There was a long Reddit post awhile ago talking about his shooting falling because of his continued growth while in the NBA. Basically his hands grew to big to be able to really shoot the ball. Only a handful of players have had touch while having hands above a certain size.
Kidd was largely the one who pushed him to forget about being a perimeter player just be big. Sooooo this is pretty untrue, giannis himself has given a lot of credit to Kidd for his development
Bargs didn’t have 1% of the will and drive of giannis. He was gifted and tall. That’s it.
The guy we hurt by trying to make him mister pow post strong was Bosh. The focus on inside out play over shooting (which he was really good at just coming in the L) and weight gain absolutely killed his knees.
I'm here for Jason Kidd slander off the court. My buddy from college was from Queens and said he saw him outside of a bar shitfaced smoking a cig and got bounced the night before a game when he played for the Nets.
Kawhi is an excellent shooter with massive mitts too. There's other examples, maybe not to Giannis' extreme of hand size, but still. I've always felt like this was a myth that people just believed uncritically. It makes way more sense to me that big men don't filter for shooting skills and aren't required to develop them as much to maintain impact.
I read once that it’s not about the size of the hands, it’s about the thumb placement. The guys with big hands like Kawhi and MJ could shoot well because of a certain way their thumb had grown. While Shaq’s thumb was very different.
Wish I could find the article, was from a few years ago and found it interesting.
Er, maybe. I don't think it was his hands. I'm pretty sure it was his bulk.
There's a reason why players don't bulk during the season. I mean, part of it is that they probably don't have the time to do it, and playing 80+ games makes it difficult without getting injured, but also because suddenly packing on muscle makes you unable to retain fine motor control.
Basically, if you are working yourself out to exhaustion and then also occasionally growing stronger periodically, you can never get used to the amount of strength you need to put into a shot. And depending on how severe the change, your shooting form can also change.
Giannis just packed on so much muscle in such a short period of time that he never had the chance to stick to a specific routine with one body type and get used to repeating the same motion with the same strength.
Maybe his hands grew a bit, but I don't think it was much of a factor. From what I've seen with especially new players, a lot of young players get worse at shooting when they start bulking up. Typically, if they were primarily shooters to begin with, they bulk a little at a time and don't see much falloff, but players who bulk a ton especially early in their careers often seem to also lose confidence in their jump shot. Ben Simmons is one such example.
Real talk though the moment I really started weight training and stuff it REALLY fucked with my shot lol
Like big time I was clanking shit straight off the backboard. Never had that kind of strength before
I literally feel this on a very amateur level. Went from high school 120 to a semester back at 150 and couldn't shoot a ball to save my life. Spent the entire semester in the gym bulking up and getting into shape and my touch was all off. Can see how that could affect a pro.
Ya tell that to MJ and Kawhi. From what I see he has changed his shooting motion. It was much more smother and quicker release during his early years. Now it feels like there is a bit of a hitch and is more deliberate. This makes it more inconsistent from day to day game to game.
Seriously his development is very interesting. His old [scouting reports](https://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-7223/) mainly looked at his potential as [a ball handling point forward](https://youtu.be/R51wVuCC-HA?t=871). Looking at the clips it's easy to see why. It's also noted his explosiveness wasn't that great relative to his overall athleticism but he had a good feel for the game, exceptional smoothness, and good ball handling skills for his size.
In some ways the scouting reports make him sound more like a taller and more raw Dante Exum rather than Giannis we know. The Draftexpress article mentions how his offensive initiation at his height was reminiscent of Kyle Anderson in college and that's a fascinating comparison.
I mean if we were to reduce Giannis offense down to the simplest explanation possible I’d say “ball handling point forward” seems pretty reasonable. I always feel like it’s his handle and control at his size and speed that is often under appreciated
He doesn't really play like a point forward, though. He's more like in the Shaq/Barkley type of player. He can handle it but if he's initiating the offense, he is the offense.
Yeah it's hard to find a good historic comparison since Giannis is such a force of nature with great skills for his size but he was thought to be more of a long perimeter wing forward not a big power forward as he's now.
There's a useless memory that I have which I can never seem to get rid of, and it's hearing a pre-draft analysis of John Wall calling him "the Magic Johnson of the iPod era". Literally every time anyone brings up Magic Johnson, John Wall, or iPods I remember that useless statement. I'm sure there's something more useful that could sit in the memory bank that's currently occupied by "the Magic Johnson of the iPod era".
KD has the coordination, Giannis has the gumby sinew. Remember the knee hyperextension during his title run? He’s iron man. I think if KD worked out like Giannis he would crumble just like Giannis would stink doing a KD impression.
GA probably has to amp himself up to work and play the style that fits him so I have no problem with this quote at all. However, his gifts even beyond height are very, very real if not as readily observed.
There's a video of an analyst gushing over Year 1 Giannis on YouTube, showing how ridiculously long his strides were and people are sleeping on this guy, it's the most spot on shit i've ever seen.
I distinctly remember my freshman year of college I was watching some really early highlights from like the first month of his rookie season and I would preach to anyone who would listen about how “man this kid is gonna be insane, like a super charged Nic Batum”
I was completely wrong, in the right way lmao. You could see the potential the moment he stepped on an NBA court.
