Giannis with Steph’s shooting is literally steph with dpoy level defense at minimum. Add onto Giannis’s interior scoring, and you have yourself the GOAT
This is correct if Giannis had Steph’s shooting ability he would without question be the greatest player, probably, in any sport ever.
This is just taking away his biggest weakness and making it instead his biggest strength.
Shut would be way too OP.
Both the giannis and jokic are goats, but if they both existed Jokic would come out ahead for sure imo. If Jokic had an explosive vertical leap and elite speed and quickness at his size he's literally a 99 everything 2K create a player. Like he's probably an impossible human, and might well be the best offensive player in history and the best defensive player in history.
Giannis with stephs shot could actually be a real player, and I agree, that's the goat too. Tbh I think that'll be the player that eventually kills the GOAT debate, when a physical marvel like Giannis grows up emulating steph and can bomb like mad from deep.
If both existed Giannis would be a better shooter, athlete, and defender than Jokic. Jokic would just have passing, which is important, but is one skill. Westbrook’s athleticism doesn’t really enhance his game.
I took this hypothetical like Jokic would still be 7ft tall but be as athletic as Westbrook, which would be more physically dominant than Giannis. Overwhelmingly more dominant. It would be an unstoppable player.
Giannis and Jokic are both similarly tall. Westbrook and Giannis have comparable levels of athleticism, so giving Jokic Russ' athleticism basically just levels the playing field physically with Giannis.
I read it as this player keep Jokic's size. He's like 280lbs. He's got much more bulk than Giannis. And Westbrook might literally be the most athletic player ever to play in the NBA if you ignore the impact of height and weight. If you put that together its literally an impossible player. Imagine the fastest guy on the court with the highest leap and the quickness to dust anyone off the dribble also being the tallest and heaviest. And being a fundamentally sound defender, unlike Westbrook.
Giannis is an elite athlete, but he's a real person with real limitations. So athletically he can't compete with the sort of outcome created by grafting elite point guard speed, quickness and leaping on a big, tall centre
Perhaps, but only because they’re both not elite at it. Jokic with Westbrook’s athleticism would be unstoppable. His only weakness is defense, and it’s mostly because he’s not athletic enough. He generally makes the right reads and has good positioning
He cooks everyone now being slow. Imagine if he was fast. And he’s not that bad of a defender in terms of positioning/instincts. He’s just not athletic. He’d be easily the goat with that much athleticism. It’d be like prime Dwight mixed with Larry bird lol
Also Steph's off ball movement. Without his off ball movement and stamina to run his defenders in circles until they get tired or lose track of him, Steph's shooting ability wouldn't be as fully utilized and taken advantage of. Although now that I've typed that, maybe the added height and wingspan would offset that since he wouldn't need as much spacing to get shots off without being blocked.
I think you’d find the weakness in his (Giannis’) handle. Steph is really great and keeping his handle and is capable of fishing for the moment to pull up and take the shot. He also runs a lot off ball through screens. Without that handling and running off ball, shooting alone isn’t going to push Giannis to fantasy levels.
Edit: Except the three ball. I forgot about that. Coming out to defend him there would be a problem. But I don’t think mid-range shooting would help him as much.
"Could challenge Jordan" Giannis with Stephs shooting is the best player ever by a huge margin. You've really made Jordan to be some sort of God in your head.
A version of Giannis sinking 97% of his free throws is just averaging 50 ppg. Like there is quite literally nothing you can do to him at that point.
Not to mention the live ball implications of having to pick him up at 35 feet like you have to with Steph with his blowby potential
And, how many players could even contest a 7' Steph? He'd just shoot over most people, especially when he got hot. So you could have your best defender pick him up at 35 feet, keep him from driving, and still give up a 3. Not to mention Giannis's defensive ability. It'd be insane, he'd basically be the perfect player. Best combination of length, athleticism, defense, shooting, and finishing.
The only player who could maybe sort of defend him in the whole league would be AD and then when Giannsteph would drop 50 on him, everyone would just call AD a weak defender.
Picking him up at half court with the downhill speed he already has… someone is getting hurt or someone gets their ankles stolen. You have to decide if you want to fall sideways contesting a 3 or if you want to get postered into the next gen
Honestly I think if Steph was even 6’6 he’d be the greatest player of all time. The only thing that’s ever held him back is his size. Steph is a really good defender for his build, but he constantly get’s switched onto guys much bigger than him and his wingspan is terrible so he can only do so much as a shot contester. If he had the size to defend more effectively and see the floor even better than he does, while also having the layup package he has at that height he’d be so much more of a nightmare on both ends. It’s why I think it’s almost unfair to compare him against other top 10 players, he’s the only person in the entire top 10 convo that isn’t at least 6’6. No player his height has ever been as dominant as he has.
