MILWAUKEE — The Eastern Conference has been the domain of LeBron James for the better part of a decade. Whether in Cleveland or Miami, James has reached the NBA Finals in each of the last seven seasons, and in that time there have been contenders that have come and gone and stars that have looked to usurp his crown. After the exodus of stars like Paul George (once James’ top competitor in the East), Jimmy Butler, and Carmelo Anthony to the Western Conference this summer, James found himself with only one player that appeared ready to potentially challenge him.
Giannis Antetokounmpo made the proverbial leap last year, tapping into his seemingly endless potential to become an All-Star and lead the Bucks to a playoff appearance. The 22-year-old from Greece entered the league with the promise of greatness, with the understanding that it would take some incredible development to get there from his raw talents. Over the first three years of his career, Antetokounmpo made the necessary strides, and after averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game a year ago, there were many that considered the Bucks’ young star as a legitimate candidate to break through into the MVP conversation in 2017-18.
Antetokounmpo made his presence known in the Bucks’ season opener, dropping 37 points and 13 rebounds on the Celtics in a win to set up a showdown with LeBron in Milwaukee. It was hardly the first time Giannis and LeBron met on the court, but this matchup carried more anticipation as it was the first time Antetokounmpo was going into the head-to-head matchup as an established star considered to be a potential peer of James, rather than a player with the potential to get to that point.
The duel didn’t produce a thrilling finish to the game, with the Cavs running away in a 116-97 win, but the two stars certainly lived up to their billing. Antetokounmpo backed up his opening night performance with 34 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and three steals, doing a little bit of everything in what turned out to be a futile effort to keep the Bucks in contact with the Cavs. His eight assists were made even more impressive considering the rest of the Bucks shot 38.3 percent from the field, while he went 15-of-22 (68.2 percent).
Watching Antetokounmpo play now compared to where he was when he started his career is startling. His physical transformation is obvious, as the once scrawny kid now has the appearance of a Greek god to go along with his otherworldly talents. He’s also learned how to maximize his incredible ability to cover ground with his long strides while also playing under control. Giannis, like so many young players, had to learn to change pace rather than playing all out all the time, and he’s become a master of it.
In the second quarter, Antetkounmpo drew Jae Crowder in a one-on-one situation and drove to the rim. As Crowder looked to cut off his angle, Giannis gave him a hesitation and a shake like he was headed to an inside spin move — where LeBron was waiting — before going back to the baseline. That hesitation gave him the chance to get inside Crowder’s shoulder and then he used that newfound strength to bump Crowder off and throw down a dunk.
The Greek Freak does his thing!! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/xigIuMO9Vh
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 21, 2017
Later in the third quarter, Antetokounmpo found himself isolated on the baseline with J.R. Smith and left the veteran guard in the dust with a quick dropstep and spin move to the baseline, where he drew contact and finished a tough reverse layup in traffic.
And ooooonnnnnneeeee!! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/bQOb3tkBiA
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 21, 2017
That kind of speed control, combined with his improved strength and natural length makes him nearly impossible to stop. However, as Lebron proved in the fourth quarter, the young Buck still has some more to learn to truly become an unstoppable force.
Antetokounmpo with a full head of steam in transition has become a monster with his length, bounce, and strength. He’s also as crafty as there is in the league with his long, slow Eurostep, but James, ever the student of the game, was ready with the perfect counter and sent a Giannis layup attempt off the backboard with authority.
https://twitter.com/_MarcusD2_/status/921542977322876930
It was an encapsulation of the game and, at this point, where the two players are. James is still the best player in the world and while Antetokounmpo will pass him at some point in the future, whether by him continuing to take leaps or simply the regression of James as he ages, there’s still a gap. James waited, knowing how Antetokounmpo would attack him, and let Antetokounmpo bound past him to get the perfect timing to challenge and swat away the shot.
From there, James buried a pair of three-pointers in subsequent possessions to put the game on ice for good. James finished with 24 points, eight assists. and five rebounds in what is somehow a “down night” for him. However, James was relatively disengaged for much of the first half before deciding to take over in the third quarter and run the show as the point guard.
A trio of Kyle Korver three-pointers in the third quarter pushed the Cavaliers’ out to 12 with the Bucks never getting within nine again. The first two of those threes were assisted by James, as he exploited the Bucks’ tendency to sag off the weakside shooter to direct extra attention at him on the ball. Point LeBron, spurred on by a Derrick Rose injury, gave the Cavs their best look offensively and created fits for the Milwaukee defense. As Antetokounmpo explained, there’s so much added pressure on the defense when James is the one on the ball.
“It’s hard. It’s hard to guard him,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “It’s really hard to guard him. He’s the threat and the ball starts from there, so you have to guard him [the whole possession] because you know when they move the ball, the ball’s going to get back to him. So it’s hard.”
James had highlights of his own, with his late pair of threes and a pair of dunks to remind everyone that he’s still got that bounce (I’m fully convinced he unleashes these dunks at timely moments on purpose for that exact reason).
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/921534282455224320
That said, Antetokounmpo at this point can exceed James’ athleticism (although not by a huge margin) but watching the two play on the court makes the areas Antetokounmpo still has a little ways to go and what he can strive to be. James and Antetokounmpo aren’t the same types of players stylistically, but there are similarities, especially considering how LeBron went from “very good young player” to “best in the world,” a title Antetokounmpo very well could hold one day.
There’s the obvious, like three-point shooting, where James transformed himself from a career 32 percent shooter from deep in his first eight seasons to hitting 36 percent of his threes in the last seven. Antetokounmpo is an even worse shooter than young LeBron, at 27.7 percent for his career, but even reaching a 32 or 33 percent clip from three would make his abilities off the dribble even more dangerous.
There’s also the mental side of the game, something Antetokounmpo has made dramatic strides in but still has more to go. The cunning of James remains one of his most underrated attributes and is the thing that has separated him from other greats of his time. Antetokounmpo has become a much more adept facilitator, learning to see the floor and anticipate where his teammates will be in large part due to Jason Kidd’s commitment to letting him play point guard, where he’s forced to understand those things.
Those are things James has seemingly always been able to do, and his seemingly encyclopedic understanding of the league and every player’s tendencies allows him to gain an advantage whenever he’s out there.
Antetokounmpo is without a doubt a transcendent talent, one of the 10 best NBA players right now at age 22, and has the potential to be one of the all-time greats. He’s just not quite there yet to where he can dominate a game physically and mentally, but the most encouraging thing about the young Greek is his self-awareness and apparent commitment to putting in the work needed to get there.
“I’m not on that level yet,” Antetokounmpo said. “LeBron is one of the best players in the league and one of the best players to ever play the game. It’s great going against him, but I don’t think about that. I’m just Giannis and trying to do whatever it takes to get the team to win.”
For now, LeBron James remains the King of the East, a crown he’s defended for the better part of a decade. However, Antetokounmpo is coming for that title – and is ready to put in the work to earn it.
