Giannis definitely has skills. Footwork is a skill. He has a great handle for a guy his size. He’s also got one of the best finishing ability in the league regardless of dunks. DEFENSE AT HIS LEVEL IS ALSO A SKILL
His defense is his main skill. His footwork isn’t as great as you claim, and there’s been plenty of big men before him with significantly deeper bags, from post moves, to variety of finishes, to even having somewhat respectable shots. He just came out not too long ago and admitted he struggles with adjusting to having a scorer as great as Dame run pick and roll with him which is insane to me. He’s limited offensively and teams have been exploiting that since that championship run, which is why it matters.
@@jayydazoe1089 In your hypothetical you better understand he would be way faster/explosive with better leverages for all kind of stuff..Hands more suited for shooting and everything . Every version of him would be all time great 'cause he has genetics and work ethic. You can't teach that.
@@demontime9490 if you think a 6’3 Gianni’s is euro stepping around the league you’re just delusional. He’s a great player for sure but most of his buckets come from him using his physical ability and athleticism. He has skills for sure but they don’t transcend outside a 7 foot explosive frame
@@smbenga2and yet skill players like James Harden hasn’t been able to do anything as the first option. Giannis is still physically dominant and is the engine that drives his team and get them wins.
And you need to be on good teams to win those… Try telling a former player who has made millions and won multiple awards that nothing matters, just cause they never won an nba ring. There is more to the game, as it’s literally their career and livelihood.
@@Taiwainui-qw3xb Imagine thinking you are the voice of the people. Speak for yourself next time little guy. And imagine telling that to someone who has made millions, just to play basketball. I’m sure he sleeps well at night, while you dorks online argue all day about rings… 😂
Footskill is a skill. Defense is a skill. Being an hard-worker is a skill. Mentality is a skill. Leadership is a skill. It's not just about fancy crossovers and shooting
and he literally has probably the best handles for a guy his size of all time..People don't realize that giannis evolved exponentially when Jason Kidd placed him at POINT GUARD while averaging 15ppg.. He unlocked his ability,at first, by being the BALL HANDLER and orchistrating the offense.That's how he started getting to the rim more effectively, PLAYMAKING (he is the 2nd best big passer in the league EASILY, behind jokic..even tho jokic has a good enough gap from 2nd place).All those talks are from people that are not ''students'' as much as they claim to be if it doesn't revolve around skilled guards or maybe wings..It's not a coincidence at all that KOBE the TRUEST student of the game knew all about giannis and had praised him since way before the championship.Jokic was disrespected a lot as well..Just this last year did he rise to the top of the league in people's eyes and suddenly he is an all time talent that people haven't seen before even tho he was doing all that he is doing since 2020.
Imo being skilled is overrated. Michael Jordan of course was skilled but he could jump out the gym, Lebron is arguably the most athletic player ever, Kareem is skilled but also 7’1, magic is skilled but was the tallest pg ever at that time. The nba has always been dominated by the tallest/strongest players or the most athletic players. Steph curry and Bird are really the only 2 skilled based players to ever consistently win titles. Ironically u say the same thing about melo. One of the most skilled scorers ever yet he never lead any of his teams to the nba finals. Edit: For anyone new seeing this yes I know that skill is important and if u read my comments under this comment u will see that I said u need both to be an all time great
Kobe for the first like 12 years of his career was also a jump out of the gym freak. Not to the extent that Jordan was, but he was still one of the most athletic wings in the NBA
@@TyroneBiggums2003 yea that is true. I’m not sure because I wasn’t alive for those Celtics, but from what I’ve been told Larry bird was the main ball handler on that Celtics team so he played a similar role to magic as an oversized point guard especially with Larry’s underrated passing
this conversation reminds me of the Indiana jones "gun vs sword" scene. Yeah buddy, you can master your hesi hesi tween tween 360 fadeaway shenanigans, and still be outscored on better efficiency by someone rim running 🤷♀
-- lol, agree. Giannis doesn't have post up moves like Hakeem or Kobe's handles. But...Giannis has speed, defense, and a handful of offensive moves that he spams and dominates. Melo can say all he wants, but I have little respect for him. Great scorer, but he is a NET ZERO in the game. Whether he plays or not, the team is breakeven. So why pay Melo $400M if the team isn't better? Nada -- but he did have many entertaining games.