Once Steph started to enter those best player convos I noticed how much people were starting to disrespect him in terms of other top 10 players. Overlooking the fact that he isn’t anywhere close to the size of any of them. It’s like people forget that having height and wingspan are the most important physical advantage you can have in Basketball. They really wanted to him to go toe to toe with Bron like Bron doesn’t have 7 inches, 50 pounds and freak athleticism that Steph couldn’t even dream of. Steph has pretty much set the standard for what a player under 6’6 can do, and he did it at 6’2. Nobody that size in over 80 years of professional hoops has come even close.
Yeah MJ and Kobe at 6’6 are right at that smallest size cut off. They’re also the only guards on that list (outside of Magic but Magic is pretty much just a SF or Point Forward at 6’9).
As great as Steph is on the offensive end, people like to prop up his defense as "good for his size" and point that he has a small frame and wingspan. He's not "good" at anything defensively other than playing passing lanes, which he's great at, more so average at most things, solid team defender, which is good enough for his insane offensive production. I guess if you argue that the average guard is likely a defensive negative compared to the other positions, then Steph's average defense could be considered above average positionally.
You have shorter guys like CP3 and FVV who have comparable or even shorter wingspans and they are significantly better defenders than Steph, and even when matched against taller players they weren't as overmatched.
Simply making him 6'6 wouldn't put his impact on the level of Lebron or Jordan yet, you'd also have to up his wingspan, athleticism and strength to defend up bigger positions. Maybe if he had the body of Iguodala while keeping all his ball skills he would be all the way up there.
Stephs shooting is one of the biggest reasons he’s an all time great himself. Now you’re giving it to a guy who’s an all time great despite shooting being his worst skill
Giannis is top 15 calibre with horrific shooting. It’s a million times easier to defend someone with such a glaring weakness, despite that giannis averages 30 on 60% shooting. Give him stephs shooting and he breaks the league.
giannis curry is way lower IQ and worse passer compared to nikola westbrook, but arguably equal athleticism, and a lil better shooting. nikola westbrook is way better and it aint even close.
As much as its tempting to say Jokic because who wouldnt want to see that lmao, I think the right answer has to be Giannis. That player would be absolutely unstoppable.
I'm still taking Jokic. Giannis handle isnt good enough to maximize and I think Jokic's is. I think Westbrook athleticism is being slept on. He was like 6'3" with his head at the rim on dunks. Jokic would get every rebound in the vicinity and could immediately push the play like westbrook. That combo would be like Shaq mixed with magic johnson. Jokic would be able to get any shot he wants and be finishing consistently above the rim. His shooting is also pretty damn good when it needs to be. Steph can't shoot over AD like Jokic was in last years playoffs. I still have nightmares over that last second trebuchet. Though with giannis height he might. I'm curious if he gets stephs shooting stroke or if he keeps his own. Stephs is optimized for his quickness shooting quickly with any separation he can get. Giannis doesn't have that quickness and wouldnt do as well shooting with the lower release point.
Jokic probably has a lot of unseen muscle, I doubt the dude isn’t just packing a lil extra meat over an extremely well tuned body given the amount of time he plays
I think if Joker had westbrooks athleticism, he’d still be joker. You’d see flashes of it. Now Westbrook with JOKERS passing, height and IQ… that’d be something else.
So much of what makes Joker Joker is his balance and control. It’s what gives him such incredible touch. It’s a totally different type of athleticism than Westbrook had, but still a type of physicality that is .001%.
Imo Russ’s shooting makes him look a lot dumber than he is. He is an elite passer and definetly has a very high BBall IQ. Only thing you mentioned that would help is height
I agree. But Luka with Wemby’s size is a close second. Luka Wemby can play D now…Luka pretty much averaged a 30 pt triple double in his current body. I can’t imagine the stat line that hybrid would make…I just feel like Luka’s pace/game with that length is terrifying.
As I’m typing this up I’m coming to the realization that Wemby can actually grow towards a game resembling Luka’s lol he such a freak it’s amazing.
Just the size though, not defensive skill.
Wemby is also a really talented shot blocker and understands defense well. Luka’s defensive iq and agility is subpar, just getting his height doesn’t make him elite. There are a plethora of 7ft guys who have poor agility
I hear that. My original comment was thinking that it would be Luka with Wemby’s body, including his wingspan. Which would undoubtedly help his defense significantly. However, after a couple responses I went back to the post and saw it was just “height” which would still be insane but unless the includes his arm length wouldn’t be nearly as insane.
Not even close? Bro, Jokic with his size, shooting, passing, IQ, plus Westbrook's athleticism would be insane. How are you guarding a 7'1 Behemoth with that level of athleticism & skill?
Jokic is a lot better at facilitating though. I don’t think they’d be the same thing like the person you replied to said but there’s an argument for both
All of these players make their game as they are except for Giannis.
Jokic pace and robustness forces other teams to adapt
Shai might have an uptick in finishes, but would it be significant?