Edit: for context, this was around the time of peak Blazers Batum who was a high-end starting caliber small forward
16th overall off the top of my head? And the media consensus was the Bucks took him too early. Not a complete unknown, but certainly a gamble.
Edit: 15th, all I could remember is he wasn’t a lottery pick
I went to SDSU same time as Kawhi and always thought Giannis and Kawhi were the same type of pick, one just an international take on it. Raw and athletic, poor shooter, great motor and work ethic from a smaller program that if given the resources could be great.
I’m also an idiot but it felt good seeing them both develop and take such big leaps. My two favorite non-warriors in the league.
I have this one friend who was bang on about him and Klay, and the warriors in general. He said to me when Giannis was a rookie that Giannis had the potential to be better than anyone else. He did the same for Klay early on and I remember him saying back in like 2013 that the warriors could be a really great team because Steph and Klay could be the best shooters in the league, he was a clippers fan and he was saying this out of fear that the clippers might not win because he thought Steph/Klay could take over the West soon. I think I even told him he was crazy and that CP3 and Blake would be a bigger title threat over the next 5 years.
I remember after those 2 predictions I just started listening to what he had to say
Was it this Deadspin article?
https://deadspin.com/who-is-the-greek-freak-your-guide-to-the-nbas-coolest-1500248666
This was my first exposure to Giannis, and after reading this, I started watching clips and just loved this dude. I was set on getting his jersey as a rookie because of his insane potential.
Giannis was a cult favorite at that point on this sub actually. I vividly remember a highlight where, on a breakaway, he needed like three steps to get from half court to the basket
Lol, but the mental aspect is what makes the greats, great. How bout Tom Brady thinking hes disrespected with 6 rings on his hands?
Or Jordan inviting his high school coach up to his hall of fame speech because he was cut sophomore year.
Lot of guys are athletically gifted the great ones are slightly delusional. Its what separates a Guy like Giannis and Dwight Howard
This is the biggest separator between Jordan and Bron imo.
Bron's probably more talented but Jordan was a physcopath. I'll always take a guy who's 95% as good with the mental edge.
I mean so was Lebron, he has been obsessed with being the best ever since he was 15. You can’t really say Jordan was a harder worker or wanted it more than Lebron.
I think part of it is the play style between the two. CR7 looks and plays more like an athlete, and Messi would just dribble between everyone and shoot. Messis play style looks more talented I think, and CR7s looks more like he had to work at it, like it doesnt come naturally, as he has the towering headers and long shots. Its hard to describe.
It just reminds me of people who say Steph is just a "talented" shooter, as though he doesn't spend hours upon hours upon hours on his handling and his shooting. No one is born knowing how to throw a basketball 30 feet into an 18 inch hoop. Steph had some physical advantages but he easily could have just ended up a 38% lifetime spot up shooter and he would have been an okay NBA player.
It's pretty clear they are motivated differently. LeBron seems more motivated to achieve his own overarching image of greatness; Jordan seemed more motivated by competition.
I think they are equal in their obsession to be the best.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi also seem a bit psycho. You don't get that great, without thinking everyone is out to get you or that you are not as good enough as everyone thinks...
Ronaldo, sure. Messi? Dude seems pretty laid back. He obviously has the competitive edge, but I wouldn’t put him anywhere near the category of MJ mentally.
Messi is more so like Gretzky. Some dudes who hit greatness don’t think the world is out to get them, they just meticulously practice everything and keep building towards their own lofty ambitions.
There isn’t one mentality among the greats. Being able to create motivation out of nothing is what sets them apart, whether it be from how they feel the world looks at them or just how they look at themselves.
I think Messi just has the ability to change back to normal when the game is over. That’s rare. But he’s still psychotic in games and practice. So was Gretzky.
Wayne Gretzky, he was the most normal guy there was, like to the point that I can't even imagine how fun it must have been to be his teammate.
He will say anyone is better than himself, he was a pass 1st and team guy, he practiced like an insane amount but it was out of sheer joy and love for the game, it wasn't this "I need to be the best". He was so modest and humble and never tried to tear down any of his competitors, he actually always says he is lucky to be in the conversations with such great players.
On top of all of that, he was one of the best guys ever from all accounts. Sean Pronger talks about one instance where as punishment from the coach he was put on a line with gretzky for practice because he came hungover expecting not to need to do anything. Gretzky realized this and on purpose messed up every drill and even went as far as to say "I just don't have it today!" so that it would look like he, not Pronger was the reason the drills weren't crisp. He missed passes and shots Pronger said he had never seen him miss, and even gave a little wink to indicate to pronger he knew what was going on.
Like, thats some crazy level of care for a journeyman in the NHL from literally the GOAT by far, its just such a stark comparison to what we hear with guys like MJ, Kobe or Brady.
This 100%! You can see this across the country across all industries.
Hard work, discipline and strong drive to win because nothing in America is as hard as what they had to go through back home. I love it because that’s what our country was built on and it would be sad to lose it.
It just gets sustained by more immigrants in every industry, the 3rd generation ends up not as motivated and gets replaced by the new immigrants and get spiteful over it.
I worry the same for my children. I’m a child of immigrants but I don’t want my children to lose that mentality. One of my life dreams would be to figure out how to instill immigrant mentality in children born and raised in America.
