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Giannis Antetokounmpo dominates. The two-time MVP just became the fourth player to average 30 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 60% shots over five games in a single playoff series, joining Tim Duncan, Charles Barkley and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. . But, unlike these other legends, Antetokounmpo is the only one to have done this in the NBA Finals.
Surprisingly, just two weeks ago, it was debated whether the Milwaukee Bucks superstar would even be able to play in the final. He had suffered a frightening knee injury that had kept him out of the last two games against the Atlanta Hawks, and he even said he believed his season was over. After appearing to shake in his first game, he has scored each of the last four games. As Antetokounmpo has returned to form, so have the Bucks, who have won three straight games after falling behind 2-0 in the series and are now just one home win from their first title in 50 years.
The last time Milwaukee won it all, they had another really good young star on their squad. Antetokounmpo may not be Abdul-Jabbar, but they have one great thing in common. They propelled their teams to victory with a simple formula: dominate the paint at both ends of the floor. And it is a formula that, more often than not, portends repeated successes on the bigger stage of the game.
MORE: Everything is the fuel for Giannis’ competitive fire
Antetokounmpo is quite simply the best indoor player in the world right now, and it’s not close. He doesn’t just dominate the Phoenix Suns, he dominates the entire NBA. As it turns out, the Suns are the team trying to stop him from winning a championship, and instead they find themselves on the wrong side of some of the most iconic plays in NBA history.
Antetokounmpo’s unforgettable block on Deandre Ayton’s potential alley-oop with just over a minute to go in Game 4 was one of the most acrobatic and acrobatic defensive games this league has ever seen. seen. Consider these facts:
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Antetokounmpo is the only player to block a clutch-time dunk attempt this playoff.
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Antetokounmpo is the only player to block a dunk attempt in the clutch time of a final game in the past 25 seasons.
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Antetokounmpo is the only player to block an alley-oop dunk attempt at any point in a playoff game in the past 25 seasons.
One game later, Antetokounmpo used every inch of his 7-foot-3 wingspan to launch one of the most breathtaking lanes in playoff history – one that no one could block.
Both coins immediately gained legendary status and solidified Antetokounmpo’s reputation as the most dominant two-way inner force of this generation.
Long before 3-point shots and perimeter ball carriers took control of the NBA, the only sure-fire path to stardom started and ended in the paint. Almost every professional basketball superstars have dominated the league with a simple recipe: dunks, layups, blocks and rebounds. They served up titles brought to you by the low block.
That’s what Antetokounmpo is up to right now. It’s tried and true, it’s a throwback to old school hoops, but it does it 21st century style. This is not a back-to-basket post-mount machine. There are no heavenly hooks. His inner buckets often come from sharp discs, euro-stages, transition opportunities, setbacks or, yes, lobs from his teammates.
The methods may be new, but the results are decidedly old school. Antetokounmpo has scored 60 field goals in the first five games of this series, and 52 of them have entered the paint. These are numbers that conjure up names like Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, and yes, Abdul-Jabbar, who won five more titles after that first 50 years ago (although they are came with the Lakers and not the Deer).
Over five games of the 2021 NBA Finals, Antetokounmpo is averaging 32.2 points (including 28 in paint or line) while shooting 61.2 percent from the field. No one has combined volume and efficiency like this in a final since O’Neal absolutely “diesel” made his way through the Indiana Pacers in 2000.
After Game 3 – in which he became the first player since O’Neal to post back-to-back 40-point, 10-rebound games in the final – Antetokounmpo spoke of the famous “Giannis Wall,” the strategy the Toronto Raptors used to slow it down two years ago on their way to a title of their own.
“You have to take it as a compliment,” he said. “It’s a compliment that there must be three people in front of me preventing me from going into the painting and building this wall.”
However, the Suns’ “Giannis Wall” collapsed and failed. Ayton’s troubles in Game 4 certainly contributed to that, but Antetokounmpo has largely been able to get inside whenever he wants in this series. This should come as no surprise, considering he’s been doing this for years now. As a goalscorer, he exhibits an unmatched blend of indoor production and efficiency.
His infield goal percentage is better than low-use crosses that feast on open backhands and lobs, while his volume eclipses even the most demanding top scorers.
“He goes down there, he dunks, he dunks again and he shoots a layup,” Chris Paul said earlier in that series.
It is an accurate description. Over the past three seasons, no NBA player has attempted more paint shots than Antetokounmpo, no one has converted more, and of the 79 players who attempted 1,000 or more paint shots during that time, only Rudy Gobert has a better conversion rate. – and teams don’t build a “Rudy Wall” to slow down the great man of Utah Jazz.
No one else has feasted on the edge like this since O’Neal was in his prime. No other player in the 21st century has made big opponents seem so delicate or so helpless. O’Neal was 28 and in his eighth season in the NBA when he won his first title and first MVP of the Finals. It would go to three peat in both. Antetokounmpo, 26, is also in his eighth season and a win of his first title. Be careful, the kid from Athens is just getting started.
While the numbers are comparable, it is not fair to compare Antetokounmpo to O’Neal. In fact, we have never seen anything like it on the ground. When O’Neal was in his heyday 21 years ago, the idea that a 6-11 Greek striker would be making his way to the dunks and matching O’Neal’s ridiculous paint numbers. in the 2021 NBA Finals would have been absurd. When O’Neal won his first title, the NBA had never seen a Greek player and Manu Ginobili was still two years away from making his San Antonio Spurs debut and normalizing Eurostep in the American game.
The globalization of the NBA is far from the only big change in the past two decades. Rule changes have made the traditional back-to-cart mail reader obsolete. So while O’Neal was falling into the low block dunks, Antetokounmpo often straddles them on dribbles that start beyond the 3 point arc.
The NBA is in a fascinating place. While shots 25 feet from the edge have never been more important and essential to success, Antetokounmpo is a powerful reminder that layups and dunks are still the best shots in the game. The 2010s saw the rise of a dynasty. unprecedented archery at Golden State, but the greatest moments of these finals were over the rim and in the Restricted Zone. Antetokounmpo has been there for both, reminding us that inside points always win and lose games in the process.
Antetokounmpo’s rise to power demonstrates that while inside dominants may play a little differently now, players who can control the tight zone at both ends of the pitch are still this league’s most valuable assets. He could lift the Larry O’Brien trophy after Game 6 on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET on ABC and the ESPN app). He may have to wait until Game 7 is over in Phoenix. There’s still a chance he won’t become champion at all this season. But one thing is for sure: Get used to hearing about the dominance of painting from Giannis Antetokounmpo, as he is set to be a major factor in this league for years to come.
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