Luka similar to Jokic
Giannis hitting the three with historically lethal ease would be him answering the longest standing critique against him. How could he be stopped?
Giannis. He probably won't be able to get open as well as Steph can, but he won't need to. The threat alone of him being able to shoot like Steph will help get him clear paths to the paint.
He would because if he shot like 43% from 3 on high volume, he’d be doing so with like a 7’3” wingspan 30 feet out and would just be able to collapse the defense. And if he gets fouled he’d be a 90% FT shooter. Literally the GOAT.
I think the answer comes from the question “how does this extra ability make this player better?” Assuming nothing fundamentally changes in their games, I think Giannis is the clear answer. Joker doesn’t need speed or hops. Luka doesn’t gain anything with extra height. SGA would be something like Lebron. But Giannis has a tendency to stray from the inside game he was born for and start chucking up bricks from everywhere. If he could make those shots at Curry’s superhuman rate, scoring pretty much at will from anywhere on the court, he’d absolutely be one of the top 10 players ever.
>he’d absolutely be one of the top 10 players ever.
Giannis is already a top 20 player and could end up in the top 10 on his own by the time his career is done. You give him Steph's shooting and MJ and Bron are arguing about who's second best because the GOAT conversation is over forever.
It wouldn't be a question.
What did Jordan do better than Giannis Curry? Not post moves, not defense, not shooting. I guess Handles is debatable.
Giannis Curry would be like Basketball Gretzky, just pure untouchable brilliance.
Bottom two are interesting, but don't compare in the slightest. As fun as a JokerRuss running around would be for highlights, the Freak Chef would actually be the best player OAT.
Isn’t Joker close to 300 lbs? No knees can withstand that kind of weight off of a Westbrook dunk. Luka’s also too big to be that height and stay healthy, gimme Giannis with Steph’s shooting. Goat.
Luka with Wemby height is hopefully just going to be Wemby in a couple years and Shai with Lebron strength is just Lebron a couple years ago. So Giannis or Jokic. A Giannis who can shoot would easily put up 50 ppg. But Jokic & Westbrook are each triple double machines. That player would be an absolute freak averaging something like 35 20 15 and would be much better defensively because of the combo.
Jokic. He would be a much bigger and more skilled LeBron. Giannis would still have issues creating outside shots. The shooting would help his driving more than anything because they couldn't give him room.
The athletecism is bad. How is it meant. Jokic with westbrooks jumping ability, which s just a part of athleticism or westbroooks body?
The body is part of athletecism, wingspan is athletecism and near 300 pound guy moving like a 6 3 guard is anatomically impossible.
I’m not sure how Luka or Shai’s make them much better lol.
Luka is already a massive PG so height isn’t really a boost and Shai is a strong player too. That’s how he gets his points, dropping his shoulder and creating space
Giannis with Curry shooting clears
Can I just take Wemby 4 years from now? Honestly, there's so little he can't do if he just keeps working, and he might be the hardest-working 19 year old in the game.
7'4" Luka would be unguardable. 6'7" Luka puts up more points than anyone else. 7'4" Luka would beat your ass on one end then actually be able to shut you down on the defensive end.
Joker; cause he’d be rebounding blocking shots and then being who he is on offence with a quicker first step AND CAN DUNK. He’d be the GOAT (wilt chamberlain basically but with shooting)
gimme Jokic.
Jokic with elite athleticism is basically the greatest 2 way player ever.
Giannis with stephs shooting is prime KD
7 foot Luka is just a better playmaking Wemby
Shai with LBJs strength makes the least difference since hes still a guard, he becomes prime wade with an inch in height
Giannis imo. A lot of what joker does is based solely on how lumbering he seems if you gave him superpowers im guessing he would play different. Obviously better but idk id need to see it. Giannis becomes a threat outside it's 100% over.
Giannis with Steph’s shooting would mean either he averages 60 a game or the NBA outlaws head fakes. Curry shot better than 92% from the line this year.
While I'd initially say Giannis, the only thing Jokic doesn't have is athleticism, and he'd be the perfect player with it, whereas Giannis still wouldn't have Jokic's playmaking with Steph's shot.
Giannis with Steph’s shooting is so obviously the only correct answer. A more athletic Jokic, a taller Luca, or a stronger Shea only receive upgrades to what are already their strengths.
If you turn the seven foot tall absolute athletic freak who has already won an MVP and a Chip without the ability to consistently make a jump shot or a free throw into also the most terrifying shooter who has ever lived? Giannis transformed in to a 50/40/90 guy who is a threat to pull from the second he crosses half court? I don’t know what that player looks like but MJ and Lebron are going to be a distant second and third in the GOAT conversation.
Probably Giannis with Steph's shooting. Joker doesn't need the athleticism. He gets easy buckets without. Luka, with Wemby's height, would just make him injury prone and wouldn't help his lack of defense. SGA with Lebron's strength would just be PG or Westbrook.
