"I love this kid, he wants to compete" - Shaquille O'Neal praises Giannis Antetokounmpo after Greek Freak leads Milwaukee to win over Brooklyn Nets
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to a huge 120-119 overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Thursday night. Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal praised Antetokounmpo for taking over the game and hitting clutch shots.
In the "NBA on TNT" postgame show, O'Neal and the rest of the crew recapped the Bucks-Nets game. One of the things O'Neal talked about was Antetokounmpo's improvement and how becoming a champion has impacted the Bucks' mentality.
"When you're a champion, you have the consistent mindset of saying, 'We're not panicking. We know who we are. We know who your two guys are. We just lost one of our guys. We're still not panicking.' That's what that championship mentality does, and they're gonna keep coming," O'Neal said.
O'Neal added that he loves Giannis Antetokounmpo's game and his competitive nature. He also mentioned how Antetokounmpo could eventually become the best player in the world. O'Neal compared him with great players such as Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, adding:
"I love this kid. He wants to compete. A lot of people concede about who the best is. It takes a certain animal or D-Wade or Kobe or LeBron to say, 'Hey, I know you're the best, but I'm coming.' One day, you're gonna say, 'This league belongs to me, and that's where he is now."
Some may argue that Giannis Antetokounmpo is already the best player in the world now. He's a two-time MVP and won his first NBA championship last season. "The Greek Freak" has also shown that his shooting and free throws have improved.
The Greek Freak became the @Bucks All-Time scoring leader on his CLUTCH 3-pointer to force OT, then followed that up by hitting the game-winning free throws in overtime! #FearTheDeer🇬🇷 The Greek Freak became the @Bucks All-Time scoring leader on his CLUTCH 3-pointer to force OT, then followed that up by hitting the game-winning free throws in overtime! #FearTheDeer
@Giannis_An34: 44 PTS, 14 REB, 6 AST https://t.co/YheYxqo8kj
Giannis Antetokounmpo passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as franchise leader in points
In the Bucks win over the Nets, Antetokounmpo became the franchise leader in points. He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14,211) in the fourth quarter after hitting a game-tying three-point shot to force overtime. Antetokounmpo now has 14,216 points following a 44-point performance against Brooklyn.
In the postgame interview, Antetokounmpo paid his respect to Abdul-Jabbar but said he's more focused on winning the NBA championship this season. Even though the Bucks are the reigning champions, Antetokounmpo wants more, and he's doing it by changing the narrative of his game.
"It's good because I'm changing the narrative. I don't want to be the guy only that dunks and runs. I can make a 3," Antetokounmpo said. "At the end of the day, if you don't have a successful season, if you don't try and keep getting better and staying humble and staying happy, play all the way until May, June, nobody's going to remember this," he added.
If Antetokounmpo stays in Milwaukee for the rest of his career, he'll likely own all the franchise records. He's already first in points, second in rebounds, third in assists, first in blocks and second in free throws made, and he's only 27.