Communicated Content – As far as long-term NBA talents that are sure to continue to impress in years to come, Giannis Antetokounmpo is certainly among the best around. Unfortunately for the Greek star and his Milwaukee Bucks team, they were not able to continue their path through the play-offs.
The Bucks won the NBA title last season, seeing off the Phoenix Suns, but found that they were unable to get past the Boston Celtics, who triumphed in the Conference semi-finals in seven games.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the Milwaukee Bucks to retain their title, and as evidenced by the odds compared on Sidelines, they were, in fact, fortunate to get as far as the post-season and arguably are playing above themselves over the past 18 months.
27-year-old Antetokounmpo has been an immediate success in the NBA ever since his arrival back in 2013, and he picked up the NBA MVP award in 2019 and 2020 and has been picked in the All-Star game for six successive seasons.
Wherever Antetokounmpo, praise usually follows, and after his Celtics team outdid the Bucks, Grant Williams lavished more on the talented forward;
“That’s a guy that [is] probably the next coming of Shaq in terms of generational talents. … It was great to be able to compete against a guy of his stature. One of the best players in the world.”
An even brighter assessment came from former NBA star Kendrick Perkins, who stated;
“We gotta start appreciating the greatness of Giannis Antetokounmpo,”
“He has the confidence, and when I talk about him on the verge of where he’s going as far as being an all-time great and being the second greatest power forward behind Tim Duncan if he keeps this up, but we’re going to have to talk about Giannis Antetokounmpo being on Mount Rushmore.”
So how much can Giannis achieve while at the Milwaukee Bucks? Well, the NBA title they secured last time around was their first in 50 years, and that says something about how much he brings to the franchise but also suggests that he may need a lot more support in order to repeat the feat.
The likes of Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday offer him able support, but he may need more top-quality team-mates to challenge for the NBA title once again.
The crucial nature of Antetokounmpo’s displays to the Bucks organization was made clear ahead of last year’s NBA finals, where he was rushed back from injury in order to the give Milwaukee Bucks a fighting chance, and he duly delivered but will need more assistance in order to do so more effectively going forward.
One thing is for sure; the ‘Greek Freak’ is a big-game player. In the seven-game series against the Boston Celtics, the Bucks player racked up a truly astonishing 237 points, 103 rebounds, and 50 assists, which is a league record.
