The Milwaukee Bucks’ run to the championship in 2021 was a heartwarming sight to see for most casual NBA fans as Giannis Antetokounmpo finally overcame his post-season hurdles to lift the NBA Championship and be crowned the Finals MVP after a 4-2 series win over the Phoenix Suns.
Giannis won the title with the team that drafted him and made no major moves to acquire a big-name star. Instead, they developed Khris Middleton on the roster alongside Giannis into an All-Star and acquired one of the best defenders in the league in Jrue Holiday. The pieces fit perfectly, and the Bucks walked their way to their franchise’s second NBA Championship.
When comparing what Giannis did to LeBron James, many people look at it as far more impressive than any of LeBron’s championships because of the lack of a bonafide secondary star like LeBron has always had on his title teams. Chris Broussard brought this up on ‘The Odd Couple’ and said that Giannis’ 1 championship win is more impressive than LeBron’s 4 titles.
“Historically LeBron’s better than Giannis. But Giannis won championship without a second superstar.
“LeBron’s first championship he had Dwyane Wade. Second, well I mean, I wouldn’t call Kyrie quite a superstar, but you know, Kyrie was doing work, Kevin Love was there and then Anthony Davis.” (h/t SportsKeeda)
This is not the best comparison to make, as Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday aren’t sub-par NBA players. While neither has the individual skill of Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, or Anthony Davis, they are incredibly valuable NBA players that complemented Giannis well.
LeBron’s 2016 championship will be hard to overlook, considering the juggernaut they overcame in the Finals compared to Giannis beating a Phoenix Suns team with minimal playoff experience. Regardless, it is better to appreciate their glories as they achieved them rather than compare them to point out which one might be better. All titles have their unique journies and stories, including all the titles won between LeBron and Giannis.
