By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo banked five threes on Thursday evening guiding the Milwaukee Bucks to the home win against the Los Angeles Lakers. His career-high beyond the arc build on his 34-point outing, forced LeBron James to “tip his hat” in the locker room when asked about the Greek Freak’s performance in the 2019-20 NBA Regular Season contest.
LeBron “tips his hat” to Giannis’ career-high 5 threes. pic.twitter.com/CJOC3meSd1
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 20, 2019
LeBron went for 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 dimes shortly after Giannis said that he aspires to have the same impact when the reaches his age. Anthony Davis had 36 points, ten boards, five assists and three blocks. “You tip your hat off to him and we move forward” said the 26-year-old American big referring to the man that overpowered the Lakers.
“Improving my game gives me joy”
Giannis Antetokounmpo was more than great. “I wasn’t the number 1 pick, AD was, LeBron was,” he mentioned after the game, “I wasn’t supposed to be here. I wasn’t supposed to go up against these two beasts. So I’m just happy that I’m here and happy that I’m going through the process and I always want to be better, do better for my team and that’s what gives me joy.”
“I’m going to keep shooting. It doesn’t matter for me if I made one, two, or five, I just want to be better,” he explained, “And I want to keep getting better and keep working on my game and it’s going to be some nights that I’m going to make zero and it’ll be nights I’ll make five, but I’ve got to keep shooting because that’s what my team wants me to do and that’s what gives me joy.”
“Winning games, that’s one, but improving and seeing the result at the end of the day. All the shots I made today, I’ve made these shots like four or five years ago, so seeing them going in tonight, that gives me joy,” he went on, “That makes me want to work on other parts of my game, and I can make those shots three years from now. That’s what fills me up with joy.”
Family reunion
He went for 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists leaving his side alone on top of the NBA standings with his brothers, Thanasis and Kostas, suited up for their respective team. “This is unique,” he pointed out, “You can’t take this for granted. Three brothers under the same roof, going through the same game, going through our pregame warmup. We’re blessed.”
His 63rd showing with more than 30 points and 10 rebounds landed him in third place behind Shaquille O’Neal and Anthony Davis for the most by a player under 25-year-old the last 30 years. “I think the most important thing is to try to stay humble. When you win MVP and you win 60 games, it’s hard,” added Antetokounmpo, “You feel like, ‘Ok, what else?’ but at the end of the day, I realize and my family realizes that I’m not supposed to be here.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images