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Steve Clifford Sees Kobe Bryant In Giannis Antetokounmpo
Kobe Bryant’s approach to the game was unlike any other. The competitive spirit, the Mamba Mentality, the killer instinct and such, will forever embody Kobe’s game. Due to his influential approach to the game, many players copied Kobe’s cadence and adopted the same mentality on and off the basketball court.
One of these players is Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford talked about as one player that mirrors Kobe’s competitive spirit.
In last year’s NBA season when the Bucks beat the Magic, Clifford was asked in a post-game interview on what his players could learn from Giannis to adapt to their game. Clifford then talked about Giannis’ approach to the game.
“He has the No.1 thing you are looking for: competitive spirit. Every time Kobe played, you would leave the stadium saying he wanted to show everybody in the arena on every play ‘nobody is better than me’ and to me that’s Giannis.”
As we know, Giannis has always looked up to Kobe. In 2017, Giannis even asked for a challenge and Kobe responded by challenging him to win MVP— which Giannis successfully achieved in 2019.
The Greek Freak is improving each year and he’s off for another historic season this year. He has put the Bucks in the sole position to be a clear-cut title contender while he continues to do damage on both ends of the floor.
