I don’t know how one could have possibly downplayed Giannis Antetokounmpo and how good he was at basketball before.
But now? After Thursday night’s game? There is absolutely no denying this dude now.
Not only did he put up yet another historic night against one of his peers in Kevin Durant, he also made history by becoming the Milwaukee Bucks’ all-time leading scorer.
He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored 14,211 points as a Buck. With his 44 against the Nets he moved to 14,216, forever etching his name in the history of that franchise.
Anytime you break a Kareem record, you’ve done something pretty great. Antetokounmpo was asked about his accomplishment after the game and, while he seemed very proud, he also used this as a moment to subtly take a jab at James Harden.
It was delightful. Take a listen.
Giannis Antetokounmpo on passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points in #Bucks history. pic.twitter.com/bgF5yEO2ZN
— Scott Grodsky (@ScottGrodsky) April 1, 2022
“I did not know about it. But it’s good. It’s good because I’m changing the narrative. You know, I don’t want to be the guy that dunks and runs. I can make a 3.”
That’s literally the only part of this you need to listen to. That’s how you know he’s thrilled that he has this record. Because just stuck it to one of his biggest critics.
Remember a few years back when there was some beef between Harden and Antetokounmpo after the latter won MVP over the former. Harden came back the next season in an interview and basically said there was “no skill” to Antetokounmpo’s game.
He didn’t call him out directly but he was definitely talking about Giannis.
james harden tried to warn you about giannis – until he learns how to shoot and closeout games it’s going to be hard to win games playing like a running back pic.twitter.com/RdBFPM0yhL
— . (@skip_marcelo) September 5, 2020
“I wish I could just run, run with 7 feet and run and just dunk. Like, that takes no skill at all. I’ve got to actually learn how to play basketball and have skill, you know?”
Look at how the tables have turned. Giannis has a franchise-record over Kareem, he’s a two-time MVP and an NBA champ.
Not bad for a dude with no skill.
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