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

[Dr Spaceman]

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.

Right, but I mean Dirk is an amazing shooter and ball handler for that size too. He still isn't able to play a perimeter position or run a pick and roll like Durant. I think Durant's fluidity and mobility on the perimeter put him up there with Davis to me. Don't think Gianni's is on the same level.

[Whirrun]

Because highlight reels don't tell us anything.

Those aren't highlight reels, those are individual displays of athleticism. One features someone 6'10 defending the rim, grabbing the loose ball, dribbling full court while beating a man, and then dunking on someone at the other end.

The other has a 6'11 guy initing offense from behind the arch, beating his man with a crossover, exploding to the rim and dunking on folks.

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.

Durant finishes better at the rim than Davis(with just as many dunks), is taller, just as long, defends the perimeter at an elite level, and also blocks shots.

Gianni isn't as long, but he's visibly faster and more explosive. He doesn't have Davis strength, but Davis doesn't have his coordination. Etc. This isn't definitive at all.

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?

Maybe he doesn't create from the wing because he cant?

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.

career FG% 0-3ft:

Davis - .713 / career high = .734

Durant - .723 / career high = .798

Giannis - .650 / career high = .684

[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.

Right, but I mean Dirk is an amazing shooter and ball handler for that size too. He still isn't able to play a perimeter position or run a pick and roll like Durant. I think Durant's fluidity and mobility on the perimeter put him up there with Davis to me. Don't think Gianni's is on the same level.

Well, I think Davis is a much better athlete than Dirk (not as skilled, though).

Giannis isn't as skilled as Davis and Durant, that's why he's not at their level as a player, but he's a slightly better athlete than KD, IMO.

[Whirrun]

After watching more of the three, I'm thinking that Davis, while extremely athletic, still moves & plays like a big. He's athletic for a PF, an anomaly at C, but his overall package isn't as impressive as Giannis or KD for me. He more so compares to Deandre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, Javale Mcgee, etc. The thing that stood out for me is that his most impressive displays of athleticism involve someone creating for him ala the PnR. Whereas Giannis & KD are flat out freaks. They should not be able able to do the things they do at 6'10 & 6'11 respectively, hence the nightmarish match up problems they create. I mean, Giannis is a 6'10 PG with the length of a center for crying out loud. This dude gets down the floor faster than guards 5 or 6 inches short of himself, and then explodes at the rim like a man possessed. He's ridiculous.

KD... well I still can't comprehend that guy. He's basically 7 foot out there slashing and gliding through defenses like Kyrie Irving & Steph Curry before finishing like LeBron. I honestly can't think of but a handful of guys who's crossovers leave as many people reaching for air. But that ain't all, he'll go down on the other end and hold down the perimeter and will even sink down and the paint and defend the rim if the situation calls for it. If there's an aberration in the NBA, it's Durant.

[bigboi]

After watching more of the three, I'm thinking that Davis, while extremely athletic, still moves & plays like a big. He's athletic for a PF, an anomaly at C, but his overall package isn't as impressive as Giannis or KD for me. He more so compares to Deandre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, Javale Mcgee, etc. The thing that stood out for me is that his most impressive displays of athleticism involve someone creating for him ala the PnR. Whereas Giannis & KD are flat out freaks. They should not be able able to do the things they do at 6'10 & 6'11 respectively, hence the nightmarish match up problems they create. I mean, Giannis is a 6'10 PG with the length of a center for crying out loud. This dude gets down the floor faster than guards 5 or 6 inches short of himself, and then explodes at the rim like a man possessed. He's ridiculous.

KD... well I still can't comprehend that guy. He's basically 7 foot out there slashing and gliding through defenses like Kyrie Irving & Steph Curry before finishing like LeBron. I honestly can't think of but a handful of guys who's crossovers leave as many people reaching for air. But that ain't all, he'll go down on the other end and hold down the perimeter and will even sink down and the paint and defend the rim if the situation calls for it. If there's an aberration in the NBA, it's Durant.

Davis isn't as athletic as Griffin or Jordan either. Actually Griffin has a big gap between him and Davis in terms of athleticism

[pelifan]

Watch on YouTube

yea a ton of bigs can do that

Anthony Davis has a very quick first step. Quicker than just about any bigman and why he shouldn't be compared to them and it's what makes him one of the best offball cutters the league has ever seen. These guys are all about the same athletically but I'd give Davis a slight edge. While Giannis and Durant have tons of other skills. Davis' #1 tool is his athleticism. If Giannis were as athletic as Davis he'd have a similar impact on the game.

[NO-KG-AI]

] If Giannis were as athletic as Davis he'd have a similar impact on the game.

Exactly, and he's not even in the ballpark right now, so Giannis' superfan club is going to have to admit he's either not as athletic, or Davis is just way smarter and more skilled.

