An old tweet from Kobe Bryant went viral on Tuesday night after the Milwaukee Bucks won the championship.
Giannis Antetokounmpo made his first All-Star team in 2016-2017, which was his fourth year in the league. Antetokounmpo was on a clear trajectory of improvement, but few saw an MVP in his future at that point. Kobe Bryant did.
That summer, Giannis asked Kobe what his challenge would be. Bryant challenged the Greek Freak to win an NBA MVP Award.
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 27, 2017
Two seasons later, Antetokounmpo took home his first of two NBA MVP Awards.
After Giannis won his first MVP, Bryant went to the next step. He challenged Giannis to win a championship.
My man….M.V.P. Greatness. Next up: Championship. #MambaMentality https://t.co/dhZTFI1Aam
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) June 25, 2019
That was in June, 2019. Bryant tragically died in a helicopter crash seven months later.
But two years after the challenge, Antetokounmpo came through.
Bryant is no longer around to issue a new challenge that pushes Antetokounmpo. But maybe he would tell Giannis to go for a second championship. And at the rate Giannis is going, he will accomplish that feat in two years.
