Miami Heat All-Star big man Bam Adebayo had some major praise for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, comparing him to LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
“I mean he’s seven foot, first of all,” Adebayo said of Antetokounmpo. “The thing that really got him the scene was when he would just take off from the free-throw line. Or he’ll get down the court and three dribbles and dunk it. Just very ‘2K-ish.’”
The Heat big man then went on to explain that the two-time MVP has a special gift that only some of the greatest players in NBA history possess.
“It looks very unreal,” Adebayo said of Antetokounmpo’s athleticism. “And I feel like that’s the thing that put Jordan over the top. That’s what put Kobe in that and Bron. It’s like they had this special gift they only had. The fact that he can two-step through four people and dunk the basketball, it’s, like, boring now, but it’s, like, really different.”
Adebayo is one of the few players in the NBA who can truly guard Antetokounmpo in a one-on-one setting, and he clearly has a ton of respect for the seven-time All-Star.
Antetokounmpo has accomplished a ton early in his NBA career, winning a title with the Bucks in the 2020-21 season. The 28-year-old is a two-time league MVP, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and six-time All-NBA selection.
Even though he still has a ton of basketball left in him, Antetokounmpo was already named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
The Heat and Bucks have battled in the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, with each team winning one series. Miami upset the Bucks in the NBA’s Orlando, Fla. bubble in the 2019-20 season, eventually advancing to the NBA Finals.
However, the following season, Milwaukee got revenge, sweeping the Heat in the first round of the playoffs on its way to an NBA title.
Antetokounmpo played a major role in that, improving from his previous playoff performances. He dominated in the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns in the 2020-21 season, scoring 50 points in the clinching win in Game 6.
For the series, he averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in six contests.
Adebayo is putting Antetokounmpo in some rare air by comparing him to James, Bryant and Jordan, but it’s hard to deny that the Bucks star could reach that level by the end of his career.
Antetokounmpo has Milwaukee in the top spot in the Eastern Conference right now this season, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down, averaging 31.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.
He is going to need to win a few more NBA titles to truly be listed alongside Jordan (six titles), Bryant (five titles) and James (four titles) as an all-time great, but there is no denying his unique talent.