Kevin Garnett or Anthony Davis?

While similar in talent, I would take Garnett over Davis due to his defense, passing, durability, and competitive intensity.  Davis has been far more efficient at creating his own offense (kind of surprising following his season at Kentucky), but he will be unable to achieve his potential on a winning team without playing center full time, which he seems disinterested in. If Garnett played in this era, I expect he would have easily extended his shot to 3 point range (79% career FT shooter) and would have benefitted from playing in a spread pick and roll scheme.

 Garnett was a great player and probably all around better than Davis but to anyone who says  he could easily extend his shot out to 3 point territory has never watched him shoot much.  

 so far KG, he was more durable. AD great player but seems like he can’t play a full season.

As of now it’s no contest — Davis would have to consistently lead his team to at least the first round of the playoffs, and prove that he can be the best player on a great team like the ’04 T-wolves, before he’s even in the comparison. (And the Pelicans have similar talent to those early KG teams in Minnesota. Jrue Holiday = Marbury or Brandon. Mirotic isn’t Gugliotta but he’s close enough.)

 It’s hard to compare numbers between guys now to those who played pre 2010s as inflated everybody’s numbers are now, similar to NFL quarterbacks. Skill wise, category by category Davis would seem to be as good if not better than KG, but injuries and team success favor KG. Maybe Davis avoids serious injury the rest of his career and partners with cousins or someone else and wins a ring or two though.

Little too early to say definitively ones better than the other. At age same age KG was averaging 21-12-5 and hadn’t won a playoff series yet either. Let’s at least say Davis will have a good chance to match Garnett’s career, and it will probably take leaving NO similar to how Garnett had to leave Minn to do it.

 KG. Hindsight in knowing KG finished a champion helps a bit, cos I don’t think AD will get one, and that matters. KG was more durable, but also more resilient and intense and that matters because it inspires others. 

 I think AD probably has more pure talent than Garnett, but I don’t think AD has anywhere near the drive, intensity and desire to be great than a prime Garnett.  I doubt AD ever wins a championship so I’ll have to go with the Big Ticket.  

 Let me know when AD plays in a game that matters.

 Like I wrote when a poster compared DeRozan and Stackhouse, era’s need to be taken into consideration. Davis is a phenom, no question, but Garnett played in a MUCH tougher league during the golden era of Power Forwards in a stacked Western Conference dominated by a Bryant/Shaq led Lakers. Honestly, the entire game today owes a ton to Garnett, ’cause before him stringbean 7 footers got no burn. Make no mistake, before Garnett, guy’s like Kevin Durant (who’s obviously a generational talent) would’ve never been given a chance. He COMPLETELY revolutionized the game.

 To be fair Statistically they are probably similar or will be similar but the issue is this they have differing Front offices…

A.D: He has had a front office who has gotten him a top 20 player in Cousins.-K.G never had this(well at least in their prime he didn’t)

He has durability issues-This is either him or training staff :S

He hasn’t won a MVP

both have Gold medals.

Hasn’t won a ring.

They fired the coach who was taking them the right direction in Monty W.

Drafted averagely outside of A.D-Austin Rivers and Buddy hield(could have had Murray instead)

vs

K.G

Won a ring.

Has a MVP

more durable(until boston 2nd season)

Has a gold medal.

GM tried their best to get him talent-Traded Marbury for reasonable vets when he forced his way out. Outside of Boogie you can’t say pelicans really did this for A.D

Unless A.D forces his way out eventually or the front office does him a solid(like T-wolves did for K.G)

his career may not have the same acolades. Meaning K.G will have the better overall career.

 AD may have the scoring edge on a peak KG but his all round game and durability isn’t what KG’s was at his peak. Lets see where AD is when he is about 28/29 before we could say he can be compared with an All Time Great like KG.

AD may become as good a player as KG but could he have KG’s consistency and body of work I do wonder?

KG had that special thing where he inspired people around him to reach their potential.  

 Not everything can be decided on a stat sheet. Yes, AD is putting up big offensive numbers — for a team that is playing nothing but meaningless games. He has played in four playoff games in his career. Four. Let that sink in. … at the same age, KG had played in 20 for what was essentially an expansion franchise.

KG was ahead of his time as defensive player and as good as he was, he would be even more impactful in the modern game. Imagine him out on the perimeter hedging screens, switching from a big to a wing. His impact as a winning player is hard to put into context unless you really understand what you are watching. It is the same reason Dennis Rodman is an all-time great, even though he averaged eight points per game. 

AD is a talented dude, he puts up big numbers. He hasn’t proven to me that he can impact winning.

until I saw how much dirty/cheap stuff he got away with. Ball shots and elbows, etc. It took until Garnett had been around a while before I saw the accumulation of it all.

Talent-wise it’s pretty close. I’d give KG the edge in passing and AD the edge in shot-blocking and range.

 I’ll take AD all day now.

 Garnett played in only one championship team.  He had Rondo and a prime/just past prime Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

Had Anthony Davis played on that team, yes he would of won a championship aswell, maybe two…