What I've gotten from this board is that Giannis is more gifted in every area. Athleticism, skills, and IQ.

[Prez]

] If Giannis were as athletic as Davis he'd have a similar impact on the game.

Exactly, and he's not even in the ballpark right now, so Giannis' superfan club is going to have to admit he's either not as athletic, or Davis is just way smarter and more skilled.

What I've gotten from this board is that Giannis is more gifted in every area. Athleticism, skills, and IQ.

No one in this thread has said that. If you think Giannis isn't the basketball specimen Davis is physically/athletically, that's fine, but clowning the "Giannis superfan club" on the basis of stuff that literally no one has said here offers little value to this discussion.

[Whirrun]

] If Giannis were as athletic as Davis he'd have a similar impact on the game.

Exactly, and he's not even in the ballpark right now, so Giannis' superfan club is going to have to admit he's either not as athletic, or Davis is just way smarter and more skilled.

What I've gotten from this board is that Giannis is more gifted in every area. Athleticism, skills, and IQ.

I think that's unfair, particularly because I'm neither a fan of the Bucks nor Giannis. Nor do I have to be to recognize the brilliance in someone of his size and stature moving and playing the way he does. But yes, Davis is definitely more skilled with a stronger BBIQ.

[NO-KG-AI]

All poking and prodding aside, I love Anthony, and I think he's a very smart and skilled player, but he's not either of those in an otherworldly way. Really strong jump shooter right now, solid ball handling and passing for a post player, extremely smart in terms of shot selection and keeping the ball safe... but he's a dominant player, and has been able to dominate top tier competition at every turn because he's a ridiculously explosive athlete with incredible range and length.

I don't even know what his vertical measurements are, and it really doesn't mean a lot to me, because a lot of guys can get up really high when they have a ton of time to gather or build up speed. Anthony is special because his burst off the floor from a stand still without much effort allows him to challenge and block shots, or rise up and finish from ranges and distances that virtually no one playing can match. He does catch on really quick, and adapts faster than most young players to new positions or concepts, but he's not Larry Bird skill wise, and he's not Magic Johnson level floor vision.

Someone like DeAndre Jordan is a great example of people overrating leapiong ability, people think of him as one of the better leaping bigs but really, he's a guy that had a 26 inch no step vertical, and a terrible 30.5 inch max vertical. He's incredibly long and gets up so easy, it gives the illusion that he's a much better leaper than he is, and in a basketball playing sense, he's a tremendous leaper because he doesn't need to build up first. Point is, some guys are thought to be better athletes than they really are.

I don't think Giannis or Durant have anywhere near the ability to accelerate and rise up in a phone booth like Anthony does. I think they're much more fluid as ball handlers, because of their skill there, not because of a difference in athleticism, or a lack of it in AD.

Both guys are smart players, hard workers, and what not. If they were gifted with the kind of ability to crash the glass or challenge shots like Anthony can, they would, and it wouldn't stop them from what they do offensively on the other end. There isn't a skill gap there, it's a length/athletic difference.

Btw, Durant is clearly the most skilled, but he's also clearly the least explosive here IMO.

[Whirrun]

Davis

Watch on YouTube

Giannis

Watch on YouTube

Durant

Watch on YouTube

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I understand they're only highlight reels, but I think we can all agree there's some obvious displays of athleticism there from which something can be taken. Nothing definitive, but discussion worthy I think.

That said, the thing that stuck out to me and I mentioned this earlier, is that the vast majority of Davis most impressive displays of athleticism involve someone creating for him, generally via the PnR. So, while he's an extremely bursty athlete in terms of his leaping(stronger than KD & Giannis in this respect), which is evident in his ability to finish and challenge shots from uncanny angles & distances, what I question is his lateral quickness, coordination, balance, body control, & explosiveness on the ball relative to Giannis & Durant. Durant's first highlight is him beating Paul George off the dribble before baptizing Roy Hibbert at the rim for crying out loud.

NO-KG-AI, you mentioned that Deandre Jordan is someone whose leaping ability people tend to overrate, but I find that his athletic qualities align closer to Davis than Davis does to Giannis & KD. As you said, they're both extremely long guys who are special not because of their vertical leaping ability, but the combination of their uncanny length and their burst from a stand still allows them to finish and challenge shots that most other players couldn't dream of. Case in point:

Watch on YouTube

He's clearly a more explosive leaper than Giannis or KD. Like Davis, he gets up quick as hell, runs the floor like a Gazelle, and has ridiculous finishing ability due to his length & burst. Also like Davis, because he lacks the coordination, lateral quickness, body control and other aforementioned attributes that allow Giannis & KD to create from the perimeter in a fashion nigh exclusive to players they dwarf, his most impressive athletic displays generally involve someone creating for him, via the PnR. After analyzing this further I find that Davis athletic profile is more so similar to Drummond, Howard, Whiteside, & Jordan; extremely athletic bigs, but bigs nonetheless. Whereas KD and Giannis have the type of generational athleticism that makes them unique in NBA history relative to their size.

