A tremendous NBA regular season has come to a close and a number of exciting play-off match-ups await.
With Damian Lillard ruled out, there is increasing pressure on Giannis Antetokounmpo to do it all for the Milwaukee Bucks. And incredibly, the superstar is embracing the challenge.
Milwaukee ended the season with eight consecutive wins, the joint most in-form team in the NBA along with the Clippers, with Giannis averaging 31.8 points per game in April. That was a slight increase on his stunning season average of 30.8 points per game.
And while he can’t make headway in the two-man MVP race between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, Giannis deserves respect as the clear third choice.
Boston Celtics fan Bill Simmons admits he can no longer justify any belief that Jayson Tatum has had a better season than Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Simmons told his latest podcast that 2021 NBA champion Giannis is putting together a historic stretch that will line him up as one of the league’s elite players.
He explained: “These last four weeks, like Giannis has to be third. He just has to and, and I love the Tatum year and we’ve talked about it a million times. I just think he’s been awesome. I think he’s been awesome as a two guy, as a rebounder and like maybe fifth in threes, and he’s guarded everybody in the league.
“But what Giannis did the last four weeks, I think he has to be third.
“And then if you’re putting him third, this will be a seven straight First Team All-NBA, and during those seven years he’s averaged 30, 12 and 6. And this year he’s averaging 30 12 and 7.
“So this is like LeBron level consistency.”
Simmons argues Giannis’ numbers will stand up for many years to come, full of respect for what the Milwaukee Bucks star has achieved.
He said: “It’s like the same way you would look at Karl Malone seasons down and be like, oh my God, he put up 29 and 10 for 12 years. Well this will be be seven.”
Ahead of the playoffs, Giannis Antetokounmpo can be proud of his incredible regular season performances.
Winning the NBA Cup along the way, he played in 67 games, averaging 30.4 points per game, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists.
The numbers are remarkably identical to last season in terms of points and assists, with his rebounds increasing from 11.5 to 11.9.
The standout game saw him put up 20 assists in a recent win over the Sixers, in which he also scored 35 and had 17 rebounds. Phenomenal numbers.
Now the Bucks are preparing for a playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, a series that promises to be unmissable.
