3 ways Giannis Antetokounmpo emulates 2020 Hall of Fame class standouts

How Giannis Antetokounmpo emulates Tim Duncan’s loyalty

While he couldn’t be a more polar opposite to Kevin Garnett in terms of personality, Tim Duncan blazed his own one-a-kind career in a different fashion.

Duncan was a fixture for the San Antonio Spurs in 19 seasons where he won five NBA titles, took home two MVP awards and 15 All-NBA selections. Under legendary Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, Duncan stood as one of the rare constants that made the Spurs’ incredible success possible year after year for nearly two decades.

While Antetokounmpo has yet to reach the mountain top in his own career, what both MVPs share with one another is loyalty that both Antetokounmpo and Duncan have held throughout their basketball journeys.

Of course, Antetokounmpo proved that in the biggest way possible by signing his five-year, $228 supermax extension right before the start of the 2020-21 season. Antetokounmpo had plenty of incentive to do so by signing what is the richest contract in NBA history, but it also reaffirmed his loyalty to a Bucks franchise that has and continues to invest so much into Antetokounmpo and putting forth a viable supporting cast around him.

Duncan stands out in his own way for having stayed with one franchise throughout his legendary career, though it wasn’t like he wasn’t tempted to leave San Antonio. Duncan famously was courted by the Orlando Magic in the summer of 2000, though ultimately stayed with the Spurs.

Time will only tell whether Antetokounmpo will stay in Milwaukee for his entire NBA career, but it’s one of many things he’s shown throughout his eight-plus years in the league thus far.