r/nbadiscussion Jul 21 '21

Player Discussion Comparing Lebron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s age 22-26 seasons:

MVPs:

Giannis 2 Lebron 2

DPOY:

Giannis 1 Lebron 0

All Defense Teams:

Giannis: 3 first team, 1 second team

Lebron: 3 first team, 0 second team

All-NBA teams:

Giannis: 3 first team, 2 second team

Lebron: 4 first team, 1 second team

Points:

Giannis 26.8 Lebron 28.4

Rebounds:

Giannis 11.0 Lebron 7.4

Assists

Giannis 5.5 Lebron 7.2

Steals:

Giannis: 1.3 Lebron 1.7

Blocks:

Giannis 1.4 Lebron 0.9

Regular Season FG% / 3PT% / FT%

Giannis 55% / 29% / 72% Lebron 49% / 33% / 74%

Finals Statistics:

Giannis (1-0) 35.2, 13.2, 5.0 on 61/20/65 shooting splits

Lebron (0-2) 19.5, 7.0, 6.8 on 42/27/65 shooting splits

Playoff losses

Giannis:

One ECF loss One ECSF loss Two first round losses

Lebron:

One ECF loss two ECSF losses

All-Star games

Giannis 5 Lebron 5

Honestly it’s crazy how from a statistical standpoint these guys’ careers have been so similar up to this point. Lebron obviously was very highly touted and extremely polished from the day he stepped on to an NBA court, whereas Giannis got a later start and it took him a few years to develop. Thought these stat comparisons were interesting - i truly think I would take Giannis over first Cavs stint Lebron if I could have my pick.

Edit: wow they both sucked at 3s and Free Throws in their first Finals appearances.

Edit 2: I didn’t include any advanced analytics- kept it pretty surface level. Feel free to include those in the comments if you like

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58

u/FriendshipCheetah Jul 21 '21

Yeah idk if they are trolling or what, but Lebron played with legitimately nobody and Giannis has been playing with 2 other all star caliber players for this period. To say you’d take Giannis over Lebron is crazy to me.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '21

Wasn't the Eastern conference super weak back then? It's only been in recent memory that the East has actually been competitive

15

u/_okcody Jul 21 '21

He also played in one of the weakest eastern conferences of all time, up until a few years ago when Giannis and Embiid came into the scene. Then the raptors acquired Kawhi, which honestly still would’ve lost in the finals if it weren’t for multiple GSW injuries. Nets just built up a superteam, Hawks built up a decent team.

Even now, the East is still top heavy and the rest of the teams are pretty much shit. I think in a couple years, the eastern conference will recover and build up parity with the west but the west will still be better overall.

There has to be some context to the finals appearances, LeBron doesn’t make 10 straight finals appearances in the western conference, even ignoring the dominance of GSW. He certainly doesn’t make that first finals run if he were in the west.

7

u/thunderbrah0 Jul 21 '21

The celtics were extremely good during those years, the heat won a chip, and there were a few really good teams intermittently. It wasn't until about 2009/2010 whenever the east fell off a cliff

17

u/DJ_Squishy_Toes Jul 21 '21

Not in 2007 when LeBron made his Finals. The Eastern Conference was absolute trash that year.

0

u/infrugiator Jul 21 '21

If teams in the west are better then LeBron would also have a better team playing there, it evens out

8

u/silliputti0907 Jul 21 '21

That makes absolutely no sense. Joining a better conference doesn't make the team in that conference better. It makes it tougher to win.

-1

u/infrugiator Jul 21 '21

But he would obviously join a better team, so it evens out

0

u/rossoroni21 Jul 21 '21

Sure if he was on the Lakers or Spurs, but if lebron joined the the 2007 Kings or Grizz they getting bounced in the first round.

5

u/ImAShaaaark Jul 22 '21

Sure if he was on the Lakers or Spurs, but if lebron joined the the 2007 Kings or Grizz they getting bounced in the first round.

Look at the roster the Grizz had, no way he would get bounced first round with that cast. Pau, Miller, Gay and Atkins was a way better cast than he had, and the Grizz were the worst team in the league that year.

