NBA world reacts to Giannis’ and Kareem’s comments
Giannis Antetokounmpo passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the Milwaukee Bucks’ all-time scoring leader. This month, Giannis tied the Bucks and Lakers great with three 50-point games this season. Kareem and Giannis recently commented on social media about the feat, which had the NBA world reacting.
Kareem thinks he could have benefited from today’s basketball game. According to Bob Golliver with the Washington Post, Kareem said he was overcoached when he was younger. Kareem praised Giannis for having the talent to change the game:
“You get the rebound, you better not try to take it down to the other end of the court as a frontline player. That was gospel when I played. Giannis has blown through all that.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game makes him feel he was “overcoached” as a child.
“You get the rebound, you better not try to take it down to the other end of the court as a frontline player. That was gospel when I played. Giannis has blown through all that.” pic.twitter.com/zZYGDOOliv— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 10, 2023
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer isn’t totally convinced Kareem could bring the ball up like Giannis. But didn’t rule out the possibility. On the other hand, Giannis joked he is thankful Kareem wasn’t allowed the freedom Giannis has in today’s NBA. According to Golliver, Giannis said if Kareem had controlled the floor, he and other stars like Lebron James would still be trying to catch the NBA legend:
“If Kareem could bring the ball down the floor & create for himself, get people out of the way or ask for a pick & roll, he’d probably have 52,000 points & it would take LeBron 8 more years to break that record.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wanting to grab & go: “If Kareem could bring the ball down the floor & create for himself, get people out of the way or ask for a pick & roll, he’d probably have 52,000 points & it would take LeBron 8 more years to break that record.” pic.twitter.com/eEvwUoxzdP
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 10, 2023
NBA fans agree with Giannis
The NBA world, who saw the interviews, gave their opinions on the old versus new version of basketball. Most fans agreed that they wished they could see Kareem play with more freedom. Here are the best takes on Twitter on Kareem commenting about the freedom in today’s game for bigs.
I’d agree https://t.co/qm1deWj3dY
— Kunta 🏁 (@shadymilkmann) February 11, 2023
He's not wrong https://t.co/rg8xzbizhm
— Jabari Martin (@jab_martin) February 10, 2023
Giannis is right and he doesn't even mention the obvious thing holding back Kareem's scoring total: he played 3 years in college https://t.co/l7lig7tv4g
— James Takesmith (@kidziggurat) February 10, 2023
Euro ball influence too. They are expected and taught to play from every position. The transition of that in the nba over the past 15 years has been kind of wild to watch. Centers, for example, outside shooting threes is common overseas. (It’s still weird to me) https://t.co/d4jBw4hRHs
— DaBean (@HoneyBadger10) February 11, 2023
We always talk about the threes, but that’s a hell of a point https://t.co/IivW5z50sV
— not richard jefferson (@notbaldthinning) February 11, 2023
Wow. This feeling is well known to me. The way this generation plays, just more free and without the confines of the rules I was brought up with, is just inspiring https://t.co/0OnHoV6x9X
— Mette L. Robertson (@M_Robertson100) February 11, 2023
Every big with any skill feels this way https://t.co/4BmA8VLu64
— Jesse Kempson (@Jezzekemp) February 10, 2023
