The Eastern Conference has been talked down upon in recent years when it’s come to the talent level. It was to the point where even the All-Star Game format had to be changed. Nevertheless, in terms of this season, the East is stacked. If you ask fans and media who the top players in the conference are, Celtics PG Kyrie Irving, Raptors SF Kawhi Leonard, Bucks SF Giannis Antetokounmpo, 76ers C Joel Embiid, and Pacers G Victor Oladipo among a few others, are players that’d most likely be named.
However, this season, two of those players have exceeded the rest: Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. One is making his MVP claim leading the East’s top team. The other is, once again, proving why he’s one the NBA’s best two-way player while leading the East’s second-best team. They do it all with two different playing styles. It begs the question, who’s the better player? I will be representing #TeamGiannis while fellow staff writer Aiden Hawkins teams up with me yet again to cover #TeamKawhi.
Giannis Antetokoumpo
As we all expected, Giannis Antetokoumpo just keeps improving. This time around, he has the Bucks with the best record in the NBA and is an MVP favorite.
Scoring
Giannis is one of the most physically dominant scorers in the NBA. He’s currently averaging 27.2 points (seventh in the NBA) on an extremely efficient 58.7 FG%. Since entering the league, Giannis’ PPG have increased. However, this season, Giannis has taken a big leag, taking his game to new heights when it comes to putting the ball in the hoop.
When teams gameplan for Giannis, they’re set on figuring out how to stop him in the paint. Why? That’s his bread and butter. It’s where Giannis is the most effective. Euro-steps, dunks, spin moves among other skills are all things he has in his arsenal allowing him to excel in the paint.
To back it up, he leads all players in points in the paint with 16.2 per game. That covers nearly 60% of his total points this season. In comparison to Kawhi, there’s simply no debate when it comes to scoring in the paint. Very few teams are stopping Giannis in the paint, and that’s been the case all season. But while Giannis is dominant in the paint, he’s slacking outside of it. In what’s probably Giannis’ worst part of his offensive game, he’s simply inefficient when it comes to shooting.
As the months have gone by, his 3PT% has improved, but overall, a 22.3% average his simply not good. In the rare occurrence that Giannis is perfectly planned for and denied in the paint, shooting is the game he must resort to, and since he can’t do that well, it puts him at a major disadvantage. Of course, an alternative to this is his playmaking, which will be covered later. Nevertheless, Giannis is a great scorer when it comes to driving and anywhere in/near the paint. Where Kawhi has the advantage, however, is anywhere outside of that area.
Playmaking
Playmaking is an underrated aspect of Giannis’ game. He’s not averaging 6.0 APG for no reason. Teams heavily gameplan for Giannis. What do you think happens when they clog the paint or double-team him? Despite all of the constant pressure that he gets, he’s still able to get his teammates the ball in all situations. Kawhi isn’t at all known to be a playmaker, so Giannis has this area covered 100%.
Even when driving into the paint, teams always anticipate that Giannis will look to put the ball into the net with brute force. That forces teams to go one of two ways. They either let Giannis drive and score, or they clog the paint and let him kick it out to his efficient shooters.
Of course, offense and defense aren’t that black and white, but the idea around Giannis’ playmaking is clear. Under Mike Budenholzer, Giannis’ playmaking is something that has made him even more of a formidable force within the league. Kawhi is nowhere near as good of a playmaker, and it truly isn’t close.
Defense
On defense, Giannis does what he needs to. With a 7’3″ wingspan, Giannis makes it difficult for any player that he’s assigned. In terms of the numbers, Giannis is currently averaging 1.4 for both blocks and steals. Although these numbers are good, its the eye test that’ll ultimately lead you to see how great of a defender Giannis is.
He’s a pure hustler when it comes to getting back on the defensive end. Getting in front of passing lanes and breaking up lobs are all part of a day’s work for Giannis. Even when he finds himself getting switched on to another player, he still manages to hold his own. But, although he’s this good, Kawhi is still better.
Kawhi Leonard
With Leonard sitting out almost the entire 2017-18 season, it feels like many have forgotten about his talent. While he looked slow at the start of the season, Kawhi is back and better than ever. He’s undoubtedly a top-five player and has proved everyone wrong who stated he wouldn’t be the same.
Scoring
Kawhi is having by far the best statistical year of his career on the offensive side of the ball. He’s top-10 in scoring with 27.0 PPG. He’s doing this fairly efficiently at 49% from the field and 36% from behind the arc. His true shooting percentage is the second-highest in his career at 60.7%. It’s almost shocking to see a shorter wing player shoot at almost 50% from the
Leonard has been on a tear from mid-range this year. More than half of his attempts have come between 3-16 feet. Generally speaking, the mid-range is the least efficient shot in basketball, but for Kawhi it’s what makes him so polarizing on the offensive end. From 3-16 feet, Kawhi is shooting a staggering 52%.
It isn’t just the percentage that’s so shocking, it’s the difficulty of the shots he’s attempting. It’s very rare to see Leonard take an easy rhythm mid-range shot. He usually has to take off-dribble, contested mid-ranges. For him to make 52% of extremely difficult shots just speaks volume to how good Kawhi is on the offensive side of the ball.
It’s extremely rare to see players having the ability to score on all three levels so efficiently, and Kawhi does just that. He shoots 70% within the restricted area which leads the Raptors. His 36% 3PT% isn’t amazing, but it’s the same situation as his mid-range attempts. Most of his 3PT’s come from off-dribble or contested shots. When Kawhi is in a catch-and-shoot situation, he shoots 39%, extremely serviceable for a SF. The only downside of Kawhi’s 3PT shooting is his inability to hit corner 3PT’s, where he’s shooting a measly 30%.
Playmaking
Kawhi is a below average playmaker. He’s averaging 3.3 APG which isn’t great but also isn’t terrible. Giannis clearly overtakes Kawhi when it comes to playmaking, but Kawhi’s ability to score on all three levels puts Kawhi above Giannis.
Defense
Where Kawhi really separates himself from every other player in the NBA is his defensive prowess. Since Kawhi has been in the NBA, he’s been one of the best, if not the best, on-ball defenders in the league. He’s a two-time defensive player of the year and has been named to First-Team All-Defense four times in his young career. This year has been no different.
Kawhi is once again top-10 in the NBA with 1.9 SPG. He also ranks in the 10th in defensive rating. Being 6’7″, Kawhi has the ability to guard 1-4. Whether it’s Steph Curry or Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi will disrupt them on the defensive end. He has the ability to switch on every pick-and-roll, defend the ball handler, or stay attached to the screener and play the passing lane. His defensive versatility is unmatched.
Leonard has the ability to impact the game on every level. Whether it’s dropping a 40-bomb, grabbing 15 rebounds, or locking up the opposing team’s best player, Kawhi can do it. Right now, Kawhi is slightly ahead of Giannis on the offensive and defensive end. While you may feel Giannis’ impact more on the court, Kawhi can be a major factor without putting up major numbers. So, right now, Kawhi Leonard is a better player than Giannis Antetokounmpo, but in a year or two, Giannis will be the best player in the NBA.
Kawhi and Giannis are probably the two best players in the East. However, as players with two different play styles, the gap between them is certainly closer than we think. Who do you think is better? Will it take time for Giannis to surpass Kawhi? Is Kawhi too good of a two-way player? Let us know.
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