Despite all the criticism that he has received the past few years for being fraudulent MVP or DPOY because he couldn’t perform in the playoffs, Giannis “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo is now an NBA Champion. It was not that long ago when analysts like Richard Jefferson were saying that Giannis was a Pippen who needed to play alongside a MIchael Jordan in order for him to be able to win a championship. But these 2021 NBA Playoffs have proved that Giannis is MORE than capable of leading a team to a championship and any notion that Giannis wasn’t deserving of his awards has been tossed out the window. Throughout the 2021 Playoffs Giannis’s co-stars Jrue Holiday, and Khris MIddleton had games where they just couldn’t seem to get going. But the one constant about the Bucks was Giannis showing up to play every night. and in a closeout game 6 where Giannis finished with 50 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 17/19 free throws, Giannis has proved to everyone that he is an incredible playoff performer and that he is not afraid of the biggest stage of basketball.
There has also been talk during this season about Giannis not being a skilled basketball player because he doesn’t have amazing handles and he isn’t a great jump-shooter. But it seems pretty evident to me that Giannis is one of the most skilled big men to ever play the game of basketball. Because looking back at NBA history, how many players 6’10 and above have been able to drive coast to coast like Giannis while also having great post moves and passing abilities in their arsenal? The only other player who comes to mind is Kevin Durant. And if it were that easy to do what Giannis is doing strictly because of his height, why aren’t the other 7 foot big men able to replicate Giannis’s moves? This championship run was great to watch as just a pure basketball fan because Antetokounmpo was able to shut up all the haters who used his flaws to discredit his dominance. And his Shaq-like performance proved to everyone that you don’t have to have Kyrie-like handles, or a Harden-like step-back, or a Curry-like jump-shot to lead a team to an NBA championship.
And now at just 26 years old, Giannis “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo is now a 2x MVP, DPOY, NBA champion, Finals MVP, 5x Allstar, 4x All-NBA Defensive Team selection and 5x All-NBA team selection. So what’s next? The Bucks have fortunately locked up the Giannis, Middleton, Holiday trio for the next several years so they will be looking to build on this Finals win to repeat and become an NBA Dynasty. But as for Giannis, he has now accomplished everything that you can ask for from an MVP caliber, future-HOF talent. So now it will just be a matter of where he finishes his career because he is certainly on the way to being a top 10 maybe even top 5 player of all time. And he unquestionably has a case for being a 25 player of all time at the moment, considering all he’s accomplished at his age.
I hope that other NBA fans are just as excite as I am to see what the future holds for the Greek Freak because it feels like we are very lucky to be able to witness this sort of generational talent with our own eyes.