LeBron James vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo at Age 26 Debate Somehow Enters Third Week
By Kyle Koster
Giannis Antetokounmpo is 26-years old. LeBron James was once 26 himself. Both accomplished incredible things in the early years of their basketball careers. One is the marquee player in the NBA Finals right now and the other an international superstar who can drive conversation by making a movie with a rapping pig and shoehorned Warner Bros. IP. As such they must be compared and contrasted, even after my pleas for sanity went unheeded.
Here's Fox Sports' Emmanuel Acho establishing terms for the argument back on July 6. A Milwaukee Bucks championship would put the Greek Freak on a faster track to greatness.
“If Giannis wins the Chip, he would actually be beating Jordan & LeBron through the age of 26.”@EmmanuelAcho explains why Giannis’ legacy would benefit more from a title than Chris Paul pic.twitter.com/rVaHwrBFZU
— Speak For Yourself (@SFY) July 6, 2021
And, sure, it's technically correct that neither Jordan or James won at such a young age. But that's not really intellectually compelling when one considers the absurd longevity and continued success they each had en route to becoming the No. 1 and No. 2 players of all time, dependent on taste. The point is, this entire topic is incredibly specious without believing that Giannis can match the others' accomplishments for another decade-plus.
Look, it'd be great if he does do that. Does anyone believe he will, deep in their hearts? Because I'd like to stand next to such optimism.
Kevin Wildes was back on this corner during this morning's First Things First.
Career accolades at 26:
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 19, 2021
LeBron: 2x MVP, 7x All-NBA 7x All Star, 3x All-Defense
Giannis: 2x MVP, 5x All-NBA 5x All Star, 4x All-Defense
"If Giannis can win a title, you could argue Giannis at 26 is better than LeBron at 26." — @kevinwildes pic.twitter.com/QwMXyJ0FY1
Yes, you could argue that Giannis at 26 is better than LeBron at 26. You could argue anything. Should you is a different story.
Let's try a new tact. Perhaps realizing that entire crux of the Giannis vs. LeBron at age 26 argument rests on how the Phoenix Suns perform over the next 48 or 96 minutes can shed some light on the seriousness of the entire thing. What if Jrue Holiday reverts back to a bricklayer and Khris Middleton throws up a few 7-for-21 nights? What if the Bucks lose two straight with Antetokounmpo scoring 35 in each?
It sure seems like there's a lot riding, in terms of this very specific argument, on Deandre Ayton's ability to stay out of foul trouble and Chris Paul's achy wrist.
Guess that's just the state of play in these content mines, where shouting into the void does precious little.