"I kind of put him in that category with Kevin Durant" - Candace Parker talks about Giannis Antetokounmpo's career at 27, compares him to Durant, remarking that their greatness isn't truly appreciated
WNBA superstar Candace Parker has hailed Giannis Antetokounmpo, remarking that the Greek Freak isn't appreciated enough despite his stellar achievements.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the reigning Finals MVP, and he led the Milwaukee Bucks to their first title in 50 years. The last time the Bucks won a title was in 1971 when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led them to an NBA championship. The Greek Freak has accomplished more at the age of 27 than most players do in their entire careers, and he still has a lot of mileage left.
Parker, appearing on NBA TV Game Time, compared the two-time MVP with Kevin Durant. Waxing lyrical about the Greek Freak, she said:
"I feel like he's been around an entire lifetime, but especially within this last year, the respect that people, should have been giving him all along, are now realising that we're watching greatness."
She compared Giannis Antetokounmpo with Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant. Parker said that people often underappreciates Antetokounmpo, but should realize that they are witnessing a once-in-a-generation athlete. She added:
"I kind of put him in that category with Kevin Durant that I don't think people truly appreciated the greatness that we're watching ,and how he has been a part of that transformation of the game of basketball. So it's great to see him get his flowers, obviously today, but especially this last year."
Happy 27th birthday, Giannis Antetokounmpo
Age 18: 6'9" 190 lbs
Questionable 15th pick
2K Rating: 60
Popularity: Unknown
Age 26: 6'11" 242 lbs
NBA Champion
Finals MVP
Back-to-back MVP
DPOY
2K Rating: 96
Popularity: 1st European player to ever have a Nike signature shoe. https://t.co/a3s7xeyVP7
The narrative before the 2021 title was that Giannis Antetokounmpo could not perform in the big moments.
The Bucks were eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in 2019 after being up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals series. They were then humiliated by the Miami Heat in the second round in the 2020 NBA playoffs. Both seasons were Antetokounmpo's MVP campaigns, so many analysts labeled him a regular-season wonder who came up short in the postseason.
However, the narrative changed after the 2021 NBA Finals. The Milwaukee Bucks were down 0-2 against the Phoenix Suns when Antetokounmpo took over. The 26-year-old Athens native put on a show, averaging 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steal, and 1.8 blocks per game. He dropped 50 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks in the closeout Game 6 against the Phoenix Suns to earn the Finals MVP award.
Antetokounmpo is only the seventh player in NBA history with a 50-point Finals performance. He is the fourth international player ever to win the Finals MVP award, joining Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria), Tony Parker (France) and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany).
Giannis Antetokounmpo can achieve a few more milestones this season
Giannis Antetokounmpo has forced his way into the early MVP conversation. He has been averaging stellar numbers all season. But the Milwaukee Bucks had a poor record to begin the campaign, so he wasn't in the MVP discussion.
They lost eight of their opening 14 games. But when their big 3 of Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday were all healthy, they embarked on a seven-game win streak.
Antetokounmpo is still behind Warriors' Stephen Curry and Nets' Kevin Durant in the race, according to most publications and sportsbooks, including the NBA's tracker.
Both Curry and Durant are scoring more, and their teams are atop their respective conference standings. However, Antetokounmpo's numbers are quite impressive, and he still has a shot to overtake the duo. He is averaging 27.6 points, 6.0 assists, 11.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting at 53% from the field.
GIANNIS WINS IT FOR THE @Bucks!
The wild finish to a thriller in Milwaukee! https://t.co/rEf4NDXlqB
Giannis Antetokounmpo is on course to win his first-ever scoring title, as his 27.6 points per game-mark is currently third in the NBA. He is less than a point per game behind Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, so a huge performance from the Greek Freak will push him ahead of the duo.
Moreover, he is also up for his second DPOY award. He has maintained his dominance at the defensive end as well, posting 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while leading the NBA's 6th-best defensive team.
He's third in the NBA in Defensive Box Plus-Minus (3.2), fifth in Defensive Win-shares (1.5) and third in Defensive Rating (99.9). Giannis Antetokounmpo is currently third in the DPOY race, according to most publications, behind Warriors' Draymond Green and Jazz's Rudy Gobert.