If someone were to make the case that Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player in the NBA today, there are not many that would disagree. Even though Giannis is just 27, he already has a resume to be considered one of the all-time greats. Since 2017, Giannis has been an All-Star every season while also making the All-NBA First Team 4 times and winning the biggest individual trophies on offer.
This is the sort of career that can be expected from a Top 5 pick in the NBA draft, but when Giannis came to the league, he was just a skinny kid from Greece, considered to be a project. The work that it took to realize that potential and become one of the best is all thanks to the Greek Freak himself, though.
Giannis always believed he would be the best, everyone remembers the time he showed his parents the retired jerseys in the Bucks’ arena, saying he hoped to be up there one day. There was another incident when Giannis said he would be MVP of the league, and the reporters interviewing him laughed.
Once upon a time, Giannis said that he wanted to be the MVP and all of the reporters laughed at him pic.twitter.com/w1M1hZZGey
— Justin Wills (@itsjwills) April 2, 2022
“I’m going to try, try to get a win. Yeah, I mean, I want the MVP. I want the MVP.”
Giannis certainly got the last laugh in this situation with the reporters, he would go on to win back-to-back MVPs in 2019 and 2020. When the question changed to one of postseason success, Antetokounmpo managed to cross that hurdle as well, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their first championship in half a century while claiming the Finals MVP.
Antetokounmpo is far from done, he has averaged over 28 points and 12 rebounds per game for the last 4 seasons. He is also a defensive monster, having made the All-Defensive First Team 4 times and winning the Defensive Player Of The Year. The Greek Freak’s story is still being written, and it would be interesting to see what his goals for the future are now, having achieved nearly every accolade possible by the age of 27.
