Where would 2003 KG rank in the league today?

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Re: Where would 2003 KG rank in the league today? 

Post#21 » by tsherkin » Sun May 29, 2022 12:03 am

cupcakesnake wrote:I also say top 3. Clear defensive advantage over Jokic, and even Giannis. Offensively, KG was a skinny Jokic with his passing taken down a few notches and replace strength with mobility and hops.


I dont think that's a great comparison. He posted less, shot more from distance, was far less efficient (even relative to league average), and a weaker finisher. Generated considerably fewer of his shots inside 10 feet. Yeah, he was a tall dude who passed well but I think stylistically even, it doesnt match well. Very much unalike.
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Re: Where would 2003 KG rank in the league today? 

Post#22 » by cupcakesnake » Sun May 29, 2022 4:30 pm

tsherkin wrote:
cupcakesnake wrote:I also say top 3. Clear defensive advantage over Jokic, and even Giannis. Offensively, KG was a skinny Jokic with his passing taken down a few notches and replace strength with mobility and hops.


I dont think that's a great comparison. He posted less, shot more from distance, was far less efficient (even relative to league average), and a weaker finisher. Generated considerably fewer of his shots inside 10 feet. Yeah, he was a tall dude who passed well but I think stylistically even, it doesnt match well. Very much unalike.


Wasn't doing a deep dive into that one so sure maybe it's a little lazy. I think Jokic has the same passing/spacing hub style that KG did where he can be a huge offensive plus simply by moving around the court, setting screens, making quick passes. Sometimes I think both players would be happiest doing that but were put in environments where they have to score quite a bit. I can see KG and Jokic having monster offensive impact without taking a shot, and I see them doing that in a similar way. Obviously, KG lacks both his punch in the paint, and (to some relative to era degree) spacing from deep. But KG makes up for that a little bit with his superior mobility and verticality. I don't believe they're crazy similar overall, but I see some stylistic similarities worth noting.
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Re: Where would 2003 KG rank in the league today? 

Post#23 » by tsherkin » Sun May 29, 2022 6:11 pm

cupcakesnake wrote:Wasn't doing a deep dive into that one so sure maybe it's a little lazy. I think Jokic has the same passing/spacing hub style that KG did where he can be a huge offensive plus simply by moving around the court, setting screens, making quick passes. Sometimes I think both players would be happiest doing that but were put in environments where they have to score quite a bit. I can see KG and Jokic having monster offensive impact without taking a shot, and I see them doing that in a similar way. Obviously, KG lacks both his punch in the paint, and (to some relative to era degree) spacing from deep. But KG makes up for that a little bit with his superior mobility and verticality. I don't believe they're crazy similar overall, but I see some stylistic similarities worth noting.


Sure, from the perspective of them both being excellent passers, that is a similarity. Both of them certainly show the ability to do more than just score to impact the offense, though obviously scoring ability influences their ability to do this to whatever degree. KG doesn't bring it offensively compared to Jokic at all, but the large defensive gap goes a long way to bringing them closer together as players, sure.

And yes, in the sense of tall dudes with jumpers who pass very well, there's an underlying similarity there, that's unquestionably true.
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Re: Where would 2003 KG rank in the league today? 

Post#24 » by LukaTheGOAT » Tue May 31, 2022 7:21 am

ceiling raiser wrote:03 KG to me was a top 10 peak all-time. However, I do kind of view Giannis as the evolutionary Garnett. Not the same player defensively, but I prefer his offense.

I'm not as high on Jokic as Garnett or Giannis, but am higher on Curry than most. I still think he was a top 2 player this year including the playoffs. So top 3 for KG with (and probably behind) Giannis and Curry, probably.


Do you have Giannis as a top 10 peak ever?

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