Smitty4141 | Mavericks

174 | 3 hours ago

Mavs could use a guy like this

DeepCleaner42

41 | 2 hours ago

This version of AD was Giannis level

soycameron | Trail Blazers

16 | 2 hours ago

Giannis was/is still a different level than this AD.

DeepCleaner42

25 | 2 hours ago

Atleast they’re about the same tier.

soycameron | Trail Blazers

-8 | an hour ago

Giannis won back to back MVPs and a DPOY one of those years. Also won his team a finals in 2021. AD has nothing near those accomplishments other than being the second best player on the 2020 Lakers.

der_ninong | Lakers

13 | an hour ago

despite the DPOY I’d argue prime AD is a better defender

fun_hung | Mavericks

3 | 36 minutes ago

I agree. They’re both elite, but AD’s fundamentals were and still are much better than Giannis’s which is what really sets them apart even with the latter’s physical gifts.

DeepCleaner42

5 | an hour ago

Lol I never said he’s better than Giannis you don’t know what tier is. AD got hindered by the Pelicans organization. He was also runner up for MVP and played in Team USA before he played in the NBA.

Mediocre-Fennel4812

2 | an hour ago

Tiers are subjective. Just because your tier has a bigger interval doesn’t mean Giannis and AD are in the same tier to everyone. Setting aside accolades, peak Giannis is a tier above peak AD to me.

DeepCleaner42

3 | an hour ago

I’m talking about 2020 AD. He was 1st team All-NBA, 1st team All-defense and runner up for DPOY.

soycameron | Trail Blazers

1 | 16 minutes ago

And 2020 Giannis was a tier above him on literally every single one of those. He won MVP and won DPOY. Thats a tier above him to me.

Giannis also can be a first option on a finals team, AD can’t.

DeepCleaner42

1 | 9 minutes ago

You are basing it on when AD got Lebron as the 1st option. It’s really hard not to be to 2nd option to Lebron since Bron is the main ballhandler/playmaker. Giannis won’t be handling the ball if he has Lebron. If they had the Conference MVP back then AD would’ve won it, he was leading the team every round except the finals.

OkAct5899

7 | an hour ago

Back then, it was arguable at least. AD’s jumpshooting and defense we’re better. Just as deservign of a DPOY and provee it all throughout the playoffs, one of the best defensive peaks for a player in recent history

soycameron | Trail Blazers

1 | 24 minutes ago

Giannis won 2 MVPs and a DPOY while leading Bucks to the championship. Thats more than AD ever did.

fun_hung | Mavericks

7 | an hour ago

They were about the same level of player except the offense and defense were reversed. Still incredibly dominant on both ends, but peak AD was completely generational defensively.

DeepCleaner42

9 | an hour ago

AD also did not dominate the ball. Many of his points was from PnR with Lebron. In his prime AD was a perfect plug-in player to any team.

fun_hung | Mavericks

4 | an hour ago

He was ridiculous off-ball, I agree. Kind of like Stoudemire except he could also turn it up and dominate with the ball in his hands. After the bubble I thought he’d be winning MVPs and overtake Giannis as the best player in the NBA until Jokić put all those big man debates to rest.

Remarkable_Tap_8430

2 | an hour ago

imagine if he stays healthy, mavs could be unstoppable with that kind of talent on their roster

StevenJeon | Kawhi Leonard

120 | 3 hours ago

It’s crazy how much more agile and fluid he looked before he bulked up to play center

nhthelegend | Timberwolves

25 | 2 hours ago

Yeah he looks so smooth and quick here. He’s still effective (when on the court) but he is so much slower and deliberate now.

kurruchi | Minneapolis Lakers

19 | 2 hours ago

I think a lot of factors went into it, but that’s definitely one. If he was drafted years before he’d age right into the PF-C era where he fits better. In the 2010s he stood out so much partially because he was an ultra-skilled holdover from then.

In the 2020s we shift from low skilled 280lb centers he can easily handle (Hibbert, Jordan) to extremely high-skilled 280lb ones (Jokic, Embiid).

The Lakers shouldn’t have been so reactive, because I think all of their problems come from it. He bulks up to match lineup versatility of skilled bigs at center, they get Westbrook out of injury fear, and fear of the Nets big 3.

In reality, the mess of 2021 was a result of a 72-day offseason and freak injuries. All of the rash moves to counter it after just made it worse lol

_Meece_ | Lakers

7 | 2 hours ago

Also before he smashed his ankle to mush during the Bubble run. He was never really the same after it.