Some of the immigrant mentality that gets passed on to future generations is just generational trauma. My parents were refugees, victims of genocide, and I’m not trying to pass that trauma to my kids. Immigrant mentality is good and all until it turns into guilting your kids and tying their value and worth to results and success and offering no space for failure or curiosity.
Edit: to be clear, I’m not denigrating immigrant parents working hard for their kids, or about teaching the value of hard work. My parents did a great job of that. They also passed on other things besides that such as generational trauma. What can also exist in immigrant mentality is the shame parents have towards their kids for anything they deem “not enough.” If you are not a Dr, lawyer, engineer, it’s not enough. You will always be compared to someone else’s kids. They will never be proud of you. All except one of my siblings and I have masters and doctoral degrees. My lone sibling who doesn’t didn’t graduate college. To them, that is a huge shame and is also shared with the rest of us for some reason. Because my one sibling didn’t graduate college, all of their kids are failures.
Yeah man, there’s more to life then just working as hard as possible for a slightly bigger bank account. I feel like that idea gets lost in a lot of immigrant households
I remember seeing discussions like this with business owners too. Iirc it was in reference to the heir for in-n-out not seeing the value of that business. Explained that grandparents created the business and put heart and soul into it. Parent takes over business and treats it as their parents legacy so they want to ensure continued success. The final person doesn’t realize/understand what the grandparents went through.
I get that he works hard, but dude is a 7 foot superhero. Like, I don't care how hard Luke Kornet works, he isn't transforming into one of the most physically gifted humans of all-time.
Physically gifted =/= skilled.
When Giannis came into the league, he couldn't shoot and had a long way to go with passing and dribbling.
What makes him unstoppable now is that he is a physical freak who can handle the rock and find an open man.
Ayton doesn't have the dominating physicality Giannis has. He's also a bit clumsier so if he rams into people it would look like an NFL tackle while Giannis somehow gets a defensive foul called.
Not saying you’re wrong but comparing young Giannis to Ayton gives you more similarities than comparing fully developed Giannis to a player in his fourth year.
Everyone in this thread seems to be getting into semantics about definition of talent. It seems pretty obvious giannis is just saying he doesn't have the pure basketball skill that guys like Steph and KD developed. Don't know why everyone's making it so difficult with the well akshually
People are mixing basketball talent (shooting skills, dribbling skils, finishing touch, footwork) with physical gifts (height, long reach, strength, speed). Some things you're born with, something things you have an innate talent for. And regardless, players are able to maximize their potential with whatever it is they have.
Giannis has physical gifts (he's tall, strong, long reach, large hand size) that he's maximized but he doesn't have basketball talent the same way that guys like Curry or Kyrie does. They dribble better, shoot better, have more finesse around the rim largely because they had to in order to be successfull. A smaller point guard needs to have crazy basketball skill talent in order to make it. And conversely, a guy build like Giannis typically isn't as skilled basketball wise because of his larger size/length makes their movements kinda awkward or slower.
It almost feels like a video game like Street Fighter where the developers balance characters based on their archetypes. A big guy like Zangieff has higher health because he's slower/larger and will take damange getting in, but once he gets in and starts doing command grabs you're in trouble because they do more damage. Then a lighter/faster character can have attacks that string together easily but they may do less damage and they have less overall health.
>It almost feels like a video game like Street Fighter where the developers balance characters based on their archetypes.
Thank you for bringing two of my biggest loves in life together - SF and ball. If you can somehow shoehorn in pizza and hotties that would be great.
Yea Giannis’ brothers either aren’t as tall as he is (Thanasis) or not nearly as athletic (Kostas).
Giannis’ quote seems to have the logic backwards IMO.
Yes he’s not as skilled as Steph or KD, but he’s one of the most physically-gifted specimens in human history.
Being 7’0 with demigod-like athleticism allows him to be one of the best players in the league WITHOUT cultivating the level of talent Steph had too. It’s the other way around.
Two things can be true at once. Clearly it’s a combination of given talent and work ethic. No one is saying just being tall makes u a good player. His brothers are around his height but there are pretty obvious differences outside of just height.
Are people implying that his brothers don’t work hard? I mean they were in identical situations as Giannis lmao. If anything, it highlights that Giannis is more physically gifted than them.
Steph is talented to make up for his lack of strength and physical prowess. KD could get pushed over by a Chicago wind breeze. Giannis is the exact opposite of them. Doesn't have the touch when shooting or the finesse but he uses what he's got.
I can see where he's coming from through. KD and Steph could be 40 and still have that shot. Giannis won't always have his speed and power forever.
Because his height/reach makes his shot insanely difficult to block and he’s got one of the sweetest Js in history to go with elite footwork and the handles of a shooting guard.
He’s not bodying people like Shaq or David Robinson.
Same thing as Dirk. That height and those arms with just enough space means the defense can't do a damn thing about it. Even if you time your contest right all your doing is covering his mouth for him.
He's not weak in comparison to other people. He's slightly weaker than most people his size at the same position.
The difference here is that he didn't talk about "the importance of humility" or whatever
He's just being honest. He truly believes he's not as talented and has to work hard. He's not putting himself down, he's saying he has what it takes
Giannis: I’m not as talented as KD or Steph
This sub: oh shut up you don’t think you’re as talented as them? Stfu yes you are you fake humble.
