Giannis Antetokounmpo is already one of the greatest modern basketball players of all time, despite him being just a 27-year-old. The youngest player named to the NBA 75 team last year, Giannis’ accomplishments basically show the perfect NBA career. Multiple MVPs, a DPOY, a Finals MVP, and a very likable story that involved a lot of doubt over his abilities and a lot of hard work to ensure skill wouldn’t be the problem.
Antetokounmpo was reflecting on the last 10 years of success he has enjoyed in the NBA, comparing himself to the 18-year-old kid that didn’t even understand the magnitude of playing at Madison Square Garden. He said that if he plays at MSG now, understanding what the arena signifies, he gets more scared than when he debuted in the arena.
Year one, you could see the hunger in my eyes pic.twitter.com/bVCn5476ny
— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) November 3, 2022
“First of all, year one, whoo boy, that boy was a bad boy. I saw this clip of me checking into a game in New York. In my eyes, you could see a hunger. It’s crazy to me, I was 18. You know, I’ve never been over here and that was my first NBA game in Madison Square Garden and I’m like ‘damn, this kid was not scared. Like, he wasn’t aware of what is going on. I wasn’t aware, I came from Greece, I came from a neighborhood called Sepolia and you just put me into Madison Square Garden. I was like ‘yeah, I don’t care, I’m just going to try and hoop. Now that I’ve been around for 10 years, I’ll probably be more scared now.”
That’s an incredibly heartwarming story from Giannis. The 2-time league MVP has started this season with a high likelihood of winning his 3rd MVP, given the Bucks’ perfect start to the season.
Does Anyone Compare To Giannis In Basketball?
Despite Stephen Curry leading his team to a championship this summer, everyone has almost unanimously agreed that Giannis is the best player in the NBA. Through the first few weeks of the NBA season, Giannis has proven that nobody compares to him by leading the Bucks to a dominant 7-0 start, especially with the struggles of Curry and the Warriors.
No player in the NBA can impact the game on a two-way level as Giannis can, and the Bucks are better off as a result. Hopefully, he can continue this success through the season and push towards a 2nd championship and a possible 3rd regular-season MVP.
