Without a doubt, we are seeing greatness in 2020 from one of the NBA’s special talents, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo had 30-plus points and 15-plus rebounds for the fifth straight game, and the Bucks rolled over the Philadelphia 76ers in Milwaukee by a score of 112-101.
However, Antetokounmpo accomplished something in this game he never has before. According to ESPN, this was the first 30-point, 20-rebound game of his career. Without question, that’s going beyond ‘filling a stat sheet’.
Giannis with the first 30-point, 20-rebound game of his career 😤 pic.twitter.com/QUtYSl4ah4
— ESPN (@espn) February 7, 2020
When you watch the Bucks, they’re more than just the Greek Freak. Whether it’s a game Antetokounmpo just takes over, or Eric Bledsoe, Wesley Matthews, or Kris Middleton; it seems a different guy plays hero every night. They’re a true team playing great team basketball thus far this season with a 44-7 record.
But looking at Antetokounmpo’s numbers, he’s the clear ring leader of this bad gang. Thus far he’s averaging 30.1 points per game, 13.2 rebounds per night, and 5.8 assists for good measure.
Think about those numbers for a moment, then find the short list of guys who have done that over a full season. I am confident the names you will find are in rare territory.
I don’t know if Milwaukee will win 70 games and be in that rarified territory in NBA lore. In fact, they may fall short of an NBA Finals victory in what seems like it could be a certainty at this time. But make no mistake, they are putting the rest of the league on notice right now. And Antetokounmpo is playing the best basketball of his life.