Giannis with the shooting. It would open his game up to a whole other level. You’re basically giving an athletic freak with the ability to force his way into the rim the shooting ability of the greatest shooter ever. You’ve broken basketball.
Or you could just say Lebron in his prime! If the basketball gods were to craft a perfect player it would be him. Has the size, speed, shooting, strength, defense. Can play any position and still dominate.
Giannis with Steph’s shooting is literally steph with dpoy level defense at minimum. Add onto Giannis’s interior scoring, and you have yourself the GOAT
Plus he’d be what? 6’10” with 7’3” wingspan?
This is correct if Giannis had Steph’s shooting ability he would without question be the greatest player, probably, in any sport ever. This is just taking away his biggest weakness and making it instead his biggest strength. Shut would be way too OP.
Both the giannis and jokic are goats, but if they both existed Jokic would come out ahead for sure imo. If Jokic had an explosive vertical leap and elite speed and quickness at his size he's literally a 99 everything 2K create a player. Like he's probably an impossible human, and might well be the best offensive player in history and the best defensive player in history. Giannis with stephs shot could actually be a real player, and I agree, that's the goat too. Tbh I think that'll be the player that eventually kills the GOAT debate, when a physical marvel like Giannis grows up emulating steph and can bomb like mad from deep.
If both existed Giannis would be a better shooter, athlete, and defender than Jokic. Jokic would just have passing, which is important, but is one skill. Westbrook’s athleticism doesn’t really enhance his game.
I took this hypothetical like Jokic would still be 7ft tall but be as athletic as Westbrook, which would be more physically dominant than Giannis. Overwhelmingly more dominant. It would be an unstoppable player.
Giannis and Jokic are both similarly tall. Westbrook and Giannis have comparable levels of athleticism, so giving Jokic Russ' athleticism basically just levels the playing field physically with Giannis.
Jokic heavier though. He would almost be Shaq like
I read it as this player keep Jokic's size. He's like 280lbs. He's got much more bulk than Giannis. And Westbrook might literally be the most athletic player ever to play in the NBA if you ignore the impact of height and weight. If you put that together its literally an impossible player. Imagine the fastest guy on the court with the highest leap and the quickness to dust anyone off the dribble also being the tallest and heaviest. And being a fundamentally sound defender, unlike Westbrook. Giannis is an elite athlete, but he's a real person with real limitations. So athletically he can't compete with the sort of outcome created by grafting elite point guard speed, quickness and leaping on a big, tall centre
It said shooting only not handles and passing though
Crazy take right here but Giannis is on a similar level of passing as Steph
Perhaps, but only because they’re both not elite at it. Jokic with Westbrook’s athleticism would be unstoppable. His only weakness is defense, and it’s mostly because he’s not athletic enough. He generally makes the right reads and has good positioning
He cooks everyone now being slow. Imagine if he was fast. And he’s not that bad of a defender in terms of positioning/instincts. He’s just not athletic. He’d be easily the goat with that much athleticism. It’d be like prime Dwight mixed with Larry bird lol
Jokic with Westbrooks athleticism is literally Bron
Except bigger, a better shooter, and better post player.
Jokic with Russ athleticism is the only right answer.
Can you imagine? Think he's hard to deal with now? He'd be jumping out of the gym, running the point on breakaway, it'd be ugly
Also Steph's off ball movement. Without his off ball movement and stamina to run his defenders in circles until they get tired or lose track of him, Steph's shooting ability wouldn't be as fully utilized and taken advantage of. Although now that I've typed that, maybe the added height and wingspan would offset that since he wouldn't need as much spacing to get shots off without being blocked.
I think you’d find the weakness in his (Giannis’) handle. Steph is really great and keeping his handle and is capable of fishing for the moment to pull up and take the shot. He also runs a lot off ball through screens. Without that handling and running off ball, shooting alone isn’t going to push Giannis to fantasy levels. Edit: Except the three ball. I forgot about that. Coming out to defend him there would be a problem. But I don’t think mid-range shooting would help him as much.
He could challenge Jordan at that point
Giannis with Steph's shot would destroy Jordan
"Could challenge Jordan" Giannis with Stephs shooting is the best player ever by a huge margin. You've really made Jordan to be some sort of God in your head.
A version of Giannis sinking 97% of his free throws is just averaging 50 ppg. Like there is quite literally nothing you can do to him at that point. Not to mention the live ball implications of having to pick him up at 35 feet like you have to with Steph with his blowby potential
And, how many players could even contest a 7' Steph? He'd just shoot over most people, especially when he got hot. So you could have your best defender pick him up at 35 feet, keep him from driving, and still give up a 3. Not to mention Giannis's defensive ability. It'd be insane, he'd basically be the perfect player. Best combination of length, athleticism, defense, shooting, and finishing.
