In the sports world, winning is everything. While the best players often use their platforms to help the greater good, one of the greatest measures of a career on the court is how successful they are in leading their team to a Championship.
So when asked which player in the NBA needs this 2020 title the most, one of three names usually get mentioned: LeBron James, Kahwi Leonard, or Giannis Antetokounmpo. On ESPN’s First Take, they debated on which of the three it is.
Max Kellerman picked Giannis who, unlike LeBron and Kawhi, has yet to win at the game’s highest level. In Max’s mind, having no Chips with talent puts a lot of pressure on him to close the deal.
“Well, if that’s the option among those three, I have to go with Giannis cause he doesn’t have one. I mean Giannis, I thought, had established himself as the best player in the league last year, particularly once LeBron got hurt.
LeBron’s got multiple Championships and he’ll have his hardcore followers always saying he’s the best, practically no matter what. Kawhi’s got multiple Championships. Giannis doesn’t have one and that’s the knock against him.”
Domonique Foxworth took a different approach. He picked Kawhi because Giannis still has time to “write his story” and LeBron’s legacy may already be set.
“Giannis could absolutely benefit from this Championship but he doesn’t need it the most — he’s 25. Like, he’s got plenty of time for his story to be written and he’s gonna be great for quite some time. He’s got a lot of time.
I think Kawhi needs it the most because we already know right now that LeBron is one of the greatest of All-Time, people could argue that he is the greatest. But him winning a Championship right now isn’t going to make you think he’s better than MJ or people who think that MJ is greater. This Championship isn’t going to change that for him.”
Jay Williams picked Giannis.
“If you’re Milwaukee, you’re sitting there saying ‘okay we have the best record in basketball, it’s been multiple years now that Giannis is going to win MVP of the league if he wins it again for the second time in two years, we have to be there. We have to be there and we have to win the Chip because we want to keep this guy for the next 10-15 years.’ So, I think Milwaukee has the most to lose if they don’t win a Championship.”
Despite the clock running out for LeBron, nobody picked him as the most in-need of a title. Maybe it’s because, at this point, people already know how they feel about LeBron. His story is mostly finished.
As for Giannis and Kawhi, what they do these next few years will determine how they go down in the history books. If either one of them wants to take their place on the throne, now is the time.
