Anyone who grew up watching Manu knows what I’m talking about. The guy was a baller. Arguably the greatest sixth man in NBA history. But this is probably where the biggest departure is from Lillard; Manu didn’t have the same green light.
Dame averages 25 6 playing 36 min a night. Manu 13 4 playing around 25 minutes.
But Manu’s 4 rings and the impact he had on those chip years was insane. I still remember him outplaying Wade in the finals. The guy had some GREAT moments in his career.
I grew up watching Manu and witnessed Lillard as a man.
Manu is an all time great but Lillard is a better player hands down.
Better OFFENSIVE player sure. Meanwhile, Dame’s been a negative on defense his whole career while Manu was actually a tremendous defender for years. Was significantly better than Kobe on that end by the analytics. So if Dame’s an A on offense and a D on defense and Manu’s an A- on offense and a B+ on defense, that still leaves Manu as the better overall player.
Manu won sixth man of the year in his best statistical season. He was a good player but he was at best the third or fourth most important player on his team most nights.