It is always breathtaking to see a player reach new heights in the NBA Finals.
It’s like witnessing a star change our imagined ceiling for him in the game’s biggest stage or seeing him for the very first time even though we’ve seen him a hundred times before. You know you’re watching something pretty historic and appreciating it in real time is the only appropriate thing to do.
Three games into the 2021 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks, it feels like we’re watching Giannis Antetokounmpo tap into something extraordinary. He’s drawing power from some internal gear that we kinda knew was there, but we haven’t seen it with this much force and magnitude.
After a 42-point, 12-rebound, 4-assist, 3-block, performance in Game 2, he somehow followed it up with 41 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists, and more importantly, the victory that cut the Suns’ series lead to 2-1.
After his Game 2 showing, NBA.com Philippines' Jon Rodriguez wrote: "Giannis did everything in his power to help the Bucks run side-by-side with the Suns. He needs to do more.” And unbelievably, Giannis did do more and powered the Bucks to a much-needed win.
We always knew the “Greek Freak” was a monstrosity. The highlights and numbers of the two-time MVP speak volumes of Antetokounmpo’s body of work. He always plays with sheer strength and an intensity that can power a building.
That being said, consider that there was fear that Giannis wasn’t even going to play in the Finals about two weeks ago because of a knee injury. And if he did manage to suit up, how healthy would he be? The number one concern of everyone was if he could play at a hundred percent. Three games in, he’s not a hundred percent, more like two hundred.
Giannis bullied his way to the paint, attacked relentlessly, snatched rebounds from Suns players, and played with a different level of ferociousness. There were times that he adamantly called for the ball because he wanted to plow through his man and rip the rim apart. As said earlier, he’s tapping into something extraordinary. He’s only 26 years old and it’s mind-boggling that he could still go at a higher level.
One of the key historic facts thrown around after Game 3 was that there are only two players with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in back-to-back Finals games: Shaquille O’Neal and Giannis Antetokounmpo. This isn’t the first time that Giannis drew comparisons with Shaq, and yet, it feels like there has never been a more appropriate time to revisit them than in the Finals.
Shaq in the Finals, specifically from 2000 to 2002, was like the Hulk playing pickup with kids. He was such a dominant presence in the paint. It’s as if he followed his own laws of gravity, sucking defenders in before dunking all over them. Just ask Rik Smits of the Pacers, Dikembe Mutombo of the 76ers, and Todd MacCulloch of the Nets. He was quite literally unguardable.
Giannis is not Shaq because no one is, but he is definitely Shaq-like. There’s a force in his game that makes him unstoppable at times. Even though he’s not as uncontainable as Shaq was, he’s damn near close with his unique combination of speed, power, and raw skill around the basket.
When Deandre Ayton was in foul trouble in Game 3 and either Frank Kaminsky or Cam Johnson had to guard him, it was like when Shaq was being defended by the Kings' Lawrence Funderburke and Scott Pollard because the Sacramento starters were out. In the Big Fella’s immortal words, it was “barbecue chicken”.
Antetokounmpo is reshaping the conversation around him and what we think we knew about him. Obviously, he still has a long way to go before he reaches the hallowed ground only reserved for basketball’s very elite.
There have been many greats in the game, but only a select few reach that plateau of putting on a string of incredible Finals performances. You’re talking about a list that includes the likes of Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan, just to name a few.
After Game 3, a question was posed to Giannis if Jordan’s record of four straight 40-point games was in jeopardy. But before the reporter could even finish the question, the two-time MVP could only say “I’m not Michael Jordan” with a smile.
"Forty points, straight?” he asked, chuckling in disbelief.
“Four in a row,” replied the reporter.
"I'm not Michael Jordan,” he answered. "But you know, all I care about right now, it's getting one more, that's all. Just take care of business, doing our job."
We can’t predict the future. The Suns may figure things out and win the next two games for all we know. Maybe Games 2 and 3 were the last two big performances from Giannis. But what’s great about the present is that we can savor it. We’re seeing a superstar, who wasn’t even sure he was going to play in the series, reach previously unfathomable heights.
Four straight 40-point games? He’s not MJ. Nobody could do that.
But who knows, right?
--
Double Data is back on Prepaid Home WiFi! Enjoy 140GB double data for all sites with FamLoad 999, best value for 30 days! Exclusive offer on the GigaLife app. Download now!
