While Los Angeles Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James is still universally recognized as the best basketball player in the world, slowly but surely, Milwaukee Bucks star swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo is closing the gap.
James is going to miss the playoffs this season for the first time since his sophomore year in the league. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, is the front runner to win the MVP award and has led his Bucks to the best record in the entire league.
Antetokounmpo keeps hearing people say he is going to be the face of the NBA soon, something the Greek Freak is still trying to process.
“I didn’t expect myself to be getting that close and tight with LeBron James because he’s (expletive) LeBron, (expletive) LeBron James, man,” Antetokounmpo said, via Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Coming into the league, I never saw myself as one of the best players in the league and being that LeBron type of player. That’s the truth. I could say, ‘Yes, I always thought I could be like LeBron James or better or whatever,’ but that’s not the truth.”
Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.5 points, 12.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game on the season for the Bucks. He's shooting 58.0 percent from the field and has 50 double-doubles on the season.
Statistically, James is still putting up elite numbers. The King is averaging 27.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists and shooting 51.4 percent overall.
But because Antetokounmpo is only 24 and James is 34 and has a lot of mileage on his body, pundits believe Giannis will take over as the best player in the league very soon.
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