Giannis Antetokounmpo is a 2x MVP and the reigning NBA Champion. But if you ask Stephen A. Smith, it’s still not good enough to earn him the title as basketball’s best player.
On Saturday, the ESPN analyst made his case against the Greek Freak, arguing that, even after all he’s done, he is still not at the level of Kevin Durant.
“Kevin Durant, if he’s wearing a size 12 or 13, Giannis goes home. You sit up here and bring that up but you just conveniently forget that. Kyrie was out and James Harden was playing on one leg…. you know good and well Giannis ain’t KD! Let’s pump the brakes now! Giannis is great, he’s phenomenal. He ain’t Kevin Durant.”
On one hand, Giannis Antetokounmpo is an unstoppable force who is currently in the middle of the best season of his career. Through 50 games, he’s averaging 29.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 6 assists per game on 54.4% shooting. He’s also coming off a playoff run that included beating Kevin Durant and the Nets in the second round.
On the other hand, Durant does everything almost just as well and he’s twice the shooter Giannis is. He carried a broken and hobbled Brooklyn squad past the first round, and may have led them to a title had his foot been half a size smaller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP2KxuPdjD8
There really is no conclusive answer to this debate. Each player dominates in a different way, and it seems almost impossible to definitively rank one over the other.
But it can be said with confidence that Durant and Giannis will rule the league for the next couple of years, and their paths are destined to cross plenty of times along the way.
For us fans, it really doesn’t get any better than that.
