The Greek Freak is traveling down the same path once blazed by LeBron James. With the King on the ropes in his 16th season and fighting to merely make the playoffs, is it time for Giannis Antetokounmpo to ascend the throne? Is LeBron James still the best player in the world? It's a question looming over Staples Center on Friday night with both James and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the building as the Los Angeles Lakers host the Milwaukee Bucks. Sure, there are questions with a more direct impact on this actual season. Will the Lakers miss the playoffs? Are the Bucks a legitimate threat to actually win a title? But in taking a bigger picture approach, this game in particular - the first meeting between James and Antetokounmpo this season - carries with it the potential to serve as a true watershed, landscape-shifting moment. https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/eb/b9/lebron-james-and-giannis-antetokounmpo-were-captains-for-this-years-all-star-game_m9jhjrfkgym613ynkx7hmspzi.jpg?t=989886377&w=500 For the last decade, James has been the NBA's unquestioned alpha dog. Despite not winning the MVP award since 2012-13, few would argue that any player has truly supplanted James as the league's best player over that stretch. Being named the most outstanding player over an 82-game regular season is not the same thing as being labeled the league's best player. MORE: Ranking the NBA's top players James has proved that on more than one occasion. Locking down Derrick Rose in the 2011 postseason, taking out the 73-win Warriors in 2016, heck even last year's postseason run when James uncorked perhaps the best extended postseason run of his career while quite literally dragging the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. There have been moments - some more threatening and sustainable than others - which have at least made it an interesting discussion: And yet nobody has really managed to take that torch. Given the circumstances and context surrounding this season, there's a chance that for the first time in his Hall of Fame career, James might finally have that torch-passing moment on Friday. Mired in a season in which he's missed more games than ever before and is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005, James is starting to show hints of mortality at the exact moment that Antetokounmpo appears to be showing signs of immortality. Just as James once unleashed a floor game in ways that challenged every pre-conceived notion about how or what was possible from a 6'8", 260-pound locomotive, Giannis is laying waste to any rational logic surrounding reasonable physical limitations. MORE: Explaining Giannis… what if Shaq played point guard? A top MVP candidate on a team from the Central Division with the NBA's best record, Antetokounmpo is following directly in the footsteps once walked by James. He's 24, the same age as James when he won his first MVP award. That 2008-09 Cavaliers team went 66-16 and finished with the best record in the NBA. Outside of James, the team's next-best player was Mo Williams, who made his first and only All-Star team that season. The 2018-19 Bucks are on pace to win 63 games. Outside of Antetokounmpo, the team's next-best player is Khris Middleton who just made his first All-Star team. Middleton is a better player than Williams, but he's not exactly a bonafide, unquestioned second star. Taking it a step further, the Bucks are dominating in ways that not even James ever has in the regular season. They are outscoring teams by 9.5 points per game, currently the 12th-best mark in NBA history. With no true star alongside him, Antetokounmpo has the Bucks beating teams at a rate only exceeded by Jordan's Bulls, Kareem and Oscar's Bucks, Duncan and Kawhi's Spurs, the Garnett/Pierce/Allen Celtics and this recent Warriors juggernaut from the last few years. The most dominant LeBron team with respect to overall scoring margin? The aforementioned 2008-09 bunch who outscored teams by 8.9 points per game. https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/77/21/lebron-james-was-24-years-old-when-he-led-the-2008-09-cavaliers-to-an-nba-best-66-wins_xhce8siua1zy1k71qirci1323.jpg?t=990677489&w=500 Of course, it's not written in stone that this proverbial torch will actually be passed. The Lakers could very well still make the playoffs and depending on seeding and matchups, make an extended run. Would anyone truly be stunned to see James going toe-to-toe with the Warriors once again, this time in a Conference Final? It wouldn't be any more unlikely than Cleveland's run to the Finals last season or the rally from 3-1 down in the 2016 NBA Finals. MORE: LeBron on playoff push - "We like where we are" LeBron James is larger than life, basketball royalty of the highest order. He may have moved out west closer to where the sun sets, but that doesn't mean he's riding off into the sunset just yet. The King is not going to simply vacate his throne and hand over his crown. It doesn't work that way. And regardless of what transpires on the floor on Friday, the torch won't transfer during a regular-season game in March as league-altering shifts in the pecking order are reserved for May and June. But it's certainly a topic worth keeping top of mind. This might be the 18th time that LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo have squared off, but it's the first in which there's a real opportunity for the balance of power to begin shifting to the next generation. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.<doc-sep>The Milwaukee Bucks pushed their road winning streak to 10 games with a 131-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Friday night. For the Bucks, they were led by the performance of Eric Bledsoe who sliced and diced his way to 31 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo “only” scored 16 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. Malcolm Brogdon contributed 21 points, and Khris Middleton added 17 points and 6 assists. Ersan Ilyasova pitched in 12 points and Nikola Mirotic put in 11. For the Lakers, LeBron James was up to his usual tricks with 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists. Brandon Ingram got hot and dropped 31 points as well while Rajon Rodon scored 20 points on 19 shots. Stat That Stood Out: 51.6% The Bucks converted on 51.6 percent of their shots, and it helped stabilize things when it looked like the Lakers were about to make a big run. It wasn’t the prettiest of performances offensively, but any night you make 51.6% of your shots it’s a good night.<doc-sep>
An unfortunate truth that has become increasingly evident this season is that LeBron James probably isn’t the best player in the NBA any longer. Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers will take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks as “The Greek Freak” makes his own case for that title. Antetokounmpo has a particularly concerning set of skills that the Lakers, as currently constituted, are not at all that well-equipped to deal with. Giannis has made more shots (459) from within five feet of the basket than any other player in the league, and the gap between him and second place (Andre Drummond, 360) is larger than that between second and 18th (Nikola Jokic, 262). Antetokounmpo is hitting those shots at an astounding 73 percent clip. As Luke Walton intends to stick with the small starting lineup he used against the New Orleans Pelicans (Rajon Rondo, Reggie Bullock, Brandon Ingram, James and Kyle Kuzma), Giannis might break the record for consecutive shots made. Milwaukee also employs Brook Lopez, whose outside shooting ability has opened up the court for Giannis to attack the basket at will. Now, one benefit of the Lakers’ starting unit is that everyone is capable of guarding a stretch five like Lopez, but he is also very capable of taking anyone on the Lakers’ roster inside, let along anyone 6’8” and shorter. Even in Wednesday’s win against New Orleans, the Lakers were out-rebounded to the tune of 52 boards to 39. Had Anthony Davis played the fourth quarter, that number (as well as the final score) could have been even uglier. Look for that trend to continue Friday night against a similarly talented Milwaukee frontcourt. For the Lakers, they’ll have to hope Bullock, Ingram and Kuzma continue their strong play, and maybe one or two other non-LeBron players step up. Lonzo Ball (ankle) remains out for at least another week and Josh Hart (knee tendinitis) and Lance Stephenson (toe) are dinged up. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee have been highly disappointing this season, but at some point they’ll need to stop moping and start producing. The Lakers have their work cut out for them. Milwaukee boasts the league’s best record and Antetokounmpo is in the middle of an MVP-caliber season. There are matchup problems across the court. But if the Lakers can elevate their game as Kuzma says they tend to against better teams, an upset win would go a long way in making up for one of last week’s disappointing losses. Tipoff for Friday night’s game is scheduled for 7:30 PM PST. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.