Giannis Antetokounmpo
Teams
Milwaukee Bucks - 2013-present
Playoffs
Appearances - 6 (2015,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021)
Conference Finals - 2 (2019,2021)
NBA Finals - 1 (2021)
Championships - 1 (2021)
Awards and Honors
MVP - 2 (2019,2020)
Finals MVP - 1 (2021)
Defensive Player of the Year - 1 (2020)
All-NBA First Team - 3 (2019,2020,2021)
All-NBA Second Team - 2 (2017,2018)
All-NBA Third Team - 0 (2017)
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Points Per Game - #48
Field Goal Percentage - #49
Blocks Per Game - #99
Rebounds Per Game - #100
League Leads
Points Per Game (#3-2019, #5-2018,2020,2021)
Total Points (#4-2020, #5-2018)
Total Rebounds (#4-2020)
Total Blocks (#5-2017)
Rebounds Per Game (#2-2020)
Giannis Antetokounmpo played 2 years in the Greek basketball league as a teenager before he turned 18 and was allowed to enter the NBA Draft, where he was drafted at #15 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, which is looking like one of the greatest steals in draft history.
As a rookie, he only averaged 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds, but he improved rapidly after that. He averaged 12.7 points in his second season, and 16.9 in his third, then exploded in his 4th season. In 2016-17, he became just the 5th player in history to lead his team in the 5 major statistical categories, and the first player ever to finish in the top 20 in all 5 categories. His breakout season earned him the Most Improved Player Award and a spot on the All-NBA Second Team.
He got even better the next year, pushing his averages up to 26.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, and Milwaukee made the playoffs for the 3rd time in 4 years, but just like in the previous appearances, the Bucks fell in the first round.
Both Milwaukee and Giannis took a huge step forward the next year, with Milwaukee earning the best record in the league in the regular season, and Giannis taking home the MVP after averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. Milwaukee advanced clear to the Conference Finals, where they lost to Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors in 6 games.
It's rare to win a repeat MVP award, but Giannis was even better the next year, finishing with 29.5 points and 13.6 rebounds, and leading Milwaukee to the best record again. In the second round, Antetokounmpo injured his ankle in Game 3, then again in Game 4, and Milwaukee was eliminated in Game 5 after Giannis missed the game. For his performance in the regular season, he earned that repeat MVP, and was also given the Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the third player ever to win both in the same season, joining Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Last season, both Giannis and his team took a small step backward in the regular season, though his 28.1 points and 11.0 rebounds were still enough to make the All-NBA First Team for the third year in a row. In the playoffs, they swept the Heat in the first round, then survived the Nets in a tough 7-game second round series, before facing Atlanta in the Conference Finals. Giannis hurt his knee in Game 4, and was forced to sit out the final 2 games of the series, but his team advanced anyway.
In wasn't initially known whether he would play in the NBA Finals, but he started in the first game, and in Games 2 and 3 he had at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in each game, joining Shaq as the only players to ever do that back-to-back in the Finals. He was able to lead the Bucks back from a 2-0 series deficit to win in 6 games, putting up 50 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the deciding game, and winning the Finals MVP award unanimously.
Giannis is young, still only 26 years old, but he has accomplished so much in his short career that he seems to be destined to eventually be one of the top 10 players in history. He already has 2 regular season MVPs and a Finals MVP award, a DPOY, and 5 straight All-NBA selections. As long as he avoids major injury, he should reach that upper echelon, but even at this point, he has to be included among the greatest to ever play the game.
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