Kevin Durant Disagrees With Giannis Antetokounmpo's Take On Skill Not Being The Most Important Thing In The NBA: "Mentality And Skill Go Hand In Hand... All The Greats had Both."

Giannis Antetokounmpo has long been at the mercy of those suggesting he's not necessarily a skilled player. Many past and current NBA players have taken digs at Giannis, and he has responded by becoming more successful than most of them. The Greek Freak has put in the work to improve year after year, and his game is perhaps as complete as any player's in the modern game. 

He recently seemingly answered back to all the questions about skill by saying that it simply isn't the most important thing. Giannis pointed out that it's possible for skilfully players to not make it to the NBA. He also suggested that what made the greatest of all time like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant so successful was their consistency and mentality. But one of the other greats he mentioned in that, Kevin Durant, doesn't seem to wholly agree with him on this topic.

Kevin Durant Commented On Giannis Antetokounmpo's Quote About Skill And Disagreed With Him

While there are stars in the league who won't be able to say much in terms of disagreement with Giannis, Kevin Durant has achieved just as much as he has. KD is one of the best players in the world at the moment, and one of the best scorers the NBA has ever seen. So when he saw a snippet of Antetokounmpo's quote on Instagram, it was interesting that he chose to respond. 

"You can be the most skillful person on Earth, and still don't make the NBA. The NBA is not about skills."

"Mentality and skill go hand in hand in my humble opinion. All the greats had both."

What Durant is saying does make sense. There is no point in mentality without having skill as well. Giannis wasn't saying that skills aren't important, just that mentality is what sets players apart. And it still might stand considering that a level of skill is simply required for a player to excel at the NBA level. 

Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be battling it out on all fronts this season. Both will have their eyes on the MVP and the championship, and will likely have to go through the other to get it. The best way to settle this debate is on the court, and another 7-game series between the Bucks and the Nets would be an amazing feast for NBA fans.