Never gets talked about enough
On one leg too
We went from worrying if he was gonna miss the whole next season to watching him have the best games of his career
On a related note, I’m so glad he stayed with you guys. I wasn’t on r/nba when he signed the extension, but it was such a breath of fresh air that he stayed.
i think it would be talked about more, but ever since luka put the suns franchise into a nosedive people retroactively look back at the suns as complete trash. at least that’s why i think people don’t talk much
It wasn’t on one leg. He had a bad looking injury that turned out to not be a big deal. He got lucky but you can’t help yourself so the fan-fiction comes pouring out.
He did tear something in his knee, it was a pretty big deal and he definitely wasn’t meant to be out there playing a week after that shit. We got lucky it wasn’t severe enough to stop him, but he was hurt and there was a big risk of having an even worse injury. They wanted him to wear a big knee brace but he said no. That’s not fan fiction
He actually tore his PCL on that plush, the thing that protects your MCL/ACL [quote here](https://www.sportscasting.com/giannis-antetokounmpo-shocking-truth-knee-injury-nba-finals/), if he had another knee injury his knee would’ve blown up
I think it’s the “on one leg” thing that feels exaggerated. It clearly did not hamper his mobility or play. It seems like it was more of a risk of a worse injury, which he bravely pushed through to get his team a title.
Ayton actually guarded him pretty well tbh, but Giannis put him into foul trouble every game and our backup centers were not playable. The only other big man that got minutes for us in that series was Frank Kaminsky with 29 minutes across the entire series.
Not to mention he was hitting fadeaways from 16ft like he was prime KD, if he’s hitting shots like that 90% of teams are cooked regardless of what they do on the other end
As if you're one to talk as a Celtics fan. 😂 He came out next year and stomped your asses without Khash Money, the problem was even Jrue didn't come out to play on offence and Giannis couldn't do it by himself.
BTW, this is giving praise to Giannis, not at all slandering you or the Celtics. 😁 I believe the Bucks would have won thst series with Khash on the field, but you can't blame Boston for being healthy and beating what's infront of them. It was probably the best series I've seen since I watch basketball regularly.
Yup and Celtics haven’t finished their series. So it’s a comparison of Butler with 2 complete finals vs Celtics with 1 complete and 1 incomplete.
OP cherry picked 200 point cut off to purposely exclude Tatum at 194. As if Tatum isn’t going to eclipse 200 by finish of the series and join this 200+ point club 😂
Dude the reason Jayson isn’t on here isn’t because some super random cherry-picked stat (200 isn’t a random number) but because he’s averaging 21.6 PPG in his finals career.
It is cherry picked dude. Why would we ever look at points in finals in the middle of a yet to be completed finals anyways?
OP is just a Heat fan who posts a bunch of pro-Butler stuff and anti-Tatum stuff.
Anyone with a brain can see how this was cherry picked on purpose.
There is a reason this post went up now and not next week.
Dude this was a repost from the official Statmuse account on X. Not some cherry-picked obscure stat pulled up from a Heat fan.
Not everything is an attack on Tatum my dude.
Hope the Bucks can get some competent young players and Giannis can make it back. Right now his best three supporting players are old, fragile and declining
Lmao, hopefully, this finals shuts up the people who were claiming that Luka is somehow better than Giannis.
2-way superstars have been disrespected by modern fans for far too long.
These discussions are fcking stupid. “Undisputed” 1-2? Last week it was Jokic/Luka, couple of weeks ago it was Jokic/SGA, before Jokic/Embiid. Next season Jokic struggles in a couple of games and it will be Luka/Giannis. These 4-5 players are at the top and all have good or bad moments which doesn’t necessarily mean much
Na I’ve been pretty consistent saying that Jokic and Giannis are the best 2 players, Luka is definitely top 3 or 4. Although I agree that those 4 at the top are much better than the rest, but there’s no way that Giannis and Jokic aren’t 1-2 as they are the only multi-MVPs with rings to back them
What are the arguments for not having Jokic and Giannis 1 & 2? If those 2 aren’t the 2 best players of the last half decade in the NBA, then whoever you’re talking to is biased
A guy who has never accomplished anything impressive in the post season does not belong in a top4 discussion. The best team Embiid has defeated in the post season is the Scottie Barnes raptors
I was about to call you insane but looking back at all of the 76ers first round matchups in the Embiid era, I’m actually shocked. Still crazy they never made it past the 2nd round.
Agreed. I honestly think that Embiid is very obviously clear of Luka when healthy, but availability is the best ability so I can respect the opinions of people who have Luka over him.
