“I wanna guard Kevin Durant”: Giannis Antetokounmpo enthusiastically takes up the challenge of guarding Brooklyn’s best scorer in Game 6

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo sends out a message to Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets after a humiliating loss in game-5. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game.

Just about every shot the team took went in. They were even playing some sturdy and effective defense. And as a result of all their effort and quality, they ended the first half with a resounding 16-point lead over their opponents.

And that’s about where the positives ended for Milwaukee.

The players seemed to relax just a tad bit too much it seems because, in the second half, the Nets ran rampant. They were much improved on the defensive end, making their opponents take tough shots on every possession they could, which was fatal to the Bucks. And offensively, well, Kevin Durant dropped a monster 49 points and even grabbed 17 boards and 10 assists to go along with it.

The worst part here is, despite being a former defensive player of the year, analysts found that Giannis never guarded him in this game. And after noticing this, the player announced a very strong message to the media.

Also Read: Skip Bayless and NBA Twitter mock the Beard for his abysmal Game 5 performance against the Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo could be taking things personal with Kevin Durant ahead of game-6  

The Greek Freak has always been the type that puts basketball above most things in his life. There have been several stories of the players choosing not to make friends, instead, practicing and garnering rivalries on the court. And well, it seems the star may be back at it once again.

As one of the best defensive players in the NBA, we’d imagine the player takes a lot of pride in his ability. And if that is true, we can’t imagine watching the Slim Reaper score 49 points would have been a pleasant experience. Not to mention the fact that he was hardly ever matched up with him during this game.

Many in the NBA community were certain that if the former MVP was to guard Durant, the Nets star wouldn’t be quite as comfortable as he was in game-5. And now, it appears that the Greek Freak agrees completely. Here is what he said on the prospect of guarding KD.

“I want to take the challenge.”

“I want to take the challenge”

– Giannis on guarding KD pic.twitter.com/7sTCWN9iL3

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) June 16, 2021

Could there be a storm brewing?

For most of this series, Giannis has been used as more of a help defender, which has kept him off Durant. But, could this be a sign of things to come? Will we finally get the matchup that every fan in the world has been waiting for?

It appears we will need to wait a bit longer for these answers, as game-6 approaches.

Also Read: Charles Barkley livid with Giannis, Mike Budenholzer and his Bucks for terrible tactics in Game 5 loss to KD’s 49-point game

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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