LeBron James rarely makes podcast appearances. But when he does, it always makes headlines. His latest interview with Pat McAfee has taken the sports world by storm and one controversial topic that was discussed on the ESPN show was the ‘NBA eras’ debate. Tired of the disrespect the modern era faces from the media and some retired players, LBJ fired back with a bold claim, “You trying to tell me Giannis wouldn’t be able to play an NBA game in the 70s? Giannis Antetokounmpo would have 250 points in a game in the 70s. 250!” But is The Greek Freak on the same page?—Not really!

After last night’s heartbreaking loss against the Knicks, Giannis broke silence on LeBron’s viral take, “Yeah, I don’t know about that take. I think it’s a wrong take. Yeah, I don’t know. I think if I played in the 70s, it would probably be more of like 275 not 250.” Well, Giannis is one of the most dominant players of this generation, averaging 30+ points over the past three seasons. With his insane athleticism and 6’11 frame, he would have been an elite player in any era.

However, Giannis quickly clarified that his 275-point take was not serious, “No, I’m joking.” Then, he revealed his honest opinion, deserting LeBron in his battle against the media narrative, “Great compliment but I don’t like you know how you say comparing eras. It’s not fair and you know if I played in the 70s, how everybody practiced and how everybody played, we would have played the same way. That’s all you knew at the time.”

He continued, “You know the game evolves and we’ve got to 2020 and we know more. People who shoot the ball from half court.” Amid the heated debate, many fail to realize that every era is different and players of a particular generation do the best with what they know at the time. Back in the day, there was no shooter like Stephen Curry or a dribbling maestro like Kyrie Irving. But there were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Frazier, whose impact is still felt to this day.

“So, you cannot compare this era with that era… Yeah, I don’t think it’s fair to compare because I probably play the same way that they play if I played in the 70s. But yeah, it’s a great compliment coming from one of the best players in the league. It’s definitely a great compliment. Appreciate it.” Giannis remarked, contradicting LeBron’s point. Instead of dwelling on the hypotheticals, The Greek Freak is focused on what’s ahead.

Giannis Antetokounmpo wishes to score 250 points in a game in 2025 amid playoff pursuit

Well, the eras debate has been on since ages and it will likely continue for many more years to come. But now that Giannis has made his stance clear, he is more focused on the present. After detailing how unfair it is to compare eras, he remarked, “You know I wish at this era that I play right now in 2025, I wish I could score 250 points today.”

Of course, that’s an exaggerated wish but the Bucks could use all the points they can get from Giannis amid their playoff pursuit. Including yesterday’s game, they have now lost three straight games and fallen to the sixth seed in the East. Although it is unlikely that they will fall any further because they are five wins ahead of the seventh-seeded Hawks, losing multiple games to end the season is not good for their confidence.

With nine games remaining, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. will look to bounce back in Sunday’s game against the Hawks and snap their losing streak. Meanwhile, it looks like LeBron will have to fight the media battle on his own. He made his point clear on The Pat McAfee Show, “We just have to recognize that evolution is just a part of life man. It is what it is. Respect that era and then we move on.” Thoughts?