The debate over who is the best player in the NBA today includes any number of excellent players. Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has long held that mantle, but now there are many others who can lay claim to that title, including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
For many, it is the Bucks superstar who now holds that crown after winning back-to-back regular season MVP awards in 2019 and 2020 before putting on an all-time great performance in leading the Bucks to the 2021 NBA Championship. Further making him great is his intense work ethic and drive to get better combined with his unreal physical gifts.
Antetokounmpo is one of the few who can come close to matching James’ physical attributes, but for the Greek star, it is the longevity and consistency that LeBron has shown throughout his career is something he hopes to match, via Marca Basket:
“It’s interesting to me how LeBron is still one of the best shapes in his life and being the best player in the world and still being in year 18,” Antetokounmpo said. “Like, that’s really interesting. I want to know how he does that.
“He’s been consistent for 18 years. He’s always there. He’s always showing up. That’s unbelievable.
“He obviously gets credit, but I think we’ve got to give him more credit. Doing it for 18 years guys, that’s hard.
“And hopefully, hopefully I can be there. Hopefully I can do this for 18 years, 20 years. That’s the goal.
Of course one of the reasons LeBron has lasted this long is because of the amount of money he puts into taking care of his body and Giannis jokingly questioned whether he could match that level of commitment:
“You gotta spend 1.5 million dollars on your body? I don’t know if I can do that. I’m too cheap for that. No, I’m joking. It’s crazy to me, man. He’s been so consistent. It’s fun to watch. It’s definitely fun to watch.”
Antetokounmpo is definitely a player who will do everything possible to reach that level that James has attained. There are a lot of players who reach that top level, but no one has stayed there for as long as LeBron has.
So far throughout his career, the Bucks star has shown the desire to be great and has been relatively healthy so far so if any of the new era stars can match what James has done, Giannis could be the one.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham discusses similarities in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis
LeBron and Giannis now have another link as new Lakers coach Darvin Ham spent the last few years as a lead assistant with the Bucks. But the Lakers player who tends to get the most comparisons with Giannis is Anthony Davis.
Ham discussed the similarities, noting how ridiculously talented each player is for their size, and the ground they can make up defensively.
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