In sparkling form, Giannis Antetokounmpo has continued to impress in recent weeks in the NBA. A few days ago, against the Indiana Pacers, the Greek scored 64 points, a personal best and a Milwaukee Bucks record. This Sunday night, he added another notch to his tally, definitively entering a new, even more impressive circle, comprising only LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Kevin Garnett.
Midway through the fourth quarter on Sunday night, the 17,341 fans in attendance at the Fiserv Forum went wild for their franchise’s hero. Not for another spectacular block or gravity-defying dunk, but for a simple rebound. When Giannis Antetokounmpo collected Tari Eason’s missed shot, he overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the Bucks’ undisputed leader in rebounds. Antetokounmpo finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds in his side’s 128-119 win over the Houston Rockets, and now has 7,165 career rebounds.
Antetokounmpo goes down in Bucks and NBA history
But what makes this a stunning record is the fact that the Greek Freak is already the franchise’s all-time leader in points and assists. That makes him one of only four players in NBA history to lead a franchise in all three categories. The others are Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls). Antetokounmpo also holds the franchise record for games played (744), assists (936) and triple-doubles (36). But one area he has yet to conquer is 3-point shooting. He is in seventh place with 504 3-pointers made, well behind Khris Middleton, who leads this category with 1,281 3-pointers.
Giannis already expects to be surpassed
“That’s a great compliment,” Antetokounmpo said. “Nobody can ever take that away from you. Obviously, there’s going to be another player that comes along in a few years and breaks all the records, the same way I don’t think anybody thought anybody would break Kareem’s (Abdul-Jabbar) record. That a Greek kid, a skinny kid from Greece who was drafted, who was supposed to play in the G League, would be able to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record. I don’t think anyone has thought of that. […] So, I know for sure that there will be someone who will come along in time and he will break all the records set by Kareem, Oscar Robertson, Marques Johnson, myself, Khris and hopefully, if I’m not busy with kids and I’m not on the island enjoying my life, I’ll be here to celebrate and cheer him on.”
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