Giannis Antetokounmpo Selected As All-Star Starter For The First Time
By Ti Windisch
The work that Giannis Antetokounmpo has put in has not gone unnoticed, as he’s been selected to start the NBA All-Star Game for the first time in his career.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been called a star plenty around Milwaukee, but now it’s official: the Greek Freak will be starting the 2017 All-Star game for the Eastern Conference!
Giannis finished the voting period second among frontcourt players in the East to only LeBron James, who will start the game alongside him. The other frontcourt player selected is Jimmy Butler, and the two guards will be Kyrie Irving and DeMar DeRozan.
This isn’t just a big moment for Giannis himself, as it signifies the first All-Star since Michael Redd for the Milwaukee Bucks franchise. Redd played as a reserve for the Eastern Conference in 2004.
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Although 13 years is certainly long enough, it had actually been 33 years since Milwaukee had a starter in the All-Star game. Not since Sidney Moncrief back in 1984 has a Buck been in the starting five of an All-Star team. Somehow Ray Allen never got the honor in his best years with the franchise.
The fan vote was huge in helping boost Giannis to this historic honor. Both Wisconsin and Greece showed out on the plethora of voting options, helping Giannis to over 1.6 million votes, third overall among Eastern Conference vote getters.
The news was reported by ESPN shortly before TNT’s traditional live unveiling, and confirmed by Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Source confirms Giannis named to East al-star team as a starter.
— cfgardner (@cf_gardner) January 20, 2017
The media and players also played a role in this selection for Antetokounmpo. Giannis received 162 player votes, second just to James, and only narrowly trailed LeBron again in the media vote (96 votes to 93 in the Cavalier’s favor) as he placed second.
Getting selected by all of these groups goes to show that Giannis is more than just popular with fans–he’s damn good too. The votes and respect from both media and players prove that the Greek Freak has become a legitimate star in the NBA.
Making his FIRST #NBAAllStar appearance... @Giannis_An34 of the @Bucks! pic.twitter.com/2oxWC76W2X
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) January 20, 2017
Giannis has deserved that honor, averaging 23.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. Another Buck to start the All-Star Game, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is the only other player in history to average at least 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks in a season.
Not even the great Kareem could also average 1.8 steals in either of the two seasons he managed all of those other numbers, though. Giannis is truly unique in how many different things he can do on the floor in a single game, and how good he’s been at each of them.
Although this is huge for both Giannis and the Bucks, both parties hope that it’s only the beginning in a long line of awards and honors the Greek Freak will receive while he’s playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Now the clock ticks down to New Orleans, get ready to buy your Giannis All-Star jerseys everyone.