To be honest Giannis has never really had the amount of bad games and actually has more high scoring & effective games over the course of his career than melo.. I use to witness some of Melo's games and you never knew if he was going to give a good game or dissapoint you and make his team lose, because instead of going to the paint and getting buckets he would always choose to take the most insane and incredibly hard shots which lead to him having a (melo) lot of off nights shooting
I think after denver he started settling for jumpers a lot more, granted i dont really remember how much contact he had to deal with freethrows etc but yea that might have had an impact on it.
I simply don’t understand how people average 30 and don’t have a bag. It’s childish to only think of tween tweens and hesi stepbacks as the only ways to “have a bag”
I mean it's not nothing wrong with it giannis has the greatest build in the nba and the physique In the nba when he's running towards the basket there's nothing you can do especially when he's surround with shooters. But let's not act his mid range, 3 point shooting and free throws are not questionable. Like we when he played against the heat last year when they needed him to make a shot or hit free throws he couldn't him charging at the basket won't work in the clutch against the heat and celtics this year that's why they got dame for. Also not saying giannis not top 2 or 3 but his offensive skills doesn't come close to jokic,curry,KD,Embid,lebron Tatum.
@@kinglightning5256 we're talking about the way he gets into the basket, his arsenal of moves that he has. If he truly had "no bag" his physicality would not matter and he would get locked up like crazy with hella charge calls. Sure he don't got an embiid or jokic bag but he has a cool camping backpack, he has the moves for the occasion amd can switch it around enough to be unpredictable going to the basket.
@@kinglightning5256I agree with that. I just view your bag as how you put the ball in the hoop and everyone for the most part has their unique style. There’s players like Jamal Crawford who would average 12 a game and have more of a bag than 30 PPG scorers today. I was hoping Giannis would have a LeBron arc where he becomes a respectable perimeter threat or has post up mid faders but that has not come to fruition. Still top 3 player of this decade so far
What does even matter if he has a bag or not? It doesn’t stop the fact that he’s a top 5 player if not top 3 player. People talking like a bag is the most important thing in the world.
What's the criticism for Tatum? Shooting instead of attacking the rim? The criticism for Booker? Taking too many tought mid range jumpers? Everybody's major criticism is that they aren't pressuring the rim. Why? Do they not have the bag to go to the rim? Why can Giannis get there and do what he does best and be criticized, but everybody else does what they do worst and get praised?
It's because size and strength are natural blessings and handles and shooting are technical skill sets. One can be practiced and mastered while the other cannot. All that said I do agree with you, it's ridiculous to criticize front court players for not having guard skill sets and vice versa.
@@justinland1208 exactly lol, if Giannis deserves criticism for not being a good shooter/handler, then why can't i criticize steph curry for not being a strong finisher around the rim? why can't curry draw more FTs?
The fact that Carmelo Anthony is criticizing Giannis for not being skilled when he doesn’t even have a ring to back up his own skills is fucking hilarious. Carmelo is literally the prime example of someone where it doesn’t matter how skilled you are, if you didn’t contribute to getting a championship ring, does it really matter how skilled you are?😂
Realistically the one thing Giannis can't do is shoot but, it is irrelevant since he is ,objectively, one of the best finishers in the league right now. Elite defense, solid footwork and a suprising handle. It would be cool to see him develop a decent mid range game to complement the finishing strenght, wouldn't need to be a massive threat but enought to open up opportunities
He is literally a 7 footer who can dribble through traffic at full speed and change directions on a dime. Not to mention him literally developing a really good playmaking game from scratch in his 20’s. People who say he isn’t skilled doesn’t understand how to be a great in the NBA.
@@vomv0m idgaf about Giannis cupcake championship run. He lucky Kd wears a size 27. Melo barely had help in his career, and when he did they took it away from him.
