Giannis Antetokounmpo on Friday said that he appreciated the compliment LeBron James gave him by saying the Milwaukee Bucks star could have scored 250 points in a game if he had played in the 1970s.
However, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player also said it is not really a fair comparison.
“Great compliment, but I don’t like comparing eras,” Antetokounmpo said after the Bucks’ 116-107 loss to the New York Knicks. “It’s not fair. If I’d played in the [19]70s, how everybody practiced and how everybody played, we would have played the same way. That’s all you knew at the time. The game evolves. We got to 2020 and we know more.”
Photo: Michael McLoone / Imagn Images
James had made the remark on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show while discussing how basketball had evolved over the past half century or so.
“You’re trying to tell me Giannis wouldn’t be able to play an NBA game in the [19]70s?” James asked rhetorically. “Giannis Antetokounmpo would have 250 points in a game in the [19]70s — 250. That’s no disrespect, but seriously.”
When Antetokounmpo was first asked about James’ comment, he initially gave a light-hearted response by saying “it would probably be more like 275, not 250,” before laughing and adding that he was only joking.
Then he gave his serious response by explaining why he believes it is not fair to compare players from different eras.
“It’s totally different, so you can’t compare this era with that era,” Antetokounmpo said. “I wish at this era that I play at now — 2025 — I wish I could score 250 points today, but, yeah, I don’t think it’s fair to compare. I’d probably play the same way they played if I played in the [19]70s.”
“It’s a great compliment coming from one of the best players in the league. It’s definitely a great compliment. I appreciate it,” he added.
Elsewhere on Friday, it was:
‧ Nets 100, Clippers 132
‧ Nuggets 129, Jazz 93
‧ Pelicans 95, Warriors 111
‧ Pistons 133, Cavaliers 122
‧ Raptors 108, Hornets 97
‧ Timberwolves 124, Suns 109
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He