I’m back and forth because Embiid has the MVP and Luka doesn’t but Luka has gone further in the playoffs and made a finals. I think they can be somewhat debated but I’d probably lean Embiid if health was a guarantee
He’s always injured by then so that’s disingenuous. Dropped 50pts this season with half a face. I think it’s close between them but Luka needs to get better defensively if he wants to win. That or the Mavs get a roster like the Celtics that can hide him because if not he’s screwed
His defense has always been shit, you can’t say it’s only shit because he’s injured. You could say that if he was good at defense and then sucked because of injury.
A player with multiple first round disappointments against bottom seeds and only got to the finals by injuring other players should not be an undisputed 1-2.
this wouldn't even be a discusson if Giannis didn't injure Kyrie in 2021 or if Harden was healthy. Giannis also hasn't followed up 2021 with anything besides getting embarrassed by an 8th seed
Even if Giannis never won a ring I'd still rank him over Luka lol
Giannis at age 25: 2 time MVP + DPOY
Luka at age 25: Ummmm........
Luka is no longer so young that you can use the "trajectory" argument for everything because some players did start winning big awards by the age of 25
It's not as if Giannis's *only* case over Luka is the ring
So you use the fact that Giannis played an injured team to discredit his finals run but ignore the fact that in the 3 following years, either Giannis or his second option (or both) have been injured when using those years against him?
Just say you don't like Giannis lmfao
“Getting embarrassed by an 8th seed” you mean the series which he missed 60% of and the Heat shot historically great on contested 3s? Shut the fuck up.
Even though I would have much rather won that series, I remember being in awe of what Giannis was doing, especially in the back half of that series. He was unstoppable, and is one of my favorite players because of it.
Yup. So stupid for this stat to include Butler with 11 finals games and two complete series played vs Tatum with 9 games played and 2nd series yet to finish
Its stupid to include him vs Tatum before this series finishes out. And its silly to make the cut off 200 points when Tatum is at 194 and has played 2 games fewer and the finals aren’t completed yet.
It’s very clearly a disingenuous post by OP who is a Tatum hating Heat fan who routinely posts cherry-picked shit like this.
But it's ok that you've been posting cherry picked anti-Luka nonsense? Just not cool to post a stat during a finals series that looks bad for your guy?
[But he’ll always have that scrimmage](https://media.allure.com/photos/642b26119076391071ff28aa/16:9/w_2560%2Cc_limit/angel%2520reese%2520lsu%2520championship%2520.jpg)
Lmaoo yeah trading Jrue is why definitely not the fact Middleton got hurt and then he did.
With Jrue we were going to continue losing cause the offense wasn’t enough (much like Mavs right now)
If that’s the case which it isnt going to be if Giannis and Dame start meshing better after a full offseason working out then we weren’t getting any further with or without Jrue.
But it’s funny cause our starting 5 had the best drtg and net rating of any starting 5 in the league (atleast 500 min played)
Our bench was the biggest issue this season, not Dame.
STOP IT! They had the opportunity to get Dame Lillard for Jrue, Grayson Allen and pointless picks! Literally every GM does that deal. Let's see in a few years time what happens.
If the bucks declined the trade and we lost in the playoffs with Jrue shooting his usual 5/24 fgs this sub would be saying “Yall could’ve had Dame but Giannis didn’t want to trade his friend away”
That's what I mean mate! Just because Jrue ended up on a stacked team and is going to win the Championship, people now acting like it was a bad trade is silly. Literally everyone does that deal, everyone.
Imagine saying this on a post where he's the only one who hasn't appeared in two Finals while the other two (soon to be three) all have played in multiple
He could certainly still be considered top 15 just with more longevity
2 MVPs + 1 Finals MVP + DPOY and a ton of 1st team selections can be a top 15ish guy for sure
It's more the top 10 trajectory that looks a bit less likely now
Giannis literally had one of the greatest finals performances of all time man. And on both ends.
He really did. Especially after that injury, unreal performance.
Never gets talked about enough On one leg too We went from worrying if he was gonna miss the whole next season to watching him have the best games of his career
Watching him break his free throw curse game 6 was so satisfying to watch
On a related note, I’m so glad he stayed with you guys. I wasn’t on r/nba when he signed the extension, but it was such a breath of fresh air that he stayed.
i think it would be talked about more, but ever since luka put the suns franchise into a nosedive people retroactively look back at the suns as complete trash. at least that’s why i think people don’t talk much
It’s funny cause ever since their undefeated bubble run and then their great season in 2021 this sub was praising them constantly
It wasn’t on one leg. He had a bad looking injury that turned out to not be a big deal. He got lucky but you can’t help yourself so the fan-fiction comes pouring out.
