“Being alongside Michael Jordan and Lebron James is insane but sitting next to Dirk Nowitzki..”: Giannis Antetokounmpo is humbled to be only the second European on NBA’s Top-75 list

Akash Murty | 21/02/2022
"Being alongside Michael Jordan and Lebron James is insane but sitting next to Dirk Nowitzki..": Giannis Antetokounmpo is humbled to be only the second European on NBA's Top-75 list

Giannis Antetokounmpo has an unreal resume for a guy in his 20s, the man is not only the youngest in NBA’s most prestigious list but also is one of only two European players.

Antetokounmpo‘s achievements for his age are just insane. A lean giant from Greece was the 13th pick in the 2013 Draft. Not many expected much from the 18-year-old who soon became the “Greek Freak”.

Since his debut, the 27-year-old has already won every award in the NBA an individual hopes for. First, he won the Rookie of the Year award, then the Most Improved Player to follow up, regular-season MVP twice, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and then the Finals MVP most recently to cap it all off.

Also read: “Still tripping me out that Kyrie Irving is not on that list”: Celtics’ center Robert Williams suggests that the Nets superstar was snubbed from the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team

Ending the Bucks’ 50-year title drought, leading them to the 2021 championship, might be his biggest achievement if you ask the most humble and fun “freak” in the world.

But being named in the NBA’s top-75 players of all time is also an honor too big for a player who probably has competed in the league for a lesser time than the time he still has left in front of him. And the man certainly knows the weight of what he has achieved early in his career.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the youngest in NBA’s top-75 and also one of Europe’s only two

Being the youngest player on the NBA’s most prestigious list is not the only tremendous achievement of the Bucks forward, he is also one of only two Europeans on that list, the other being Mavericks legend, Dirk Nowitzki.

Giannis found himself struggling for words to describe his happiness just to be on the list. The 6x All-Star said this in the post-game presser after the All-Star game in which he helped team LeBron win the game with 30 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.

He then went on to describe his feeling to sit alongside the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James but above all, Dirk Nowitzki, who paved the way for all European players, according to Giannis.

Also read: “Wow, I’m one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA”: Dwyane Wade takes it to Twitter, soaking it all in after the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team ceremony during the 2022 ASG halftime

There is much on the way for the Greek international to go down as the best ever, but it is insane to think if he decided to retire at the age of 26, he would still have gone down as a Hall of Famer.

That is why he is one of the most deserved players to be on that list and is just humble enough to be surprised by it.

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
Dirk Nowitzki Giannis Antetokounmpo LeBron James Michael Jordan NBA 75th anniversary

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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