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For what it's worth, here are their respective number of dunks over the last few seasons:

15/16 - Davis = 148 / Giannis = 146 / Durant = 106

14/15 - Davis = ? / Giannis = ? / Durant = ?

13/14 - Davis = 146 / Giannis = 61* / Durant = 146

I couldn't find their numbers for the 14/15 season, if anyone could help me out with that it'd be appreciated.

[MyUniBroDavis]

Davis

Watch on YouTube

Giannis

Watch on YouTube

Durant

Watch on YouTube

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I understand they're only highlight reels, but I think we can all agree there's some obvious displays of athleticism there from which something can be taken. Nothing definitive, but discussion worthy I think.

That said, the thing that stuck out to me and I mentioned this earlier, is that the vast majority of Davis most impressive displays of athleticism involve someone creating for him, generally via the PnR. So, while he's an extremely bursty athlete in terms of his leaping(stronger than KD & Giannis in this respect), which is evident in his ability to finish and challenge shots from uncanny angles & distances, what I question is his lateral quickness, coordination, balance, body control, & explosiveness on the ball relative to Giannis & Durant. Durant's first highlight is him beating Paul George off the dribble before baptizing Roy Hibbert at the rim for crying out loud.

NO-KG-AI, you mentioned that Deandre Jordan is someone whose leaping ability people tend to overrate, but I find that his athletic qualities align closer to Davis than Davis does to Giannis & KD. As you said, they're both extremely long guys who are special not because of their vertical leaping ability, but the combination of their uncanny length and their burst from a stand still allows them to finish and challenge shots that most other players couldn't dream of. Case in point:

Watch on YouTube

He's clearly a more explosive leaper than Giannis or KD. Like Davis, he gets up quick as hell, runs the floor like a Gazelle, and has ridiculous finishing ability due to his length & burst. Also like Davis, because he lacks the coordination, lateral quickness, body control and other aforementioned attributes that allow Giannis & KD to create from the perimeter in a fashion nigh exclusive to players they dwarf, his most impressive athletic displays generally involve someone creating for him, generally via the PnR. After analyzing this further I find that Davis athletic profile is more so similar to Drummond, Howard, Whiteside, & Jordan; extremely athletic bigs, but bigs nonetheless. Whereas KD and Giannis have the type of generational athleticism that makes them unique in NBA history relative to their size.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

For what it's worth, here are their respective number of dunks over the last few seasons:

15/16 - Davis = 148 / Giannis = 146 / Durant = 106

14/15 - Davis = ? / Giannis = ? / Durant = ?

13/14 - Davis = 146 / Giannis = 61* / Durant = 146

I couldn't find their numbers for the 14/15 season, if anyone could help me out with that it'd be appreciated.

Davis 150, Durant 37, Gianni's 95.

In terms of dunks per game, best season


Davis had 2.409 dunks per game this year

Durant had 1.81 dunks par game in 2014

Gianni's had 1.7625 per game this year

Obviously we have to take into account how Davis is a pf/center, but still.

[pelifan]

NO-KG-AI, you mentioned that Deandre Jordan is someone whose leaping ability people tend to overrate, but I find that his athletic qualities align closer to Davis than Davis does to Giannis & KD.

So you've clearly never watched AD play basketball. And that's the kindest thing I have to say about that post.

Sure Davis has more highlights of being assisted because he's a pick and roll big man. But he runs off screens, and has the balance, body control, fluidity and first step of a guard, if he could put the ball on the floor for more than two dribbles in traffic he would maybe be used the way Giannis and KD are in spots. But he's so effective in his role because he moves better than than any big in NBA history. He's doing the same thing Giannis and KD are doing. He's just doing it without the ball.

Watch on YouTube

unrelated but yea.

[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.

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

Read on Twitter

?s=09

Yes, they both are easily faster than tyreke Evans. Keep in mind, that Davis looked noticeably slower this year. Look up 40 dash times, obviously they have gone down, but I'm pretty sure three is still quite fast

Davis also had a 35.5 inch vertical... As a rookie.

And clearly it's gone up since then.

Watch on YouTube

Keep in mind, he was leaning, and his hand was clearly above of the square at the height of his jump... With his elbow bent.

Durant has a 33.5 inch vertical.
Gianni's has the highest vertical, at 44 inches

Considering how Davis is literally 25+ pounds heavier than the both of them, I think that Davis wins in explosiveness.