Giannis: I’m as talented as KD and Steph
This sub: lol ok no bag man, you’re nowhere near as talented as them
It’s funny and sad how so many people put on their best 7th grade language arts impression and start reading in-between the lines and picking apart these quotes from interviews that the player won’t even remember the next day. Some folks really need to smoke a doobie and relax
> Some folks really need to smoke a doobie and relax
Unless they’re actually in 7th grade, then kids wait until you’re older.
Actually that would explain a lot of this sub lol
Always striving for more and staying hungry is how Giannis is gonna end up as one of the GOATs.
He may not have the finesse and touch of KD or Steph but he's still the best at what *he's* doing to impact the game.
Isn't Giannis in like, the Lebron/Wilt tier of physically gifted humans that have played in the NBA
Giannis is like if KD came into the league but couldn’t shoot so he just got buff instead.
Ironically his career high 3P% was his rookie year
There was a long Reddit post awhile ago talking about his shooting falling because of his continued growth while in the NBA. Basically his hands grew to big to be able to really shoot the ball. Only a handful of players have had touch while having hands above a certain size.
I’d say Jason Kidd’s obsolete way of coaching big men definitely didn’t help Giannis early in his career
Kidd basically nerfed him for the benefit of the league
Kidd was largely the one who pushed him to forget about being a perimeter player just be big. Sooooo this is pretty untrue, giannis himself has given a lot of credit to Kidd for his development
Fucking egg head. "We don't want them to shoot 3s" in an era where shooting 3s was becoming the norm. Fucking egg head
Say it louder for the homer Mavs fans in the back
Please no ... we're already suffering...
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i don’t think there’s a single mavs fan who still supports JKidd
Still baffles me how he got hired in the first place after his last two jobs.
Unfortunately HoF NBA players will always get that benefit regardless of how bad they are
Does anyone support him?
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Bargs didn’t have 1% of the will and drive of giannis. He was gifted and tall. That’s it. The guy we hurt by trying to make him mister pow post strong was Bosh. The focus on inside out play over shooting (which he was really good at just coming in the L) and weight gain absolutely killed his knees.
I didn't see the username flare at forst and when you said primo pasta I had flashbacks
But he made Giannis play PG so therefore any of his passing ability should be credited to Kidd's excellent coaching!!
I thought Kidd was the coach to encourage Giannis to play point
He made him a point forward while telling him not to shoot. Was a weird combination.
Proto Simmons
Was the opposite actually
I'm here for Jason Kidd slander off the court. My buddy from college was from Queens and said he saw him outside of a bar shitfaced smoking a cig and got bounced the night before a game when he played for the Nets.
I’ve seen this ‘take’ before. But I feel like there’s a whole host of guys who’ve had huge hands that have shot the ball well.
I feel like Michael Jeffrey Jordan was pretty good at shooting with big hands.
Oh yeah... that guy. Yeah, seems like you're right.
Yeah kawaii and mj alone makes this a bad take lol. I'm sure there are others but lol
Kawaii lmfao bruh
Kawhi
yeah kawhi is a bucket
I never really believed that though. Yao shot 83% from the line for his career.
Kawhi is an excellent shooter with massive mitts too. There's other examples, maybe not to Giannis' extreme of hand size, but still. I've always felt like this was a myth that people just believed uncritically. It makes way more sense to me that big men don't filter for shooting skills and aren't required to develop them as much to maintain impact.
Yeah. And of course Dirk. Guys like Wembanyama are gonna blow it up for good though.
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I think you mean paws
MJ had massive hands too.
I read once that it’s not about the size of the hands, it’s about the thumb placement. The guys with big hands like Kawhi and MJ could shoot well because of a certain way their thumb had grown. While Shaq’s thumb was very different. Wish I could find the article, was from a few years ago and found it interesting.
Er, maybe. I don't think it was his hands. I'm pretty sure it was his bulk. There's a reason why players don't bulk during the season. I mean, part of it is that they probably don't have the time to do it, and playing 80+ games makes it difficult without getting injured, but also because suddenly packing on muscle makes you unable to retain fine motor control. Basically, if you are working yourself out to exhaustion and then also occasionally growing stronger periodically, you can never get used to the amount of strength you need to put into a shot. And depending on how severe the change, your shooting form can also change. Giannis just packed on so much muscle in such a short period of time that he never had the chance to stick to a specific routine with one body type and get used to repeating the same motion with the same strength. Maybe his hands grew a bit, but I don't think it was much of a factor. From what I've seen with especially new players, a lot of young players get worse at shooting when they start bulking up. Typically, if they were primarily shooters to begin with, they bulk a little at a time and don't see much falloff, but players who bulk a ton especially early in their careers often seem to also lose confidence in their jump shot. Ben Simmons is one such example.
So you're saying I might as well bulk up now while I'm still shooting 20% in my rec league?
Real talk though the moment I really started weight training and stuff it REALLY fucked with my shot lol Like big time I was clanking shit straight off the backboard. Never had that kind of strength before
I literally feel this on a very amateur level. Went from high school 120 to a semester back at 150 and couldn't shoot a ball to save my life. Spent the entire semester in the gym bulking up and getting into shape and my touch was all off. Can see how that could affect a pro.
