Giannis Antetokounmpo in rarified air with Michael Jordan after All-Star Game MVP win
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has always said he wants to be one of the NBA’s elite. Well, there’s no doubt he already is. But after Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, he climbed a notch higher as he joined the elite of the elites: Michael Jordan.
After leading The West All-Stars to an easy 170-150 win over The Eastern all-Stars, Giannis earned his first NBA All-Star Game MVP trophy after tallying numbers of 35 points on an INSANE (caps lock for extra emphasis) 16-of-16 shooting from the field, seven rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
With his latest accolade, he tied MJ as one of the only players in NBA history to win a regular season MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year trophy.
Giannis Antetokounmpo joins Michael Jordan as one of the only players to win an MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award in their careers.
Giannis, who played in his fifth NBA All-Star Game, started the ball rolling for The East. He set the tone with his aggressive attacks and even played defense early on, a mortal sin to some when it comes to the midseason contest.
He wasn’t named as a captain this year as he relinquished the role to Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, and it looks like having less pressure worked wonders for the Greek Freak as he was able to simply enjoy the contest and cherish the moment with his son.
“It’s fun. I was happy. My teammates had fun.” pic.twitter.com/XBpAPiPx2H
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 8, 2021
At only 26 years old, Giannis Antetokounmpo still has multiple years to suit up in the NBA All-Star Game. And perhaps soon enough, he will tie the great Michael Jordan with three All-Star Game MVPs as well.
Giannis Antetokounmpo shows value and values with All-Star MVP
This is the Bucks’ dream.
Antetokounmpo can enjoy playing on a super team. But he can limit that experience the All-Star game. His loyalty, as proven by his super-max extension, remains with Milwaukee.
And his passion – as shown by scoring 35 points on 16-of-16 shooting in leading Team LeBron to victory – remains strong.
At this point in his career, Antetokounmpo is coming under the microscope. Signing his extension quieted some noise, but not nearly all of it. Antetokounmpo has won the last two regular-season MVPs, leading the Bucks to 60 wins two years ago and an even better record last season. But the Bucks have faltered the last two postseasons. They dropped four straight to the Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals then got smoked by the Heat in last year’s second round.
Fairly or not, Antetokounmpo now can silence his critics only by succeeding in the playoffs.
Against that backdrop, who’d care about an All-Star game – especially amid the coronavirus pandemic? Since NBA playoff games stopped being aired on tape-delay, only one other player had won regular-season MVP then All-Star MVP without first winning a championship – Allen Iverson.
But Antetokounmpo isn’t allowing himself to be haunted by prior disappointments. Once on the court – like the previous two All-Star games – his competitiveness and spirit took over.
Antetokounmpo’s 16 shots are the second-most ever in a game – regular-season, playoff or All-Star – by someone who didn’t miss:
All the other perfect-shooting games on the leaderboard came in the regular season. Antetokounmpo doubled the prior All-Star record. 76ers guard Hal Greer shot 8-for-8 in 1968.
Sure, luck was involved. In addition to his ferocious dunks, Antetokounmpo made all three of his 3-pointers – including banking in a couple.
But even a miss wouldn’t have changed the tenor of Antetokounmpo’s performance. He was playing great and having a blast.
Antetokounmpo has proven his work ethic and determination. He is clearly focused more on team success than individual accolades. We should appreciate his dazzling showing Sunday. It detracts from nothing.
Even as he cradled the All-Star MVP trophy – named for Bryant, whom Antetokounmpo idolized – the Bucks forward kept perspective.
“My goal is to be a champion one day,” Antetokounmpo said. “Hopefully, we can hold the big trophy.”
