I’ve just watched Thinking Basketball on LeBron’s longevity and I can see many similarities with how Giannis game should evolve with time. Video link is at the bottom.
Giannis will lose his spring and explosivity, and he may never be an efficient distant shooter, but that does not matter at all. He will keep his top speed and will most likely increase his strength with age which will allow him to still be a terror in transition and overall push to basket.
Pair that with his ever growing basketball IQ and ball passing skills, and there is no reason he will not be able to average 25pt, 10, rebounds and 7+ assists in his later stages of carrier.
He will always be a great rebounder and rim protector, and I just wish he can be a consistent 75% FT shooter.
In short, there is no reason we shouldn’t expect 10 more years of Giannis being in the top of the best players in the league.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am1erJitGSw&ab\_channel=NBA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am1erJitGSw&ab_channel=NBA)
What are your thoughts on Giannis game evolving with age?
by Tremor0135
10 Comments
I’m worried a bit about his knee. I hope the surgery over the summer fixed the issue.
He needs to get more post moves. Giannis has good footwork if you watch him in transition all the euro step sliding between defenders and the spins and layups around them. If he could get a more back to the basket game with a hook shot or hook fade, something like this could really extend his career. More like wilt when he was older. Get some fade moves and be more of a passer/rebounder/defender than brute force scorer.
He needs to add a pump fake. He was blocked quite a few times last year because him driving and instantly laying up was so predictable, he needs to be able to get the defender jumping first and then quickly lay up or dunk. He’s quick enough to back down a defender and then get a step on them but getting the defender jumping with a little pump fake would make him even more unstoppable in the paint.
I think the biggest thing giannis can do for the back half of his career (which he already started doing going to see Hakeem) is a post game. We’ve seen what happens when someone relies on athletic ability. It can go downhill fast. Obviously giannis isn’t most people
I wonder if he’ll effectively be more of a center later on. Staying around the rim more as opposed to trying to run with a head of steam toward it. I don’t know if he’ll ever be exceptionally “skilled” but he’s crafty enough to still score without as much mobility.
Athleticism is going to fade, injury risk will get higher, and recovery will take longer. He needs a less mobility focused game to age gracefully IMO. LeBron’s arc is a massive, massive outlier. I’m pretty sure we’ve never had the oldest guy in the league still playing at a superstar level, MJ was really good as he aged out but he wasn’t in the top 5 conversation.
LeBron is 1 of 1. Like, he went from an elite wing to being a Karl Malone (on the court) who can shoot 3’s at a 35% clip.
Obviously Giannis is also 1 of 1 but I expect it to be harder for him just because he isn’t as fluid/”skilled” of a player.
Love Giannis, but lebron is a basketball savant. He is ambidextrous and probably the most gifted athlete we’ve ever seen. He thinks the game on a level we’ve rarely ever seen.
Giannis is not that kind of player. You don’t just simply add a postgame. The ability to go with either hand instinctually, how to use both of your feet independently of one another, the natural timing, etc.. To be good at it requires a metric fuck ton of work and natural touch. Giannis from my perspective doesn’t have the touch to be a good post player. Everyone in the top 5 of post up frequency % is also a good or great free throw shooter, which Giannis is decidedly not. Jokic, embiid, Valancuinas, AD, ayton, vucevic, porzingis, etc…
I just don’t see it from an eye test perspective or #s perspective and it’s why it’s paramount the bucks maximize Giannis prime because he is an all time great right now, but he projects imo to fall off pretty hard.
It’s what separates a Bol Bol from a Wembenyama, even though on paper they look the same. Giannis game is very choppy and awkward, you can tell it doesn’t exactly come natural and it is the product of a shit ton of hard work. It lacks a natural fluidity.
Hard work can make Gianni’s’ current game possible because it’s predicated on leaning into his absurd strengths as an athletic specimen, but hard work at age 30 isn’t going to make him an above average post player or a star level big if his athleticism craters like Russ’ did.
Russ can put up 10000 shots a day if he wants, most people will never learn to be a knock down shooter at ages 30-34.
I think once he’s past his prime he’ll switch to a more defensive minded guy and focus on being a terror as a help defender.
10 years may be a stretch. That being said if their offense evolves in to more than giannis charging full speed ahead and taking consistent hard contact he should have a but of longevity
That being said he has a lot of wear and tear on his body and the injuries will keep piling up as he gets older.
when he starts to decline, i hope we can flip him at the most opportune time for a mother lode of picks.
-prepares self for downvotes-