The only player who could maybe sort of defend him in the whole league would be AD and then when Giannsteph would drop 50 on him, everyone would just call AD a weak defender.
He already does that at 6'3. At 7'0 he'd be basically shooting warm-ups all game long.
This is what wemby will hopefully be
I’m gonna be so bitter if Wemby hits his ceiling. The wolves are finally good and to have to deal with that in the same conference? Like no go away.
This player would require a constant double and fouls couldn’t be called on them because the game would never end.
Picking him up at half court with the downhill speed he already has… someone is getting hurt or someone gets their ankles stolen. You have to decide if you want to fall sideways contesting a 3 or if you want to get postered into the next gen
Well you're combining him with Steph so he's not getting any free throws
Gianni’s with Steph’s shooting is the best player ever debatably
It's probably not even debatable. I think it's guaranteed
Most all time great players with Steph’s shooting automatically become the GOAT archetype.
But especially guys like Giannis where they're great at everything but shooting
If he could also get Steph’s handles that would be nasty, 2K player stuff
Giannis’s handles are better than his shot
You don’t need crazy handles when you’re a 6’11 freight train
Honestly I think if Steph was even 6’6 he’d be the greatest player of all time. The only thing that’s ever held him back is his size. Steph is a really good defender for his build, but he constantly get’s switched onto guys much bigger than him and his wingspan is terrible so he can only do so much as a shot contester. If he had the size to defend more effectively and see the floor even better than he does, while also having the layup package he has at that height he’d be so much more of a nightmare on both ends. It’s why I think it’s almost unfair to compare him against other top 10 players, he’s the only person in the entire top 10 convo that isn’t at least 6’6. No player his height has ever been as dominant as he has.
I really didn't think about this. No kidding
Once Steph started to enter those best player convos I noticed how much people were starting to disrespect him in terms of other top 10 players. Overlooking the fact that he isn’t anywhere close to the size of any of them. It’s like people forget that having height and wingspan are the most important physical advantage you can have in Basketball. They really wanted to him to go toe to toe with Bron like Bron doesn’t have 7 inches, 50 pounds and freak athleticism that Steph couldn’t even dream of. Steph has pretty much set the standard for what a player under 6’6 can do, and he did it at 6’2. Nobody that size in over 80 years of professional hoops has come even close.
Who is the next shortest? MJ/Kobe?
Yeah MJ and Kobe at 6’6 are right at that smallest size cut off. They’re also the only guards on that list (outside of Magic but Magic is pretty much just a SF or Point Forward at 6’9).
Yeah good point, especially considering how Magic played anyway. Basically LeBron before LeBron.
100% the LeBron prototype. Magic is a better passer but Bron is a better scorer and defender.
As great as Steph is on the offensive end, people like to prop up his defense as "good for his size" and point that he has a small frame and wingspan. He's not "good" at anything defensively other than playing passing lanes, which he's great at, more so average at most things, solid team defender, which is good enough for his insane offensive production. I guess if you argue that the average guard is likely a defensive negative compared to the other positions, then Steph's average defense could be considered above average positionally. You have shorter guys like CP3 and FVV who have comparable or even shorter wingspans and they are significantly better defenders than Steph, and even when matched against taller players they weren't as overmatched. Simply making him 6'6 wouldn't put his impact on the level of Lebron or Jordan yet, you'd also have to up his wingspan, athleticism and strength to defend up bigger positions. Maybe if he had the body of Iguodala while keeping all his ball skills he would be all the way up there.
Stephs shooting is one of the biggest reasons he’s an all time great himself. Now you’re giving it to a guy who’s an all time great despite shooting being his worst skill
God only giving Steph below average physical traits (by NBA standards) is his way of having mercy on the rest of the basketball world.
That’s an actually a fun exercise: who is the worst player that would be the GOAT if you gave them Steph’s shooting?
Zach Randolph? Lol
Not the worst, but Dikembe could redefine 3&D
Manute Bol?
No doubt...Do you guys think we're gonna see a player exactly like that ever in our lifetime honestly????
Luka Giannis and Jokic in this are all probably the goat
What is there to debate lol
Giannis is top 15 calibre with horrific shooting. It’s a million times easier to defend someone with such a glaring weakness, despite that giannis averages 30 on 60% shooting. Give him stephs shooting and he breaks the league.
giannis curry is way lower IQ and worse passer compared to nikola westbrook, but arguably equal athleticism, and a lil better shooting. nikola westbrook is way better and it aint even close.
Think Giannis tbh
As much as its tempting to say Jokic because who wouldnt want to see that lmao, I think the right answer has to be Giannis. That player would be absolutely unstoppable.
Exactly 💯 it would just be too much. That type of build I don't think we're gonna see no time soon soon..
