Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 2018 All-Star Game highlights

Gyro slam

The block and the dunk on Harden may be more instantly spectacular, but it was Antetokounmpo’s final play of the game that was really his piece de resistance.

While much has been made of the improved defensive effort that was on display on Sunday, it was at its most evident in the game’s final five minutes. With a single possession separating the teams, Team LeBron locked in and took on the kind of defensive stances that were once foreign to All-Star games.

When Harden swings the ball to a wide open Antetokounmpo, he has the time and space to attempt a dagger three-pointer, but the Bucks superstar thought better of it.

Instead, the Greek opted for his go-to move. With Durant, one of the few players in the league with the required size and defensive acumen to stop him, sizing him up, Antetokounmpo broke out a smooth euro-step.

The result left Durant scrambling and allowed Giannis to glide through to the rim for a dunk at a pivotal juncture in the game. Antetokounmpo making the difficult look easy is an increasingly common occurrence, but this truly was a thing of beauty.