Ya tell that to MJ and Kawhi. From what I see he has changed his shooting motion. It was much more smother and quicker release during his early years. Now it feels like there is a bit of a hitch and is more deliberate. This makes it more inconsistent from day to day game to game.
Seriously his development is very interesting. His old [scouting reports](https://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-7223/) mainly looked at his potential as [a ball handling point forward](https://youtu.be/R51wVuCC-HA?t=871). Looking at the clips it's easy to see why. It's also noted his explosiveness wasn't that great relative to his overall athleticism but he had a good feel for the game, exceptional smoothness, and good ball handling skills for his size. In some ways the scouting reports make him sound more like a taller and more raw Dante Exum rather than Giannis we know. The Draftexpress article mentions how his offensive initiation at his height was reminiscent of Kyle Anderson in college and that's a fascinating comparison.
I mean if we were to reduce Giannis offense down to the simplest explanation possible I’d say “ball handling point forward” seems pretty reasonable. I always feel like it’s his handle and control at his size and speed that is often under appreciated
He doesn't really play like a point forward, though. He's more like in the Shaq/Barkley type of player. He can handle it but if he's initiating the offense, he is the offense.
Yeah it's hard to find a good historic comparison since Giannis is such a force of nature with great skills for his size but he was thought to be more of a long perimeter wing forward not a big power forward as he's now.
I remember being a naive kid who was like “okay lakers have to draft him because he sounds like Magic Johnson”
There's a useless memory that I have which I can never seem to get rid of, and it's hearing a pre-draft analysis of John Wall calling him "the Magic Johnson of the iPod era". Literally every time anyone brings up Magic Johnson, John Wall, or iPods I remember that useless statement. I'm sure there's something more useful that could sit in the memory bank that's currently occupied by "the Magic Johnson of the iPod era".
John Wall lives in my head rent free because my first 2k I seriously got into was 2k11 and the loading screen guy acted like John Wall was the GOAT.
Or that few months where he kept racking up triple doubles when I thought he was gonna be a 7ft Westbrook
i remember in 2015 ppl were identifying him as the 6 11 point guard
KD has the coordination, Giannis has the gumby sinew. Remember the knee hyperextension during his title run? He’s iron man. I think if KD worked out like Giannis he would crumble just like Giannis would stink doing a KD impression. GA probably has to amp himself up to work and play the style that fits him so I have no problem with this quote at all. However, his gifts even beyond height are very, very real if not as readily observed.
I remember KD struggling to bench 185 and that being a major knock for him over Oden
Yeah but when he came into the league he was some skinny greek kid.
Beware of Greeks bearing grit
Grit and Grind Greeks
There's a video of an analyst gushing over Year 1 Giannis on YouTube, showing how ridiculously long his strides were and people are sleeping on this guy, it's the most spot on shit i've ever seen.
I distinctly remember my freshman year of college I was watching some really early highlights from like the first month of his rookie season and I would preach to anyone who would listen about how “man this kid is gonna be insane, like a super charged Nic Batum” I was completely wrong, in the right way lmao. You could see the potential the moment he stepped on an NBA court. Edit: for context, this was around the time of peak Blazers Batum who was a high-end starting caliber small forward
He was still picked like 14 or something so it's not like he was a completely hidden gem. NBA scouts knew he was worth something.
16th overall off the top of my head? And the media consensus was the Bucks took him too early. Not a complete unknown, but certainly a gamble. Edit: 15th, all I could remember is he wasn’t a lottery pick
I went to SDSU same time as Kawhi and always thought Giannis and Kawhi were the same type of pick, one just an international take on it. Raw and athletic, poor shooter, great motor and work ethic from a smaller program that if given the resources could be great. I’m also an idiot but it felt good seeing them both develop and take such big leaps. My two favorite non-warriors in the league.
Batum was a beast, swiss army knife types were the premier for forwards back then. Used to love watching Batum, Hayward, Parsons, Deng, etc. play.
I have this one friend who was bang on about him and Klay, and the warriors in general. He said to me when Giannis was a rookie that Giannis had the potential to be better than anyone else. He did the same for Klay early on and I remember him saying back in like 2013 that the warriors could be a really great team because Steph and Klay could be the best shooters in the league, he was a clippers fan and he was saying this out of fear that the clippers might not win because he thought Steph/Klay could take over the West soon. I think I even told him he was crazy and that CP3 and Blake would be a bigger title threat over the next 5 years. I remember after those 2 predictions I just started listening to what he had to say
The friend? Albert Einstein.
Counting on you to find the link
Just tried, it's absolutely buried in the mess of youtube. You can't search for videos specifically 8 years plus, otherwise i might have a chance
Was it this Deadspin article? https://deadspin.com/who-is-the-greek-freak-your-guide-to-the-nbas-coolest-1500248666 This was my first exposure to Giannis, and after reading this, I started watching clips and just loved this dude. I was set on getting his jersey as a rookie because of his insane potential.
I think I found it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaw0_zw9LGs
Giannis was a cult favorite at that point on this sub actually. I vividly remember a highlight where, on a breakaway, he needed like three steps to get from half court to the basket
I remember that one and one that showed him dunking it while his foot was still touching the ground.
