Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo guarding LeBron James.
For the second year in a row, the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo disappointed in the playoffs. Despite winning back-to-back MVPs, Giannis hasn’t been able to get his team over the hump when it matters. He was banged up during this recent playoff run but his team wasn’t playing particularly well before he had to sit out.
Giannis is an athletic marvel and a dominant force in the paint. He’s an elite defender and scores at a high rate. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a great scorer. He’s somewhat one-dimensional on offense. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was recently on the Road Trippin’ podcast and he suggested that Giannis can’t score.
“Channing [Frye] said last week, I don’t care; Milwaukee didn’t get better because Giannis can’t score,” LeBron said. “And people online went crazy because they were like ‘he averaged 30! What do you mean he can’t score?’ I know what Channing is basically talking about. You got to break down the game.”
Bron agrees with Channing Frye that Giannis Antetokounmpo can’t score and tries to clarify his statement on @RoadTrippinPod.
LeBron could’ve been misspeaking with those comments, but it certainly sounds like he doesn’t believe Giannis is a good scorer. If you were to look at his short chart, he mostly scores in the paint and it’s not even close. His mid-range game is almost non-existent and shoots 28% from three over his career. Giannis can score a lot of points, but his offensive game isn’t very diverse.
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Giannis Recently Had High Praise for LeBron
While LeBron’s criticism of Giannis is somewhat valid, it wasn’t really necessary for him to make his thoughts public. Considering the fact that the Bucks star just had massive praise for LeBron, the comments seem a little harsh.
“It doesn’t matter who is the MVP. [LeBron] is the best,” Giannis said recently on the Greek channel COSMOTE TV. “I say so. He is the best in the world. The day that I would be the best player in the world, I will step forward and say it.”
If Giannis can figure out how to add a little more diversity to his offensive game, he’s going to be unstoppable. There’s no doubt he’s a strong candidate to be the best player in the league once LeBron eventually falls off.
Will Giannis Hit Free Agency Next Offseason?
The deadline for Giannis to sign a massive super-max extension is on December 21 and that date is closing in. As of right now, it looks very possible that he’ll hold off on signing a new contract right now. The Bucks did add Jrue Holiday, which should be an upgrade. They also almost landed Bogdan Bogdanovic. However, that deal fell apart. Had it not, it’s possible Giannis would have already signed his extension.
Giannis does seem loyal to the team that drafted him but just like many other superstars, he wants to win a championship. Milwaukee is going to have a good team this year but it remains to be seen if they’ve done enough to win the Eastern Conference. If they can’t even get to the NBA Finals, there’s a very good chance Giannis will at least test the free-agent market.
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