Former All-Star Rajon Rondo shared extremely high praise for Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in a recent interview.
Rondo, who joined coach Doc Rivers’ staff as a guest during training camp and the NBA Cup, recently expressed his thoughts on an NBA show hosted by former NBA stars Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons, along with media personality Michelle Beadle.
When asked to compare the physical dominance of The Greek Freak with Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal, Rondo replied, “He’s one-of-one. He’s his own person. He’s his own identity as far as something that we’ve never seen in our game before.”
Rondo continued, “I think he is more dominant in the paint than Shaq. Obviously, the times are different. I don’t want to go at it with Shaq or anything, but I’m just saying numbers-wise I think his percentages are greater, and I think he’s scored more points in the paint. The game is different, but he’s unstoppable.”
Antetokounmpo has noticeably expanded his midrange game this season, a feat O’Neal was unable to accomplish in his illustrious career. Through 36 appearances this season, the 30-year old MVP-candidate is averaging a career-high 31.3 points to go along with 12.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.4 blocks in 34.8 minutes. His 31.3 points per game is the second-highest in the league, only trailing Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Additionally, Antetokounmpo is shooting the second-highest field goal percentage of his career at 60.3 percent.
Rondo briefly described Antetokounmpo’s leadership approach, “He takes a lot of accountability and he wants to win. When they don’t win, he takes it [expletive]-near the hardest. He’s trying to figure out ways to get the W done.”
The Bucks have won eight of their last nine games after taking home the NBA Cup in mid-December. Rondo, who helps coach the Bucks about twice a month, described his experience working under his former coach Doc Rivers as, “amazing.”
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