People raving about Giannis the "Greek" freak's numbers...

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I'm glad you included Artis. People forget how athletic he was, too. Young Artis was a true athletic freak.


I'd put Giannis behind all of those. But he is a great player, and the league needs someone upcoming to hype I guess. The league is now setup to be a 3 point shooting fest. I'm pretty happy about seeing anyone with a different skillset.

I miss the days where guys like Mark Eaton and Billy Paultz were considered quality contributors. Eaton wouldn't even get a 10 day contract in today's NBA.

[KDKSpurs24]

For me, it's not hating in his performances, it's the fact that he's being thrust to the forefront of the MVP conversation. Right now he's a freak. A damn good freak, but still just a freak. No way in an MVP candidate. And it's crazy how hard this narrative is being driven.

Well it’s the beginning of the season and he has the best performances along with his team having one of the better records in the league so I’m fine with it. Early reactions happen in every sport. It’s a great talking point. We’ll see if he keeps it up. If he does and his team does well then it’s his MVP to lose. Unless Blake Griffin can hold Clippers near the top of the West(unlikely) there will only be a few others who can take it away.

[Play Boban]

We've seen it before...

It's what David Robinson did on a nightly basis for the Spurs back in the early 90's...

Long, tall, fast, quick, strong...

Could fill up any of the categories on any given night:
Points
Rebounds
Blocks
Steals

Robinson was a more consistent shooter though (despite his odd release).

It's a shame people are willing to believe the pundits and mar his legacy based solely on the outcome of one series - especially sad if they are self-proclaimed Spurs fans.

Robinson was the 4th such athletic "freak" over 6-10" in basketball...

Wilt Chamberlain
Artis Gilmore
Hakeem Olajuwon
David Robinson
Shawn Kemp (not quite as good as the others - least talented on the list - but doted with the same physical tools)
Shaquille O'Neal (most underutilized talent on this list - especially on the defensive end)
Kevin Garnett (not nearly as fast or as strong but equally versatile)
Anthony Davis
Giannis Antetokounmpo

[Phenomanul]

EXACTLY. People need to sit back and actually ask themselves that question. Because I know for a FACT that if he were on our team people would already be claiming that we have the future GOAT. So people need to stop hating (whoever that is) and respect this man’s performances.

I'm not hating on Giannis at all... the whole point of the thread was to point to the folly of media pundits and talking heads that collectively have short and inconsistent memories.

Giannis IS playing very well and deserves to be lauded for his play. It's just silly in my mind when I hear the likes of Reggie Miller suggest that they've never seen anyone like him before. As in seriously? Really? This is the same guy who has repeatedly said of The Admiral that "he went AWOL below decks" against Houston. I guess, he gets a pass for folding against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000. Gimme a break - the Los Angeles Lakers HAD more talent and as the better team they were supposed to win their matchup against the Pacers. The Rockets, likewise, had more talent than the Spurs and so it follows that they won that series based on the collective talent of the team. To suggest that the Spurs lost the 1995 series because David choked is unfair to Robinson's legacy - and it annoys me to constantly hear them perpetuating said fallacy. His logic is conveniently inconsistent, as he doesn't seem to apply it to himself.

So no... I'm not dissing Antetokoumpo. He has been amazing thus far.

In fact, I wish Giannis and Kawhi were paired off and surrounded by shooters. GSW would not know what hit them.

[Phenomanul]

I'm glad you included Artis. People forget how athletic he was, too. Young Artis was a true athletic freak.


I'd put Giannis behind all of those. But he is a great player, and the league needs someone upcoming to hype I guess. The league is now setup to be a 3 point shooting fest. I'm pretty happy about seeing anyone with a different skillset.

I miss the days where guys like Mark Eaton and Billy Paultz were considered quality contributors. Eaton wouldn't even get a 10 day contract in today's NBA.

I was debating on including Dennis Rodman in the list. But his skillset was sooooooooo extremely limited on the offensive side of the court that it warranted no further consideration. But yeah, Artis was one truly gifted freak on the court. Another one I considered was Dwight Howard, but like Rodman - though not to the same degree - he has been wholly inconsistent on the offensive end of the floor.

The pattern is that we see one to two such generational players every decade or so.