Jayson Tatum recently received some flattering sentiment from Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Milwaukee Bucks star ranked the Boston Celtics forward among the top five players in the NBA, even though Tatum is likely to miss either the majority or the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
Notably absent from Antetokounmpo’s list was LeBron James, a player long regarded as the league’s best, though Tatum seemed to understand why the Greek Freak left him off his list.
Jayson Tatum Talks About Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Top Five List That Omitted LeBron James
In an interview with Greek outlet Sport24’s Haris Stavrou, Antetokounmpo named himself, Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, and Luka Dončić as the NBA’s five best players. During an interview with CBS Sports’ Ashley Nicole Moss, Tatum defended Antetokounmpo’s choices while subtly addressing James’ omission.
“People like to argue or debate just for the fun of it,” Tatum told Moss. “I’m pretty sure [Giannis] was talking about current day, and obviously we know LeBron is one of the greatest of all-time. But it’s a lot of guys that you could probably put in that top five, there’s not many wrong answers.”
Part of why Antetokounmpo may rate Tatum so highly is their playoff history. Tatum has beaten Giannis and the Bucks twice out of their three postseason matchups, winning in 2018 and 2022, while Antetokounmpo defeated the Celtics in 2019.
Since entering the NBA in 2018, Tatum has also been one of the league’s most consistently elite players. While the Celtics as a team have thrived since drafting him, he has been their standout star for several seasons.
Antetokounmpo’s choice to leave James off the list is especially interesting given that, even at 40 and past his prime, James recently finished sixth in MVP voting and earned All-NBA second team honors. With Tatum likely sidelined for the season, James could easily move into Giannis’ top five if the Lakers have a strong year.
Interestingly, James hasn’t pursued an MVP since 2013, choosing instead to focus on championships — a strategy that has guided him to multiple titles and will remain his focus as he aims to lead the Lakers to their 18th franchise championship this season.
Moreover, James has long thrived on skepticism, and being left out of Giannis’ top five might serve as extra motivation to push the Lakers to the promised land. It’s just unfortunate for Celtics fans that Tatum and his team likely won’t be around to challenge him if he does.