Every now and then, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of player breaks the mold and leaves his mark in NBA history forever. It happened with Bill Russell, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, LeBron James; and it will happen again.
But who'll carry LeBron's torch once he's out of the league? Even if he's playing at an elite level still and doesn't look 37 years old, he's on his 19th season and should retire rather sooner than later.
If you were to ask Kendrick Perkins, Giannis Antetokounmpo should be James' successor, not only because of what he's already accomplished at 27 years old but also because of his durability and physical traits.
Kendrick Perkins Says Giannis Antetokounmpo Can Become The GOAT
"I'm not taking nobody over Giannis Antetokounmpo," Perkins said on ESPN. "I just can't! And for the simple fact that I understand that he's 27, but we have at least eight more years of Giannis, doing what he is doing right now at this high level."
"When you look at his physical build, right? It reminds me of LeBron James and Karl Malone," the former Celtics player added. "Like, they have that body frame and they have that type of mentality. And they have that type of physical presence that they could do this for extended period of time."
"And so looking at Giannis only being 27 years old, he still has seven years max in his prime, but we don't know what prime is no more. Like LeBron James has exceeded prime. It used to be 27 to 34, but now LeBron James is saying, 'No, prime is what you put into your body,'" Perkins concluded.
Giannis has already put together a Hall of Famer kind of résumé and he's not even 30, so Perkins' take isn't that far-fetched. But hey, anything can happen in the next decade so maybe we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves.
