Giannis is learning the pressure that comes with claiming LeBron James’ crown

After making his fifth three-pointer against the Lakers on Dec. 20, 2019, Giannis Antetokounmpo ran back on defense and made a clear declaration of his ambition. He fashioned a crown over his head with both hands, and appeared to say something to the effect of, “I wear this now!” As he beat the Lakers and the NBA’s long-time king, LeBron James, he anointed himself the league’s new ruler.

Giannis’ rise to the top couldn’t have been more different from LeBron’s based on how each was heralded into the league. One of the greatest testaments to LeBron’s career is the fact he was labeled the Chosen One while he was in high school, and somehow he managed to not only meet those lofty expectations, but exceed them. Where many players have crumbled under the weight of prophecy, LeBron accomplished so much that calling him a generational talent seems to underestimate him.

Where LeBron’s talent was apparent entering the league, Giannis came in as an unknown quantity, a project. Not only had he not been playing basketball for very long, but he was also a foreigner whose potential was mostly seen through his physical build. He couldn’t even get an invitation to the Nike Hoop Summit, and was seemingly picked as a throw of the dice by a frustrated franchise desperate for a superstar. If LeBron was the Chosen One, Giannis was the Uncertain One.

Giannis benefited from coming into the league without any real expectations because he had nothing to live up to. He had a certain freedom in which his failures didn’t hold the same narrative consequences like they would for someone like LeBron.

Giannis himself is well aware of the improbable nature of his existence in the NBA. After beating the Lakers, he spoke about the difference between him and those who, like LeBron, were expected to succeed, saying “I wasn’t the No. 1 pick. AD was. LeBron was. I wasn’t supposed to be here.”

Giannis, within the context of who he was when he came into the league and what was expected of him, has more than excelled. He has gone far past being a capable NBA player to becoming a reigning MVP and the leader of a title challenger. He is exceptional. Yet, in his eyes, that’s no longer enough. He wants more. A few years ago, as he reminisced about his incredible life story and how far he’s come in the league, he made a point to stand against the often infantile idea of him which is underlined by the fact that he has done more than anyone ever expected:

“I was like a kid in the park, seeing all the cities, seeing LeBron and KD, having so much fun. But that kid — the kid with the smoothies — I’m not really that kid anymore.”

When he beat LeBron and the Lakers, he made it known that he is, personally, finished with being celebrated for being capable. What he wants now is that same burden of greatness that LeBron carried even before he entered the league.

A few days after his royal gesture against LeBron, Giannis played Joel Embiid and the Sixers on Christmas. His performance did not go as well as it did against the Lakers. Quickly, after making it known that he wanted to be considered the best player in the league, he found out just how far he still had to go by getting dominated.

Giannis’ weaknesses as a player are well known. As the Raptors showed in the playoffs last year, he and the Bucks are still overly dependent on his physical dominance. If that is taken away, the game becomes very difficult for him. He is working on developing an outside shot that would grant him more space and options to attack defenses, but that part of his game is still in its infancy.

The great thing for Giannis is few teams are even capable of taking away his physicality. In a world of athletes built like superheroes, he still routinely manages to make his opponents look like children. And he has grown more creative in how he uses that superiority. The Raptors took a big gamble when they threw multiple bodies at him in the paint and dared his teammates to do damage on their own. Most teams can’t afford to make that sacrifice.

The Sixers, and specifically Embiid, were a different challenge. In Embiid, Giannis met his perfect foil. Rather than Giannis being able to bully his opponent, Embiid was so strong and disciplined that, tried as he did, Giannis could not find space against his counterpart. He did not have the tools nor the creativity to beat someone who could physically smother him. And then, to make matters worse, Embiid went on to dominate on the offensive end. He totally undressed the league’s MVP and the Bucks, who are built on the premise of Giannis’ supernatural ability.

One of the defining plays of the game came with the Sixers winning, 73-54. Giannis drove into the paint and Embiid’s body, but the Sixers center absorbed the hit, rather than get dislodged as others would, and stripped the ball from Giannis in the same motion.

Embiid showed Giannis, in the most painful way, what he still lacks. The game was a reminder that in Giannis’ quest to reach the top, it’s not the aging LeBron who he should be worried about, but rather the modern challengers who are capable of besting him.

The fun aspect of Giannis’ story is games like the one he had against Embiid, or against the Raptors in the playoffs, do not condemn him. Even as a reigning MVP, he retains the quality of being an unfinished product, someone whose possibilities still aren’t fully known. Just a year ago, he seemed incapable, or at least hesitant, of shooting threes consistently, and less than halfway through this season, that shot has become part of his arsenal. Each year, he seems to take a leap forward in his development.

In Giannis’ failures, then, is excitement for the future. His bad games aren’t indictments of his ability, because his limits aren’t known yet. Those games, instead, are necessary setbacks to alert him to what he must become going forward. He has demanded to be seen as the king of the NBA, and that change in the public idea of him will come in time, but for now he exists in the unique space of being both a reigning MVP and a developing player at the same time. He can still go so far. And the more that he is reminded that he has not yet reached that apex, the more thrilling his transformation will be.