Best Athlete: Kevin Durant vs. Anthony Davis vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo

[Whirrun]

Of the 6'10 and 6'11 guys able to play from the perimeter, which of these is the best athlete in terms of quickness, acceleration, explosiveness, hand eye coordination, strength, and fluidity?

[MyUniBroDavis]

Davis has a very, very, very clear advantage in explosiveness, strength, acceleration, and quickness, but obviously is lacking in the other areas, at least compared to these two,

Reportedly tied tyreke In a race during the offseason.

[Dr Positivity]

Compared to his position - Davis

Overall - Durant

Durant playing SF masks to an extent how absurd his mobility is for being PF sized

[NO-KG-AI]

Davis definitely uses his athleticism the most to impact the game.


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[ppedro123]

Durant is one of the most underrated athletes of all time

[Quotatious]

Davis
Antetokounmpo
Durant

AD is clearly the best, in my opinion. Absolute freak athletically. Length, explosiveness, great quickness for his size.

Durant is a great athlete, but I think a large part of his success is based on his insane skill level as a scorer. His jump-shot (and ability to make contested shots) is fantastic, he's a super skilled ball-handler for his size, too.

[Whirrun]

Davis has a very, very, very clear advantage in explosiveness, strength, acceleration, and quickness, but obviously is lacking in the other areas, at least compared to these two,

Reportedly tied tyreke In a race during the offseason.

If his advantage is as definitive as you claim, why is it Giannis and Durant who are the prolific wings? Their mobility comes from somewhere.

Could/can Davis play the wing as they do?

[Whirrun]

My question to those claiming this is Davis by a distance is this: if that were the case, why is it Giannis & Durant that are the prolific wing players? Can Davis initiate the offense and play from the perimeter as they do?

[BasketballFan7]

My question to those claiming this is Davis by a distance is this: if that were the case, why is it Giannis & Durant that are the prolific wing players? Can Davis initiate the offense and play from the perimeter as they do?

hand eye coordination is listed in the OP, but ball handling / skill set isn't.

Davis is number one, and IMO yes it is clear.

[Whirrun]

My question to those claiming this is Davis by a distance is this: if that were the case, why is it Giannis & Durant that are the prolific wing players? Can Davis initiate the offense and play from the perimeter as they do?

hand eye coordination is listed in the OP, but ball handling / skill set isn't.

Davis is number one, and IMO yes it is clear.

What does hand eye coordination have to do with 6'10-6'11 guys beating much smaller guys off the bounce? I'd argue Deandre Jordan has some of the best hand eye coordination in the league, but that doesn't enable him to slash from the perimeter.

[BasketballFan7]

My question to those claiming this is Davis by a distance is this: if that were the case, why is it Giannis & Durant that are the prolific wing players? Can Davis initiate the offense and play from the perimeter as they do?

hand eye coordination is listed in the OP, but ball handling / skill set isn't.

Davis is number one, and IMO yes it is clear.

What does hand eye coordination have to do with 6'10-6'11 guys beating much smaller guys off the bounce? I'd argue Deandre Jordan has some of the best hand eye coordination in the league, but that doesn't enable him to slash from the perimeter.

Did you read my post?

Hand-eye is the closest thing in the OP that could be correlated with dribbling ability, playmaking, shot creation off the dribble. But it isn't those things, as you just said yourself.

Skillset, not athleticism, is what allows KD/GA to do more as far as initiating offense.

[Whirrun]

Essentially, I don't know how anyone could look at these and argue Davis has a clear advantage in athleticism:

Giannis:

Watch on YouTube

Durant:

Watch on YouTube

[Whirrun]

Did you read my post?

Yes, hence my question.

Hand-eye is the closest thing in the OP that could be correlated with dribbling ability, playmaking, shot creation off the dribble.

I guess I'm confused as to how hand eye coordination alone explains how a player is able to slash from the perimeter. I'd think acceleration, speed, and quickness would also play a role, no?

But it isn't those things, as you just said yourself.

I didn't say that, so I'm not sure what you're talking about here.

Skillset, not athleticism, is what allows KD/GA to do more as far as initiating offense.

Athleticism contributes to a players skill set.

[NO-KG-AI]

Essentially, I don't know how anyone could look at these and argue Davis has a clear advantage in athleticism:

Giannis:

Watch on YouTube

Durant:

Watch on YouTube

Because highlight reels don't tell us anything. Davis is blocking shots, finishing at the rim, rebounding the ball at a way higher level and all that partly because he's just a longer and more prolific athlete.

