Examining why Giannis Antetokounmpo is a better defensive player than Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo are two of the premier talents in the NBA, and both are gifted two-way players who can impact a game on either end of the floor. Until last season, the common consensus was that Leonard was the better defensive player, but the strides Giannis has made in recent seasons have seen that train of thought grind to a halt.
Obviously, Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo play vastly different roles for their respective teams, but as All-Stars their impact is somewhat comparable. If we're going to look at this pair's defensive impact, we must first understand what their individual roles are.
Kawhi Leonard is primarily a perimeter-based defender, tasked with halting the opposing team's most dominant wing player, while Giannis operates on the interior, usually as a drop defender or in a hybrid role I like to call the shuttle.
The "Shuttler" is similar to a drop defender, but can roam towards the perimeter and isn't confined to guarding an opposing big - rather they sniff out scoring danger for themselves and snuff it out before it becomes problematic. We've seen Giannis Antetokounmpo operate in this role numerous times during last season's playoffs.
With the positional understanding now solidified, it's time to examine who the better defender is at this juncture of the players' careers. Kawhi Leonard is entering his age 30 season and is recovering from a major knee injury, one that could possibly keep him out all year. Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, will be turning 27 during the new season, and judging by his new found defensive role, is only just entering his prime.
The issue with knee injuries, such as Kawhi Leonard's, is that you never know what level of mobility and explosiveness a player will regain once they're full healthy. For a player who relies on their athleticism, Leonard could find his defensive impact slightly diminished.
Clippers: 'No one knows' time frame for Kawhi Leonard's return from ACL injury abc7.com/11044848
It's the beauty of being a drop defender, athleticsm isn't a pre-requiste, sure it helps a bunch, but some of the least athletic bigs in the league have found themselves operating as a positive in similar roles. Take Enes Kanter, for instance, for all the hoopla about his inability to guard the pick-and-roll, once he's operating in a drop scheme, he's not an awful defensive piece. Ok, Kanter is an extreme example, but my point still stands.
In terms of impact, when looking at lineup statistics for last season's playoffs, you can clearly see a trend for when Giannis Antetokounmpo was on the floor. For instance, with the Milwaukee Bucks superstar operating as their center, teams only converted 74.2% of their chances around the rim - the bottom three percent in the playoffs and it's a similar story anywhere inside of the three-point line.
Remove Giannis Antetokounmpo from the court and the entire narrative flips on its head - teams were shooting league averages or better from inside the arc, but struggled on the exterior.
Why? Because when Giannis Antetokounmpo was on the floor, the Milwaukee Bucks would funnel offensive players into his path, trusting that their star player would alter or stop any shot attempt.
So, how did Kawhi Leonard fair before his injury?
With Kawhi Leonard on the floor, teams were shooting at an abysmal rate from everywhere, albeit on a small sample size.
Take Kawhi Leonard off the court, and teams' offensive output sharply rose to around the league's average level. For reference, these statistics are taken from Cleaning The Glass, and the league average is the 50th percentile.
Defense has never been an individual task, it's not like an offense where one player can simply dominate a game for minutes on end. No, defense is a team orientated aspect of basketball, sure, there's stretches where a transcendent defensive player can shut down the opponent, but if the help defense isn't on point or a rotation is missed, everything becomes frail.
That's why most defensive metrics struggle to capture a player's true ability on defense, and is why I chose to look at lineup on/off data rather than a catch-all metric. Because impact is what you're looking for on defense.
A big stop here, with Giannis switching late to Ayton as Portis comes to help, it forces a turnover and the Bucks get a Connaughton transition three. https://t.co/O7Un6CiN1k
Kawhi Leonard was operating at a phenomenal level before his injury, impacting the defensive end at an unbelievable rate. However, with a second injury to the same knee almost a year out from recovery and no telling what type of player he will be when returning, we might not see this level of play on defense again. Furthermore, Kawhi Leonard is heavily relied upon as an offensive outlet, and should he need to take possessions off once he's returned, it's easy to envision the defensive end suffering.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, has more offensive help than Kawhi Leonard, and has taken the role of defensive anchor in his stride. With the injury history of Leonard and the large offensive weight on his shoulders, Giannis has slowly surpassed him as a defender, both in terms of deterrence and impact.
If Giannis continues to improve and excel as both a center and power forward while Kawhi Leonard continues his recovery from injury, the gap between the two on that end of the floor will be insurmountable within the next 12 months.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is now one of the best defenders in the NBA, and has left the likes of Kawhi Leonard on the trail of dust as he continues to put together a Hall Of Fame worthy career.