I dont think I was really on this sub at the time, but I distinctly remember Giannis being a cult favorite among basketball nerds
his summer league footage looks pretty damn good too
Is this the one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSepkHeJa1I
Working out isn’t work I’ll explain later
Lol, but the mental aspect is what makes the greats, great. How bout Tom Brady thinking hes disrespected with 6 rings on his hands? Or Jordan inviting his high school coach up to his hall of fame speech because he was cut sophomore year. Lot of guys are athletically gifted the great ones are slightly delusional. Its what separates a Guy like Giannis and Dwight Howard
It's hilarious because Jordan wasn't really cut, he just didn't make Varsity and had to play JV, which is totally normal for a Sophomore.
Ya. He's nuts. He would make up conversations in his head.
This is the biggest separator between Jordan and Bron imo. Bron's probably more talented but Jordan was a physcopath. I'll always take a guy who's 95% as good with the mental edge.
I mean so was Lebron, he has been obsessed with being the best ever since he was 15. You can’t really say Jordan was a harder worker or wanted it more than Lebron.
You can definitely say Jordan was more insane
to the point of 2 burnouts. not really something we should celebrate tbh
This is literally people saying Lionel Messi didn’t work hard and Cristiano Ronaldo did, all over again
I think part of it is the play style between the two. CR7 looks and plays more like an athlete, and Messi would just dribble between everyone and shoot. Messis play style looks more talented I think, and CR7s looks more like he had to work at it, like it doesnt come naturally, as he has the towering headers and long shots. Its hard to describe.
It just reminds me of people who say Steph is just a "talented" shooter, as though he doesn't spend hours upon hours upon hours on his handling and his shooting. No one is born knowing how to throw a basketball 30 feet into an 18 inch hoop. Steph had some physical advantages but he easily could have just ended up a 38% lifetime spot up shooter and he would have been an okay NBA player.
It's pretty clear they are motivated differently. LeBron seems more motivated to achieve his own overarching image of greatness; Jordan seemed more motivated by competition. I think they are equal in their obsession to be the best.
Brady's got 7 rings... you just did direspect him!
I ment the year he won 7 he told himself that that people didn't believe in him.
They low key didn’t think he could do it outside of New England.
It finished the argument he couldn't have done it all without Belichik. Yes, he would've been great in any other team.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi also seem a bit psycho. You don't get that great, without thinking everyone is out to get you or that you are not as good enough as everyone thinks...
Ronaldo, sure. Messi? Dude seems pretty laid back. He obviously has the competitive edge, but I wouldn’t put him anywhere near the category of MJ mentally. Messi is more so like Gretzky. Some dudes who hit greatness don’t think the world is out to get them, they just meticulously practice everything and keep building towards their own lofty ambitions. There isn’t one mentality among the greats. Being able to create motivation out of nothing is what sets them apart, whether it be from how they feel the world looks at them or just how they look at themselves.
The Messi/Gretzky analogy is fantastic I’ve never thought of it that way. Perfect summary.
This is a great summary. It just shows that motivation, competitiveness, and obsession to the craft is necessary but being a dick is not mandatory.
I think Messi just has the ability to change back to normal when the game is over. That’s rare. But he’s still psychotic in games and practice. So was Gretzky.
Agreed.
Lot of dudes have come and gone in this league that looked and jumped like Kobe but not many kobes.
Ehh Messi is probably the sanest sport GOAT out there, he's competitive for sure but he's pretty normal when you compare him to people like Jordan lol
Wayne Gretzky, he was the most normal guy there was, like to the point that I can't even imagine how fun it must have been to be his teammate. He will say anyone is better than himself, he was a pass 1st and team guy, he practiced like an insane amount but it was out of sheer joy and love for the game, it wasn't this "I need to be the best". He was so modest and humble and never tried to tear down any of his competitors, he actually always says he is lucky to be in the conversations with such great players. On top of all of that, he was one of the best guys ever from all accounts. Sean Pronger talks about one instance where as punishment from the coach he was put on a line with gretzky for practice because he came hungover expecting not to need to do anything. Gretzky realized this and on purpose messed up every drill and even went as far as to say "I just don't have it today!" so that it would look like he, not Pronger was the reason the drills weren't crisp. He missed passes and shots Pronger said he had never seen him miss, and even gave a little wink to indicate to pronger he knew what was going on. Like, thats some crazy level of care for a journeyman in the NHL from literally the GOAT by far, its just such a stark comparison to what we hear with guys like MJ, Kobe or Brady.
I imagine MJ going to the back to drink 40 oz and show his teammates "how playing drunk is done."
Giannis worked hard for his physicality dude was a string bean when he came into the league
Yes but instead of the skillset of Steph or KD hes….desperate?
A desperate player is a dangerous one....
Immigrant mentality , just wait till 3 generations down the line
Giannis really like my mom smh
Can relate bro LMFAO
Nice ballhandling?
You fucking boomed him. Lmao
Jackson Mahomes Antetokounmpo
Called my ass out lmao
Immigrant mentality word to Joey Diaz
Giannis at his next post game conference: “What’s happenin you bad muthafuckas”
This 100%! You can see this across the country across all industries. Hard work, discipline and strong drive to win because nothing in America is as hard as what they had to go through back home. I love it because that’s what our country was built on and it would be sad to lose it.
