MVP Contender Giannis Antetokounmpo Compared To Kevin Durant, LeBron James

Giannis Antetokounmpo received hefty praise from Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who compared the Milwaukee Bucks forward to NBA top guns LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

The Bucks forward has been impressive this season and is a sure-fire contender for the regular season MVP award. He has led his franchise to a 14-6 record, bringing them to the second place on the Eastern Conference table.

Durant and James are considered among the top three players in the league at the moment, with the latter widely regarded as one of the greatest ever alongside Michael Jordan. The Golden State Warriors small forward is a two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP, while his Los Angeles Lakers counterpart is a three-time NBA champion and 14-time NBA All-Star. Antetokounmpo has a long way to go to match those achievements but is considered to be among the top-drawer players in the league.

And Rivers, who has led the Clippers to the top of the Western Conference after 19 games in the 2018-19 season, believes the preparation required to stop Antetokounmpo is the same as when they face Durant or James. The Clippers coach said Antetokounmpo, who is also known fondly as ‘the Greek Freak’, is a “mess” to guard as he makes an impact in a different way compared to other players.

“He’s a mess,” Rivers said, as quoted on Clutch Points. “He’s as tough. Durant, LeBron, and him as far as preparing for. It’s funny, and listen, I’m a defensive-minded guy, but there are times in the meeting when you’re talking like, ‘That’ll work, that’s gonna work,’ because they’re that good.”

“And he does it in such a different way — he doesn’t do it with the shot, he does it with the attack, and at his size, he’s a mess,” the former Boston Celtics coach added.

Antetokounmpo started the season with a bang and currently averages 26.8 points, 13 rebounds and 5.9 assists over 33.8 minutes per game. He has scored over 20 points in all his 19 games thus far, with four of them seeing him cross the 30-point barrier.

Despite praising the impact of the Greek basketball star, Rivers took his team to victory when the Clippers faced the Bucks earlier this month. They won 128-126 in overtime with Antetokounmpo 27 points making him the top scorer for his team. The Clippers are not coming up against the Bucks again anytime soon, with their next encounter scheduled for the end of March 2019. And that is likely to be their only other clash this season unless the two teams make it to the NBA Finals, which is highly unlikely.

Antetokounmpo, however, is in line to make it three All-Star appearances in a row after making the team in 2017 and 2018 when he teamed up with Lakers star James.