I don’t think there’s a very clear answer. They’re the consensus top 2 in the league, similar age, career achievements and late bloomers. Both relatively injury free so far though Jokic is more available, both seem intent on staying all or most of their careers with their draft team.
Personally, I think it’s harder to build a team around Giannis you’re going to need people to compliment his weaknesses in shooting, free throws and late-game situations. Jokic dosen’t need as specific tailoring of teammates to his skills so your team might be more consistent through roster transitions. I guess you could knock Joker down for his defense but finding a power forward like Gordon who can cover up a bit on defense is easier than finding multiple good shooters.
Secondly, Joker’s game atleast appears like it’ll age better because it’s more IQ and finesse than athleticism. That might change if Giannis develops his game with age like Lebron did but it’s a less certain bet than Jokic.
Jokic, best scorer in the league, best passer in the league, elevates teammates with his spacing away from the rim and wins in dominant fashion. Giannis never put a complete dominant run together. Was outplayed by KD when he won and only won because he injured Kyrie with a shameful play not allowing him to land.
Jokic, I love Giannis but his play style brings more injuries and also his peak is shorter as he loses his athleticism. Giannis exceeds in most valuable skills, but Jokic exceeds in all of them although his peaks might not be as high as Jokic.
Jokić… very little ego. For a team player that is very important. That is something you can’t teach.
Giannis barely has any ego, when comparing anyone with jokic it makes them look like the most egotistical person out there
Why not both?
The NBA would suck if they were on the same team.
Jokic is the greater ceiling raiser and Jokic is the guy who’s more durable with a game that stands to stand up to time stronger. He’s the better offensive engine. Unquestionably, I would choose the Serbian.
Personally, I think people underestimate the gap between Jokic and the rest of the league. If he wins a couple more titles he’ll very much be in the goat debate, but only time will tell
Fair point we’ve only seen prime Jokic with a healthy team for one season so far and they bulldozed the playoffs
Giannis imo think it’s easier to build around him
Why is Giannis easier to build around than Jokic?
I personally think Giannis’s biggest advantage over Jokic is off the court. Giannis knows how market himself and build an interesting presence online. That sells more jerseys and tickets. He even has his own ETF and other financial instruments you’ll never see an NBA player do.
But on the court? I am looking for reasons.
With Jokic you’re getting a dude who can get you hyper efficient scoring with elite playmaking and at times maybe slightly below average defense or average at best.
With Giannis you’re getting someone who can give you efficient scoring, elite defense and above average playmaking.
You can go either way and I don’t really see why you’re trying to argue
Giannis has above average playmaking?
Absolutely
Yes
The most valuable type of 2nd star to put next to Giannis is a guard who can handle the ball and shoot/score from the perimeter. There are a multitude of stars in the league that do that with Giannis. Trae, Booker, Dame, Kyrie, Luka, Shai etc. it doesn’t matter how bad they are on defense because Giannis will cover up those weaknesses. Outside of that you just need shooting and guys who are just not negatives on defense lmao
There are a multitude of stars in the league that do that with Giannis. Trae, Booker, Dame, Kyrie, Luka, Shai etc
Lmao, you are just naming random all-star guards that play entirely differently and some of them aren’t even considered elite shooters.
They don’t even have to be elite shooters lmao, the consistent part is they all run the PNR extremely well, and can playmake on offense. That’s all Giannis needs in a 2nd player. Most all guards fit the bill, which is why I listed them
Yes
Me personally, I’m starting a franchise with Giannis AND Jokic
I wouldn’t
Jokic has been the better player the past 3 years while both are in their primes. Jokic has no injury concerns with a game that will age exceptionally well given his shooting and Basketball IQ. Jokic just walked to a championship without any help from a player who has even been in the conversation to be an allstar.
I don’t think Jokic has been better the past three years. 2020 was definitely Giannis, 2021 definitely Giannis also? 2022 is more of a toss up but this year it’s hard to argue against Jokic
There is a reason why Giannis hasn’t come close to Jokic for MVP any of the last 3 years. Jokic has just been better.
