LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo engaged in a superstar battle on Friday night, with the Milwaukee Bucks coming out on top of the Los Angeles Lakers. The game essentially ended when Antetokounmpo poked the ball away from James on a drive to the basket in the final seconds, with L.A. trailing by two points.
When the final buzzer sounded on Milwaukee’s 105-101 win over the Lakers, the two stars immediately met to share their respect with one another. Although Giannis is 10 years younger than LeBron, the two have had many incredible battles over the years.
This was their first matchup in a while, however, as they hadn’t shared the court since Dec. 2, 2022 with one or both dealing with injuries in all the recent games until Friday.
After the game, Antetokounmpo spoke about his relationship with James, revealing that he was gifted a jersey from the Lakers star and had immense pride in getting that.
“It means a lot to me,” Giannis said. “I got his jersey tonight. I think he is the blueprint for every athlete, not just basketball athletes, on how to be consistent. To be consistent for 23 years, to be available, to be a winner, to lead by example.
“It is incredible for me to be around greatness and I will never take it for granted. I have the utmost respect for him and his family and the way he has carried himself for 22 years. I think he brings the best out of me as a player and he’s one of those guys that I definitely look up to.”
LeBron echoed a similar sentiment in his post-game talks, saying that playing against greats is always something he enjoys doing.
“At this point in my career, it’s always great to go against some of the greats. If it’s Giannis, if it’s Steph, KD, James [Harden] , Russ [Westbrook]. Guys that I’ve been able to go against for a long time or play with. But having those matchups is something that, I think, it’s Year 13 for Giannis. It’s obviously a number of years on me. And like I said, Russ, KD, James Harden, Kawhi [Leonard], Steph, all of us who came in this thing a minute ago. So it’s always an honor and a pleasure to go against some of the greats.”
Antetokounmpo and James are a perfect superstar matchup, as Giannis is always paying respects to the greats of the game that have laid the blueprint for him, and LeBron is always looking to push the game ahead to the next generation. Even though the Greek star is already past 30, he is a part of the generation of superstars after the 41-year-old.
When it’s all said and done, both players will be among the greatest to ever step on an NBA court, and it seems both know that, and respect one another for it.
JJ Redick discusses Lakers’ poor late-game execution
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has never been shy about being critical of himself or his team when he feels it’s warranted. Friday night marked the Lakers’ first clutch loss of the season, and Redick once again was frustrated about the team’s late-game execution.
He took some blame for not calling a timeout after the Bucks missed a free throw to make it 103-101, but also discussed some issues he had with the on-court execution.
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