Giannis Antentekoumpou or Charles Barkley

[Lebron23]

Who’s the better player? I think Giannis already surpassed Barkley in the all time lists. He won an nba championship snd a two way player. Head to head Giannis would destroy Charles

[Airupthere]

Charles Barkley was a 6'6 PF. He had a career high of 56 pts.

[j3lademaster]

It's Giannis. Barkley admitted he was a lazy defender, Giannis is elite on both ends.

[John8204]

Right now Barkley...Giannis gets a second ring or near the end of his career he's going to be in the top twenty.

[j3lademaster]

Charles Barkley was a 6'6 PF. He had a career high of 56 pts.Giannis put up 50/14 along with 5 blocks while dominating both sides of the ball in a game to clinch a championship.

[bizil]

Timmy is the GOAT PF by far still. BUT BOAT (Best of all time) WISE, Giannis is #1 of the PF's. He's the BEST PF I've ever seen play. In an all time draft of PF's, I picking Giannis over everybody. When it comes to Chuck, his scoring, passing, and rebounding stands up to Giannis. His scoring skillset was more complete. And Chuck was a freakish athlete.

But Giannis for all intents and purposes is a positionless 7 footer two way wise. The way Bron combined scoring, passing, rebounding, defense, positionless shit, and freak athletic ability at the SF, Giannis is DOING THE SAME at the PF spot. He AMPED what KG was doing in terms of athletic ability and scoring ability. KG was a freakish athlete and very good at times great scorer. But Giannis is even MORE FREAKISH an athlete! And is FLAT OUT a great scorer!

With that said, Giannis and Chuck combine scoring, rebounding, and passing better than ANY PF's ever. They are #1 and #2 in my book!

[Smook A.]

Barkley was a beast but Giannis is prime Shaq-esque in terms of dominance

[Lebron23]

And also won 2 MVP compared 1 MVP by Sir Charles

[Lebron23]

"Can you imagine if Prime Charles Barkley try to Guard Giannis? Mismatch. Barkley loves to trash talked these young players, but Giannis would destroy him in a head to head matchup 6'11' vs 6'5" PF. Giannis already surpassed him as a player after winning an NBA Championship in 2021, and 2 regular season MVP is better than 1 MVP. Even Barkley admitted that he was not a good defender during his prime." Giannis is the Shaq of the Power Forward Position
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuN65GrKUrk

[BarberSchool]

5 years of peak prime ? - Chuck

10-12 years of building a franchise long term ? - Giannis.

[Jasper]

won't even respond to this dumb thread. Giannis is top 3 PF's of all time.

[L.Kizzle]

5 years of peak prime ? - Chuck

10-12 years of building a franchise long term ? - Giannis.
5 Chuck prime = 1 MVP, 1 Finals
5 Giannis prime = 2 MVP, 1 Championship, 1 Finals MVP, 2 DPOYs.

[SouBeachTalents]

5 Chuck prime = 1 MVP, 1 Finals
5 Giannis prime = 2 MVP, 1 Championship, 1 Finals MVP, 2 DPOYs.
Yeah, that was a terrible take :lol

Giannis doesn't have 2 DPOY just FYI.

[SouBeachTalents]

"Can you imagine if Prime Charles Barkley try to Guard Giannis? Mismatch. Barkley loves to trash talked these young players, but Giannis would destroy him in a head to head matchup 6'11' vs 6'5" PF. Giannis already surpassed him as a player after winning an NBA Championship in 2021, and 2 regular season MVP is better than 1 MVP. Even Barkley admitted that he was not a good defender during his prime." Giannis is the Shaq of the Power Forward Position
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuN65GrKUrk
Why do you put quotation marks around things that nobody's ever said.

[Airupthere]

Why do you put quotation marks around things that nobody's ever said.

What gave it away that it’s not an exact quote from someone else?

[BigShotBob]

If Barkley played now he'd have at least one or two rings

If Giannis played when Charles did he'd have 0 DPOY awards and 0 rings

context means everything

[Im Still Ballin]

Why do you put quotation marks around things that nobody's ever said.

:roll:

I think it's probably a YouTube comment.

[AussieSteve]

And also won 2 MVP compared 1 MVP by Sir Charles

Barkley has 2 MVPs. 1990 and 1993.

In 1990 he won by far the most 1st place votes, but ended up losing out to Magic because of a bunch of West coast voters who left him off their ballot entirely to bolster Magic's chances of winning.

Barkley also won the Sporting News MVP that year. Consensus was that he was the MVP.

If votes were made public then like they are now, Barkley definitely wins the 1990 MVP. Voters who left him off would be disgraced and lose their vote for future years.

[Axe]

Greek.

[L.Kizzle]

If Barkley played now he'd have at least one or two rings

If Giannis played when Charles did he'd have 0 DPOY awards and 0 rings

context means everything
So basically, Barkley would be Giannis and Giannis would be Barkley. Got it.

[ImKobe]

Prime Barkley was a better player offensively. I think it's really close but it's hard to compare their value across eras like this. Chuck would absolutely feast on offense in today's NBA. He put up comparable numbers in an era where there was no spacing and with better rim protectors going up against him. Still put up 25-28 ppg on 61-66%TS for a 6-year stretch and he led the league in 2PT% 5 years in a row.

[Im Still Ballin]

I suppose the easy assessment is Barkley in today's league would be like Zion but with more rebounding. Maybe more post-oriented? Maybe a Zion-Julius Randle hybrid?

The young version of Chuck could play some defense. Blocks and steals aren't the best indicators of defense but they show you he could disrupt things. Effort was mainly his issue on that end.

