Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the most accomplished players in the NBA today, but people are still split on how he stacks up to the rest of the East.
Recently, NBA legend Kevin Garnett sparked controversy after tapping Giannis as the fourth-best player in the East.
“You can’t say he’s the best with Embiid there and with Jayson Tatum up there… He’s probably like, what, the 4th best player over there?” Garnett said. “I mean, fourth-best player in the East?”
Ranking the best players in the East and West is always subjective but to put Giannis (an MVP and champion) as the fourth-best player in his own Conference is controversial, to say the least. Besides Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum, Garnett didn’t mention any other names who he thinks are better than the Greek Freak and it led some fans to chalk it up as disrespect.
As a champion, 15x All-Star, and former MVP, Kevin Garnett is as decorated as they come and he’s got more than enough hardware to validate his views. For his latest take on Giannis, however, Garnett sparked some backlash from the fans and many are in shock that he would so easily dismiss a 2x MVP and NBA champion.
Embiid’s latest season was cut short due to injury but his performance made a statement with averages of 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists over 39 regular season games. It was the follow-up to his MVP campaign, in which he torched the NBA with a scoring average of 33.1 points per game.
While most fans would rank Giannis as the second-best player in the East, Garnett believes that title belongs to Jayson Tatum and he may have a point. After dropping 26.9 points during the season, Tatum led the Celtics to the championship and helped deliver the franchise’s 18th Larry O’Brien trophy.
For Giannis and the Bucks, they are coming off a very disappointing campaign and it’s still fresh on KG’s mind. Giannis did everything he could for the Bucks last season with averages of 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 6,5 assists per game on 61,1% shooting. The 29-year-old superstar played all but nine games and he dragged the Bucks to the playoffs with 49 wins on the season.
Between Damian Lillard’s struggles and a complicated coaching situation, the Bucks failed to get any traction in the postseason and lost to the 6th-seeded Pacers in the very first round.
After that kind of failure, the whole world is looking at Giannis and wondering if his best days have already passed. In the wake of the Jrue Holiday trade, the Bucks are no longer the strongest team in the East and the competition has them beat at almost every position on the floor.
For Giannis to retake his place at the top of the food chain, he’ll have to lead the Bucks to the depths of the Eastern playoff bracket. After a summer of relative inactivity, the Bucks are slated to run it back with the same roster and it’ll be up to Giannis and Lillard to ensure that next season turns out different than the last one.