“Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, They Couldn’t Delegate the Power”: Gilbert Arenas Elaborates on Giannis Antetokounmpo Deeming Bucks Damian Lillard’s Team

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have formed a great pair with chemistry since Dame’s trade to the Milwaukee Bucks. The duo has already shown great form, with Giannis and Dame complimenting each other’s skills incredibly well. In the latest episode of Gil’s Arena, former NBA player Gilbert Arenas gave his take on this soon-to-be iconic partnership.

The 3x All-Star finds this pairing a better duo than even Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Agent Zero believes that Giannis Antetokounmpo is trying his best to lift his team’s chemistry by making it a point to be selfless toward the team, something that the iconic Lakers duo couldn’t seem to do.

Arenas brought the example of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, a duo that is considered the greatest ever to this day. Despite winning a three-peat together however, the pair could not last long due to differences and conflict between Shaq and Kobe. Here, Arenas pointed out the issue related to delegating responsibilities, with Shaq and Kobe being franchise stars.

Praising the Greek Freak in this regard, Arenas said, “I mean I just think that he [Giannis Antetokounmpo] understands that you know, for them [Milwaukee Bucks] to win another chip, he has to delegate the power. And that’s usually the problem with superstars on the same team. That the superstar that was there before you know don’t wanna delegate his power. Not understanding that, the strengths he has is for this moment in time that he needs to ball. You know, Shaq and Kobe, they couldn’t delegate the power when it should be the same way. The first 43 minutes, Shaq you are the person. The guy who can make the free throws and hit the big shots from the outside, it’s his go at it last four-five minutes.” 

Arenas also gave the example of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James winning the 2016 NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Agent Zero pointed out how LeBron was the man helping the team gather the lead in the first three quarters, while Kyrie acted as the clutch scorer for the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Comparing Giannis to Will Smith, Arenas also brought in the example of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the movie ‘Bad Boys.’ For the movie’s sequel, Will Smith landed a hefty $20,000,000 for his role but did not mind any other actor’s name ahead of his. This cooperation is what makes chemistries better, exactly what Gilbert Arenas sees in Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have already started hinting their dominance in the league

Damian Lillard joined Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Milwaukee Bucks to increase his chances of winning his first NBA ring. Complimenting that, the Greek Freak is going all out, ready to give it all alongside Lillard to help the Bucks win another championship.

Alongside Khris Middleton, the Bucks have now formed an emerging Big 3 in the league. In Dame’s Bucks debut against the Philadelphia 76ers, he scored 39 points, breaking the record for the most points scored in a Bucks debut.

In a heavily contested game against the Miami Heat, Giannis Antetokounmpo took charge to lead the Bucks to a bounce-back win over the Heat. Though the Bucks started the fourth quarter with a 25-point lead, the Heat narrowed the difference with a comeback to a nine-point difference with five minutes of play remaining.

Thanks to Antetokoumpo’s layup and an alley-oop assist to Brook Lopez, the Bucks quickly increased their lead to 11, helping them win 122-114 against Miami. This was also the first time Dame played against Miami since publicly requesting a trade to the Heat from the Portland Trail Blazers.