Davis doesn't create from the wing because it's a waste of his skillset, and he doesn't have the ball handling to be a point guard, so why waste time?

Davis is the best at playing above the rim by a wide margin. The other two are similar height and stuff, but Davis is a different physical package because of his length and stuff.


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[homecourtloss]

Durant measured out terribly at the draft combine as far as speed, explosiveness, and agility are concerned. He probably improved since then, but most do in their first few years with NBA trainers at their disposal.


Durant is incredibly skilled and has great length and has become more fluid.

14.Kevin Durant 6-10 215 SF Texas Fr.

What he did well: Showing off his long arms (7’5’’ wingspan and 9’2’’ standing reach) was about the only positive Kevin Durant can take from this combine.

What he struggled with: Durant couldn’t muster ONE rep of 185 lbs. Despite being known for his athleticism, his vertical leap of 33’’ ousted only Josh McRoberts and Spencer Hawes. His speed and agility also were put into question when he turned in the fourth-worst sprint time (3.45) and the last place lane drill time (12.33). Lucky for Durant, basketball is played on the court, not in the weight room. As poor as he performed, it shouldn’t affect his draft status as the second overall pick.

[Prez]

I don't understand how Davis is a clear #1, at all. I would honestly rather have either Durant and Giannis' physical profiles over Davis, people are drastically underestimating the absurdity that is an explosive 6'11" dude moving like a guard. Davis has crazy bounce, timing, quickness and fluidity for a big man, but Durant and Giannis literally move like guards. And it's not just their ballhandling. Between their hip flexibility, body control and agility they are actually perimeter players who happen to be 6'11", not 6'11" big guys who have perimeter-like movements.

[StepBackCrack]

I don't understand how Davis is a clear #1, at all. I would honestly rather have either Durant and Giannis' physical profiles over Davis, people are drastically underestimating the absurdity that is an explosive 6'11" dude moving like a guard. Davis has crazy bounce, timing, quickness and fluidity for a big man, but Durant and Giannis literally move like guards. And it's not just their ballhandling. Between their hip flexibility, body control and agility they are actually perimeter players who happen to be 6'11", not 6'11" big guys who have perimeter-like movements.

Spot on.



Honestly It's still hard to believe for me that a 6'11"/or 7 foot player is able to do this. The man has a legit center height yet can move like this with amazing fluidity, quickness and body control. It's really breathtaking watching KD do that. Utter greatness. The closest player to him is Giannis in the regard which is why I love watching him play. He is quite unique as well and as gifted as KD physically (if not more gifted). What he is doing at the PG position at such height is something pretty special (and scary for the league in the future). Such phenomenal talent. Pretty confident he will be a superstar in the future.

[SlowPaced]

Highlight reels don't tell the story. Flashiness that being able to handle the ball and create brings seems to be fooling some people here. KD and Giannis are elite athletes, but they're not the absolute god of athleticism AD is. They both have incredible showcases of athleticism from time to time (some of them have been posted in the thread) but from a game-to-game basis on average, AD is clearly the better athlete.

- AD is by far the best leaper here. Some people here have been priotizing KD and Giannis' ability to play on the perimeter like a guard, but are missing out on the fact that AD is the only one that can play as a center despite the size between the three being very close. You're in for a long game if KD or Giannis is your center.
- AD has the quickest step here. The only thing that keeps him away from being able to play on the perimeter is his lack of ball handling. He too moves like a guard, he's near impossible to stop 1v1 when he accelerates. He doesn't seem as ferocious as KD and Giannis when he dunks, but he's more explosive than them.
- Wouldn't surprise me if AD is the fastest of the bunch on a run. From times I've seen these three get a steal and explode to an open rim, AD runs the fastest.

[Dupp]

Yeah i dont really see any good argument over Durant. His speed, agility,explosiveness at that size is insane. He's 7 foot, hes a freak.

[bigboi]

Davis has a very, very, very clear advantage in explosiveness, strength, acceleration, and quickness, but obviously is lacking in the other areas, at least compared to these two,

Reportedly tied tyreke In a race during the offseason.

Durant is by far the quickest, what are you saying? Davis is overrated as hell. Durant and Gianni's are more athletic than him, their coordination, speed, and explosiveness trumps Davis easily