Basketball legend Charles Barkley might be a notorious critic as an analyst, but he is surely a supportive one for those who are deserving of his honor.
Barkley gave a wonderful praise for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, acknowledging the Greek Freak’s humbleness and commitment to the game.
“Other than Tim Duncan, he’s the most humble, quiet superstar that I’ve ever been around,” Barkley said in Inside the NBA’s Wednesday pregame show on the Bucks’ Game 5 first-round series duel against the Chicago Bulls.
“There’s no drama; He’s just a great person and a great player. He just comes to work and wanna play basketball. You got to admire that.”
Duncan was a stoic gem of his generation and the greatest power forward of all time. He is the cornerstone of the San Antonio Spurs and led them to five historic championships in three different decades.
Certainly, Antetokounmpo is trying to replicate or even surpass Duncan’s accolades in San Antonio. At age 27, his career resume keeps getting better and better – headlined so far by two league MVPs and an NBA title with Milwaukee from last year.
Barkley has been a clear advocate of Giannis and the Bucks from the previous seasons. Though he criticized them for underperforming, he still kept his faith in the ball club to clinch the 2021 title.
Now, Giannis and the co. are rallying for back-to-back titles, and it looks like Barkley is a believer once again.
