How impressive is giannis' ring/season?

[Pachinko_]

He just dominates physically, has never dominated with skill or talent.

Sorry to pick only one sentence out of context, but yes. So what?
He dominates physically and mentally, those are the two things he's worked on the most. The mental component especially is huge, because it took massive mental fortitude to overcome his past failures, his nerves at the FT line, and a devastating injury on the way to FMVP. If you followed the Bucks you could literally watch him battle his demons and grow like that little by little, and it was pretty **** inspiring actually.

And again, what is wrong with that exactly? It is a physical game, this is not piano, you are allowed to work with things other than your skill with your fingers. You prefer more skilled players, that's fine, but that's just your preference.

And, FWIW, you are actually wrong too. You can't be comparing a 7 footer to Harden or Lebron or whatever. At any point in time the NBA has like 5 or 10 big guys with the same size and athleticism as Giannis, dudes like Ayton/Howard/McGee/whatever. If you tell a guy like that to run the whole court at full speed, stop on a dime and turn without losing his dribble and hit the corner guy for a three, they will probably trip on themselves and faceplant at the front seats. And yet Giannis does that all night every night, because he's actually freakishly skilled and in control for his size.

[mediocrityrules]

He just dominates physically, has never dominated with skill or talent.

Sorry to pick only one sentence out of context, but yes. So what?
He dominates physically and mentally, those are the two things he's worked on the most. The mental component especially is huge, because it took massive mental fortitude to overcome his past failures, his nerves at the FT line, and a devastating injury on the way to FMVP. If you followed the Bucks you could literally watch him battle his demons and grow like that little by little, and it was pretty **** inspiring actually.

And again, what is wrong with that exactly? It is a physical game, this is not piano, you are allowed to work with things other than your skill with your fingers. You prefer more skilled players, that's fine, but that's just your preference.

Yep. He dominates physically, so suck it up. Shaq dominated physically. Giannis does as well. Just because your guy doesn't (whoever that is), doesn't mean that it's not a legitimate skill set that he also has, wrapped up in a physical specimen that is almost, shall i say, freakish.

As Pachinko_ just mentioned, he also has amazing work ethic, and an ability to grow his game year on year by working harder than anyone. He has to be ordered out of the gym he's in there so much practicing. No one on the Bucks dedicates themselves more. Any fan would kill to have a star that continually worked on their game like that, even after winning it all.

[DutchManDanFan]

Giannis is competing against himself from now and on.
Do it again. Win the MVP and DPOY again. In the same season. Be the only one who wins both the accolades in the same season multiple times.
He has the PER record all time. Break it again.
Win the finals MVP again.
Rince. Repeat.
At the age of 26, he won everything. Nobody else did it at his age.
MJ and Hakeem the other two with a complete resume but later than him. Nobody else.
The likes of Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, LeBron, Durant etc never won the DPOY... Giannis did.

Think about that.

Read on Twitter

One of the most impressive rings.
Definitely top5.
1. Hakeem '94
2. Dirk '11
3. Giannis '21
4. Steph '15
5. Isiah '89-'90

I hate tweets like that because even though they are true in a literal sense, Jordan was leading his team a National championship in that same time span. It’s very irresponsible to career seasons played and not the age. Jordan and Duncan looks a lot more decorated after eight seasons played. But I get the point these tweets want to make.

Remember how Giannis came in the league? He was like Bambi on ice. You can compare his first 3 years in the NBA with MJ in his college years. If you do so it’s even more impressive what he accomplished in the next 5.

[pontius]

I thought it was impressive, and I was skeptical of Giannis' ability to lead a team to a championship. I won't be surprised if the Bucks repeat.

[dribble1614]

been watching the league since the 50's and peak mikan and russell.

giannis' run last season was one of the 5-8 most individually dominant postseason runs in nba history.

[Big J]

Not that impressive tbh. He beat the Nets with 2 of their stars out and would have lost if KD had 1/2 inch smaller shoes.

[old skool]

Anyone who thinks Antetokounmpo only wins because of physical dominance is missing the point. Antetokounmpo wins more because of physical dominance, skill, and because he tries hard on every play.

Since the start of the 2018-19 season, when Antetokounmpo was still just 23 years old, he has won more regular season games, more playoff games and more playoff series than any other NBA star. He has also won more MVPs and been named to more All-NBA 1st teams than any player.

Over the last 3 plus seasons, no NBA player has had enough skill to keep up with Antetokounmpo, much less surpass him. Nobody has been able to score, rebound, assist and defend in total like Antetokounmpo. Yet somehow, some posters think they are denigrating Antetokounmpo when they say his physical abilities and effort are the "only" things that allow him to be more successful than any other player?

Maybe those more skilled players with less success than Antetokounmpo should just try harder.

Sent from my SM-N960U using RealGM mobile app

[Rakkasan]

Not very. He is manufactured entirely by NBA's ridiculous rules and and even more ridiculous reffing which bends those rules even further to create stars based on the whims of the commish.

Anyone who has ever watched Giannis to play FIBA knows that he cannot play basketball.

This is probably the most ignorant basketball takes I've read in a long time.

[Rakkasan]

Giannis is competing against himself from now and on.
Do it again. Win the MVP and DPOY again. In the same season. Be the only one who wins both the accolades in the same season multiple times.
He has the PER record all time. Break it again.
Win the finals MVP again.
Rince. Repeat.
At the age of 26, he won everything. Nobody else did it at his age.
MJ and Hakeem the other two with a complete resume but later than him. Nobody else.
The likes of Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, LeBron, Durant etc never won the DPOY... Giannis did.