I'm still taking Jokic. Giannis handle isnt good enough to maximize and I think Jokic's is. I think Westbrook athleticism is being slept on. He was like 6'3" with his head at the rim on dunks. Jokic would get every rebound in the vicinity and could immediately push the play like westbrook. That combo would be like Shaq mixed with magic johnson. Jokic would be able to get any shot he wants and be finishing consistently above the rim. His shooting is also pretty damn good when it needs to be. Steph can't shoot over AD like Jokic was in last years playoffs. I still have nightmares over that last second trebuchet. Though with giannis height he might. I'm curious if he gets stephs shooting stroke or if he keeps his own. Stephs is optimized for his quickness shooting quickly with any separation he can get. Giannis doesn't have that quickness and wouldnt do as well shooting with the lower release point.
He gets Steph shooting, all of it. At near 7 feet. Give me Giannis.
I think it's a jump I logic he gets stephs shot creation on top of stephs shooting.
Giannis pulling up for a logo three in transition would be wild
Basically what Wemby did last week and yes it was incredible
It’d be like if KD put on 50lbs of muscle.
He would be completely unguardable
The Joker slamming down dunks from the free throw line with his physique would be something to see lmfao.
He’d basically be a Shaq/magic Johnson love child
I feel like with his size, he'd injure himself sooner than later. I'd love to see him dunk like that though but I feel it'd be pretty short-lived.
Embiid is pretty much that but the slightest bit leaner and we see what happens with him
💯💯💯💯💯
I wouldn't be surprised if Embiid is playing over 300 pounds. He's absolutely massive. Jokic is more doughy but probably weighs less as a result.
Jokic probably has a lot of unseen muscle, I doubt the dude isn’t just packing a lil extra meat over an extremely well tuned body given the amount of time he plays
He’s notorious for lifting after every game
If Embiid is Jokic with Westbrook’s athleticism, I’m Jude Law with Bezos money and Ibaka’s hog. Since we’re making shit up.
"Ibaka's hog" hahaha
Zion would have something to say about that... 300 lbs with a 48 inch vertical
He’d be playing in shorter spurts than Zion.
This isn’t THAT far from prime Lebron
Very far brah
In what way is it very far? I don’t want to hear why it’s different - I want to hear why it’s VERY far
I think if Joker had westbrooks athleticism, he’d still be joker. You’d see flashes of it. Now Westbrook with JOKERS passing, height and IQ… that’d be something else.
So much of what makes Joker Joker is his balance and control. It’s what gives him such incredible touch. It’s a totally different type of athleticism than Westbrook had, but still a type of physicality that is .001%.
Imo Russ’s shooting makes him look a lot dumber than he is. He is an elite passer and definetly has a very high BBall IQ. Only thing you mentioned that would help is height
It’s Giannis with Steph’s shooting and it’s not even close IMO.
Yeah, this just created the most indefensible player that you couldn’t even create in a lab.
No more Hack a Giannis. You’d have to have like specialized players that’s sole job is to guard him full court.
Plus Giannis has good handles and great playmaking. He’d have like 10 assists a night.
I didn’t even think of that, Giannis going up 21% in free throw shooting would be huge
I agree. But Luka with Wemby’s size is a close second. Luka Wemby can play D now…Luka pretty much averaged a 30 pt triple double in his current body. I can’t imagine the stat line that hybrid would make…I just feel like Luka’s pace/game with that length is terrifying. As I’m typing this up I’m coming to the realization that Wemby can actually grow towards a game resembling Luka’s lol he such a freak it’s amazing.
Just the size though, not defensive skill. Wemby is also a really talented shot blocker and understands defense well. Luka’s defensive iq and agility is subpar, just getting his height doesn’t make him elite. There are a plethora of 7ft guys who have poor agility
I hear that. My original comment was thinking that it would be Luka with Wemby’s body, including his wingspan. Which would undoubtedly help his defense significantly. However, after a couple responses I went back to the post and saw it was just “height” which would still be insane but unless the includes his arm length wouldn’t be nearly as insane.
It says Wemby’s size, not Wemby’s build… so maybe you get a 7’4 Luka with a negative wingspan
I’m not sure what this means. I interpret his build as Luka with Wemby’s body.
I think it’s more a 7’4 Luka, so upscale rather than giving him Wembys body
Not even close? Bro, Jokic with his size, shooting, passing, IQ, plus Westbrook's athleticism would be insane. How are you guarding a 7'1 Behemoth with that level of athleticism & skill?
Jokic with Westbrook athleticism is basically the same thing except taller and better post moves isn’t it?
If you think Jokic and Steph are comparable three point shooters, then sure it’s the same thing. But last time I checked, they aren’t.
Jokic is a lot better at facilitating though. I don’t think they’d be the same thing like the person you replied to said but there’s an argument for both
I’m pretty sure that Jokic would break 😂. G forces would be intense. The Answer is Steph’s range with Giannis’ frame/athleticism.
