player in the world after the fact. But he missed a lot of games in that regular season as the Raptors tried to shepherd him to the post season, and we saw him playing hobbled during those playoffs. I would draw a parallel to Luka and his physical state during his finals run with Dallas.

I also don't think the Bucks ever had a super team. But they had teams that were viewed either the outright favorite or within the inner circle of contenders for several years.

I don't think what OKC had last year is a super team either. I think it has the ingredients that will end up having them looked at as a super team in retrospect, and they ended up getting super team like results. But a bunch of the core players aren't touching their primes yet and there was a lot of failing to meet the moment by players outside of Shai. The reason the outlook is so bright for the Thunder is that they have Shai plus everyone around him is supposed to get better (Including the coach).

[MMyhre]

Giannis has more "gravity" and dominates games in ways SGA doesn't. If every player suddenly became a FA and teams had to draft players to win in the next 3 years, I don't think you'd get many GMs who would take SGA over Giannis, Joker, Luka, and possibly Wemby.

That said, SGA is incredible. I find his game to be underwhelming but it seems impossible to stop the guy from getting 30/night at impressive %s. His output is prodigious and he's such a crafty player. He's like prime Harden, but from mid-range, with splashes of Steph Curry's ball-handling.

Luka should not be anywhere close in this. He is to me less then Shai. Shai is consistent, a true master of the pace of the game. He is absoloutely controling tempo and makes his team better. But he's also reliable, doesn't get injured, doesn't have off performances. Luka is flakey like that.

Truthfully in the hypothetical it should be Jokic, Giannis, Wemby, Shai. And Wemby is there cause his potential is out of this world + current world.

Wemby goes first in a draft today but also Wemby, Jokic, and Giannis are the clear top three picks. Guys like Luka and SGA can be competed with but dominant bigs are another thing.

I appreciate SGA and Luka but there are other guys who could possibly one day deliver their equivalent impact or close, like Cade.

Lol. SGA has already delivered an MVP, Finals MVP and a ring on a pretty bad offense in the postseason as the only reliable scoring option, stop talking as if those three guys are in a different stratosphere to him when SGA just beat Jokic head2head, Giannis had 48 wins and a 1st round exit and Wemby was out at the end of the season. It will be very funny to come back to this if he wins this year as well, I guess you will find another way to discredit him, but it will be harder, because he will have an even better season this year.

[SA37]

Indeed.

SGA carries a bunch of young talented players to a championship, wins MVP, and FMVP, yet some fans are clueless, and mention Luka. Underrated talent is exactly what SGA is. Steph struggled to win a FMVP, which at one point, it was unknown if he would win one. SGA already has his FMVP and his ceiling has yet to be reached yet. Luka needs to accomplish much more so I agree with you.

Doncic led a much less talented Mavericks team to the NBA Finals just 2 years ago while averaging 34-10a-9r/game. He's been a perennial all-NBA 1st team selection since he was 20.

Let me know when Luka wins MVP or a championship. SGA won both in one season and the FMVP, which you know this. Luka's not in the discussion.

Meh, everyone knows Doncic is an MVP-level player. If you actually need some specific title to recognize this, then that is your problem, not anyone else's.

If the MVP were a question of "who is the best player in the league?", we wouldn't have all the nonsense of voter fatigue and handing the title to Jokic would just be a formality.

[The-Power]

I'd rather have SGA as my offensive engine. His game feels just a bit more reliable. The question is whether the defense can swing it back the other way. And for peak Giannis I'd say yes. For current Giannis? That feels a bit harder to justify. So I'd probably have peak Giannis > current SGA > current Giannis. But it's not clear-cut and arguments can be made for either side.