Giannis Antetokounmpo in line to usurp LeBron James as the NBA's best player
"The King" has a bona fide challenger for the throne.
LeBron James has long been the face of the NBA, regarded for years as the league's best player.
There have been detractors and dissenters who disagree with that designation, but for the sake of simplicity, let's say "King James" hasn't had his crown taken away … yet.
As Giannis Antetokounmpo has the Milwaukee Bucks one win from defeating the Phoenix Suns for the NBA championship, the case for a changing of the guard is growing.
The 26-year-old has been nothing short of sensational in the Finals, delivering highlight after highlight as Milwaukee battled back from down 0-2 to be up 3-2 in the series.
Against the Suns, Antetokounmpo is averaging 32.2 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, along with 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks for good measure.
He's also getting it done with top-level efficiency, averaging 61.2% on field-goal attempts.
Basically, he's putting up numbers that hadn't been seen in the Finals prior to his arrival.
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What's more, his status coming into the series was in serious doubt after he hyperextended his left knee in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semis against the Atlanta Hawks.
He missed the remainder of that series and made a surprise return for Game 1 of the Finals.
It's safe to put those injury concerns to bed at this point, considering that Antetokounmpo leaped off his left leg to deliver a miraculous block toward the end of Game 4 and jumped off the same leg for a crushing alley-oop in the closing seconds of Game 5.
That alley-oop — coming after Jrue Holiday swiped the ball from Devin Booker and lobbed it up to a streaking Antetokounmpo for the dunk — was downright "Shakespearean" in the eyes of Nick Wright.
Here's what Wright, who broke down the play on "First Things First," had to say.
"The reason I say ‘Shakespearean’ … I do believe this was the first NBA Finals game LeBron James has ever attended that he wasn't playing in," Wright said. "And not only is he there, he is in the sideline camera shot. The perfect seat in the house to watch Giannis … I think officially, potentially, if they finish it off, [Antetokounmpo can] take the crown from LeBron."
Nick Wright after Game 5: 'Giannis could potentially dethrone LeBron if Bucks win Finals' ' FIRST THINGS FIRST
Kevin Wildes extended the discussion, comparing James and Antetokounmpo's accomplishments at age 26.
Assuming the Bucks can close out the Suns, Antetokounmpo would have a résumé that stacks up quite well against LeBron's at that age.
"If he wins this championship, you could argue that he's better at 26 than LeBron was," Wildes said. "LeBron won his first championship when he was 27."
As Wright pointed out, Antetokounmpo still has a long way to go to measure up to LeBron's career as a whole.
However, Wright reiterated that Antetokounmpo is poised to assume the mantle from James as the NBA's best player.
"I would argue LeBron James has been the best player in basketball since May of 2007 … that's a 14-year run as the best player in the league," Wright said. "That is almost double the next-longest run. It has to end at some point. There is no shame in it ending at some point. And there is no one else right now … that is going to have a legitimate claim."
The Bucks have one more game to go to win their first title since the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar era of 1971.
Should Antetokounmpo and the Bucks deliver Tuesday in Game 6 or Thursday in Game 7, the coronation could soon follow.
However, don't expect Antetokounmpo to look that far ahead. As he spelled out in a brilliant, zen-like speech ahead of Game 5, he tries to remain singularly focused on the present.
The (possible) future king has spoken.
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