Giannis “bag” isn’t hurting him in the playoffs it’s when his teammates don’t show up and the defense just box and ones him ALL game. Said defenses include great interior defenders like Al horford, embiid, and Bam. Even bigs with a “bag” like AD, jokic and Embiid struggle in the exact same way in the playoffs. It’s a empty argument in the long term
Melo has all the skills in the world and nothing to show for it, and it’s not like he’s a undersize guard too. Like 34 has great playmaking, passing, defense, rebounding. If melo can’t score he can’t provide u shit. That’s not the same for giannis.
Can we have a conversation about how overated and unnecessary dribbling is as a skill? All u need is the ability to get to your spots. All this bag talk is unnecessary. The goal to put the ball in the basket does not necessarily have to be done by dribbling. U can score without the ball just as well, or just doing the basics to get to ur spot and rise up. Having a bag is cool and never a bad thing to have. But it isn’t necessary at all. If u can score the exact same way every time and no one can stop it, there’s no need to make the game more difficult for yourself.
Thank you I’ve been saying this for years he just tall that’s his skill tbh if we get anymore people over 6’9 6’10 trying to play like guards and have no positional awareness I’m done watching basketball at the end of the day the league rewarding them for being tall that’s it
Man, Giannis can do everything except shoot consistently. Unlike Ben Simmons he’s actually put the time in and improved. But for a 7 footer Giannis has good handles and can make plays on a break. Defensively he’s a monster, something Carmelo doesn’t even compare to.
Everytime I hear about players talking about “real hoopers” and it’s sometimes defined as a “player who can dominate the game anywhere at any time”. Giannis ain’t gonna dominate both sides of the court anywhere at any time? We already know what they are talking about, “real hoopers” are just shot creators.
Gianni’s finishing ability is insane the way he can contort his body for the dunks he does the touch he has around the rim and the footwork he has on the gathers are insane Also got a luh post bag I watched him last night vs the rockets he was getting busy in the post wit fades and lil bunny hooks
Every NBA player is highly skilled, and y’all need to stop equating skill with bag. Shotmaking and footwork is a skill, passing, playmaking and IQ is a skill, defense is a skill, ball handling is a skill, and Giannis is a great ball handler for his size. There are so many different skills in basketball and having “a bag” is one of them but they are not synonymous.
If winning MVPs , scoring 30 ppg this season n last couple of seasons, winning a title n dropping 50 points game 7 to come backs, n everything else is considered no skills n no bag , that’s cool
I hate this discussion because what they consider skill is basically just aspects they enjoy watching. Dribbling shooting and that’s it. But in reality Gianni’s is extremely skilled finisher, defender, good playmaker…
How deep your bag is doesn't matter, what matter is the end result.. Even Shaq said he won 4 rings and score 28k points with only two moves.. Hook shot and dunk.
bro , y’all bringing up rings in a skill convo .. rings is a team thing .. Melo was praising him the whole interview but was just being honest about the skill
You summed it up perfectly. As long as you can put the ball in the basket, which is the whole point of basketball, then what’s the problem. Don’t gotta do some Kyrie movies every time to score fr if you can just drive & score with ease
Why they framing it like Melo is hatin, he just saying his observation and he is actually praising Giannis for lacking something but bringing different and winning... deym!
As a person who watches NBA daily and seeing other superstars play, Giannis really doesn't really have a "bag". He thrives off driving to the rim knowing you can't really play defense down there everything is a foul. He can't really shoot mid range, he doesn't have a post game, he can't really shoot 3s, His only pocket is Euro step and either makes it or prays for a foul. Out of him, Embid and Jokic he has the less talent. I will say he is very effective at using the game in it's current state and his strength/size to his advantange.
Because he isnt flashy and isnt doing it pretty enough for the media ,now somehow people are just not skilled ,cuz aperantly defense and finishing arent skills or idk , the fact that most people dont workout to the level Giannis did , to be able to bully the way he does ,if he was just run and dunk he would literally just be any other role player .
