Giannis Antetokounmpo Compared to Nicolas Batum in Early Draft Workouts

Giannis has come a long way since his early days.

Before Giannis Antetokounmpo became an NBA Champion, he was compared to one player on the Clippers by draft experts - Nicolas Batum.

Roughly 8 years ago, NBA draft analyst Jonathan Wasserman compared a young Giannis to Nicolas Batum.

Watched Greek prospect Giannis Adetokunbo yesterday, who many compare to Nic Batum. Huge upside/talent is there, kid just needs to find it..

— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) April 29, 2013

This was long before anyone even heard of Giannis, or was even on anyone's radar. When this tweet was created in 2013, the Miami Heat survived with San Antonio Spurs with a miracle Ray Allen shot, and Carmelo Anthony was leading the New York Knicks to the second seed. 

Funny enough, Giannis took the comparison, which was meant to be a compliment, as disrespect.

Was gonna buy the @MirinFader Giannis book anyway but omg this excerpt had me DYING 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/DDCXGx0Yxi

— Andrew Goldstein (@AndyGold24) July 21, 2021

"If I become Nic Batum, I'm going back to Greece," Giannis said to his coach Josh Oppenheimer.

In 2013, there wasn't many point forwards; it was basically just LeBron James, and Nicolas Batum. Batum was the definition of a walking swiss army knife, and a player that many teams coveted as a utility man. LeBron James was LeBron James, one of the greatest players of all time. 

As great as Nicolas Batum was, Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn't looking to become a phenomenal utility player - he was looking to become one of the greatest players of all time. After a historic 2021 playoff run that saw numerous iconic finals moments, it looks like Giannis has just started cementing that status he wanted.

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