Giannis Antetokounmpo has come a long way since first playing in the NBA. He has added a lot of muscle and only improved with each passing season. Now, ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season, Giannis is the best player in the league in the opinion of most fans.
It implies that Giannis has also dethroned LeBron James as the best player in the league. For a long time, James has held that position. While there are still many who believe that the King is the best player in the league, the general consensus puts him in the list of top 5 or top 10 players.
Additionally, back during the 2019-20 NBA season, Giannis seemingly mocked LeBron when he pulled off the ‘Crown’ celebration when playing against the Lakers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Clears Air About His Crown Gesture
Following the celebration from Giannis, the entire NBA community began talking about it. Moreover, the noise reached James too, as since that celebration by Giannis, the King went off.
Now, almost three years after the celebration, Giannis decided to clear the air about it. The Greek Freak explained he never meant it as a disrespect to James.
Giannis on crowning himself king in front of LeBron James back in 2019:
"It was nothing against LeBron. That's my last name. It means crown."
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— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) September 21, 2022
“It was nothing against LeBron. That’s my last name. It means crown.”
The meaning of Giannis’ last name is indeed ‘The crown from across the seas.’ So it could be true that Antetokounmpo only did that celebration for that reason.
But the fact he did the celebration during a game against LeBron James and the Lakers makes it hard to believe. That season, James and Antetokounmpo were two players battling for the NBA MVP award as well.
In the end, Giannis ended up winning the honors. On the other hand, LeBron led the Lakers to the 2020 NBA Championship. All things considered, both of them had great seasons in different aspects.