[MyUniBroDavis]

After watching more of the three, I'm thinking that Davis, while extremely athletic, still moves & plays like a big. He's athletic for a PF, an anomaly at C, but his overall package isn't as impressive as Giannis or KD for me. He more so compares to Deandre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, Javale Mcgee, etc. The thing that stood out for me is that his most impressive displays of athleticism involve someone creating for him ala the PnR. Whereas Giannis & KD are flat out freaks. They should not be able able to do the things they do at 6'10 & 6'11 respectively, hence the nightmarish match up problems they create. I mean, Giannis is a 6'10 PG with the length of a center for crying out loud. This dude gets down the floor faster than guards 5 or 6 inches short of himself, and then explodes at the rim like a man possessed. He's ridiculous.

KD... well I still can't comprehend that guy. He's basically 7 foot out there slashing and gliding through defenses like Kyrie Irving & Steph Curry before finishing like LeBron. I honestly can't think of but a handful of guys who's crossovers leave as many people reaching for air. But that ain't all, he'll go down on the other end and hold down the perimeter and will even sink down and the paint and defend the rim if the situation calls for it. If there's an aberration in the NBA, it's Durant.

Davis isn't as athletic as Griffin or Jordan either. Actually Griffin has a big gap between him and Davis in terms of athleticism

actually, he doesn't.

[Whirrun]

So you've clearly never watched AD play basketball. And that's the kindest thing I have to say about that post.

I think it's interesting you'd make this comment before ultimately agreeing with me.

Sure Davis has more highlights of being assisted because he's a pick and roll big man. But he runs off screens, and has the balance, body control, fluidity and first step of a guard, if he could put the ball on the floor for more than two dribbles in traffic he would maybe be used the way Giannis and KD are in spots. But he's so effective in his role because he moves better than than any big in NBA history. He's doing the same thing Giannis and KD are doing. He's just doing it without the ball.

He doesn't have the balance, body control, fluidity, nor first step of a guard or he'd play like one. It's that simple. As much as people have tried to sweep it under the rug, dominating the perimeter requires more than just skill. A crossover in particular is a quick-twitch move created by thigh, hip and core strength in addition to balance and explosiveness to get by your man. Davis doesn't have that.

unrelated but yea.

This is Davis doing in an exhibition game what Durant & Giannis do night in & night out against NBA competition.

[pelifan]

He doesn't have the balance, body control, fluidity, nor first step of a guard or he'd play like one. It's that simple. As much as people have tried to sweep it under the rug, dominating the perimeter requires more than just skill. A crossover in particular is a quick-twitch move created by thigh, hip and core strength in addition to balance and explosiveness to get by your man. Davis doesn't have that.

So you've never watched an Anthony Davis face up either then? Got it.

[Whirrun]

Davis also had a 35.5 inch vertical... As a rookie.

And clearly it's gone up since then.

I couldn't find Davis vert numbers on draft express, do you have a link?

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Anthony-Davis-6236/

Keep in mind, he was leaning, and his hand was clearly above of the square at the height of his jump... With his elbow bent.

Which part of the video was I supposed to be watching?

Durant has a 33.5 inch vertical.
Gianni's has the highest vertical, at 44 inches

Do you have a source for Giannis 44 inch vert?

Considering how Davis is literally 25+ pounds heavier than the both of them, I think that Davis wins in explosiveness.

I'm pretty sure Davis isn't 25 pounds heavier than either of them.

[Whirrun]

He doesn't have the balance, body control, fluidity, nor first step of a guard or he'd play like one. It's that simple. As much as people have tried to sweep it under the rug, dominating the perimeter requires more than just skill. A crossover in particular is a quick-twitch move created by thigh, hip and core strength in addition to balance and explosiveness to get by your man. Davis doesn't have that.

So you've never watched an Anthony Davis face up either then? Got it.

I think we both know there's a distinct difference between facing up and being a perimeter player.

[pelifan]

He doesn't have the balance, body control, fluidity, nor first step of a guard or he'd play like one. It's that simple. As much as people have tried to sweep it under the rug, dominating the perimeter requires more than just skill. A crossover in particular is a quick-twitch move created by thigh, hip and core strength in addition to balance and explosiveness to get by your man. Davis doesn't have that.

So you've never watched an Anthony Davis face up either then? Got it.

I think we both know there's a distinct difference between facing up and being a perimeter player.

Yea when you are a perimeter player you have to take 2 more dribbles in traffic after the move. Anthony Davis uses crossovers, stepbacks, spin moves, he just does them closer to the basket so he doesn't have to dribble as much. This is like saying Kawhi Leonard or Andrew Wiggins don't move like guards because they primarily post and face up from 15 on offense.