Brandon Ingram vs Giannis Antetokounmpo rookie year comparison

Passing Ability

While these prospects clearly differed in the way in which they accumulated their points in their first seasons, as Antetokounmpo was more prone to scoring in close than Ingram, two areas the forwards were extremely similar was in the passing and rebounding categories.

In terms of passing ability, both players have the ability to handle the ball and create plays for their teammates; both are more than capable of assuming the role of the facilitator.

Per 36 minutes Giannis and Ingram both averaged roughly three assists per game, with 2.8 assists and 2.6 assists respectively.

Moreover, they have comparable assist percentages. Ingram assisted on his teammates’ field goals 10.5 percent of the time while on the floor, while Giannis assisted his teammates 1.5 percent more at 12 percent.

Therefore, not only did both athletes rack up nearly the same number of assists per game during their first NBA seasons, they were also responsible for assisting their teammates’ points at a very comparable rate during their time on the court. This demonstrates just how alike their passing ability really is.

Rebounding

Moving forward, as far as rebounding is concerned, according to the per 36 numbers, the Greek Freak averaged one more rebound than the Duke product at around six per game.

Although extremely close, the main reason for this slight difference is that Giannis’ rebound percentage was almost 3 percent higher, meaning while on the court, he grabbed 3 percent more boards.

Notably, Antetokounmpo also brought down 3 percent more contested rebounds, which helps to explain why he narrowly outrebounded Ingram in his first year, as he was better able to grab rebounds in traffic.