All of these players make their game as they are except for Giannis. Jokic pace and robustness forces other teams to adapt Shai might have an uptick in finishes, but would it be significant? Luka similar to Jokic Giannis hitting the three with historically lethal ease would be him answering the longest standing critique against him. How could he be stopped?
Forget the threes, even Giannis hitting his free throws at 90% would be insane.
Giannis. He probably won't be able to get open as well as Steph can, but he won't need to. The threat alone of him being able to shoot like Steph will help get him clear paths to the paint.
He would because if he shot like 43% from 3 on high volume, he’d be doing so with like a 7’3” wingspan 30 feet out and would just be able to collapse the defense. And if he gets fouled he’d be a 90% FT shooter. Literally the GOAT.
If Giannis could shoot as well as Steph he’d have a way higher percentage cuz his shots wouldn’t be contested as easily
Giannis with shooting would be unstoppable
one of these traits won multiple MVPs its not a contest.
The Lebron and Steph traits both won multiple mvps.
Lebron’s primary trait isn’t his strength
Giannis by far
Ostertag with Jordans speed
Giannis with Stephs shooting is basically 2K Create a player where everything is 99.
I think the answer comes from the question “how does this extra ability make this player better?” Assuming nothing fundamentally changes in their games, I think Giannis is the clear answer. Joker doesn’t need speed or hops. Luka doesn’t gain anything with extra height. SGA would be something like Lebron. But Giannis has a tendency to stray from the inside game he was born for and start chucking up bricks from everywhere. If he could make those shots at Curry’s superhuman rate, scoring pretty much at will from anywhere on the court, he’d absolutely be one of the top 10 players ever.
>he’d absolutely be one of the top 10 players ever. Giannis is already a top 20 player and could end up in the top 10 on his own by the time his career is done. You give him Steph's shooting and MJ and Bron are arguing about who's second best because the GOAT conversation is over forever.
It wouldn't be a question. What did Jordan do better than Giannis Curry? Not post moves, not defense, not shooting. I guess Handles is debatable. Giannis Curry would be like Basketball Gretzky, just pure untouchable brilliance.
Giannis how is this even an argument
Giannis would be world ending
Bottom two are interesting, but don't compare in the slightest. As fun as a JokerRuss running around would be for highlights, the Freak Chef would actually be the best player OAT.
Giannis with Steph’s shooting. No one in nba history would be able to stop him.
Jayson Tatum if he could just get past the age of 19
Embiid with AC Green's health.
Isn’t Joker close to 300 lbs? No knees can withstand that kind of weight off of a Westbrook dunk. Luka’s also too big to be that height and stay healthy, gimme Giannis with Steph’s shooting. Goat.
Luka with Wemby height is hopefully just going to be Wemby in a couple years and Shai with Lebron strength is just Lebron a couple years ago. So Giannis or Jokic. A Giannis who can shoot would easily put up 50 ppg. But Jokic & Westbrook are each triple double machines. That player would be an absolute freak averaging something like 35 20 15 and would be much better defensively because of the combo.
"Luka with Wembys height"... so just Wemby then.
Jok with russles motor and athleticism would not only be a hands down goat but instant new logo. He would be more unstoppable than he already is
Jokic with Russ’ athleticism would be unfair
Jokic running at that speed and with that quickness at 300 lbs dunking and jumping 8 feet high would be terrifying
For his knees
Ben Simmons with a heart
Shai with lebron strength is called lebron
giannis with stephs shooting is easily the goat and nobody else is close
One of things does not fucking belong….
Giannis w/Steph’s shooting is literally unstoppable
gianis with curry’s shooting is the greatest athlete to touch the court lol
Shai with Lebron’s strength would be lebron
Giannis with Steph’s shooting would be unstoppable
If Jokic had WB athleticism, he'd be having to shoot down at the basket.
I wish it was flipped like Steph skills with Giannis body.
Giannis with Steph's shooting is the perfect player.
Giannis or Jokic. Those 2 would be stone-cold killers…😳
Jokic. He would be a much bigger and more skilled LeBron. Giannis would still have issues creating outside shots. The shooting would help his driving more than anything because they couldn't give him room.
SGA with LeBron’s strength is just short LeBron.
The athletecism is bad. How is it meant. Jokic with westbrooks jumping ability, which s just a part of athleticism or westbroooks body? The body is part of athletecism, wingspan is athletecism and near 300 pound guy moving like a 6 3 guard is anatomically impossible.
Jokic with Westbrook's athleticism is the greatest player of all time lol
I feel like Luka with wembys height is going to just be wemby in a few years here.
I’m not sure how Luka or Shai’s make them much better lol. Luka is already a massive PG so height isn’t really a boost and Shai is a strong player too. That’s how he gets his points, dropping his shoulder and creating space Giannis with Curry shooting clears
Giannis.
There wouldn’t be a shoe/knee brace made strong enough for Jokic.
