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Bill Simmons says Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the rarest of NBA players — true unicorns
Giannis currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, where he averages 24 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds, while ranking second only to Westbrook in ESPN's holistic PER metric.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Not on the list: Michael Jordan (Simmons writes: "Kobe's relatively creepy Jordan impersonation opened the door for another MJ someday"). Also not on the list: LeBron James ("I could image another 6-foot-8 super-athlete like LeBron who never gets tired and plays basketball like he's the queen on a chessboard.")
The only active players on the list are superstars Kevin Durant ("McAdoo crossed with Gervin crossed with Spider-Man crossed with Plastic Man with 25-foot range???") and Russell Westbrook ("part point guard, part striker, part running back, part Terminator"), along with Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis is a 22-year-old of Nigerian descent who grew up in Athens. Nearly seven feet tall, he has emerged as a playmaking small forward with the potential to be, in the words of Jason Kidd, something like "LeBron and Dirk [Nowitzki]" combined. Giannis also, according to Simmons, has 12-inch hands: by comparison, LeBron has 9.3-inch hands; Jordan's are 11.4 inches; even Wilt Chamberlain's were only 11.5.
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While unicorns aren't necessarily the most successful players, they tend to be pretty good.
Giannis currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, where he averages 24 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds, while ranking . Give him time and he might just become a household name.
See the full list of true and partial unicorns, past and present, at .
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