Denver Nuggets Champion Makes Bold Giannis Antetokounmpo Claim

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is great, but is he an all-time great?

Feb 12, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dunks the ball against Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) in the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA's debate over the greatest players of all time has slowly evolved into a debate over eras. Many wonder if Bill Russell could play in today's game or if a player like Giannis Antetkounmpo could play 40 years ago. Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. believes a guy like Giannis could not only play

Porter Jr. recently joined The Ringer's Off Guard Podcast with Austin Rivers, where the two debated about the best players in the NBA and the different eras of NBA basketball.

"It's better now," Porter Jr. said. "If you take some of these players and put them then... Like, if you put Giannis [Antetokounmpo] in that era, he would've been the best player to ever tough a basketball."

Austin Rivers cut him off to say, "He would've broken Wilt's record. He would've had a game with like 140. Just going downhill."

From athleticism to skill level, basketball has continued to evolve. Players today continue to be more and more skilled, resulting an increase in debates.

"As humans, we're supposed to evolve and get better the longer we're doing something," Porter Jr. added. "So the players now obviously can be more skilled than the players back then, but there's definitely players you could've taken from back then and put them in today's game and they would've adapted. Like if you put Michael Jordan in today's game, I'm sure he's shooting way more threes. He's probably still by far the best player in the NBA."

These debates aren't ending anytime soon, as players from today's game and past eras continue to go back and forth on which eras is the best.

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