Kevin Durant is already one of the best players in NBA history, and at the age of 29, there is plenty of room for the Golden State Warriors star to keep building his ultimate legacy. That kind of reputation brings with it quite a bit of weight when Durant discusses the game in an overall sense, and on Friday, he paid an extremely generous compliment to a fellow member of the NBA fraternity.
Within the confines of a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, Durant was asked about some of his favorite players to watch in the league.
While he made sure to mention teammate and two-time MVP Steph Curry (as well as Portland’s CJ McCollum), Durant keyed in on Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The money quote is below.
“I like long, athletic guys. That’s just who I am. The Greek Freak I think is a force, and I’ve never seen anything like him. And his ceiling is probably… he could end up being the best player to ever play if he really wanted to. That’s pretty scary to think about. But he’s by far my favorite player to watch.”
Giannis is just 22 years old, but after an All-NBA season in which he averaged 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game (with obscene defensive upside), expectations are insanely high for him in 2017-2018. Still, this is another level from Durant, as the notion of anyone reaching “best player to ever play” status produces an immediate record scratch.
In some ways, Durant is uniquely qualified to reflect on this kind of thing, and he clearly sees all the talent in the world in Antetokounmpo. Will he be the best player in the history of the NBA? Probably not, but Giannis brings “freakish” things to the table that make this statement not wholly unreasonable.