504090 | Thunder

1 | 9 minutes ago

I feel like injuries slowed him down more than anything. Also, strangely this video seems to be sped up a bit

Conscious-Till3591

53 | 3 hours ago

Idk why they’d choose the Vader song that would definitely hype anyone up

zeek215 | Lakers

25 | 3 hours ago

They’re just a really dumb franchise. We used that music when Kobe came back from an injury, because as you said it hypes up a player’s return. These idiots did it for the opposing team.

ONIROTCIV | Lakers

35 | 3 hours ago

This was the last year AD still looked like the world beater from NOLA

Injuries and miles clocked were already there but changing positions and lethal shooter were the big ones

He still transformed into a great center who we asked to guard five people while dropping ²⁵⁄₁₁

Just not the dude running down the court like a gazelle hitting step backs and fade aways

CravingKoreanFood | 23

13 | 2 hours ago

That peak version of him is still to me a top 5 talent in the last decade

soycameron | Trail Blazers

7 | 2 hours ago

So peak AD is a better talent than peak Jokic, Giannis, Luka, Shai, or LeBron (2015-2020 Bron since u said last decade)?

CravingKoreanFood | 23

1 | an hour ago

I meant players drafted around that year so not bron. Not an easy list by all means but Luka, jokic AD, Giannis prob in that order. Not sure about 5th. Shai seems more hard work beats talent to me.

soycameron | Trail Blazers

-2 | an hour ago

Having AD above Giannis is insane. Genuinely zero argument for that. And saying Shai isn’t talented is like saying Jordan wasn’t talented lol

CravingKoreanFood | 23

2 | an hour ago

Not at all it was literally a constant debate back then before all the injuries started piling up again. AD had a more complete offensive game and im taking prime ADs defense over Giannis. Not that Shai is not talented, but when a 7 footer can move like a guard its just God given ability.

Shaodic | Cavaliers

1 | an hour ago

Leaving Curry off that list gotta be sacrilege

soycameron | Trail Blazers

1 | 21 minutes ago

I just named the clear top 4 from today and the best player from back then. Peak Steph is obviously better than peak AD too

AllYouNeed_Is_Smiles | Supersonics

0 | an hour ago

With his impact on both ends of the court you could argue only Jokic, Giannis, and LeBron have an argument to have a better peak if we’re basing it off Pelicans/Lakers up to the bubble chip.

SGA while having the best year you can individually have in the NBA last season is still playing catch up with Luka in terms of accolades and overall perception around the league. And for Luka, while probably being a top 5 offensive player earlier and more consistently than AD ever was, his lack of defense compared to AD’s league best defense doesn’t cancel out because of Luka’s offensive abilities.

soycameron | Trail Blazers

1 | 11 minutes ago

lol yeah okay sure

Shai’s one season last year was better than any season AD ever had. Ever. This season is gonna be even better.

Luka took his team to the finals as the clear best player, something AD has never done.

AD was a DPOY level defender at his peak, yes. Luka is like a top 10 offensive talent to ever touch the floor.

Theres also players like Steph, KD, and Kawhi who were (and still are) all better players than AD.

You could drop 2020 AD into the league right now and he’d be the fifth best in the league, with zero argument to be above any of the other 4.

_Meece_ | Lakers

7 | 2 hours ago

Peak version of AD looked better than every PF ever but peak Timmy. It was wild, shame he never held onto it.

soycameron | Trail Blazers

1 | 2 hours ago

Peak Giannis was better than peak AD

_Meece_ | Lakers

3 | an hour ago

At the time we hadn’t seen peak Giannis! I just meant at the time.

igot2pair | Supersonics

2 | 2 hours ago

Bubble AD was better no?

IHateAdamSilver | Nets

19 | 3 hours ago

The star wars music 🔥🔥🔥🔥

TestEducational6191

16 | 3 hours ago

What a stud, Doncic level talent

vHezoThaGoat

20 | 3 hours ago

If the Mavs traded for this AD it actually would’ve been an even trade lol

Anthony Davis was probably the third best player in the league at this point

Lakers ruined him having him play Center for so long, when what made the 2020 Lakers great was the fact he didn’t have to do that.

igot2pair | Supersonics

8 | 2 hours ago

Him moving to center won them a championship and him having one of the best individual playoff runs ever

vHezoThaGoat

7 | 2 hours ago

Anthony Davis started all 62 regular season games as PF, yes he played primarily at Center in the playoffs but those were adjustments.

