Stephen Curry seemed like he couldn't believe it when he was told Giannis Antetokounmpo called him the best player in the world. Not because the prospect of that lavish praise coming from another player with a claim to basketball's individual throne is so outlandish, though. Instead, the Golden State Warriors superstar just misunderstood the question being posed to him at Media Day.
“He said what?” a surprised Curry replied when told of Antetokounmpo's comments. “Oh! I thought you were just making that up…Thanks for telling me that. And thank you, Giannis!”
Antetokounmpo made waves on Sunday by insisting that Curry currently holds the title as the top player in the world. Why? Not because of any specific deficiencies that prevents himself from owning that distinction, but due to the simple fact Curry is the best player on the NBA's reigning champions.
Curry initially allowed for the possibility that Antetokounmpo was engaging in some clever rhetorical gamesmanship ahead of a season that could pit the Warriors and Bucks on a crash course towards the Finals. Taking a beat to reflect on the compliment, though, Curry realized he felt exactly the same way about Antetokounmpo entering last season, after the Greek Freak led Milwaukee to its first championship in 40 years.
“I would say the same thing when you're facing the champions, that's part of the nature of the league,” Curry said. “We all want to win the championship and when you look at the team that's the last team standing and who was playing the best, I was thinking the same thing about him last year coming off their run. I appreciate the compliment. It's not gonna soften me up to get complacent at all. But you do appreciate the respect of your peers to go out and say stuff like that.”
No players in the league have a stronger claim to sit atop the league's individual hierarchy than Antetokounmpo and Curry.
The former is a two-time MVP and former Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP who almost single-handedly willed the Bucks to a second-round playoff victory over the Boston Celtics last season despite Khris Middleton's absence. The latter was somehow even more dominant than Antetokounmpo against Boston's historically elite defense, cementing himself as the league's most impactful offensive player while holding up on the other end en route to his first Finals MVP.
There will never be a lack of flattery between superstars as gracious and humble as Antetokounmpo and Curry. Here's hoping it paves the way for them to battle it out for the title of basketball's best player with a championship on the line come June.
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