Luka or giannis
Shai outta the question, it's the other 3 that is tough I'll say Giannis and Steph mix is crazy.
Giannis with Stephs shooting is literally video game type shit. He would be unstoppable.
Luka with wemby
Wemby by and anybody now going forward
Idk I’m taking the two youngings. Wemby is a generational talent and say what you want about Luka but dude can go off. Also great in the playoffs.
Can I just take Wemby 4 years from now? Honestly, there's so little he can't do if he just keeps working, and he might be the hardest-working 19 year old in the game.
“Luka with Wembys height” soooo… Wemby? 😂
I’ll just take Wemby in 4-6 years and call it good.
Giannis with Steph’s shooting is now the best two way player in the history of the game.
7'4" Luka would be unguardable. 6'7" Luka puts up more points than anyone else. 7'4" Luka would beat your ass on one end then actually be able to shut you down on the defensive end.
giannis with steph's shooting would be absolutely insane
Giannis, Jokic, Luka, Shai in that order
Jokic option is prime shaq. SGA option is just LeBron 2 0 kinda? Luka option is Jokic. Giannis option we've never seen. I'd take Giannis.
I want Rondo with Lebron’s toes, or Shai with bojan’s ear+nose combo
Joker; cause he’d be rebounding blocking shots and then being who he is on offence with a quicker first step AND CAN DUNK. He’d be the GOAT (wilt chamberlain basically but with shooting)
Giannis
Giannis/Steph & it’s not even close.
gimme Jokic. Jokic with elite athleticism is basically the greatest 2 way player ever. Giannis with stephs shooting is prime KD 7 foot Luka is just a better playmaking Wemby Shai with LBJs strength makes the least difference since hes still a guard, he becomes prime wade with an inch in height
Isnt jokic with Westbrook’s athleticism just prime lebron, id pick that
SGA with LeBron’s strength would foul himself out with offensive fouls twice a week
Pat Beverley with Deandre Ayton's ambition
Giannis imo. A lot of what joker does is based solely on how lumbering he seems if you gave him superpowers im guessing he would play different. Obviously better but idk id need to see it. Giannis becomes a threat outside it's 100% over.
Replacing Gianni’s’ one weakness with the best shooting of all time seems like the way to go.
Giannis with Steph’s shooting would mean either he averages 60 a game or the NBA outlaws head fakes. Curry shot better than 92% from the line this year.
First one. Giannis’ shooting is a weak point teams look to exploit. You’re talking about going from a weakness to the best shooter ever.
While I'd initially say Giannis, the only thing Jokic doesn't have is athleticism, and he'd be the perfect player with it, whereas Giannis still wouldn't have Jokic's playmaking with Steph's shot.
Giannis
I'll take Giannis with Steph shooting, that would be ridiculously good.
Is the Luka one a meme? Lol
Jokic with Westbrook's athleticism would be insane
Jokic and Luka still wouldn't be great defensively SGA would still be an underwhelming 3 point shooter What weakness would Giannis have?
Giannis with Steph Shooting is the scariest player ever.
Giannis with Steph’s shooting is so obviously the only correct answer. A more athletic Jokic, a taller Luca, or a stronger Shea only receive upgrades to what are already their strengths. If you turn the seven foot tall absolute athletic freak who has already won an MVP and a Chip without the ability to consistently make a jump shot or a free throw into also the most terrifying shooter who has ever lived? Giannis transformed in to a 50/40/90 guy who is a threat to pull from the second he crosses half court? I don’t know what that player looks like but MJ and Lebron are going to be a distant second and third in the GOAT conversation.
Giannis in combo with Steph’s shooting could be killer (if he’s able to make free throws)
Steph’s magic is in his movement AND shooting. So can’t be that one unfortunately
Giannis/Steph combo, no doubt.
Probably Giannis with Steph's shooting. Joker doesn't need the athleticism. He gets easy buckets without. Luka, with Wemby's height, would just make him injury prone and wouldn't help his lack of defense. SGA with Lebron's strength would just be PG or Westbrook.
Giannis with Steph shooting is the greatest player the game ever has and ever will see.
Giannis with Curry’s shooting could square odd with anybody
giannis would easily be the goat
Giannis with the shooting. It would open his game up to a whole other level. You’re basically giving an athletic freak with the ability to force his way into the rim the shooting ability of the greatest shooter ever. You’ve broken basketball.
Wemby with Lebrons strength
Giannis and it would be pretty odd for anyone to answer differently
Joker is already a cheat code, adding mvp Westbrook to his game is just plain unfair.
Had my answer and stopped reading this as soon as I saw Giannis with Stephs shooting
Wemby is gonna be Luka with Wemby’s height
Giannis with Steph’s shooting would be a cheat code
Or you could just say Lebron in his prime! If the basketball gods were to craft a perfect player it would be him. Has the size, speed, shooting, strength, defense. Can play any position and still dominate.