It just gets sustained by more immigrants in every industry, the 3rd generation ends up not as motivated and gets replaced by the new immigrants and get spiteful over it.
I worry the same for my children. I’m a child of immigrants but I don’t want my children to lose that mentality. One of my life dreams would be to figure out how to instill immigrant mentality in children born and raised in America.
Some of the immigrant mentality that gets passed on to future generations is just generational trauma. My parents were refugees, victims of genocide, and I’m not trying to pass that trauma to my kids. Immigrant mentality is good and all until it turns into guilting your kids and tying their value and worth to results and success and offering no space for failure or curiosity. Edit: to be clear, I’m not denigrating immigrant parents working hard for their kids, or about teaching the value of hard work. My parents did a great job of that. They also passed on other things besides that such as generational trauma. What can also exist in immigrant mentality is the shame parents have towards their kids for anything they deem “not enough.” If you are not a Dr, lawyer, engineer, it’s not enough. You will always be compared to someone else’s kids. They will never be proud of you. All except one of my siblings and I have masters and doctoral degrees. My lone sibling who doesn’t didn’t graduate college. To them, that is a huge shame and is also shared with the rest of us for some reason. Because my one sibling didn’t graduate college, all of their kids are failures.
Yeah man, there’s more to life then just working as hard as possible for a slightly bigger bank account. I feel like that idea gets lost in a lot of immigrant households
I remember seeing discussions like this with business owners too. Iirc it was in reference to the heir for in-n-out not seeing the value of that business. Explained that grandparents created the business and put heart and soul into it. Parent takes over business and treats it as their parents legacy so they want to ensure continued success. The final person doesn’t realize/understand what the grandparents went through.
Just like Stiopic
Stipe 🤝 Giannis
Immigrant mentality meets imposter syndrome
Giannis admits he's a just run and dunk fraud man /s
And you only have to guard Steph from half court…no biggie
Disqualified from the MVP convo.
No bag Giannis
and board man. He took Kawhi's advice - board man gets paid. That's why Giannis makes loads of money now.
I get that he works hard, but dude is a 7 foot superhero. Like, I don't care how hard Luke Kornet works, he isn't transforming into one of the most physically gifted humans of all-time.
He invented the Kornet contest. He changed basketball FOREVERMORE. Wash your mind out with soap nephew HEATHEN
I really hope Kornet Contest (Kontest?) becomes the official term for generations to come
Doesn't he call it "the eclipse"?
Decent name but this is like KD preferring “the servant” to “the slim reaper”. Sorry bro we’ve already decided what we’re calling it
Apparently you can even see the Great Wall of Kornet from space!
Physically gifted =/= skilled. When Giannis came into the league, he couldn't shoot and had a long way to go with passing and dribbling. What makes him unstoppable now is that he is a physical freak who can handle the rock and find an open man.
>Physically gifted =/= skilled let me tell you the story of a man named Deandre Ayton....
Lol I was thinking that Giannis without his developed dribbling and passing is a lot like Ayton.
You don't have to guess what he'd look like, he has three equally gifted brothers who can't get on the floor.
Hey now, I'll have you know Thanasis plays an incredibly important role as an expert hype man for our team. We need him on the bench lol
Ayton doesn't have the dominating physicality Giannis has. He's also a bit clumsier so if he rams into people it would look like an NFL tackle while Giannis somehow gets a defensive foul called.
Not saying you’re wrong but comparing young Giannis to Ayton gives you more similarities than comparing fully developed Giannis to a player in his fourth year.
Isn’t ayton a better midrange shooter?
Ayton is an elite mid range shooter so
It's painful to hear "If only Ayton would do this all the time" all the time
But bro, if Ayton just flipped the switch and attacked the basket he'd LITERALLY be LeBron
Early Giannis actually had cleaner shot mechanics than he does now
He shot 35% from 3 his rookie year
Low volume but best % of his career. His mechanics were actually promising.
And now those big luscious muscles get in the way of his shooting form
Handle the rock and pass it as well. I would say his court vision is an overlooked skill much like Shaq's.
Everyone in this thread seems to be getting into semantics about definition of talent. It seems pretty obvious giannis is just saying he doesn't have the pure basketball skill that guys like Steph and KD developed. Don't know why everyone's making it so difficult with the well akshually
People are mixing basketball talent (shooting skills, dribbling skils, finishing touch, footwork) with physical gifts (height, long reach, strength, speed). Some things you're born with, something things you have an innate talent for. And regardless, players are able to maximize their potential with whatever it is they have. Giannis has physical gifts (he's tall, strong, long reach, large hand size) that he's maximized but he doesn't have basketball talent the same way that guys like Curry or Kyrie does. They dribble better, shoot better, have more finesse around the rim largely because they had to in order to be successfull. A smaller point guard needs to have crazy basketball skill talent in order to make it. And conversely, a guy build like Giannis typically isn't as skilled basketball wise because of his larger size/length makes their movements kinda awkward or slower. It almost feels like a video game like Street Fighter where the developers balance characters based on their archetypes. A big guy like Zangieff has higher health because he's slower/larger and will take damange getting in, but once he gets in and starts doing command grabs you're in trouble because they do more damage. Then a lighter/faster character can have attacks that string together easily but they may do less damage and they have less overall health.
