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Giannis says don’t put him with K.D. and LeBron just yet: 'I want to feel like I always have somebody to chase'

Giannis Antetokounmpo says he’s still chasing Kevin Durant. (AP)
Giannis Antetokounmpo says he’s still chasing Kevin Durant. (AP)

The more you watch Giannis Antetokounmpo, the more you begin to realize it’s only a matter of time before he becomes one of the faces of the league.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ All-Star forward is rapidly bulldozing his way into the discussion of which player will assume the mantle as the NBA’s top player.

Some would suggest his time is now, and that he’s already surpassed heavyweights such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry.

But the Greek Freak, being humble in nature, isn’t quite ready to publicly proclaim himself as the top dog.

“You know me, I’m not going to say I’m not and I’m not going to say I am better than LeBron or K.D.,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports. “Because I want to feel like I always have somebody to chase. I want to feel like I can always get better. LeBron is one of the greatest guys to ever play. K.D. is one of the greatest scorers to ever play the game. They’ve been doing it for a long time. That’s what I want to do. I want to be in my 14th, 15th year in the league and still be doing what I’m doing today, and even better.”

Last Thursday in a rout over the Golden State Warriors, one offensive possession showed why the 6-foot-11 forward’s rare blend of athleticism, length, strength, agility and lateral quickness makes him such an unparalleled talent.

Warriors forward Kevon Looney had the near-impossible task of slowing down Antetokounmpo in the second quarter as the star lowered his head and drove full-steam from the top of the key.

Looney actually did a superb job of anticipating Antetokounmpo’s route and cut him off near the right side of the free-throw line. However, Antetokounmpo plowed his left shoulder into Looney’s chest, sending the big man tumbling to the hardwood where he slid backward a few feet, helplessly watching Antetokounmpo take one more step in the opposite direction for a vicious one-handed throwdown.

Cameras quickly caught the Warriors’ Draymond Green, who was on the bench sidelined with a knee injury, with his mouth ajar in amazement.

“He’s still young and learning the game, which is crazy,” Bucks teammate Eric Bledsoe told Yahoo Sports. “He’ll figure it all out. And when he does, watch out.”

Similar to how he bulldozed through Looney, Antetokounmpo is doing that to the league and taking his place among the greatest.

“I don’t want to hear that,” he told Yahoo Sports. “I can feel whatever I feel inside me. I can feel like I’m the best player in the league right now, but at the end of the day, I want to feel like I always can improve. So, if they ask me who is better, me or K.D., they can be better right now. But I want to feel like I always can improve and I want to get there and get to their level.”

Antetokounmpo, only 23, is in his sixth NBA season, averaging 25.4 points, 13 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 blocks and shooting 55 percent from the field through 12 games. But there is one area that needs improvement before he’s labeled the best: Antetokounmpo has shot just 2-of-26 from 3-point range this season.

“Whether it’s some point this year or early next year, you’re going to see him with a 3-point shot,” Bucks GM Jon Horst said last week, “and I think the rest of the league is pretty scared of that.”

But Antetokounmpo’s teammates are successfully opening up the floor for him with the three.

Under new head coach Mike Budenholzer, there is more emphasis on shooting from deep. Last year, Milwaukee made 8.8 3-pointers per game while attempting 24.7, both marks near the bottom of the league.

This season, they rank No. 1 in triples made at 15.2 per contest and hoist up the second most at 40.5. The Bucks are also second in offensive efficiency (113.5) and fourth in defensive efficiency (102.3).

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks (10-3) are looking to make that next leap as a team. They’re second in the Eastern Conference standings, one game behind the Toronto Raptors.

With LeBron James now in La La Land, there is now a pathway to the NBA Finals that didn’t exist before.

“Our goal is to be the top team in the East,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports. “I think anything less, it would be hard on us because I feel like we have the talent, we play hard, we play great basketball and that’s one of our goals. We just got to keep getting better every day and hopefully we can achieve it.”

If the Greek Freak keeps rising, the Bucks will have an opportunity to play deep into the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades, and Antetokounmpo’s case would strengthen as the league’s next great superstar.

“I definitely still look up to [LeBron and K.D.],” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports. “They’ve done it longer than me. Both of them are champs. I just got to keep getting better, keep learning from them.”

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