Yeah everyone is looking at this with hindsight. I think everyone pissing on the GMs that passed him up are idiots.
Just looking at him you can see the potential. But for some reason the thing that scares me, even more so than it would for a guy like Durant, is that his legs are bird-like in quality. Those things are so skinny--and he looks like a guy who's going to drive into a congested paint frequently--that I just have to fear the risk for serious injury just when I look at him. He's truly like a freak of nature when you look at him, just in the same way that Yao was, or (sorry to say it) the most recent oversized PG, 6'7 Shaun Livingston. Livingston had those same spindly legs, and his injury came without even a soul near him. You might remark that KD and KG have similar body types, but to me the difference is that neither player is reckless with their play. They obviously use their length to their advantage, hitting midrange jumpers at deadly efficient clips. In his prime, KG was also a fantastic back to the basket player...but even then he was more of a turnaround jumper guy than a back-you-into-the-paint-and-get-physical guy. You're not going to see KD jumping into a crowd of defenders trying to contort his body for an up-and-under the way Tracy McGrady would. There are certainly styles of play that lend themselves more towards injury risk. McGrady, Derrick Rose, Wade, just to name a few. I'm not saying this guy plays reckless. I'm saying his buffer to be a little reckless is next to none. He's like Yao in that sense. We all knew Yao was a strong fundamentals guy, but even then you can't prevent the inevitable dust-up in the paint. Every time a tiny PG just barreled straight into him, it should have been an offensive foul because anytime Yao left his feet, that was gonna be a hard landing. I and many Rockets fans I'm sure all gasped for a second each and every time he fell to the ground. And it's not surprising he didn't play long. That just wasn't a body type that could take much abuse. I feel like this kid's body is the same way unfortunately.
Wow, this is the first SL footage of him that I have seen. I had no idea there was THIS much potential with him. The kid is going to be an absolute stud, incredibly impressed!
i remember him playing for filathlitikos in greece,the best in our league and now he plays in nba,good for him.
He clearly has superstar potential... ... but keep in mind highlights are highlights. As far as PG play goes, he has solid handles, but if he has really strictly been running point, 1.8 assists per game in 4 games? And he's nto exactly hitting every shot he takes, at 46%. I mean Otto Porter is averaging 18 points on 53% shooting with more boards and similar assist numbers. Of course, not all stats are created equal. Giannis' upside is crazy high.
He's got potential, which from my experience as a fan for the last 10 years have been like 1 in every 1000 player to show some sort of potential actually pans out (superstar). Swaggy P had potential, OJ Mayo had potential, Michael Beasley had potential, Derrick Williams, Rudy Gay, Shaun Livingston, Hasheem Thabeet, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, FAB MELO, etc. A lot of players who yes are still in the league, arent where they were supposed to be (at least not to where they were drafted). This may be more of a Fron Office problem though. If Greek Freak can pan out to be a starter, he'll of been a success in my book. I don't know if he'll ever be an all-star. See Batum.
The thing is, those players that didn't pan out didn't have the right mentality/good head on their shoulders. It takes something to bring that potential out, and that is what Greek Freak has.
Everyone knew he was still growing because of the x-rays they did on him. I think even at 6'11 he is/was still growing. You just don't pass up of coordinated physical freaks of natures. They almost always pan out. Sampson, Dream, Shaq, Tmac, KG, Yao, Lebron, Durant. The only reason Sampson didn't work out was because of injuries. Kwame is probably the closest to being a physical freak that didn't pan out but he wasn't 6'11 that could dribble the ball down the court against NBA players, especially a high character guy.
Kwame had tiny hands and a rotten attitude about him...you could also factor in Jordan's ineptitude and bitterness that stunted Kwame even further.
Very nice highlights. Dis boy gon' be good! Doesnt seem to be translating to team success much. Bucks are losing the games lol. No doubt that he has upside to be something special though. Its not just the length and spring in his step. The long strides and huge hands palming ability give him an almost unfair Dr J like advantage in being able to contort the ball past people where he wants to put it
I am pretty sure Thon has been mentioned here. I have seen him in person a few times and the dude just screams NBA mismatch potential. Once you get past the "well, is he dominant because he is taller than everyone" you notice things like his fluid movement, court vision, on court attitude and ball handling and remember he is like 16 years old. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wttjoWjzvm4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Looks like a cross between kg and manute bol. The problem with Thon Maker will be his lack of strength and his tweener status. He doesn't look like he'll ever be able to play the 4 and he can't guard 3s. He'll need to have kg or durant skill to make it in the nba, and that's a tall order.
After watching these up and comers they still don't seem like the next "sure thing" since LeBron/Tim Duncan/Hakeem/Shaq etc. All these bigs are trying to act like point guards when in reality they should be building muscle so they can bang down low and literally own the league. I am still waiting for the next big thing aka a Shaq to enter the league and dominate like no other with all these weak centers in the league now. The question is will we ever see another Shaq like player in the next 10-20 years?
This is the silliest thing I've ever read. His body is perfect for the new age nba sf... whether he gets injured or not is not based upon having tree trunks for legs. like you said, rose and wade were built were trucks but couldn't sustain an aggressive style of play. at all. garnett and durant are very aggressive and tenacious and neither have missed significant games in their careers
