Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said in 2022 that he was stunned when he first saw Victor Wembanyama. He thought the 2023 no. 1 overall pick was a combination of Rudy Gobert on defense and had shades of Kevin Durant on offense.
The San Antonio Spurs star’s height can fascinate people. That’s what the Greek Freak’s kids felt during the All-Star Game, too.
Antetokounmpo, who sat out the ASG for a second straight year to manage his injury, gave his two sons, Liam and Maverick, a tour of the Team World locker room. One player who caught their attention was Wembanyama.
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Their father introduced them to “The Alien,” who gave each of them a high five. The boys couldn’t get enough and kept asking about Wembanyama, prompting Antetokounmpo to jokingly remind them:
Giannis: Younger but he's not better than me.
Giannis kid: You're better than him?
Giannis: One thousand percent. One million percent.
The two-time MVP did not get to show why he believes he is better than Wembanyama, but the latter did justice to Antetokounmpo's kids' fascination.
Wembanyama played his heart out in the two games he appeared in. All-Star Game MVP Anthony Edwards even credited him for setting the tone and making others play hard.
The French star scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots against Team Stars and followed it up with a 19-point performance against Team Stripes. Team World lost both games by just one possession.
“I think it was pretty good. We got a guy like Kawhi going for 30, making every shot," Wembanyama said when asked about the competitive level of this year's All-Star Game (via Tom Osborn of San Antonio Express News).
"No, it was a pretty good display of basketball. Better than last year, in my opinion. It was fun.”