Former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins gave Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo one of the highest compliments by comparing him to NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. On Wednesday, Cousins appeared on the show “Run It Back,” where he spoke highly about the dominance of Antetokounmpo.
On Tuesday, the Bucks captured a 97-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Emirates NBA Cup, The team rallied behind the all-around production of Antetokounmpo, who had 26 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, three blocks and two steals.
Following his performance, Cousins gave him praise for the work he did to lead the Bucks.
“One-man wrecking crew,” Cousins said. “At this point, as far as just being physically dominant, I think in this era of basketball, he’s the closest thing we’ve seen to like, a Shaquille O’Neal.”
High praise from one dominant big man to another 🤝 pic.twitter.com/hQMeMc673n
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 18, 2024
The Los Angeles Lakers legend himself is aware of the comparison between himself and Giannis Antetokounmpo. On a December 2023 episode of O’Neal’s “Big Pod with Shaq,” the four-time champion recognizes the similarity of their game. He also compared Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic to San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan.
“You have the new Shaq versus Tim [Duncan] conversation. You cannot compare the two. Don’t ever compare me to a power forward.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t done after winning the NBA Cup
Milwaukee had a rough 2-8 start to their season but have turned things around. During the In-Season Tournament, the team found their stride to improve their record.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks came strong in the NBA Cup, going undefeated from the start of the tournament until they captured the trophy. After the game, Antetokounmpo spoke about how proud he was of the team and how they performed.
“I am so proud of this group. Man… I am so proud of this group…”, said the 2-time MVP right after the game. “Coming out of half time, we knew we had 24 minutes to go. We came out and in the third quarter we set the tone, we played great team basketball moving the ball. Guys were making shots but more importantly, we competed defensively as OKC only scored 14 points (in the period). That’s who we are. That’s who we’ll continue to be.”
After celebrating with their team, the two-time MVP reminded his team that winning the Larry O’Brien trophy is still their goal.
“Job is not done, we have a lot of basketball in front of us.”
"We're getting better… we're trusting one another… we're gonna leave Vegas and be a better team… job is not done, we have a lot of basketball in front of us.
– @Giannis_An34 🗣️💯 pic.twitter.com/eZ6B4uCG4a
— NBA (@NBA) December 18, 2024
After the tournament, Giannis earned the MVP award after he was selected by all 20 media members as the winner.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
