Connaughton claims Giannis block better than LeBron-Iguodala

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It's been hard to argue that any blocked shot in recent NBA history is as memorable as LeBron James' chase-down rejection of Andre Iguodala during the 2016 NBA Finals in Oracle Arena, but Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly made a case Wednesday night with his amazing swat on DeAndre Ayton in Game 4.

Antetokounmpo rose above the rim and rejected the 7-foot Ayton's alley-oop attempt off the backboard in the final minute, helping to preserve a Milwaukee Bucks win to even the series at two games apiece.

Connaughton, who himself knocked down some clutch 3-pointers in the series-evening win, didn't want to disparage the remarkable feat of athleticism from LeBron, but said he believes it should go down as the best block of all time.

"In my opinion, it's the best block of all time," Connaughton told reporters after the game. "Obviously we're a little biased, and you can talk about the LeBron block as well, but as far as a block where he was covering the pick-and-roll, he had to judge where the pass was, where Ayton was catching it and trying to dunk it above the box, it's about as impressive as it gets."

Iguodala himself saw some similarities, as he and Draymond Green both were in awe of the play from Giannis at the rim.

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There's no questioning how incredible the play from Giannis was to turn around and time his jump and arm movement perfectly to block Ayton, but trying to litigate which of these two plays was more impactful or better feels like a tired exercise.

No Warriors fan that was watching that Game 7 in 2016 has forgotten the blur that was LeBron coming out of nowhere to swat Iguodala's layup, and that became the series-defining moment alongside Kyrie Irving's clutch 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Giannis' defensive heroics kept the Bucks from a daunting 3-games-to-1 deficit, but this series now becomes a best-of-3, with two of the contests coming in Phoenix.

There are going to be plenty of arguments over which of the two blocks was better over the next few days, but we simply should step back and appreciate the brilliance of Wednesday night's game and wait with bated breath for a pivotal Game 5.

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