Giannis Antetokounmpo is at the top of his game right now. Entering his prime, the Greek Freak is arguably the best player in the world. A beast on both ends of the court, Giannis is every opposing team’s nightmare matchup in the paint. And this has led to success for him already; he led the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA championship in 2021 while also picking up the Finals MVP.
And while Giannis contends with Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Stephen Curry every day in debates about the best player in the league currently, there is another man that gets forgotten in those. Kawhi Leonard’s injury woes make it hard to include him in these conversations consistently, but the Klaw is another extremely well-rounded player with multiple championships under his belt.
Both Kawhi and Giannis have dazzled during various playoff runs, and that has raised the latest question amongst fans. A post on Reddit asked which of the two is a better playoff performer, and fans had a lot to say on the matter.
“Kawhi scoring that much more efficiently is kind of insane considering their shot profile.”
“Honestly, they’re both absolute monsters.”
“He’s got one less championship, but it’s Giannis for me.”
“Assuming both are healthy it’s close but I trust Kawhi’s outside shot making.”
“Two excellent defensive players puts the tie breaker on offense. Giannis’ game 6 performance was other worldly.”
“If we were doing a playoff draft, I would take Giannis first. But if the game is on the line and you need that 1v1 scorer who can shoot over the top of a defender, give me Kawhi.”
“Kawhi. People underestimate the value of a pull up jumper in the playoffs.”
“Giannis because I won’t be constantly worried about him breaking down.”
“I love how even if you want the other guy everyone agrees it’s incredibly close.”
“I am going towards Kawhi due to the absolute dominant run that I witnessed during his time with the Raptors.”
“Playmaking is not a wash Giannis is obviously better.”
This is one of those truly interesting debates because both players have a case to be considered better. Leonard’s health is a problem, people tend to forget about him when he misses the whole season, but he looks ready to change that again next season. They’ve gone up against each other in the past, and perhaps the debate can be settled next season, in the Finals.