Whats the point of a bag??.. To score buckets..win games ...win series...win chips.. Giannis can do all that with what he has. Giannis is doing more than the dudes with all the bags?? Would i rather have prime kyre or prime Giannis on my team...i think the answer is obvious
Giannis ability to drive the ball is a skill I saw a clip of him explaining the euro step and I’m like bro this man has a bag that nobody can stop that’s why he’s more successful than melo and Gilbert ever was 😂😂😂😂😂
3:08 BSolz come on man if thats how you feel about an nba fan just stating their opinion then you, A nba fan who states his opinion is just as obsolete
It's not Yannis fault that he's gifted with height and athleticism. Melo has more skills, but they have to. Same as Shaq, he had the strength 💪 and height, resulting in not needing skill. Wilt is the most skilled bigman. He's even more skilled than pg's, sg's, and sf's.
Literally stealing The kid Mero's clips content infringing af and then saying "who is this guy". Bro had a show on Vice and Showtime and you're stealing his shit for your youtube channel bro
Defense is a skill Of course Melo wouldn't know that, but Defense, Giannis might be the most versitile defender ever, lock up any player ever, Even Shaq, Even Melo
Giannis has the best handle of any big man with his height and physical stature that has ever played in the league. The no bag narrative is dumb as hell. His shot is crude and his post game was limited that’s it that’s all. He’s one of the most skilled big men to ever play the game period.
@@oceanairguitarforce if you think listed weights are accurate you’re a moron. If your eyes don’t tell you that Giannis is bigger than KD you’re an even bigger moron.
All these old heads just hate what Melo says comes from pure hate the man already has a ring and Melo none, he tried and tried but has nothing to show for his time is up but its Giannis time now and hes doing way more than Melo ever done
Mero’s cool but “Giannis walked so Wemby could run” shows me this dude don’t know shit about the history of the game. What about Iceman George Gervin walking so KD could run. Let’s start there
He’s correct in that he doesn’t have a lot of offensive moves the best players usually have. He’s mainly an athletic get to the rim and dunk on you monster.
-- Melo is right to a small degree. BUT...Giannis is a 2x MVP, DPOY, and FMVP. Look, Melo just scores. Cool. But he was net zero on defense and a zero on team play. His teams were borderline 1st Round playoff bound...in the East. That's it. Most years in the West, he wasn't even a worthy playoff team
People really dont understand that for what Giannis does he actually has a great “bag”. Hes not a shooter at all off the dribble so he’s not doing any snatch back or eye fake type dribbles or any stepbacks because these just wouldnt do anything for him since he cant make the shots these moves create consistently. People keep saying he “just runs and dunks” but this is so wrong as a slasher hes has one of the most elite bags when it comes to moves designed to create shots at the rim his euro step is all time level so is his spin move and his cross jab and hesi are elite at freezing defenders too especially in transition hes also the size of a center and has had multiple stretches of running the point guard for Milwaukee hes the only player in the league who can play a genuine 1-5 more so than Lebron or Jokic as Jokic is too slow for the 1 and Lebron cant guard true 5’s
Melo is right, I feel there should always be a good mix u don’t wanna be all skill no athletism or mobility like jahil okofor but also super athletic and have insane measurements like a hasheem thabeet or Derrick Williams But when ur so athletically gifted like Giannis or Dwight I personally don’t like either of there game styles but they are some of the greatest ever off being in human
Bro said he took parts from everybody else's game. Melo should have took some shit from Magic Johnson, and Jason Kidd. Ig he had, he would of known how to pass the ball and make his teammates better..
I genuinely wonder y a lot of these NBA players don’t see defense as a skill. Giannis being able to guard every position 1-5 at an ELITE level is incredible. Most of the other superstars in the league aren’t elite defenders ie KD Kyrie Harden Luka. Also you don’t become a 2 time MVP champion and Finals MVP by JUST running and dunking. But even if that was true that he only runs and dunks (which it isn’t true) he averaged damn near the same amount of points as cats like Harden KD and Kyrie who can dribble the air out the ball.
KD is certainly the most complete offensive player ever, he can doi absolutely everything. Giannis might still finish as a greater player than KD (not sure but definitely possible).