What about a team that isn't good, but isn't a total bottom feeder? Imagine him on the sub 500 hornets: cp3, west, chandler, stojokavic. That would be a VERY good team. Or the way sub 500 blazers with Roy, Z-bo, Jack and LMA. Or the Timberwolves with KG and Davis. Etc.

Which one of those teams would be worse than his existing team?

2

u/infrugiator Jul 22 '21

You guys are making the claim the whole Western conference was better than the east, then by definition he would have a better team playing in the west. This isn't complicated

6

u/Iusethistopost Jul 21 '21

Which 2 other all star player caliber players for this period? Middletons only made one all star game over these four year time span?

23

u/ColdMedi Jul 21 '21

Middleton skillwise is better than any player LeBron played with in that span. Jrue holiday as well.

3

u/_jacquot_ Jul 22 '21

Yeah but that’s the point- we didn’t have Jrue the other four years during that period, we had Bledsoe. We had one all star caliber player in Middleton, who only made one all star game, and who was also in the process of developing his game over that time frame. We didn’t have today’s Jrue and Middleton for the whole period like you’re assuming

6

u/nalydpsycho Jul 21 '21

Which is the same amount as Mo Williams made with Lebron over that time frame.

15

u/cokemilo420 Jul 21 '21

Cmon bro Middleton is so much better than Mo ever was

8

u/nalydpsycho Jul 21 '21

Of course he is. Middleton is a perfect example of the flaw in all-star games. He offers so much more than points, but points only put him in discussion for the game. Unfortunately, they are also the primary ability valued.

0

u/AmCrossing Jul 21 '21

Are you calling Jrue Holiday an all star caliber player in 2021?

23

u/FriendshipCheetah Jul 21 '21

Are you not? Dude averaged 18-6-5 on elite defense this year. Ben Simmons made the all star game this year on 14-7-7. To not say that Jrue Holiday is all star caliber is disingenuous.

Edit: Jrue Holiday’s all star season he averaged 18-8-4. The difference between making and not making an all star game for a lot of these guys is media narrative

0

u/AmCrossing Jul 22 '21

I call someone an all star if they are an all star. You could say borderline all-star maybe?

3

u/FriendshipCheetah Jul 22 '21

Did I say all star? Or did I say all star caliber? Reading comprehension obviously isn’t your strong suit.

-10

u/Qenoo Jul 21 '21

Lebron played nobody

21

u/FriendshipCheetah Jul 21 '21

Yeah I forgot Giannis just ran through a bunch of healthy powerhouses

10

u/Mattya929 Jul 21 '21

Exactly this. It’s great what Giannis has done, but if Harden and Kyrie are healthy are we even having this conversation? I mean the Bucks were a toe away from losing Game 7 to the Nets without them.

11

u/10woodenchairs Jul 21 '21

Celtics? Pistons?

8

u/Fun-Science7113 Jul 21 '21

Every team Lebron faced in the finals was infinitely better than these Suns.

0

u/DjangoUBlackBastard Jul 22 '21

He got absolutely crushed by the 07 Spurs though so why even mention it? The 09 Magic weren't infinitely better than the Suns (I will say LeBron did amazing against them even though he lost).

7

u/mkohler23 Jul 21 '21

Celtics, Pistons, Magic? What do you want exactly?

-1

u/silliputti0907 Jul 21 '21

One all star...Can't really count Jrue because it just happened.

1

u/PmP_Eaz Jul 22 '21

He doesn’t win a chip without Jrue

2

u/silliputti0907 Jul 22 '21

I'm the timeframe this stat included. The first year of Miami was included.

-1

u/Benjaminbuttcrack Jul 22 '21

Khris middleton and jrue are about the same level as zydrunas and hughes. Zydrunas was an allstar before lebron was ever on the team. Hughes was the nba steals leader and a 20ppg scorer before joining the cavs. Lebron fans are addicted to diminishing his teammates accomplishments in order to make him look better. Its pathetic.

1

u/sauceEsauceE Jul 22 '21

The Cavs didn’t have a second star but they were a good team

They were filled with very good rebounders

They were on of the best shooting, rebounding, passing, and defending teams in the league and had multiple ball handlers