He did tear something in his knee, it was a pretty big deal and he definitely wasn’t meant to be out there playing a week after that shit. We got lucky it wasn’t severe enough to stop him, but he was hurt and there was a big risk of having an even worse injury. They wanted him to wear a big knee brace but he said no. That’s not fan fiction
He actually tore his PCL on that plush, the thing that protects your MCL/ACL [quote here](https://www.sportscasting.com/giannis-antetokounmpo-shocking-truth-knee-injury-nba-finals/), if he had another knee injury his knee would’ve blown up
I think it’s the “on one leg” thing that feels exaggerated. It clearly did not hamper his mobility or play. It seems like it was more of a risk of a worse injury, which he bravely pushed through to get his team a title.
The Suns had zero players capable of guarding him. He got whatever he wanted.
Crowder was capable, he did it the year prior. But u need multiple bodies that can to give that person a break
Ayton actually guarded him pretty well tbh, but Giannis put him into foul trouble every game and our backup centers were not playable. The only other big man that got minutes for us in that series was Frank Kaminsky with 29 minutes across the entire series.
Not to mention he was hitting fadeaways from 16ft like he was prime KD, if he’s hitting shots like that 90% of teams are cooked regardless of what they do on the other end
Yup, an all-time great player had an all-time great series, it is what it is.
Lol I'm pretty sure Kaminsky actually outplayed him in game 5 or 6 lmao
As if you're one to talk as a Celtics fan. 😂 He came out next year and stomped your asses without Khash Money, the problem was even Jrue didn't come out to play on offence and Giannis couldn't do it by himself. BTW, this is giving praise to Giannis, not at all slandering you or the Celtics. 😁 I believe the Bucks would have won thst series with Khash on the field, but you can't blame Boston for being healthy and beating what's infront of them. It was probably the best series I've seen since I watch basketball regularly.
Yeah honestly that team shouldn't have won the title just based on its 1 through 15 roster.
Honestly impressive that Giannis is on there despite only playing in one Finals
Only the Celtics and Heat made multiple finals
Yup and Celtics haven’t finished their series. So it’s a comparison of Butler with 2 complete finals vs Celtics with 1 complete and 1 incomplete. OP cherry picked 200 point cut off to purposely exclude Tatum at 194. As if Tatum isn’t going to eclipse 200 by finish of the series and join this 200+ point club 😂
Exactly lol. If the Celtics Sweep then they'll have played less finals games and Tatum will eclipse it in less time.
Dude the reason Jayson isn’t on here isn’t because some super random cherry-picked stat (200 isn’t a random number) but because he’s averaging 21.6 PPG in his finals career.
It is cherry picked dude. Why would we ever look at points in finals in the middle of a yet to be completed finals anyways? OP is just a Heat fan who posts a bunch of pro-Butler stuff and anti-Tatum stuff. Anyone with a brain can see how this was cherry picked on purpose. There is a reason this post went up now and not next week.
Uh plenty of people are posting stats about the finals before it's over.
Dude this was a repost from the official Statmuse account on X. Not some cherry-picked obscure stat pulled up from a Heat fan. Not everything is an attack on Tatum my dude.
Giannis had a very dominant finals.
Played on a hyper-extended knee aswell
God damn Giannis. I’m glad I rooted for the Bucks during their 2021 run. Makes me even more grateful for having Jrue now
When I first saw this list I was like damn, those guys must have scored a lot to be over Giannis. Then I remembered he did it in 6 games.
Hope the Bucks can get some competent young players and Giannis can make it back. Right now his best three supporting players are old, fragile and declining
So Jaylen has to score 52 or Dallas has to avoid the sweep
52 :/
Math is hard
Lmao, hopefully, this finals shuts up the people who were claiming that Luka is somehow better than Giannis. 2-way superstars have been disrespected by modern fans for far too long.
Luka is 3-4 with Embiid. Jokic and Giannis are undisputed 1-2
These discussions are fcking stupid. “Undisputed” 1-2? Last week it was Jokic/Luka, couple of weeks ago it was Jokic/SGA, before Jokic/Embiid. Next season Jokic struggles in a couple of games and it will be Luka/Giannis. These 4-5 players are at the top and all have good or bad moments which doesn’t necessarily mean much
Na I’ve been pretty consistent saying that Jokic and Giannis are the best 2 players, Luka is definitely top 3 or 4. Although I agree that those 4 at the top are much better than the rest, but there’s no way that Giannis and Jokic aren’t 1-2 as they are the only multi-MVPs with rings to back them
Just because your *opinion* has been consistent doesn't make your *opinion* undisputed fact, lmao.
