Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo does not believe that LeBron James or Steph Curry are among the top 5 players in the league. In an interview with Sport 24, the “Greek Freak” excluded James and Curry from his list of the top 5 current players in the NBA, while justifying his reasoning for the picks.
“The top five players I think are Luka [Doncic], [Nikola] Jokic, SGA [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander], [Jayson] Tatum and me,” he responded.
“And it depends on the year you’re having,” he continued. “So if I, let’s say, this year go back and I’m improved and I help my team win the East and we go to the finals and we play against whatever team is there, I automatically become the best player in the world. But if Luka does it, he becomes the best player in the world. If Jokic does it, he’s the best player in the world.”
Are LeBron, Steph Still Elite?
As Antetokounmpo noted, four of his top five players captured the NBA title over the last three seasons, with Gilgeous-Alexander leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the title in 2025, Tatum guiding the Boston Celtics to Banner No. 18 in 2024, and Jokic helping the Nuggets to a franchise-first NBA championship a year before.
In fairness to Curry, he was the previous player to win it all when he helped the Warriors win the 2022 NBA Finals. Since then, however, Curry and the Warriors have not experienced much playoff success, failing to advance past the second round.
“When you get to that point, what is your preference? What do you like to see? My preference has always been to see a player who will not only be a good player, but will also be an example for his teammates,” Antetokounmpo said. “In behavior. It’s not enough to just score baskets. To be a leader, it also counts in the locker room how you are and on the bus, and when you eat as a team, how you are, how you behave.”
Was Anthony Edwards Snubbed?
Antetokounmpo further justified his picks by suggesting that most rankings are subjective, and his list reflected his appreciation for two-way players.
“Anyway, whoever has the best year will be the best player,” he said. “My preference is two-way players. I like one player, Anthony Edwards. I like him a lot.
“I like Anthony Davis. See what I mean? I mean, I like [Kawhi] Leonard, I like him a lot. I like guys who can play defense and offense and are dogs. When we get on the court, you know they’re always going to give 100%. They might not play well, but they’re always going to give 100%.”
Antetokounmpo remains one of the elite two-way players in the league. In 2020, he joined Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as only the third player in NBA history to win both the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) awards in the same season. Jordan and Olajuwon achieved the incredible feat during the 1987-88 and 1993-94 seasons, respectively.
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