Who could forget the leadup to the Bucks’ 2013 draft, where they selected Giannis with the 15th overall pick? Just about everybody. The Heat quickly swept Milwaukee, and the woeful Bucks weren’t in the lottery. However, then-GM John Hammond smartly took a risk on the unknown Greek prospect, setting off an immediate leap to #1. Well, not really. The road to an MVP and beyond hasn’t been easy. However, examining the seven years of Giannis’s career reveals how one earns success with only a culmination of incremental improvements and hidden results.
Rookie Horrors
The Greek Freak played sparingly in his rookie year. He only averaged 24.6 minutes and 6.8 points a game in 2013-14, with a +/- of -2.3. Those are decent numbers considering how the Bucks played overall. The team set a franchise-record low with only 15 wins. A “rejuvenated” Larry Drew couldn’t quite reach the Finals, and his team quickly quit.
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Giannis, easing into his career, had only one point in his debut. After management swept Drew into the trash, a controversial figure helped improve fortunes.
Bucks Not Kidding
Yes, Jason Kidd, whatever his shortcomings, undeniably pushed the Bucks to initial improvement. Although their first 2014-2015 game was a heartbreaking overtime loss, fans sensed the Bucks had a glimmer of fight after all. Troubling, however, was Kidd’s strategy with his second-year star. The coach largely forbid Giannis from shooting threes, plainly an error as the Warriors revolutionized the NBA. Thankfully, Giannis began to exhibit fan-pleasing athleticism, including a two-step (and completely legal) gather that already covered a quarter-court.
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Giannis embarrassingly ended his season with an ejection in the first round of the playoffs. Still, he made a statement, and the NBA’s comfort zone began to shrink.
Small Step Back
Milwaukee struggled with consistency in Kidd’s second year. However, several gem games suggested the difficulties were only speed bumps. In one of the greatest wins in Bucks history, on December 12, 2015, Giannis outmuscled the 24-0 Warriors. Although the NBA had to take his triple-double away due to erroneous scorekeeping, the NBA world’s Golden State love affair took a turn any soap would admire.
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Importantly, Giannis soon wouldn’t be a curiosity for a losing team. In 2017, the team arrived.
A Ferocious Underdog
At 42-40, the next-season’s Bucks weren’t precisely titans. Still, they were talented enough to make the top lizards pause, at least. “Has the NBA ever seen a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo?” No.
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In a tough-fought series loss to Toronto, Giannis exhibited that he was now the unquestioned leader of Milwaukee basketball.
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The problem was, it was now 16 years since the Bucks had won a playoff series. And they wouldn’t soon snap the shackles of disappointment.
Waystation
With Giannis’s skills improving, a city worrying about losing the team fretted about losing its star too. For the first time in his career, Giannis averaged a double-double, with 26.9 points a game. The Bucks, however, still could only earn the #7 seed. With quickly-forgotten interim coach Joe Prunty mismanaging an extensive roster of talent, Giannis needed reserve will. He found it with an incredible 31-point performance to force game seven against Boston.
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After the Celtics frustratingly beat Milwaukee down in Boston, the freak reached a waystation. Would he reach his immense potential and return the Bucks to glory? Or would poor coaching drive him away?
MVP, but still not perfection
Wait, hold up: in his MVP season, Giannis still had room to improve? Mike Budenholzer finally took the restraining bracelet off the Greek bull, and he rampaged through the cowering league. Now, it wasn’t just Ted Davis and Jim Paschke who knew of Antetokounmpo’s acrobats; national announcers like Ryan Ruocco couldn’t withhold yells either.
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Even though Giannis didn’t average a three a game, defenses had few answers. When the Bucks finally snapped the playoff win drought, the freak led with one of the most impressive exhibitions in Milwaukee playoff history.
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The dormant fan base Drew mentioned so many years ago finally rose.
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Yes, Kawhi Leonard and Toronto stymied Milwaukee in the East Finals. Surely, however, Giannis couldn’t be stopped this season.
Cruel, but Temporary, Disappointment
Giannis freakily improved in 2020. His incredible +/- of +11.4 reflected a dazzling display of force. He also places fourth on a three-happy team with 1.5 makes a game. His incredible 50-point performance during an 18-game winning streak almost destroyed the city with its energy.
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Unfortunately for every NBA fan, the coronavirus shut the season down, at least temporarily. It wouldn’t be fair to be overly positive and proclaim, “the Bucks will quickly be back and dominating!” The suspension is truly a significant bummer. Whatever the rest of the league thinks, however, one young man isn’t going to be dissuaded. The virus may sideline Giannis for now, but he patiently waits for his chance at redemption, just as he’s patiently waited seven years for his opportunity to restore the dignity of a once, and soon to be again basketball mecca.
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