AD should NEVER be a permanent starting center which is what the Lakers turned him into, he’s not durable enough.

lialialia20 | Timberwolves

8 | 2 hours ago

or the fact that he had a 3pt shot for a small window in his career peaking at 3.5 attempts at 33% and 38% in the playoffs in 2020 that he was never able to replicate and has shot 25.7% since that 2020 fluke season

vHezoThaGoat

9 | 2 hours ago

There is no such thing as a fluke season, especially when AD was literally top 3 in MVP voting two years prior

First team all nba and runner up for DPOY, AD simply peaked that year as a player and injuries and being forced to primarily play a new position led to him never reaching the same heights.

TestEducational6191

5 | 2 hours ago

Sarcasm aside he really is a top level talent that is just plagued by constant injuries. Man is literally Mr. Glass

soycameron | Trail Blazers

0 | 2 hours ago

The Mavs could’ve traded Luka for rookie AD and it still would have been a bad trade.

vHezoThaGoat

12 | an hour ago

Absolutely not, you’re following the hive.

AD in 2020 was fucking ridiculous and is damn near a mythical player at this point, he was THAT good.

I still would never make the trade because Luka is still too great to just give away in the middle of a season like that especially after a finals run, but 19-20 AD would’ve been a trade that at least made sense.

Jarxzz | United States

3 | an hour ago

2020 AD only existed for that season. If you could lock his healthy bubble form as his normal play then he’d be a god level player. But that was never sustainable

soycameron | Trail Blazers

1 | 19 minutes ago

Bubble AD is what ur thinking of. One playoff run. “Mythical” player? He wasn’t even the best player on his team that year. AD was never the player that Luka is now. AD has never been good enough to be a first option on a finals team and Luka has proven he is.

HokageEzio | Knicks

4 | an hour ago

Rookie AD was so good they put him on the US Olympic team before he ever played a second of NBA basketball.

soycameron | Trail Blazers

1 | 23 minutes ago

High school aged Luka was winning MVP in the Euroleague. Rookie Luka would be drafted before rookie AD, and if he wasn’t, it would be a failure from the front office

HokageEzio | Knicks

1 | 5 minutes ago

One, you’re moving the goalposts. The discussion was trading Luka last year for rookie AD.

Two, rookie Luka was drafted third and a team traded the rights to get him, so your argument makes no sense. Rookie Luka’s hype is not even in the conversation of rookie AD’s hype.

614981630 | Nuggets

6 | 3 hours ago

Absolute Cinema.

ihatedougford | Toronto Huskies

2 | 3 hours ago

2019-20 AD is a top 30 peak ever

brnccnt7

2 | 2 hours ago

Crazy how much has changed in the world since then

MrBuckBuck | Trail Blazers

2 | 2 hours ago

He already played against the Lakers as a Mavericks

thebranbran | Bulls

1 | 3 hours ago

6 years ago

owngoalmerchant

1 | 3 hours ago

Lonzo, not Hayes

PseudoSapien

1 | 2 hours ago

So you’re saying he’s going to bring the mavericks a win

Dekamaras | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

We’re not booing him, we’re cheering/thanking him

imaginaryResources | NBA

1 | 37 minutes ago

I like how they threw in a few Lebron highlights too lol

Kittens4Brunch

1 | 36 minutes ago

That’s the full AD experience in one game.

somemoreof | Raptors

1 | 11 minutes ago

the craziest part of this highlight reel is seeing alex caruso with hair

No-Alternative2897

1 | 6 minutes ago

Last bit of this highlight is like consecutive Bron plays from down 4 to up 5

Life_Praline4477

2 | 3 hours ago

This isn’t his first game against lakers since the trade. It is his first one in LA but he played in the dallas game last season

IlliterateDumbNerd | Spurs

1 | an hour ago

Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted, you’re right

SpikyKid | Minneapolis Lakers

-1 | 3 hours ago

It was Lonzo Ball that was part of the trade not Jaxon Hayes

kurruchi | Minneapolis Lakers

4 | 3 hours ago

In the AD trade the Lakers traded the 4th pick to NOLA, and NOLA traded it to ATL for their 8, 17 and 35 pick. 8th pick was Hayes, 17th was Nickiel Alexander-Walker.

BantamCats | LAL

2 | 2 hours ago

Hayes was drafted by the Pelicans.

Defiant_Regular3738

-6 | 3 hours ago

Darth Injuris

FilmCroissant | Raptors

3 | 2 hours ago

I find your lack of puns disturbing

Six Years Ago Today: Anthony Davis returns to New Orleans as a Laker, introduced with Darth Vader’s music in the starting lineup. Booed all game, Davis scores 41 (15-30), injures his elbow, but comes back to make the game-winning steal & free throws in a 16-point comeback.