"Giannis is the man in the NBA, now" - Charles Barkley on Giannis Antetokounmpo sending a 'message' to Stephen Curry with stellar outing

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has lauded Giannis Antetokounmpo for his fabulous performance against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

Barkley believes Antetokounmpo's performance on the night was a message to Stephen Curry of the Warriors. The Milwaukee Bucks dominated the game right from tip-off. Thanks to Antetokounmpo's fabulous outing, the Bucks thrashed the Golden State Warriors 118-99 at the Fiserv Forum Arena.

The defending champions led the game 77-38 going at half-time. Antetokounmpo had a monstrous night, racking up 30 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and three blocks. That almost sealed the win for his team, so the Greek Freak sat out the game after playing only 30 minutes.

His dominant display has catapulted Antetokounpo in the MVP race. Speaking about Antetekounmpo's performance on the night with the 'Inside the NBA Crew', Barkley said:

"When you are the man and Giannis is the man in the NBA now. When you get a guy coming in the MVP conversation of the team, you might play in the Final, you wanna send them a message. You know, I always hear guys say, 'I treat all the games as the same'; first of all that's a lie, and that's bogus. When you are a great player, and you see another great player, you're mentality totally changes."

Barkley, who played against some of the greatest in the game, provided an example of him showing up strong against bigger opponents., saying:

"When I played against Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, I was like, 'Those guys are great'. When I saw Larry Bird, I wanted to play well, I wanted people to know, I can play too. So this was all Giannis tonight."

Stephen Curry, who had led the MVP race at the start of the season, is currently enduring a bit of a slump. His shooting has been visibly down than usual. That seems to have affected the Warriors, who have now lost four of their last five games.

The Bucks, meanwhile, were coming off consecutive losses against the Charlotte Hornets to drop to fourth in the East. However, they returned to winning ways with an emphatic win against the defending champions, who are now second in the West,

Meanwhile, a loss for the Bucks would have allowed the Philadelphia 76ers to close in on them. However, Antetokounmpo ensured that didn't happen, showcasing classy playmaking and dropping brilliant assists to his teammates.

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Could this be the year Giannis Antetokounmpo wins his third MVP award?

Giannis Antetokounmpo shone as the Milwaukee Bucks secured a stunning win over the Golden State Warriors.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a man on a mission this year. Having won the championship for Milwaukee last season - their first in five decades - the Greek Freak looks determined to win more glory for hiis team.

He is averaging 28.5 PPG, 11.5 RPG and 6.1 APG in 35 appearances. The 27-year-old is second in terms of efficiency in the league, and has also significantly improved his shooting this season.

Many critics have ruled out the Bucks' chances of repeating as champions. However, with Antetokounmpo and some classy hoopers like Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, the team possesses a huge threat, and are capable of going all the way again.

Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokoumpo is leading the race for the MVP award. However, with elite players like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry in the fray, the Greek Freak has his task cut out.

The other contenders have all proven their MVP credentials, so Antetokounmpo needs to outplay them all to win the prestigious award for the third time. It is going to be difficult, but the Greek Freak has always overcome adversity.

If he continues playing the way he has been this season, Antetokounmpo could be a serious contender for this season's MVP award.

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