Photo Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

Retired NBA Player Explains Why Marvin Bagley Can Be As Good As Giannis Antetokounmpo And Bam Adebayo

Marvin Bagley hasn’t been living up to his expectations and is yet to prove his worth as a former second overall pick of the NBA Draft. Last season didn’t help him at all, as Bagley suffered an injury that held him to only playing 13 games in the regular season.

Bagley has been averaging 14.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game on 49.7% shooting from the field for his first two seasons in the NBA. While he displays solid numbers, his production doesn’t compare to his peers in the likes of DeAndre Ayton, Luka Doncic and Trae Young.

But as Bagley is only getting started and is off for a fresh new year, different hopes and expectations are looming on the promising Kings big man. Retired NBA player Olden Polynice, for instance, says Bagley, when healthy, could be on the same level as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
Per khtk.com:

“If he’s healthy, to me, he’s along the lines of Giannis,” Polynice said while on the “The Carmichael Dave Show with JayMarzz.” “Because he can handle the ball, he can shoot–he’s a better shooter than Giannis. He has right-shoulder, left-shoulder moves. He runs the floor extremely well. He jumps really high. He really is a generational talent. He can transcend the game. He is not Luka Doncic, no. No one is. But he can be Marvin Bagley and he can be really, really good.

“If those things (health) happen, I kid you not, he’s on that level of a Giannis, guys like that. Bam Adebayo, we have seen his development. He can be as good–if not better than guys like that.”