“That 7-foot monster that he is, it ain’t even close between him and Giannis” - Skip Bayless believes Kevin Durant is "far and away the best player on this planet"

The debate over the NBA's current best player is between the Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant and the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo. Despite Durant's recent absence with a knee injury, sports analyst Skip Bayless believes Durant is still the best player on the planet right now.

Following Giannis' 50-point double-double Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers, the topic was revisited.

On "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe said the "Greek Freak" is the best player on the planet. Bayless, a long-time supporter of KD, disagreed. He believes Durant is the best right now.

"You have no idea how wrong you are," Bayless said. "This isn't even close, because when Kevin Durant comes back, that seven-foot monster that he is, it ain't even close between him and Giannis or him and anybody else on this planet. He is far and away the best player on this planet.

"We have never seen anything like this seven-foot monster shooting midrange jump shots or 3-point jump shots. Any kind of jump shot you wanna shoot, he can shoot them, against a guy that you're pushing as the best player, who's got little to no jump shot."

There is no denying how exceptional Durant is. But with how Antetokounmpo has played, and the improvement in his game, he is definitely worth being in the conversation.

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Kevin Durant will miss the All-Star Game because of a knee injury

Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets shoots the ball over Wesley Matthews of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Durant sprained his MCL in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 15 and has been sidelined since then. Although there is no official return date for the two-time NBA champ, he will miss Sunday's All-Star Game. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has been selected as his replacement.

Before Durant hurt his knee, he was one of the top contenders for the MVP award and was willing the Nets to victories consistently.

In the Nets' last 15 games without KD, they have managed only three wins. Their latest victory came Monday night over the scuffling Sacramento Kings after enduring an 11-game losing skid. Brooklyn (30-27) has plummeted to eighth place in the Eastern Conference in Durant's absence.

KD was the leading scorer in the league before being sidelined. The four-time scoring champ averaged 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 52%.