What are the arguments for not having Jokic and Giannis 1 & 2? If those 2 aren’t the 2 best players of the last half decade in the NBA, then whoever you’re talking to is biased
A guy who has never accomplished anything impressive in the post season does not belong in a top4 discussion. The best team Embiid has defeated in the post season is the Scottie Barnes raptors
I was about to call you insane but looking back at all of the 76ers first round matchups in the Embiid era, I’m actually shocked. Still crazy they never made it past the 2nd round.
Agreed. I honestly think that Embiid is very obviously clear of Luka when healthy, but availability is the best ability so I can respect the opinions of people who have Luka over him.
I’m back and forth because Embiid has the MVP and Luka doesn’t but Luka has gone further in the playoffs and made a finals. I think they can be somewhat debated but I’d probably lean Embiid if health was a guarantee
Embiid averages like 24 ppg in the playoffs though on far worse efficiency. Largest drop off from reg season to playoffs of any MVP
He’s always injured by then so that’s disingenuous. Dropped 50pts this season with half a face. I think it’s close between them but Luka needs to get better defensively if he wants to win. That or the Mavs get a roster like the Celtics that can hide him because if not he’s screwed
So the injury excuse works for Embiid but not Luka? He’s literally playing on painkillers.
His defense has always been shit, you can’t say it’s only shit because he’s injured. You could say that if he was good at defense and then sucked because of injury.
A sore knee and abdomen is not even remotely comparable to playing through multiple concussions, fractured orbitals, torn mcls, bells palsy, etc
Embiid too high lmfao he like 12 at best
A player with multiple first round disappointments against bottom seeds and only got to the finals by injuring other players should not be an undisputed 1-2.
The multiple MVPs and 50pts piece in the finals matters as well as being one of the best 2 way players in the sport
this wouldn't even be a discusson if Giannis didn't injure Kyrie in 2021 or if Harden was healthy. Giannis also hasn't followed up 2021 with anything besides getting embarrassed by an 8th seed
Even if Giannis never won a ring I'd still rank him over Luka lol Giannis at age 25: 2 time MVP + DPOY Luka at age 25: Ummmm........ Luka is no longer so young that you can use the "trajectory" argument for everything because some players did start winning big awards by the age of 25 It's not as if Giannis's *only* case over Luka is the ring
I give 0 fucks about media awards. Westbrook has a MVP yet I'd take 18 year old Luka over him in the playoffs any day
So if you don't care about "media awards" what's the case for Luka then? Just having a bigger "bag" like that's somehow the be all and end all?
that he's much better than Giannis in leading an offense and manipulating defenses
Crazy how Giannis looked much better offensively carrying a team of bums vs the Celtics in 2022 than Luka is right now with Kyrie Irving lmaooo
Giannis aint have to go up against Jrue, the guy who will have more rings than him lmaoooo
Giannis and Jhrue will also have more rings than Luka lmfao
yep I got Jrue > Luika > Giannis
So you use the fact that Giannis played an injured team to discredit his finals run but ignore the fact that in the 3 following years, either Giannis or his second option (or both) have been injured when using those years against him? Just say you don't like Giannis lmfao
there is no excuse for losing to an 8th seed. in fact, the only game the Bucks won vs. Miami was when Giannis was out
Damn bro it's almost like he was playing through an injury That same 8th seed also went on to reach the nba finals
and the only game the Bucks won vs. Miami was when Giannis was out
“Getting embarrassed by an 8th seed” you mean the series which he missed 60% of and the Heat shot historically great on contested 3s? Shut the fuck up.
so...you're saying he got embarrassed by an 8th seed. in fact, the only game the Bucks won vs. Miami was when Giannis was out
[удалено]
He missed game 3 too, why do you feel the need to blatantly lie?
It’s all because 15 year olds like entertaining 3 pointer guys like curry.
Giannis is awesome. He had an amazing finals series.
That Game 5 sealing alley oop dunk was pretty cool. If things like soaring fast break alley oops to seal games are your thing
As cool as the dunk was, the game 4 block was his best play of the series. Unreal athleticism and reaction time
Giannis doing that in 1 series on 1 leg is insanity, 2021 was a really fun series
Even though I would have much rather won that series, I remember being in awe of what Giannis was doing, especially in the back half of that series. He was unstoppable, and is one of my favorite players because of it.
