NFL
By: Melo Williams
The 2022-2023 NBA season is underway and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s play is not only dominating showing why he’s the NBA’s MVP, the best basketball player in the world, and though it’s early Giannis is playing like he wants to go down as the greatest basketball player ever.
The Bucks improved to 4-0 with a 119-108 victory against the New York Knicks on Friday night. It’s their best start since 2018-19, when they ran off seven straight victories en route to 60 wins and finished the season with the league’s best record.
Antetokounmpo nearly put up a triple-double against New York on Friday night, finishing with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists Giannis scored nine points during an 18-0 run that gave the Bucks a 24-point lead in the third quarter to help carry Milwaukee to another victory despite starting the season without two key rotation players in All-Star forward Khris Middleton (wrist) and guard Pat Connaughton (calf).
This season so far, Giannis is averaging 34.5 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists with 1.8 blocks and 0.8 steals per game on 63% shooting.
Wednesday night in front of a packed crowd at the Fiserv, Giannis put on a show in the second half. Antetokounmpo was held in check in the first half by the Nets. In 19 second-half minutes though, Antetokounmpo put up 34 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 shooting performance in the fourth quarter, to get to 43 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists on the night and lead the Bucks to a 110-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Vs Brooklyn
43 Points
14 Rebounds
5 Assists
3 Blocks
64% FG
Giannis and KD head-to-head since Durant became a Net:
Giannis — KD —
37.7 PPG 31.8 PPG
11.2 RPG 9.2 RPG
6.2 APG 6.0 APG
52.9 FG% 49.6 FG%
5 Wins 1 Win
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 87 points over his last two games are his most over any two-game span in his career.
On Saturday, Giannis became the first player in Bucks history to score 44+ points in 28 minutes or less.
That’s also just the 5th time in NBA History that a player has scored 44 points or more in less than 28 minutes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo became the 1st player to average 13+ reb & 36+ points in the 1st 3 games of a season since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1972-73.
Giannis is also the only player in NBA history to do both those average 13+ rebounds and 36+ points and shoot a .670+ FG% in that 3-game opening span as well.
Through four games, Giannis has collected 138 points, 53 rebounds, and 25 assists, making him the first player with 125 points, 50 rebounds, and 25 assists through four games since Larry Bird in 1987-88, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information research.
Milwaukee (4-0) is the NBA’s last remaining unbeaten team as the Bucks are capitalizing on an early season-high, six games at home. The Bucks have beaten Houston, Brooklyn, and New York at Fiserv Forum after opening the season with a victory at Philadelphia. All healthy teams with their big 3 playing.
Not only is Giannis getting it done on the offensive end, but he’s anchoring a Milwaukee Bucks defense that is the best in the league. The Bucks on defense are ranked 1st in the league in points given up per game with 97.3. They have forced 12.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.5% from the field (1st in the league).
Next up for Giannis and the Bucks is hosting the Hawks at the Fiserv Forum on Saturday. This will mark the first time this season the Bucks have played on back-to-back nights. In the meantime, let us sit back and watch Giannis Antetokounmpo continue displaying what dominance and greatness look like on a basketball court.
