“Seen it in the Past with Michael Jordan”: Ex-NBA Player Reveals What Giannis Antetokounmpo Must Do to be Counted Among All Time Greats

Former NBA player Caron Butler joined Sekou Smith in the NBA Hangtime podcast to talk about Milwaukee Bucks and their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Butler felt there will be a lot of attention on the Bucks and Antetokounmpo once the season restarts. One of the reasons, he believed, was the approaching free agency of the 25-year old.

“All the focus is really gonna be on the Bucks and Giannis because you think about the free agency possibilities. If he don’t win, is he going to be a disgruntled superstar? I think he loves Milwaukee and I don’t think that is going to be the case,” he said.

Giannis Antetokounmpo needs to win championships, feels Butler

By “disgruntled superstar” Butler meant not winning the championship before making moving to another team. Giannis is undoubtedly one of the best players in the league currently. For the past few years, he has been leading the Bucks to the playoffs. He won the league MVP last season and is one of the favorites to win the award again this season. Although he has evolved into a great player, Butler believed he needs to win championships to be considered among the all-time greatest players.

 “I do think that the conversations that we’ve had from all the former greats. It is like, okay if you don’t win a championship, you will be criticized,” Butler said.

“We’ve seen it in the past with Michael Jordan. We’ve seen it in the past with the late, great Kobe Bryant, we’ve seen it with LeBron James and the list goes on. I think now he is starting to become subject to that because, let’s face it, he is an elite talent. He is a unicorn in the game when we talk about his ability on the court.

“But in order to be compared to the LeBrons, the Kawhi Leonards and Kevin Durants, he is going to have to win championships.

Giannis was closest to winning the title last season where the Bucks lost to Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals. They still boast of a great roster and had the best record in the NBA prior to the league’s suspension. They will be disappointed with anything less than a championship this season.