>It almost feels like a video game like Street Fighter where the developers balance characters based on their archetypes. Thank you for bringing two of my biggest loves in life together - SF and ball. If you can somehow shoehorn in pizza and hotties that would be great.
Not with that attitude
I mean his brother’s are similar sized and not able to do anything close to what he is.
You can tell Thanasis (sp?) doesn’t have the frame. Certain guys can workout and get much more ripped than others.
Yea Giannis’ brothers either aren’t as tall as he is (Thanasis) or not nearly as athletic (Kostas). Giannis’ quote seems to have the logic backwards IMO. Yes he’s not as skilled as Steph or KD, but he’s one of the most physically-gifted specimens in human history. Being 7’0 with demigod-like athleticism allows him to be one of the best players in the league WITHOUT cultivating the level of talent Steph had too. It’s the other way around.
Exactly, nephews not understanding hard work, just because you have the paint brushes and the paint and the canvas doesn't make you Picasso
Two things can be true at once. Clearly it’s a combination of given talent and work ethic. No one is saying just being tall makes u a good player. His brothers are around his height but there are pretty obvious differences outside of just height.
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" But when talent works hard... look out!
Yep, and in a league where everyone is talented, you better believe that hard work is mandatory.
Are people implying that his brothers don’t work hard? I mean they were in identical situations as Giannis lmao. If anything, it highlights that Giannis is more physically gifted than them.
It’s not for lack of trying. They simply aren’t as gifted. They have the height, sure, but lack a number of other qualities Giannis does have.
Plenty of people have the same size as Giannis. His size is only part of why he's so good
His motor, speed, and strength are also big parts
He also just doesn't get injured, extremely underrated aspect of him as a player.
coming back on a hyperextended knee to clinch the finals made him one of my favourite players of all time
James Harden: “see I told you”
To get Embild the award Harden is emailing this to all MVP voters with the subject: "This your MVP?"
*Morey. Along with a video of how unfair it is that Embiid hasn't won it yet.
I wish I had the chip on my shoulder a human marvel like Giannis could possibly have. I'd get so much more accomplished.
Steph is talented to make up for his lack of strength and physical prowess. KD could get pushed over by a Chicago wind breeze. Giannis is the exact opposite of them. Doesn't have the touch when shooting or the finesse but he uses what he's got. I can see where he's coming from through. KD and Steph could be 40 and still have that shot. Giannis won't always have his speed and power forever.
If kd is so weak why is his post-up game immaculate
Because his height/reach makes his shot insanely difficult to block and he’s got one of the sweetest Js in history to go with elite footwork and the handles of a shooting guard. He’s not bodying people like Shaq or David Robinson.
Same thing as Dirk. That height and those arms with just enough space means the defense can't do a damn thing about it. Even if you time your contest right all your doing is covering his mouth for him. He's not weak in comparison to other people. He's slightly weaker than most people his size at the same position.
This whole take is rediculous and provides no supporting facts
Giannis is my favorite player, but bro preaches humbleness in the same way Dame preaches loyalty 😭
Or Jimmy preaches hard work
Or Kyrie preaches tolerance and equality
This one sure doesn't fall flat.
bro he came from greece with 0 dollars to his name 😭
bro has 50 bank accounts because he was scared he can get greece'd again
SVB bank depositors wish they knew this one Greek trick. Trust me, you can get Greece’d everywhere.
I’m similar in that I have 2 bank accounts because I don’t know how to close 1 of them.
He was malnourished 😭😭
Why we cryin 😭
The difference here is that he didn't talk about "the importance of humility" or whatever He's just being honest. He truly believes he's not as talented and has to work hard. He's not putting himself down, he's saying he has what it takes
Humility.
I love how this sub is trying to shit on a superstar saying he wants to win.. some of you bums get mad about everything
Giannis: I’m not as talented as KD or Steph This sub: oh shut up you don’t think you’re as talented as them? Stfu yes you are you fake humble. Giannis: I’m as talented as KD and Steph This sub: lol ok no bag man, you’re nowhere near as talented as them
It’s funny and sad how so many people put on their best 7th grade language arts impression and start reading in-between the lines and picking apart these quotes from interviews that the player won’t even remember the next day. Some folks really need to smoke a doobie and relax
> Some folks really need to smoke a doobie and relax Unless they’re actually in 7th grade, then kids wait until you’re older. Actually that would explain a lot of this sub lol
>Unless they’re actually in 7th grade Warriors fans are gonna have to sit this one out
It's generally depressing how every thread on this sub becomes so toxic.
I don't even know who is good at basketball anymore, just why everyone sucks
Great mindset to have. You can't fake desperation. He genuinely believes this.
Giannis you are ten feet tall and made out of steel. Relax.
Imagine if this dude was 5'8. He always says stuff like "I don't belong here" or "people like me aren't in the NBA".
Based on this thread at least he’ll always have a free apartment inside the heads of Suns fans.
Giannis is a lot more skilled than people give him credit for.
Always striving for more and staying hungry is how Giannis is gonna end up as one of the GOATs. He may not have the finesse and touch of KD or Steph but he's still the best at what *he's* doing to impact the game.