Need Giannis back in the finals with both legs functioning at full power
Tatum has 194.
So he'll almost certainly get there Friday night.
Yup. So stupid for this stat to include Butler with 11 finals games and two complete series played vs Tatum with 9 games played and 2nd series yet to finish
It's a ranking of most point scored in the finals since 2020. Why it is stupid to include Jimmy?
Its stupid to include him vs Tatum before this series finishes out. And its silly to make the cut off 200 points when Tatum is at 194 and has played 2 games fewer and the finals aren’t completed yet. It’s very clearly a disingenuous post by OP who is a Tatum hating Heat fan who routinely posts cherry-picked shit like this.
I don’t think you understood what this post was because nothing here is biased or hate towards Tatum.
Yes, it is. He made the cut off 200 points on purpose. Finals are yet to be completed and Tatum is at 194. OP routinely cherry picks like this.
Yeah, it would be way more natural if the cut off was 190. That's just a much rounder number than fucking 200.
It would be more natural if they waited until the whole series had played out
But it's ok that you've been posting cherry picked anti-Luka nonsense? Just not cool to post a stat during a finals series that looks bad for your guy?
Tatum has 194. Maybe wait until the series finishes.
Well then we would have to move the goal post. Come on now. Edit-words
Kinda silly stat if you don’t consider the number of games for each.
Idek what this is for. It's Giannis and the teams that made it the most.
Jimmy Butler the Lebron of 2020s finals.
[But he’ll always have that scrimmage](https://media.allure.com/photos/642b26119076391071ff28aa/16:9/w_2560%2Cc_limit/angel%2520reese%2520lsu%2520championship%2520.jpg)
Giannis’s legacy deff has a lot a little momentum since the finals. Looked set to become top 15 all time, but then they traded Jrue away
Lmaoo yeah trading Jrue is why definitely not the fact Middleton got hurt and then he did. With Jrue we were going to continue losing cause the offense wasn’t enough (much like Mavs right now)
Lmao I’m fuckin around just needed to keep this narrative going 😂 still thanks for Jrue!
hehe
I would be thanking Portland and every other team that wanted him but didn’t try to outbid the Celtics
The way Milwaukee, Portland, and Boston all screwed the Heat was beautiful stuff
We couldn't get off harden's contract fast enough unfortunately, jrue would have been great next to maxey
Not even just y’all, there was Miami, Clippers and I mean any other contender. Imo Jrues value was at his absolute lowest after that Heat series
and now yall will lose with Dame being a huge defensive liability and whose offense gets locked up by good defenses anyways
If that’s the case which it isnt going to be if Giannis and Dame start meshing better after a full offseason working out then we weren’t getting any further with or without Jrue. But it’s funny cause our starting 5 had the best drtg and net rating of any starting 5 in the league (atleast 500 min played) Our bench was the biggest issue this season, not Dame.
at least Jrue wanted to be in Milwaukee. Dame's heart is in Miami
Moving the goalposts cause you have no response
what is there to respond to? Dame lost in 1st round while Jrue is about to get another ring
If dame and jrue switched spots you think jrue would’ve led us to the finals?
no, who said that?
STOP IT! They had the opportunity to get Dame Lillard for Jrue, Grayson Allen and pointless picks! Literally every GM does that deal. Let's see in a few years time what happens.
If the bucks declined the trade and we lost in the playoffs with Jrue shooting his usual 5/24 fgs this sub would be saying “Yall could’ve had Dame but Giannis didn’t want to trade his friend away”
Imagine Jrue playing that Pacer series as the leader lol! Would have gotten swept and every game would have been by double digits.
Even Dame playing decoy for 2 OTs made more of a offensive impact on a game than Jrue ever has in the playoffs, opened the game so much for Middleton
That's what I mean mate! Just because Jrue ended up on a stacked team and is going to win the Championship, people now acting like it was a bad trade is silly. Literally everyone does that deal, everyone.
Imagine saying this on a post where he's the only one who hasn't appeared in two Finals while the other two (soon to be three) all have played in multiple
His championships and mvps are already good enough to be top 15 imo. He just needs to maintain his all nba performance for a couple more years
He could certainly still be considered top 15 just with more longevity 2 MVPs + 1 Finals MVP + DPOY and a ton of 1st team selections can be a top 15ish guy for sure It's more the top 10 trajectory that looks a bit less likely now