Thursday night's matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks was one for the books. It featured one of, if not the most dominant players in the league over the past decade in LeBron James take on reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. For his part, Lakers forward Jared Dudley, who himself has had the opportunity of being able to play alongside both LeBron and Giannis during his tenured career, could not help but compare these two superstars from his own perspective. According to Dudley, these two share some uncanny similarities.
Article Continues Below“I was with Giannis when he was a young kid, where all he did was eat, sleep, and breathe basketball, which I’ve seen LeBron do now,” said Dudley, Giannis’ teammate in Milwaukee in 2014-15, Antetokounmpo’s second season, via Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “He was at the practice facility day and night with his brothers. Getting shots, in the weight room. He was still living at home with mom at the time. His whole thing was basketball. Giannis was trying to learn about America. He was intrigued by different movies, ‘Boyz ’n the Hood,’ ‘Coming to America,’ he was trying to ingratiate himself into American culture. From a competitive angle, Giannis hated to lose. He has that stare in him that LeBron gets when he has a dunk. He was figuring out that no one could really guard him, even at a young age. Both unselfish. Both make teammates better.”
While this narrative from Dudley serves as further proof of Giannis' undeniable focus and determination to master his craft, one cannot help but also be amazed by the fact that at 34 years of age and with 16 seasons under his belt, LeBron still possesses the same level of intensity at this point in his career. This is definitely one of the aspects that makes James one of the greatest in the game, and with this same attitude in his arsenal, it's not hard to imagine Antetokounmpo himself reaching the same heights as his predecessor.