[nayte]

Nah . Giannis is a beast . Best player in the game right now

[bizil]

Prime Barkley was a better player offensively. I think it's really close but it's hard to compare their value across eras like this. Chuck would absolutely feast on offense in today's NBA. He put up comparable numbers in an era where there was no spacing and with better rim protectors going up against him. Still put up 25-28 ppg on 61-66%TS for a 6-year stretch and he led the league in 2PT% 5 years in a row.

The HUGE difference between Giannis and Chuck is defense and positional versatility two way wise. Chuck is the rare PF who can match Giannis in terms of scoring, passing, and rebounding as as package. Chuck was THE STANDARD for that package until Giannis came around.

Chuck in today's game would be a top 5 caliber in the entire league. Giannis is the only PF FOR SURE I would take over him. AD has moved to the C spot more exclusively. And EVEN IF AD was the PF, I would strongly consider taking Barkley over AD. More durable, a better rebounder, better passer, and every bit the scorer. BUT if I had to choose scoring wise, I would still take Chuck.

He was WAY AHEAD OF HIS TIME!!! The league had never seen such brute force COMBINED with freak athletic ability and skill like that! Even too this day, haven't been too many guys since Chuck to have that time of package. Giannis checks that box in two of the three. But SKILL WISE, I would give Chuck the edge. Even though I consider Giannis the better player. And the best PF EVER in terms of peak-prime type shit!

[j3lademaster]

Anyone who thinks it's easier to score in the modern era because rules are more offensively biased also have to admit that it's harder to play defense now. By that logic, Giannis will be an even better defender in the 90's, and Barkley's defense will be worse.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Tim Hardaway was infinitely more skilled than Shaq. Shaq was still far better. Sure Barkley had shooting ability but Giannis will dominate the paint in any era and he will do it on both ends. Giannis actually averages more points and then is a world's better defender on top of that. In reality this is no contest.

[BigShotBob]

Tim Hardaway was infinitely more skilled than Shaq. Shaq was still far better. Sure Barkley had shooting ability but Giannis will dominate the paint in any era and he will do it on both ends. Giannis actually averages more points and then is a world's better defender on top of that. In reality this is no contest.

In no world is Giannis dominating a paint that is anchored by Hakeem, Shaq, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Mutumbo, etc. He'll get his but I don't think he'd be separating himself from the pack

[Lebron23]

If Barkley played now he'd have at least one or two rings

If Giannis played when Charles did he'd have 0 DPOY awards and 0 rings

context means everything

Giannis is a better regular season, playoffs and finals performer than him. Please stop overrating the weaksauce 1990's. Jordan was a loser when he played in the superior 1980's His record was 1-6 against super teams. Beat a bunch of weak opponents in the 1990's.

[Real Men Wear Green]

In no world is Giannis dominating a paint that is anchored by Hakeem, Shaq, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Mutumbo, etc. He'll get his but I don't think he'd be separating himself from the pack

Only one of those guys that might be able to match his quickness is Olajuwon. Antetokuonmpo is a combination of Stebbins length and agility unlike almost anyone in league history. Those guys never covered ballhandlers. Olajuwon and possibly Robinson could cover him and he's still physically a match for them. He would be a force in any era.

[90sgoat]

Anyone who thinks it's easier to score in the modern era because rules are more offensively biased also have to admit that it's harder to play defense now. By that logic, Giannis will be an even better defender in the 90's, and Barkley's defense will be worse.

Yes, Giannis would be DPOY candidate in the 90s.

He would also not be able to dribble.

[90sgoat]

Only one of those guys that might be able to match his quickness is Olajuwon. Antetokuonmpo is a combination of Stebbins length and agility unlike almost anyone in league history. Those guys never covered ballhandlers. Olajuwon and possibly Robinson could cover him and he's still physically a match for them. He would be a force in any era.

He would not be allowed to dribble like he does.

[Manny98]

Giannis easily

[Real Men Wear Green]

He would not be allowed to dribble like he does.

He would adjust to however he was officiated. He is an overwhelming athlete. Guys like that succeed in any era.

[Pointguard]

In competitve sports, aggression and ability to take advantage of superior ability is superior to skill set in actual play. According to you guys, Giannis isn't as skilled as AD or Embiid, though he usually thoroughly embarrasses them H2h. AD, Embiid, Jokic, Curry vs. Shaq, Giannis, Akeem, Jordan - I'm going with the super will-powered bunch. Duncan peak vs Giannis, the peak he is hopefully entering. The difference is notable. Barkley used his width well. But Jordan and Pippen made fun of his competiviness. ... .

Giannis is the most aggressive PF ever going to the basket much like Jordan was at SG. Both had superior first and second steps. Both could go left or right with great strength. Both were among the strongest, quickest and athletic at their positions. No PF ever had Giannis will-power to go at the basket. At one point they used to build walls with guys who had superior foot quickness to guys of yesteryear. These things aren't subject to era. Great rim protectors with 5 fouls are a liability.

Iverson got to the rim during the age of great centers. Giannis isn't Iverson but he would start closer to the basket. Dominque, Shawn Kemp and MVP David Robinson were getting to the rim but not like Giannis. With small guys Giannis goes over them. Tall guys are always trying to keep up. He's stronger than most and easily goes around the guys he isn't. His Giaant step is getting by the primary defender. He's going over the second defender. His weak hand is as developed (dribble and finish wise) as any other PF's strong hand. He's more prolific than the others. He's as consistent and KG energy wise. In the 4th quarter he beats teams almost single handily a lot. Lastly he gets to his spot as good as any PF ever.

He's going to be the first modern day big to eclipse Shaq 61 points in a game. On top of being the most consistent and prolific he is the most explosive.

They can shoot foul shots better than him.