Camila Sosa
In spectacular fashion, the Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo made history by becoming the all-time leading scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks in franchise history, scoring 44 points in an overtime victory vs. the Brooklyn Nets, which ended with a score of 120-119 in favor of the reigning NBA champion. The feat was accomplished on the most crucial play of the game, when the 27-year-old power forward scored with a three-pointer in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to tie the score.
With that same triple and a couple of other scores, Giannis finished the night with a total of 14,216 points, surpassing the mark set by Lew Alcindor or better known as the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of 14,211 which he had achieved in 1975 his last year with the Milwaukee franchise. It took the center just six campaigns while the Greek needed nine to surpass his total.
Having put together an impressive performance against the Philadelphia 76ers with 40 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks, against the Nets it was another dose of top performance from Giannis, who has been dealing with knee discomfort and will indeed miss tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers as part of his recovery for the postseason. With a total of 44 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal, making 66.7% of his baskets, Milwaukee is in second place in the Eastern Conference, just half a game behind the leader, the Miami Heat.
After the game, The Greek Freak shared his thoughts on his accomplishment making it clear that despite having great respect for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, his goal remained the same.
”It doesn’t really matter, at the end of the day if you don’t have a successful season, if you don’t keep improving, stay humble, happy, play until May and June, no one will remember this. So I just want to stay humble, that we all stay that way. The more I feel this way the hungrier I am to win, the more I achieve the more art I will continue to create. Playing basketball is like creating art”.
”So I just have to keep at it, trying to make my teammates better, win games and good things like tonight will keep happening.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo, star and leading scorer of the Milwaukee Bucks.
On the part of his coach, Mike Budenholzer, all that remained was to appreciate the fact that he was able to witness the historic moment he was living with his star on the court.
“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the most iconic players in the history of our league. What he was able to accomplish while in Milwaukee and in the rest of his career makes him one of the best in history. So to see Giannis overtake him within the organization, as our leading scorer, to have a front row seat for the last almost four years, I feel incredibly fortunate. His teammates are more than happy for him, it’s more than impressive what he has done, and he has a lot more ahead of him.”
Mike Budenholzer, head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The past few days’ performance has skyrocketed the six-time All-Star directly as the favorite to win what would be his third career MVP award, with the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic as the only candidate to beat. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is also in the conversation, however, his team’s two consecutive losses this week have put him at a disadvantage.
Averaging 30.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and one steal through 63 games with the Bucks in the 2021-2022 season, he is the main reason Milwaukee appears to be the favorite to dethrone the Miami Heat from the top of the conference, and is certainly the team to beat heading into the East finals in the post-season.
