Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the very best players in the NBA, and Toronto Raptors rookie Collin Murray-Boyles isn’t excited about the prospect of facing off against him. The Athletic asked the rookies who they believe will be their toughest matchup, and Murray-Boyles went with Antetokounmpo.
“Giannis [shakes head],” Murray-Boyles said. “Do not want to play Giannis, but I will have no choice.”
Unfortunately for Murray-Boyles, being selected with the ninth pick in 2025 by the Raptors means he will face Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks three or four times a season. The 20-year-old certainly won’t be looking forward to those games, but to be fair to him, not many look forward to battling the Bucks’ superstar.
Antetokounmpo has terrorized the NBA in recent years and was superb once again in the 2024-25 season. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game in the campaign and shot 60.1% from the field. It was the second season in a row in which he averaged more than 30 points and shot over 60%.
Antetokounmpo has proven to be impossible to slow down for the very best in the business, so what hope does a rookie like Murray-Boyles have? He wasn’t the only one to pick the former MVP here either, as Kon Knueppel did so as well.
“Like Giannis,” Knueppel said. “Getting switched on to Giannis. That would be tough.”
The Charlotte Hornets drafted Knueppel with the fourth pick, and he, too, will have to face off against Antetokounmpo three of four times a season. Here’s hoping for his sake that he doesn’t get switched on to the Greek Freak too often.
For a while, it had seemed like Antetokounmpo wouldn’t be on the Bucks in 2025-26, but the trade rumors surrounding him have died down now. The team has also brought in a new partner-in-crime for him in Myles Turner, after waiving the injured Damian Lillard.
The Bucks still don’t look like serious title contenders, but Antetokounmpo would be backing himself to drag them to the NBA Finals, with how weak the Eastern Conference might look next season.
Cooper Flagg Picked The Thunder As His Toughest Matchup
All the rookies except one named a player for their toughest matchup. The exception was Cooper Flagg, who went with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I’ll just say the Thunder in general,” Flagg said. “They’re young. They got a lot of good pieces. So that’s going to be a tough team to beat.”
The Thunder, of course, won the 2025 NBA championship and are the team to beat next season. Flagg’s Dallas Mavericks could potentially cause the champions some problems, provided they’re healthy.
The Mavericks eliminated the Thunder in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2024, but that was with Luka Doncic. He has now been shipped out of town, and it will be interesting to see how this iteration of the Mavericks fares against the Thunder.