Also because of voter fatigue, they clearly weren’t gonna give it to him in 2021, it was probably gonna be Embiid who was the favorite for MVP until around January when he got hurt, Jokic definitely did deserve it though. Giannis won FMVP that year though so >
2022 yeah Jokic was probably a bit better in the regular season but Giannis was better in the playoffs for sure that year
2023 I’ll give u the fact Jokic was better. I don’t understand this revisionist history lol when it comes to Giannis vs Jokic
Giannis
I’m taking Jokic, although it’s very close. He makes it easier to build around him and his game should age gracefully.
I agree but it’s really hard to say how they’ll age. There was a time when people thought Lebron would age poorly because he was reliant on athleticism, like Giannis now. The reality though is that there’s a minimum level of athleticism necessary to be a high level professional athlete, and those guys have a lot further to fall before they’re below the threshold. Jokic should be capable of all the same things he is now at 36, but if he simply can’t make it up and down the court quick enough, his value would be greatly diminished
Jokic is deceptively athletic but other than baseline roll drives there’s nothing he does right now that he shouldn’t be able to do at 36. You’re really talking about conditioning, not athleticism. Jokic has superb conditioning and there’s no real reason to believe it will get worse at a higher rate for him than anyone else.
Lebron is not a good comparison because although he is a physical freak like giannis, he is good at nearly everything else on offense as well. He has passing, playmaking and iq on par with jokic and a better shooter than giannis as well so i think it was a given that his game would have aged gracefully, no matter how much his athleticism declined. Same can not be said for giannis. I think shaq is a much better comparison for giannis.
We are past the point of having questions about jokic pace. He is one of the best conditioned players in the league.
Giannis is way more disciplined than shaq physically
i don’t disagree
Big Honey
Probably Giannis, even though I think the teams ceiling would be higher under jokic, and jokic would invite a more aesthetically pleasing style of play.
Jokic can’t iso so you can’t build a heliocentric offense around him. You have to surround him with smart vets who know when to cut (so they can take advantage of jokic’s passing) and a secondary scorer capable of isoing.
Giannis you can build a playoff contender by just throwing him the ball and asking him to either run over the defense or kick out to a shooter. Hardest thing about building around Giannis is finding a big who can defend and shoot 3s.
Jokic can’t iso so you can’t build a heliocentric offense around him.
Jokic smashes people in iso all the time, that’s like step 1 to even being an offensive threat.
Last year he literally went through every franchise big in the Western conference, and scored on them both under the post and from the wing.
What made him so good was that, his passing game is even better than his already top tier iso.
You’re right, iso player is too broad of a term. He’s a great shooter and post player. He also collapses defenses when he gets the ball in the post, and is a great passer.
He’s not a great ball handler or dribbler and he’s not fast. He’s not a guy who I would expect to make things happen in transition. If I was starting a young team with rookies who like to run but aren’t that great off ball I think Giannis would be a better fit. The alternative would be dumping the ball into the post and ask jokic to score every play.
Jokic can’t iso
Absolutely ignorant take. He’s one of the best iso players ever if you realize that an isolation doesn’t have to start above the arc.
You’re right, he is a good iso player. But I think r/nba has a hard time acknowledging some of the limitations to his game like his dribbling and his speed, which is what I was trying to convey in my comment. I talk about that more with the other guy who responded.
I still don’t really understand where you’re coming from. He’s really an excellent dribbler. Basically never gets the ball stolen and he’s got a surprising bag of dribble moves. Dribbling isn’t about flash, it’s about putting the ball in the best position to help the player do what they want to do. Jokic accomplishes that better than almost anyone else in the league. And when opponents don’t respect his ball handling he can punish them.
He’s slow as fuck though I’ll give you that.
Jokic
He maybe the easiest to build around
Playmaking, paint score, rebound, some outside score, good spacing
Every coach’s dream
Is this really a choice?
“Would you rather have a 8 minute blowjob or a 9 minute blowjob?”
Just enjoy the blowjob is the correct answer.
So who has monster head game?
Besides Ava Koxxx?
Blumpkin at a seedy East St. Louis gas station in the middle of the night, or a port-a-potty at a Juggalo festival on a humid, hot summer day in San Antonio, Texas
I feel seen