Think about that.

Read on Twitter

One of the most impressive rings.
Definitely top5.
1. Hakeem '94
2. Dirk '11
3. Giannis '21
4. Steph '15
5. Isiah '89-'90

Duncan in 03 is at least top 3 rings of all-time. Robinson was on his way out, while Manu and Parker weren't stars yet.

There is nothing that Dirk, Steph, or Isiah did that holds a candle to Giannis playoff performance. Dirk put up average numbers in beating a team that was massively choking under the pressure of expectations.

[Rakkasan]

Gianni's playoff run is one of the greatest in NBA history. Anyone who doesn't understand that probably knows very little about the game. His game 7 performance rivals that of any game 7 in NBA history!

[Dutchball97]

Giannis is competing against himself from now and on.
Do it again. Win the MVP and DPOY again. In the same season. Be the only one who wins both the accolades in the same season multiple times.
He has the PER record all time. Break it again.
Win the finals MVP again.
Rince. Repeat.
At the age of 26, he won everything. Nobody else did it at his age.
MJ and Hakeem the other two with a complete resume but later than him. Nobody else.
The likes of Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, LeBron, Durant etc never won the DPOY... Giannis did.

Think about that.

Read on Twitter

One of the most impressive rings.
Definitely top5.
1. Hakeem '94
2. Dirk '11
3. Giannis '21
4. Steph '15
5. Isiah '89-'90

Duncan in 03 is at least top 3 rings of all-time. Robinson was on his way out, while Manu and Parker weren't stars yet.

There is nothing that Dirk, Steph, or Isiah did that holds a candle to Giannis playoff performance. Dirk put up average numbers in beating a team that was massively choking under the pressure of expectations.

You could argue Dirk's individual run in 2011 is a bit overstated, while the level of his supporting cast is underrated. However, sweeping the defending champion Lakers as well as beating the KD/Westbrook/Harden Thunder in 5 should not be forgotten. While it might not stack up to Hakeem and Duncan in terms of individual excellence on a way to a ring, the Mavs as a whole probably had the best run in 2011.

Curry's run was pretty good individually and the Warriors beat some strong teams but they did manage to dodge the Clippers and Spurs and Curry's finals performance also doesn't do him favors. While he probably still deserved FMVP, he didn't make a strong case for himself.

Thomas however has no argument here. In 89 they beat the Celtics, Bucks and Lakers who were all getting old and were far removed from their best at that point as well as a young Bulls team where Pippen and Grant both averaged below 10 PPG. The 1990 ring is more impressive but even then it was definitely a team effort.

[drchaos]

if he doesn't go in for that rebound and injury Kyrie the Nets win the series and no championship.

[GeoBar]

bulldozing blah blah blah....travelling blah blah blah...FIBA basketball blah blah blah...Durants big shoe blah blah blah..
Giannis lives in some people's head.
Hey...he is gonna stay there for the next 10 years...you can do nothing about it..just relax and enjoy it.

[thebigbird]

Not at all. Dude’s team won the ECF without him.

[Packbuckman]

if he doesn't go in for that rebound and injury Kyrie the Nets win the series and no championship.

The nets were losing that gm when Giannis was going for the rebound but keep dreaming the nets would have won lol

[Pachinko_]

if he doesn't go in for that rebound and injury Kyrie the Nets win the series and no championship.

That is probably true, but it's also irrelevant, for two reasons:
- No one is supposed to beat the Nets anyway. They have about all the talent an NBA team can possibly have, not beating them when healthy means basically nothing.
- We are talking about how Giannis played here. Not how the team played, that depends on a bunch of other people.

Having said all that, if you told me that KD was also playing as impressively as Giannis, or more, for as long as he played, I would actually agree. He was absolutely incredible and unlucky.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

if he doesn't go in for that rebound and injury Kyrie the Nets win the series and no championship.

or the other way to look at it is that the most eye rolling fake ass cry baby #1's in buddy ball history all teamed up to get a chip and still couldnt get it done because karmas a bitch and the ball never lies. so theres that too

[drchaos]

if he doesn't go in for that rebound and injury Kyrie the Nets win the series and no championship.

The nets were losing that gm when Giannis was going for the rebound but keep dreaming the nets would have won lol

Bucks couldn't beat the Nets with no home town refs and a healthy Kyrie.

Without a road win the Bucks could not have won four games since the Nets had home court advantage.

[mediocrityrules]

if he doesn't go in for that rebound and injury Kyrie the Nets win the series and no championship.

The nets were losing that gm when Giannis was going for the rebound but keep dreaming the nets would have won lol

Bucks couldn't beat the Nets with no home town refs and a healthy Kyrie.

Without a road win the Bucks could not have won four games since the Nets had home court advantage.

No, the Nets can't beat the Bucks without home town refs. Prove me wrong.

[drchaos]

The nets were losing that gm when Giannis was going for the rebound but keep dreaming the nets would have won lol

Bucks couldn't beat the Nets with no home town refs and a healthy Kyrie.

Without a road win the Bucks could not have won four games since the Nets had home court advantage.

No, the Nets can't beat the Bucks without home town refs. Prove me wrong.

As a higher seed the Nets would have more home games and win 4-3 if the refs were the only factor.

The Bucs might have stolen a couple games but the Nets were the better team.