According to NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley, one player has separated himself as the best player in the league by a large margin.
Prior to this evening’s Game 2 matchup between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, Barkley named two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo the best player in the league “by far.”
“If I hear anyone else talk about Giannis not being the best basketball player in the world, we should get them off TV,” Barkley said. “This dude is the best basketball player in the world, and I’m willing to say by far.”
Despite struggling from the field in Game 1, Giannis led the Bucks to a Conference Semi-Finals series-opening victory with a 24-point, 13-rebound, 12-assist triple-double. In Milwaukee’s first-round series against the Chicago Bulls, the reigning Finals MVP averaged 28.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per contest through five games.
With two minutes remaining in the first quarter of tonight’s Game 2 matchup, Giannis has zero points, zero assists and zero rebounds on 0-6 shooting from the field.
The superstar hooper will need to step it up if he wants to lead his team to a 2-0 series lead this evening.