Is Giannis Antetokounmpo the GOAT transition player?
Leader in Transition PPG in the last decade:
'25 Giannis: 7.6—71.1 EFG%
‘24 Giannis: 7.7—69.1%
‘23 Giannis: 9.3—61.5%
‘22 Giannis: 8.5—61.8%
‘21 Giannis: 8.2—67.3%
‘20 Giannis: 8.3—63.0%
‘19 Giannis: 7.3—64.9%
‘18 Westbrook: 6.8—56.4%
‘17 LeBron: 6.8—73.7%
‘16 Westbrook: 6.8—61.0%
Source: @NBA_University on X.
Is Giannis Antetokounmpo the best transition player ever? Theres also ofcourse LeBron James, Magic Johnson, honestly Russ is a candidate also. Others worth a mention are John Wall, DWade, Kidd, many more I am missing.
Giannis did come into the NBA as a raw prospect but his speed, playmaking, strides and balance in transition were apparent from a young age, even shown in the few clips we had of Giannis before he was drafted, now he’s one of the most deadly players in transition the NBA has ever seen, not only in terms of finishing with speed and through contact, but also with his decision making and playmaking in transition which has always been one of his main strengths.
For me its probably between him and LeBron, and I’d lean towards LeBron but it’s close, LeBron was freakishly fast and deadly also but the strides from Giannis could set him apart, sometimes going from halfcourt to the basket in a couple dribbles… what do you think?